Report a Vacancy

The Vacancies Act requires Executive Branch agencies to report immediately to GAO in the following situations: (1) when a covered position becomes vacant; (2) when a person begins serving as acting officer; (3) when a nomination for that position has been submitted; and (4) when a nomination has been returned, withdrawn, or rejected. (5 U.S.C. § 3349(a).) Agencies should also report to GAO when an acting officer discontinues acting service and when a nominee is confirmed. Executive Branch agencies should use the form provided on this page to report vacancy information to GAO and should email forms to: FederalVacancies@gao.gov.

Even when temporary service in a covered position is authorized by another statute, agencies should still report vacancy information for that position to GAO and should state the alternate position-specific authority for acting service. (5 U.S.C. § 3349(a).) GAO has included a specific field in the reporting form for this information.

Yes, agencies may report multiple events about a single vacant position on the same form, as long as each notification is reported in a separate field on the form. For example, an agency could, in theory, report a vacancy, the designation of an acting officer, and a nomination on the same form. If the agency is providing reports on multiple acting officers or nominations, however, separate forms should be submitted for each acting officer or nomination. In addition, to ensure compliance with the requirement to report information immediately to GAO, agencies should only report multiple events on the same form if the events occurred close in time. For vacancy events that are not close in time, agencies should submit separate forms for each event immediately after the event occurs. 

Agencies may submit multiple forms at the same time. To ensure compliance with the requirement to report information immediately to GAO, agencies should do so only if the events occurred close in time. For vacancy events that are not close in time, agencies should submit each form immediately after the event occurs. Agencies submitting multiple forms at the same time should include each form as a separate PDF document. Agencies should not combine multiple forms into a single PDF document.

The reporting form on this page is intended to facilitate Executive Branch agency compliance with the Vacancies Act’s reporting requirements. The Vacancies Database includes only information reported by Executive Branch agencies. Individuals and non-government entities may informally provide information on vacancies to GAO by emailing FederalVacancies@gao.gov and are not required to use the reporting form. However, while such information may lead GAO to examine the vacancy, the specific reported information will not be included in the Vacancies Database.

The Vacancies Database includes only information reported by Executive Branch agencies. Information about specific vacancies may be missing if the information was not reported to GAO.