# Federal Agencies Differ on Transfer Probation

A career federal employee with nearly 12 years of service received a tentative offer for a nonsupervisory, lateral GS-0830 position transferring from the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Army through Direct Hire Authority. The offer specifies a **one-year probationary period**, while reported experiences across agency transfers vary: some employees serve a new probation, others receive credit for prior service, and some offers are later corrected or waived. The signal does not establish a uniform rule; it notes that application may depend on the employee’s circumstances and agency interpretation, including how 5 U.S.C. § 7511 appeal rights apply to current continuous service.

- Federal HR and staffing teams should verify the probation terms in the vacancy announcement and tentative offer with the receiving agency’s HR office before the employee accepts.
- Agencies and organizations supporting federal hiring should avoid assuming that prior service or a lateral move automatically waives a new probationary period.
- The cited statute may affect appeal rights for employees with qualifying current continuous service; the signal describes its application as nuanced, not as a guaranteed outcome.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Published:** October 06, 2026

### Government Entities
- Department of the Navy (DON)
- Department of the Army (DA)
- Department of Defense (DoD)
- Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)

### Key Quotes
> You will likely serve a new probationary period, but carry your appeal rights under “current continuous service” 5 U.S.C. 7511. So long as you have no break in service of even a day.
> — Commenter

> I transferred agencies before, and I have never been on another probationary period, as long as I wasn’t changing job series.
> — Commenter (firsthand experience)

### Sources
- [1 year probation required if transferring agencies?](https://www.reddit.com/r/FedEmployees/comments/1wyov93/1_year_probation_required_if_transferring_agencies) - reddit-fedemployees