Remote federal jobs after the return-to-office order: what is left

If you are hoping to find a remote federal job, or you had one and it has just ended, you are dealing with one of the biggest shifts in federal work in years. Since January 2025, the default for federal employees has been full-time work at an agency worksite, and remote work and routine telework survive only as exceptions.

This guide explains what the rules actually say as of September 2026, who still qualifies for remote work, how to find the remote and telework-eligible jobs that are still advertised, and what a current employee can do when an arrangement changes. It is written with health workers in mind, but the rules apply across government.

What did the return-to-office order actually say?

On January 20, 2025, the President signed a memorandum titled "Return to In-Person Work". It directed department and agency heads to "take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis", while allowing them to make the exemptions they deem necessary. It also said it must be implemented consistent with applicable law.

OPM’s guidance followed within days. On January 22, 2025, it told agencies to revise their telework policies so that eligible employees work full time at their duty stations unless excused because of a disability, a qualifying medical condition or another compelling reason certified by the agency head and the employee’s supervisor. Where an employee’s official duty station was more than 50 miles from any agency office, agencies were told to move that duty station to the most appropriate agency office.

A joint memo from OPM and the Office of Management and Budget on January 27, 2025, asked every agency for an implementation plan by February 7, 2025, covering timelines, office space, union contracts, relocation costs and the criteria for exemptions. It told agencies to bring headquarters staff back first and phase in remote workers who lived far from an office.

Where do the rules stand in September 2026?

The early guidance has since been consolidated. On December 31, 2025, OPM issued a revised Guide to Telework and Remote Work in the Federal Government. Its cover memo says telework and remote work "should generally not be used" to let employees avoid working full-time, in person, at an agency worksite, absent approved exemptions based on disability, a qualifying medical condition or another compelling reason certified by the agency head. OPM’s telework site says any earlier telework guidance inconsistent with the memorandum has been rescinded.

A February 11, 2026, memo from OPM and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission describes what is left. It says telework and remote work are now available only in very limited situations: occasional situational telework approved to meet a compelling agency need; telework or remote work as a reasonable accommodation for a qualifying disability or medical condition; and other compelling reasons certified by the agency head, such as for military spouses or to keep an employee with a critical skill set who cannot easily be replaced.

Who can still work remotely?

Based on OPM’s guidance, these are the groups and situations in which remote work or regular telework is still possible. In every case the decision belongs to the agency, and most need documentation.

• Military spouses. OPM’s February 12, 2025, memo says spouses of active-duty service members working remotely are categorically exempt, and that agencies may keep appointing military spouses to remote positions. The definition includes spouses of members rated 100 percent disabled when they retired, were released or were discharged, and unremarried spouses of members who died on active duty.
• Spouses of Foreign Service members on overseas assignments, under the same memo.
• Some other spouses. OPM’s March 2025 FAQs say certain spouses of Defense Department civilians and of Intelligence Community members may be eligible under a 2024 change to the law, and that agencies can make limited exceptions for spouses of other federal employees.
• Employees with a disability or qualifying medical condition, where telework is granted as a reasonable accommodation.
• Employees with another compelling reason certified by the agency head, including, in OPM’s example, keeping someone with a critical skill set.

Mobile workers are a separate category. OPM says they are not teleworkers or remote workers at all, because their work involves routine travel to customer or other worksites. Its examples include site audits, inspections, investigations and work done while traveling between worksites. If your job keeps you on the road, the return-to-office rules are not aimed at you.

What does this mean for health care jobs?

Most clinical work was never remote. Nurses, physicians, therapists, pharmacists and technicians care for patients where the patients are, so for the bulk of federal health jobs the order changed little about the daily work.

The effect is sharper for roles whose duties can be done away from a clinic, such as some records, coding, claims review, analysis and program management work. Some of those jobs were remote before 2025. Under the current rules, an agency can still approve remote status for a position, but it has to be justified as an exception, so you should expect far fewer of them and read each announcement’s work-site details closely.

There is a practical upside for people who want to live outside Washington. OPM’s July 2026 staffing plan guidance tells agencies to place new positions outside the D.C. metro area wherever the mission allows, including field and customer-facing roles. For many people, the realistic alternative to a remote job is an on-site federal job near where they already live.

How do you find genuinely remote federal jobs?

• On USAJOBS, open the Work site filter and choose "Remote jobs" for fully remote positions or "Offers telework" for hybrid ones. You can also type "Remote" in the location box.
• Read the announcement’s remote and telework fields, the duty location and the conditions of employment. A job that is remote for one person because of an exemption may not be remote for the next hire.
• If you are a military spouse, use the military spouse hiring path. USAJOBS describes it as open to spouses of active-duty service members, 100 percent disabled veterans or service members who died on active duty; eligibility ends if you remarry.
• Ask the HR contact whether remote status is approved for the position itself, and whether it depends on a condition you would need to meet.
• Be wary of listings elsewhere promising easy remote federal work. Most federal jobs are posted on USAJOBS, and any other listing should match one on the agency’s own .gov site. Fake offers often use remote work as bait.

Suppose a medical coder in rural Ohio sees a posting marked remote. The right questions are whether the position itself is approved as remote, what the official worksite will be for pay purposes, and whether any in-person training or travel is required. The answers decide whether it is really the job you think it is.

If your remote arrangement ended: what to do next

If you were told to report to an office, the most useful thing you can do is get precise answers in writing. These steps are based on OPM’s guidance; your agency’s own policy and any union contract will fill in the detail.

• Ask for the decision, the report date and the new official worksite in writing.
• Ask how your pay will change. OPM says that when a remote employee returns, the agency must change the official worksite to the agency office, and the locality rate, special rate or cost-of-living allowance may change. If your pay goes down, OPM says pay retention does not apply.
• Ask what relocation support is available if the new worksite is far away. The January 2025 OMB and OPM memo required agencies to set out what policy, regulation or statute requires or permits relocation benefits.
• If you have a disability or medical condition, request a reasonable accommodation in writing. The February 2026 OPM and EEOC FAQs say agencies may require medical documentation, may revisit accommodations granted in the past, and should review requests centrally.
• If you are a military spouse, point your HR office to OPM’s February 12, 2025, memo on the categorical exemption.
• If you are in a bargaining unit, first ask your union whether your contract is still in force. Executive Order 14251 (March 2025) removed collective bargaining at VA and several HHS components, including CDC and FDA, and that order is still in court. OPM’s position, set out in February 2025, is that contract terms requiring minimum telework levels are likely unenforceable and that agencies can bargain after implementation; your union can tell you whether it disputes how your agency applied this.

If you cannot make the new arrangement work, look at a transfer to another agency office closer to home before you resign. If a change leads to separation, understand your options on placement and unemployment first; both are covered in separate guides linked below.

Situational telework: the narrow exception most people will meet

Occasional, situational telework still exists, but OPM’s March 2025 FAQs keep it tight. It requires a written telework agreement. Supervisors should authorize it only for a compelling agency need, such as a weather emergency, and it should be intermittent rather than a substitute for routine or recurring telework.

• During a closure or weather emergency, an employee with a telework agreement generally has to telework or take leave; one without an agreement may receive weather and safety leave.
• Situational telework may not be used to cut the hours you work on site on a regular basis.
• If an agency requires you to buy an internet connection to telework, OPM says the agency is responsible for the cost.
• Alternative work schedules can continue if service is uninterrupted, but not in a way that moves part of the day off site without an approved exemption.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming hybrid telework is still routine. Under current guidance, regular telework needs an approved exemption.
• Accepting a remote offer without asking what the official worksite will be and how that sets your locality pay.
• Moving far from an agency office on the strength of a remote arrangement that depends on an exemption you may not keep.
• Treating an accommodation granted before 2025 as permanent. OPM and EEOC say agencies may revisit it.
• Responding to remote federal job offers that did not come through USAJOBS or an official agency site.

Can I still get a remote federal job in 2026?

Yes, but they are uncommon, and many rely on an exemption such as the military spouse authority or a reasonable accommodation. Use the USAJOBS work-site filters, read each announcement closely, and consider on-site jobs outside Washington, which OPM’s July 2026 staffing guidance tells agencies to prioritize.

Is hybrid telework still allowed?

Only by exception. Regular telework now requires an approved exemption for disability, a qualifying medical condition or another compelling reason certified by the agency head. Situational telework is allowed for compelling agency needs, with a written agreement.

Does returning to the office change my pay?

It can. Locality pay follows your official worksite. If that moves from your home to an agency office in a different locality area, your pay can go up or down, and OPM says pay retention does not apply to a reduction.

Are military spouses still exempt?

Yes. OPM’s most recent guidance, from February 2026, still names military spouses. OPM’s February 2025 memo says military spouses working remotely are categorically exempt from return-to-office plans, and agencies may continue appointing them to remote positions.

Last reviewed Sep 13, 2026. First published Oct 21, 2026. Federal hiring rules change — confirm anything you act on against the agency's own announcement or OPM guidance.