OPM, through its Records Management and Data Policy Group, provides OPM management and Federal Government-wide agencies governance processes related to the management of OPM’s internal and government-wide records program and related forms in compliance with federal records and personnel data management standards. The Group leads the agency’s Record Keeping program and the development and implementation of personnel data policy and standards for the federal government. In addition, the group provides federal workforce data to various customers (Government-wide agencies, OMB, media, and general public). Governance includes policy for Data Standards, Guide to Human Resource Reporting, Guide to Processing Personnel Actions, and Personnel Record keeping.

The Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) warehouse is a reporting system that stores HR, Payroll, and Training workforce information sent from Executive Branch agencies. Agency officials who are responsible for preparing, submitting, and correcting HR, payroll, and training data will use the Personnel Data File Edits Guide to understand how EHRI edits data received from agencies.

Information and updates to the Personnel Data File Edits Guide are communicated via the EHRI Listserv. To subscribe or unsubscribe, visit EHRI Listserv. 

Updates to the Personnel Data File Edits

Federal agencies should rely on this guide to prepare Human Resources (HR), Payroll and Training Data Files. Agencies are responsible for regularly submitting their data files to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and OPM will then load the data into its Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) Data Repository.

Guide to Human Resources Reporting: Update 4-4 (Full Guide)(PDF file)

• Table of Contents(PDF file)
• Chapter 1 - General Information(PDF file)
• Chapter 2 - Technical Compliance(PDF file)
• Chapter 3 - HR Data Feed(PDF file)
• Status Record Specification(PDF file)
• Dynamic Record Specification(PDF file)
• Chapter 4 - Payroll Data Feed(PDF file)
• Payroll Record Specification(PDF file)
• Chapter 5 - Training Data Feed(PDF file)
• Training Record Specification(PDF file)

Guide to Data Standards

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has implemented a web based Metadata Repository (MDR) that will store all data standards information. The MDR will be accessed by a User page, which is the "new system interfaces that utilize industry best-practice architectures” and that allows the old data standard guides to be accessible thru search engines instead of the previously used PDF versions. 

Access the data standards web-based search engine:

• Data Standards Overview
• Data Standards Search
• Data Standards Recent Updates

For official changes to Data Standards fill out Data Element Request Form(PDF file) and email it to DataElementRequest@opm.gov.

Instructional Program Data Standard

The National Center for Education Statistics maintains comprehensive implementation and other user information about the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) from which these codes and names/explanations are drawn at Instructional Program. Visit the website to view OPM's Instructional Program Data Standard.

Duty Station Locator System

• Duty Station Locator

Overview