For the first time since the survey began, OPM won’t be the one running FEVS. Starting with the 2026 cycle, each agency must administer its own version, and the questions themselves are shorter and less standardized than before.
What’s Changing
Agencies must now administer their own surveys rather than participate in a centrally run FEVS. To help, OPM issued an Employee Survey Playbook covering planning through data submission, and agencies can request extra design and reporting support from OPM’s Human Resources Solutions office.
What Questions Will Be on the New FEVS Survey
Every agency survey must include these 10 core items, rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree:
- Managers clearly communicate the goals of the organization.
- The people I work with cooperate to get the job done.
- Differences in performance are recognized in a meaningful way.
- My supervisor provides ongoing feedback to help me succeed.
- My supervisor holds my team accountable for results.
- I know how my work relates to the agency’s goals.
- I feel empowered to get things done.
- I can disclose a suspected violation without fear of reprisal.
- Steps are taken to deal with a poor performer who won’t improve.
- In my unit, poor performers usually: improve over time; continue underperforming; leave via removal/transfer; leave by quitting; or there are none.
That’s down from 16 questions. Cut entirely: items measuring overall satisfaction, recognition, information-sharing, and involvement in decisions.
The Legal Backdrop
The survey requirement is statutory, tracing back to the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, which directs OPM to prescribe standard questions so results can be compared across government. The shift to agency self-administration is being formalized through a proposed rule to 5 CFR Part 250, published July 2, 2026, with public comments accepted through August 3.
Where the Data Goes
Agencies must submit results to OPM and OMB within 90 days of completion, and must post results publicly (or explicitly opt out) within 120 days, unless doing so would jeopardize national security. Notably absent: any commitment that OPM will still compile a government-wide comparison report — the kind Congress and watchdog groups have used for years to compare agencies against each other.
The Cost
OPM estimates the transition will take about 100 hours of work per agency in year one, roughly $15,630 per agency and $1.25 million governmentwide.
Bottom Line
Expect a shorter, agency-branded FEVS with less cross-government comparability than in past years. Agencies retain limited ability to add their own questions, but any additions require a separate OMB control number, keeping the core 10 as the only truly standardized measure across the federal workforce.
