5 CFR § 319.203 - Establishment of positions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t5/s319.203"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "5 CFR § 319.203 - Establishment of positions."
title_number: 5
title_name: "Administrative Personnel"
section_number: "319.203"
section_name: "Establishment of positions."
chapter_name: "OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS"
part_number: "319"
part_name: "EMPLOYMENT IN SENIOR-LEVEL AND SCIENTIFIC AND PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 1104, 3104, 3324, 3325, 5108, AND 5376. § 319.106 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 9201-9206 and Pub. L. 116-92, sec. 1122(b)(1)."
regulatory_source: "60 FR 6387, Feb. 2, 1995, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "319"
---


# 319.203 Establishment of positions.

(a) Prior approval of OPM is not required to establish individual SL and ST positions within an allocation, but the positions must be established in accordance with the standards and procedures in paragraph (b) of this section. OPM reserves the right to require the prior approval of individual positions if the agency is not in compliance with these standards and procedures.

(b) Before an SL or ST position may be established, an agency must:

(1) Prepare a description of the duties, responsibilities, and supervisory relationships of the position; and

(2) Determine, consistent with published position classification standards and guides and accepted classification principles, that the position is properly classified above GS-15. In addition, for an ST position an agency must determine that the position meets the functional research and development criteria described in § 319.103.