5 CFR § 838.804 - Court orders must expressly award a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly direct an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t5/s838.804"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "5 CFR § 838.804 - Court orders must expressly award a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly direct an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity."
title_number: 5
title_name: "Administrative Personnel"
section_number: "838.804"
section_name: "Court orders must expressly award a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly direct an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity."
chapter_name: "OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS"
part_number: "838"
part_name: "COURT ORDERS AFFECTING RETIREMENT BENEFITS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 8347(a) and 8461(g). Subparts B, C, D, E, J, and K also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8345(j)(2) and 8467(b). Sections 838.221, 838.422, and 838.721 also issued under 5 U.S.C. 8347(b)."
regulatory_source: "57 FR 33574, July 29, 1992, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "838"
---


# 838.804 Court orders must expressly award a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly direct an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity.

(a) A court order awarding a former spouse survivor annuity is not a court order acceptable for processing unless it expressly awards a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly directs an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) To expressly award a former spouse survivor annuity or expressly direct an employee or retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity as required by paragraph (a) of this section the court order must—

(1) Identify the retirement system using terms that are sufficient to identify the retirement system as explained in § 838.911; and

(2) (i) Expressly state that the former spouse is entitled to a former spouse survivor annuity using terms that are sufficient to identify the survivor annuity as explained in § 838.912; or

(ii) Expressly direct the retiree to elect to provide a former spouse survivor annuity using terms that are sufficient to identify the survivor annuity as explained in § 838.912.