There are several hiring authorities that give disabled veterans a real edge when applying for federal jobs. You probably already know about the 30% or more disabled veteran authority and Schedule A. But there is a lesser-known path that catches many veterans off guard: the Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program hiring authority.

This authority exists under 5 CFR 315.604, and it works differently than many veterans expect. You train at a federal agency as a VA beneficiary through VR&E — you are not a federal employee during that training. After you successfully complete the program, the VA issues you a Certificate of Training. Any federal agency can then appoint you noncompetitively into a competitive service position, and that appointment can be converted to career or career-conditional status. It is a real path into permanent federal employment that most veterans never hear about during TAP or transition counseling.

I spent 1.5 years after separating from the Navy applying to federal jobs and getting zero callbacks. During that grind, I learned that knowing which hiring authorities you qualify for is half the battle. The other half is knowing how to present yourself on paper. This article breaks down exactly who qualifies for the VA training program hiring authority, how it works, and how to use it alongside your federal resume to actually land a position.

What Is the Disabled Veteran VA Training Program Hiring Authority?

This hiring authority is codified under 5 CFR 315.604. It applies to veterans with service-connected disabilities who complete training through a VA-approved program under 38 U.S.C. Chapter 31 (Veteran Readiness and Employment, formerly Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment) or a comparable VA program. During the training, you are a VA beneficiary — not a federal employee. After successful completion, the VA issues a Certificate of Training, and any federal agency can then appoint you noncompetitively into a competitive service position.

So if your VR&E counselor has you in a 12-month program that includes on-the-job training at a federal agency, you train there as a VA beneficiary for that period. Once you successfully complete the program and receive your Certificate of Training, the agency — or any other federal agency — can appoint you noncompetitively. The resulting appointment is career or career-conditional, not temporary.

What makes this different from other disabled veteran hiring authorities is the training-first structure. You complete a training program coordinated through the VA as part of your rehabilitation plan. The agency sees your work, your skills, and your fit during training. After you earn your Certificate of Training, you become eligible for a noncompetitive appointment — and the agency already knows exactly what you bring to the table.

Who Is Eligible for This Hiring Authority?

Eligibility comes down to two requirements, and both must be met simultaneously:

1. You must have a service-connected disability. Any rating qualifies. Whether you have a 10% rating for tinnitus or a 70% combined rating, you meet the disability requirement. Unlike the 30% or more disabled veteran authority, there is no minimum rating threshold for this path.

2. You must be actively enrolled in a VA training program. The most common route is through Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) under Chapter 31. If your VR&E counselor has developed an individualized rehabilitation plan that includes on-the-job training or a work-experience component at a federal agency, you qualify.

Some veterans confuse this with using the GI Bill. The GI Bill (Chapter 33) does not satisfy this requirement. The training program must be administered or approved through the VA rehabilitation process, not through standard education benefits. VR&E is the primary pipeline here.

To apply for VR&E, you need a service-connected disability rating and either a discharge that is not dishonorable or you are still on active duty with a memorandum rating. You apply through VA.gov or your local VA regional office. Once accepted, your VR&E counselor develops a plan tailored to your employment goals, and that plan can include on-the-job training placements at federal agencies.

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How Does This Authority Compare to Other Disabled Veteran Hiring Paths?

Federal agencies have several ways to bring disabled veterans on board outside of the standard competitive process. Each one works differently, and knowing which ones you qualify for lets you apply through every door that is open to you.

The 30% or more disabled veteran authority lets agencies appoint veterans with a 30% or higher service-connected disability rating directly into competitive service positions. No training program required. The appointment can be temporary initially and then converted to permanent after two years of satisfactory performance. This is one of the strongest hiring authorities available, but the 30% minimum rating is a hard requirement.

The Schedule A hiring authority covers individuals with severe physical, psychiatric, or intellectual disabilities. You need a Schedule A letter from the VA, a licensed medical professional, or a state vocational rehabilitation agency. Schedule A appointments can be permanent from day one. The key difference is documentation: you need that Schedule A letter, and the focus is on the disability itself rather than enrollment in a training program.

The VA training program authority is the most situational of the group. It requires completing a VA training program and receiving a Certificate of Training before the noncompetitive appointment kicks in. But here is where it shines: if you have a disability rating below 30% and you do not qualify for Schedule A, this might be your only noncompetitive path into a federal agency. A veteran with a 10% or 20% rating who completes VR&E training can use this authority when the other two are not available to them. And the resulting appointment is career or career-conditional — not temporary.

How to Get Enrolled in VR&E (Chapter 31) to Use This Authority

If you are not already in VR&E, here is how the process works. The timeline varies, but many veterans get their initial appointment within 30-60 days of applying.

Step 1: Check your eligibility. You need a service-connected disability rating (any percentage) and a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. Active duty service members with a memorandum rating of 20% or more can also apply before separation.

Step 2: Apply through VA.gov. Go to VA.gov and submit VA Form 28-1900 (Disabled Veterans Application for Vocational Rehabilitation). You can do this online, and it takes about 15 minutes. You can also apply through your local VA regional office in person.

Step 3: Meet with your VR&E counselor. Once approved, you will be assigned a VR&E counselor who will evaluate your situation — your disability, your skills, your career goals — and develop an Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plan (IWRP). This plan outlines what training, education, or services you need to reach your employment goal.

Step 4: Request an on-the-job training or work experience placement. If your employment goal includes federal service, tell your counselor. They can coordinate a non-paid work experience (NPWE) or on-the-job training at a federal agency. This is the training that leads to the VA training program hiring authority. You train at the agency as a VA beneficiary, and after successful completion, you receive a Certificate of Training. The agency can then appoint you noncompetitively under 5 CFR 315.604.

One thing worth knowing: the VR&E counselor has significant discretion in shaping your plan. If you have a clear goal — say, you want to work as a GS-0343 Management Analyst at the VA — your counselor can tailor the plan to include a training placement at that specific agency or a similar one. Be specific about what you want. The more concrete your goal, the more targeted the plan.

What Happens After You Complete Training?

This is the question every veteran asks, and it is the right one. You finished the training program, earned your Certificate of Training — now what?

There are a few paths forward:

Noncompetitive appointment at the training agency. If the agency has an opening and you performed well during training, they can appoint you noncompetitively into a career or career-conditional position under 5 CFR 315.604. Agencies that invested time training you through VR&E often want to keep you. You already know the systems, the team, and the work.

Appointment through a different authority. If you have a 30% or higher disability rating, the agency can also use the 30% disabled veteran authority. If you qualify for Schedule A, that is another noncompetitive path. The training gives you inside knowledge and a track record that strengthens your case through any authority.

Competitive application with an advantage. Even if no noncompetitive conversion happens, you now have federal experience on your resume. You understand how the agency works. You have a supervisor who can serve as a reference. When you apply competitively through USAJOBS, your federal resume will reflect actual federal work experience, which is exactly what HR specialists look for when determining if you meet specialized experience requirements.

Transition to a different agency. The experience and skills you gained during the training are transferable. Many veterans use a VR&E training placement at one agency as a springboard to a permanent position at a different one. Federal experience is federal experience, regardless of which agency it was at.

How to Write Your Federal Resume for This Hiring Authority

Whether you are applying through USAJOBS for a position that accepts this authority or your VR&E counselor is coordinating the placement directly, you still need a federal resume that meets OPM standards. After reviewing thousands of federal applications, I can tell you that the resume is where many veterans lose the opportunity even when they have the right hiring authority behind them.

Federal resumes are different from civilian resumes. They require more detail — hours worked per week, supervisor name and phone number, detailed duty descriptions — but the current best practice is still keeping it to 2 pages max. Pack those two pages with the right information.

Here is what matters when your resume supports a VA training program placement:

Tailor to the specific position. Even though you are coming in through a noncompetitive authority, the agency still needs to see that you can do the job. Read the position description carefully. Match your military experience to the duties listed. If the position calls for "program coordination" and you managed training schedules for 40 personnel, spell that out with numbers and context.

Translate your military experience for the HR specialist reading it. The person reviewing your resume may not know what an E-6 does or what your MOS entails. Write your experience so that a civilian HR specialist can clearly see how your background maps to the position requirements. Use federal resume keywords from the job announcement in your duty descriptions.

Include your VR&E status and Certificate of Training. If instructed by your VR&E counselor or the agency HR office, note your VR&E completion, Certificate of Training, and the hiring authority (5 CFR 315.604) in your resume or cover letter. Some agencies want this information upfront. Others handle it through the VR&E counselor directly. Ask your counselor which approach the specific agency prefers.

Do not neglect the specialized experience section. Federal positions at GS-7 and above require specialized experience at the next lower grade level. Your military experience counts, but you need to describe it in terms that match OPM qualification standards. If you are targeting a GS-7 position, you need one year of experience equivalent to GS-5. Map your military duties to that standard explicitly.

Can You Stack This with Veterans Preference and Other Authorities?

Yes, and you should be aware of every path available to you. Many disabled veterans qualify for multiple hiring advantages simultaneously. Understanding how they interact lets you apply strategically.

Veterans preference applies to competitive service announcements. If you have a service-connected disability, you likely qualify for 10-point preference (CPS or CP). Veterans preference is separate from hiring authorities — it adds points to your score during the competitive process. If you are applying through a noncompetitive authority, preference points are not relevant to that specific application, but you should still claim preference on any competitive announcements you apply to.

Multiple authorities on USAJOBS. When you apply on USAJOBS, you can indicate multiple hiring paths. If you are a disabled veteran enrolled in VR&E, you might qualify for the VA training program authority, the 30% disabled veteran authority (if your rating is 30% or higher), Schedule A (if you have a Schedule A letter), and VRA (if the position is GS-11 or below). Check every box that applies. Let the agency HR office determine which authority to use — your job is to make sure they know every option available.

The USAJOBS disabled veteran hiring paths guide walks through how to navigate the application system for each of these authorities. If you have not read it yet, start there for the mechanics of actually submitting applications.

Common Mistakes Veterans Make with This Authority

These are the patterns that keep showing up when veterans try to use lesser-known hiring authorities like this one.

Waiting until after VR&E to apply for federal jobs. Some veterans complete their entire VR&E training program and then start looking at federal positions. If your goal is federal employment, tell your VR&E counselor early. The training placement IS the job search. You are getting paid to train at the agency where you want to work permanently.

Not communicating your federal career goal to your VR&E counselor. Counselors cannot read minds. If you want a federal placement, say so in your first meeting. If you want a specific agency or job series, bring that to the table. Counselors work with dozens of veterans, and the ones who get the best placements are the ones who come in with clear, specific goals.

Submitting a weak resume for the placement. Even though VR&E coordinates the placement, many agencies still want to see a resume. If you hand them a two-paragraph summary of your military service, they have nothing to work with. Build a real federal resume that reflects OPM formatting standards, includes hours per week, supervisor contact information, and detailed duty descriptions. BMR's federal resume builder handles this formatting automatically and translates your military experience for federal HR specialists.

Assuming the Certificate of Training guarantees an appointment. It does not. Completing the training and earning the certificate makes you eligible for noncompetitive appointment, but no agency is obligated to hire you. The training gives you a massive advantage — inside experience, relationships, demonstrated performance — but the appointment is not automatic. Treat the training period like an extended interview. Show up, perform, and make it easy for the agency to justify bringing you on.

Not tracking the timeline. VR&E has eligibility windows, and your training program has a defined end date. Know your dates. If you want the training agency to appoint you after completion, start those discussions well before your training wraps up, not the week before. Work with your VR&E counselor and the agency HR office to align the timeline so the noncompetitive appointment is ready when your Certificate of Training is issued.

Where to Find Federal Positions That Accept This Authority

Not every federal job announcement explicitly lists the VA training program hiring authority. Here is how to find positions where it applies.

Work through your VR&E counselor. This is the most direct path. VR&E counselors have relationships with federal agencies and can coordinate placements directly. They know which agencies have active non-paid work experience programs and which are receptive to VR&E trainees. This bypasses USAJOBS entirely for the initial placement.

Search USAJOBS for positions open to "Individuals with disabilities." Announcements that list this hiring path often accept multiple disability-related authorities, including the VA training program authority. Filter your USAJOBS search by hiring path and look for positions that specifically reference noncompetitive appointments for disabled veterans.

Target agencies with strong veteran hiring programs. The VA, DoD, DHS, and DOL consistently have the highest rates of veteran hiring. These agencies are familiar with VR&E placements and have HR staff who understand how the authority works. Smaller agencies may be less familiar with the 5 CFR 315.604 process, which can slow things down. Start where the infrastructure already exists.

Use the complete hiring authorities guide to understand every path into federal service. The more authorities you know, the more doors you can open on each application.

What to Do Next

If you have a service-connected disability rating and you are interested in federal employment, here is your action plan:

First, check if you are already enrolled in VR&E or eligible to apply. Go to VA.gov and look at your benefits status. If you are not enrolled, submit VA Form 28-1900 and get the process started. Even if you end up not using this specific hiring authority, VR&E provides training, certifications, and job placement support that can accelerate your federal career.

Second, figure out which hiring authorities you qualify for. If your rating is 30% or more, you have the 30% disabled veteran authority. If you have a Schedule A letter, that is another noncompetitive path. And if you are enrolled in VR&E, the VA training program authority becomes available. Stack every advantage you have.

Third, build your federal resume now, before the placement starts. Do not wait until an agency asks for one. Use BMR's federal resume builder to create a resume that meets OPM standards, includes the right keywords for your target job series, and translates your military experience into language that federal HR specialists can evaluate. When the opportunity comes, you want to be ready to hand them a resume that makes the hiring decision easy.