OPM launches online portal for former federal workers to retrieve personnel files

The Office of Personnel Management introduced the eOPF Documents Request Service, a secure website that allows former federal employees to obtain electronic versions of their official personnel folders. After a waiting period of roughly 30 days post-separation, users can sign in with Login.gov, verify identity using a driver’s license or passport and Social Security number, and request their files, which are delivered via a link that expires within a day.

The portal is intended for those whose records have already been digitized in the eOPF system and is not for current employees with existing agency access. If the system cannot locate a folder, OPM advises contacting the former agency or submitting a written request to the National Personnel Records Center, which retains records for employees who left after 1951. The new service aims to streamline access to documents needed for benefits, re-employment, or security clearances, reducing reliance on paper requests and agency intermediaries.