U.S. Office of Personnel Management · United States

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Standard Form 15 (SF-15): Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference

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JustFill is not affiliated with U.S. Office of Personnel Management. This is an independent third-party tool to help you complete SF-15. Always download the current blank form from the official source and verify your completed copy before signing or submitting. Official SF-15 from U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Quick answer

Standard Form 15 (SF-15) is the Office of Personnel Management application veterans and certain family members use to claim 10-point veterans' preference in federal hiring. It covers disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, and certain spouses, widows or widowers, and mothers of veterans. You attach the completed SF-15 and the documents it lists — such as a DD-214 and VA disability letter — to your federal job application. With JustFill you upload the blank SF-15 PDF (Revised October 2013, the only edition OPM accepts), the AI auto-detects every field, you type or dictate your details, and the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge.

Form
SF-15
Issued by
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Country
United States
Free allowance
First clean download
Official edition
Standard Form 15, Revised October 2013 (OMB 3206-0001; the form states all previous editions are unusable, and no expiration date is printed)
Source checked

What is SF-15?

Applying for a federal job with a service-connected disability, or as an eligible family member of a veteran? SF-15 is how you document a 10-point veterans' preference claim so the hiring agency can verify it. JustFill turns the official OPM PDF into a fillable form in your browser — no printing just to fill in your service details. You check one of the five claim blocks — Items 5 to 9: non-compensable disability, Purple Heart or VA disability pension; compensable disability of 10% or more; spouse; widow or widower; mother (OPM files these as the XP, CP and CPS categories) — list the veteran's periods of service, answer the eligibility questions for family-member claims, then attach the proof the back of the form lists — typically the DD-214 or other discharge documentation plus an official letter from the VA or a branch of service, dated 1991 or later, confirming the service-connected disability. Without the documentation, agencies cannot grant the preference.

Download the SF-15 form PDF — free

OPM publishes SF-15 only as a free fillable PDF — "Application for 10-Point Veteran's Preference", Revised October 2013, 2 pages, about 1.2 MB — at opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf. It is the only edition agencies accept ("All other previous editions are unusable"), and no expiration date is printed on it. The PDF has Print, Save and Clear buttons; if the fields refuse to type in your browser's viewer or you only have a scanned copy, upload it to JustFill: the AI detects each field, you type or dictate your details, and the first clean completed PDF download is included at no charge. Send photocopies of your DD-214 and VA letter with it — agencies do not return them.

Get the official SF-15 PDF from U.S. Office of Personnel Management

Who fills out SF-15?

  • Veterans with a service-connected disability, or receiving a VA disability pension, claiming 10-point preference (CP, CPS, or XP)
  • Purple Heart recipients applying for federal jobs
  • Spouses of veterans who cannot work because of a service-connected disability
  • Widows or widowers of certain deceased veterans claiming derived preference
  • Mothers of veterans who died in service or are permanently and totally disabled

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of SF-15 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Applicant information

Item 1, your name, and Item 2, your home address. The October 2013 form has no field for a vacancy announcement or agency — you attach the same SF-15 to each application.

Veteran's service details

Item 3, the veteran's name exactly as it appears on service records, and Item 4, each period of service: branch, date entered active duty, and date separated or released (if applicable). There is no field for a service or file number.

Type of 10-point claim

One of five blocks: Item 5 non-compensable service-connected disability, Purple Heart, or VA disability pension; Item 6 compensable disability of 10% or more or military disability retirement; Item 7 spouse of a living veteran unable to work because of a service-connected disability; Item 8 widow or widower; Item 9 mother of a deceased or permanently and totally disabled veteran. Each block names the documentation letters (A–H) it requires.

Family-member eligibility questions

Questions that establish derived preference for spouses, widows or widowers, and mothers.

Required documentation checklist

The form spells out exactly which proof each claim type needs, such as a DD-214 and a VA disability letter.

Section H — inability-to-work questions (page 2)

Seven questions used only for spouse and mother claims based on the veteran's inability to work: whether the veteran is working now, their occupation before service and at separation, any federal or D.C. government employment, any resignation, disqualification or separation because of the disability, and any civil service annuity number. The October 2013 SF-15 has no signature or date block; you certify your claim through the job application itself.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Submitting SF-15 without the required proof — agencies cannot grant 10-point preference from the form alone.
  • 2Attaching a VA letter that does not meet the form's requirements — it must be an official letter dated 1991 or later confirming the service-connected disability.
  • 3Filing SF-15 for a 5-point claim — 5-point (TP) preference does not use this form; you simply submit your DD-214 with the application.

SF-15 example — what a filled-out form looks like

An Army veteran with a 20% service-connected VA rating applies for a GS-7 federal job and claims 10-point compensable preference (OPM category CP). She attaches the SF-15 to her application with photocopies of her DD-214 and VA rating letter.

Item 1 — Name (Last, First, Middle)

Achterberg, Rosalind Mae

Item 2 — Home address

58 Kestrel Bend Court, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635

The October 2013 form has no field for the vacancy announcement or agency; you attach the same SF-15 to each application.

Item 3 — Veteran's name exactly as it appears on service records

Achterberg, Rosalind Mae

She is the veteran, so Items 1 and 3 match; a spouse, widow or mother would enter the veteran's name here.

Item 4 — Periods of service

U.S. Army — entered active duty 03/12/2009 — separated 07/30/2016

One row per period of active duty, taken from the DD-214.

Items 5–9 — Type of 10-point preference claimed

Item 6 checked (compensable service-connected disability of 10% or more); Items 5, 7, 8 and 9 left blank

A 20% rating is CP; 30% or more would be CPS; under 10%, a Purple Heart or a VA pension would be Item 5 (XP).

Required documentation A — Service and separation

Photocopy of DD-214 (Member 4 copy) showing character of service "Honorable"

Only a branch of service can certify that active duty was under honorable conditions; copies are not returned.

Required documentation C — Compensable disability

Photocopy of VA rating decision letter dated 05/18/2026 showing a 20% service-connected disability, not rated permanent and total

The letter must be dated 1991 or later and state the percentage; the form's Item 6 asks for A and C.

Items 7a, 8a–8b, 9a–9d — Family-member questions

Left blank

These questions apply only to spouse, widow/widower and mother claims.

Section H, questions 1–7 — Inability-to-work questions (page 2)

Left blank

Section H is completed only for a spouse (Item 7) or mother (Item 9) claim that rests on the veteran being unable to work.

Signature and date

None — the October 2013 SF-15 has no signature block

The claim is supported by the attached documents and the certification you make on the job application itself.

These values are made up. They are here to show what belongs on each line, not to be copied — every name, number, and address on your own SF-15 has to be your own.

How JustFill helps you complete SF-15

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. SF-15 is free to download from opm.gov, and JustFill is free to start and includes the first clean completed PDF download; further clean exports use a one-time pack or a plan. There is no fee to claim veterans' preference on a federal job application.
Download the current SF-15 PDF free from opm.gov, then upload it into JustFill to complete every field online without printing.
It depends on the claim type, and the back of the form lists each requirement (letters A to H) — most commonly the DD-214 or other discharge documentation plus an official VA or branch-of-service letter, dated 1991 or later, stating the percentage of the service-connected disability and whether it is rated permanent and total. Still on active duty? A certification letter from your branch stating you are expected to be discharged under honorable conditions within 120 days can stand in for the DD-214 until it is issued. Widow, widower and mother claims add a certified death certificate or DD Form 1300; spouse and mother claims based on the veteran's inability to work add the Section H answers. Send photocopies only — they are not returned.
Veterans with a present service-connected disability or who receive VA compensation, disability retirement or a VA pension — XP if non-compensable or under 10%, CP at 10% to 29%, CPS at 30% or more — and Purple Heart recipients (XP). Derived preference (also XP) goes, in defined circumstances, to the spouse of a veteran who cannot work in their usual occupation because of a service-connected disability, the unremarried widow or widower of a veteran who served in a war, campaign or expedition, and the mother of a veteran who died in service or is permanently and totally disabled. OPM's Vet Guide sets out the exact conditions.
No. 5-point (TP) preference is claimed with your DD-214 alone. SF-15 is only for 10-point claims by disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, and eligible family members.
Yes. OPM's own SF-15 at opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/sf15.pdf is a fillable PDF with Print, Save and Clear buttons, and the October 2013 revision is the only version agencies accept. If the fields do not respond in your browser's PDF viewer, or you were sent a flattened or scanned copy, JustFill detects the fields on any copy so you can type straight into it and download a clean, typed SF-15 to attach to your federal job application.

Official source: SF-15 on U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s website

Edition checked: Standard Form 15, Revised October 2013 (OMB 3206-0001; the form states all previous editions are unusable, and no expiration date is printed). Verified against the official source on .

JustFill is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by U.S. Office of Personnel Management or any government agency. Always verify your completed form on the official version before signing or submitting.