Merged Folders in eOPF

Federal agencies follow specific rules for establishing and maintaining Official Personnel Folders (OPFs). While many agencies fall under the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) personnel folder recordkeeping authority, several do not. Understanding how these records are managed - especially when an employee moves between participating and non-participating agencies - is essential for proper record-keeping within the Electronic Official Personnel Folder (eOPF) system.

Certain agencies are not subject to OPM’s OPF recordkeeping authority such as the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). These entities maintain their own personnel recordkeeping authority, establishing and preserving personnel folders independently from OPM’s standards.

What are Merged Folders?

Agencies that are subject to OPM’s recordkeeping authority must maintain a single personnel folder for an employee’s entire Federal employment history. This folder may include:

1. Records created by agencies under OPM authority
2. Records originating from agencies outside OPM authority

When personnel records from outside OPM’s authority are combined into the employee’s eOPF, the resulting folder is referred to as a “jointly-owned personnel folder”, labeled in eOPF as a Merged Folder.

OPM maintains formal recordkeeping agreements with agencies that have their own independent authority. These agreements outline the responsibilities of agencies that maintain jointly-owned personnel folders. More information is available in Chapter 5 of the Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping.

Merged folders are created when an employee transitions from a non-participating eOPF agency to a participating eOPF agency. The process occurs as follows:

1. The non-participating agency transfers or sends the employee’s personnel records to the gaining agency.
2. The gaining, eOPF-participating agency receives the digital or physical records from the losing nonparticipating agency in eOPF. 
3. In cases where the gaining agency receives physical records, they scan, upload, and index all eligible documents into the employee’s eOPF.
4. The gaining agency updates the employee’s Folder Type in eOPF to Merged.

Updating Employee Folder Type

To update an employee's folder type to Merged, perform the following steps in eOPF:

1. Navigate to the employee's profile and click Edit. You will see their folder type under "User Profile". 

2. Click the "Folder Type" dropdown and select Merged. 

3. Click Save to finalize the change.