Level of performance required for quality step increase.
5 C.F.R. § 531.504
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01A quality step increase shall not be required but may be granted only to—
(a) An employee who receives a rating of record at Level 5 (“Outstanding” or equivalent), as defined in part 430, subpart B, of this chapter; or
(b) An employee who, when covered by a performance appraisal program that does not use a Level 5 summary—
(1) Receives a rating of record at the highest summary level used by the program; and
(2) Demonstrates sustained performance of high quality significantly above that expected at the “Fully Successful” level in the type of position concerned, as determined under performance-related criteria established by the agency.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-5.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026
