5 U.S.C. § 3346
Section 3346 · Time limitation
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 15 court decisions — leading case SW General, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board (2015)
Most recently applied in Joseph Fortin v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (August 2024)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Except in the case of a vacancy caused by sickness, the person serving as an acting officer as described under section 3345 may serve in the office—
(1) for no longer than 210 days beginning on the date the vacancy occurs; or
(2) subject to subsection (b), once a first or second nomination for the office is submitted to the Senate, from the date of such nomination for the period that the nomination is pending in the Senate.
(b)(1) If the first nomination for the office is rejected by the Senate, withdrawn, or returned to the President by the Senate, the person may continue to serve as the acting officer for no more than 210 days after the date of such rejection, withdrawal, or return.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), if a second nomination for the office is submitted to the Senate after the rejection, withdrawal, or return of the first nomination, the person serving as the acting officer may continue to serve—
(A) until the second nomination is confirmed; or
(B) for no more than 210 days after the second nomination is rejected, withdrawn, or returned.
(c) If a vacancy occurs during an adjournment of the Congress sine die, the 210-day period under subsection (a) shall begin on the date that the Senate first reconvenes.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Prior Provisions
A prior section 3346, Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 426, provided for details to subordinate offices, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 105–277, div. C, title I, §151(b), (d)(1), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–611, 2681–616, effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1998. See section 3345 of this title.
Effective Date
Section effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1998, and applicable to any office that becomes vacant after such effective date, with certain exceptions, see section 151(d) of Pub. L. 105–277, set out as a note under section 3345 of this title.
Cross References
Additional pay prohibited for officer performing duties of vacant office as authorized by this section, see section 5535 of this title.