Everything You Need To Know About New Dates And Restrictions

It doesn’t end July 15. The federal hiring freeze that has stretched six months is now the official 2025 hiring freeze. The new end date and hiring updates are below.

The Trump administration has made clear its goal to shrink the size of the federal government (in terms of both personnel and agencies). The hiring freeze is one part of a larger set of actions that the administration has implemented to accomplishing this goal.

The new (and latest) hiring freeze end date.

The hiring freeze was first instituted in January for 90 days. In April, it was extended another 90 days with an end date of July 15. Then, earlier this month, the administration extended it an additional 90 days. The new end date for the hiring freeze is now October 15, 2025.

When the hiring freeze first took effect, three directors were ordered to “collaborate, prepare and submit” a merit hiring plan to reduce the size of the federal workforce, among other things. This effort was to be led by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) director and the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The merit hiring plan has been prepared and is currently being implemented. Of note is that even after the hiring freeze ends in October, new hiring restrictions will be in place to intentionally slow down federal hiring.

If you are a federal employee or want to become one, you likely aren’t happy that the freeze has been extended—yet again. Surely, if you’ve been trying to secure a job this year within federal government, you wish there had never been a hiring freeze in the first place.

Here are some important documents you can review to gain a deeper understanding.

Three different presidential notices on the hiring freeze.

1. The first notice came in the form of an executive order. It’s entitled “Hiring Freeze” and was issued on January 20, 2025.

Key Message:

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees, to be applied throughout the executive branch. As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law.”

Key Exceptions:

The order explicitly exempts military, immigration enforcement, national security and public safety personnel from the hiring freeze mandate. It also emphasizes that the hiring freeze must be implemented so as to ensure there is no negative impact to “Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits.”

2. The second communication on the hiring freeze came in a presidential memorandum entitled “Extension of the Hiring Freeze.” It was issued April 17, 2025.

Key Message:

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby extend through July 15, 2025, the freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees within the executive branch, as initially directed in the Presidential Memorandum of January 20, 2025 (Hiring Freeze). No Federal civilian position that is presently vacant may be filled, and no new position may be created, except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or required by applicable law.

Key Exceptions:

As with the original executive order, this memorandum explicitly exempts military, immigration enforcement, national security and public safety personnel from the hiring freeze and requires that there be no negative impact to “Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits.”

3. The third (and latest) hiring freeze update is dated July 7, 2025, and is entitled “Ensuring Accountability and Prioritizing Public Safety in Federal Hiring.”

Key Message:

“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, the following policy shall govern the hiring of Federal civilian employees within the Executive Branch through October 15, 2025: no Federal civilian position that is presently vacant may be filled, and no new position may be created, except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or required by applicable law. In addition, any hiring shall be consistent with the Merit Hiring Plan that was issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on May 29, 2025, pursuant to Executive Order 14170 of January 20, 2025 (Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service).”

Key Exceptions:

In addition to ordering exemptions for military, immigration, national security and public safety personnel, this memorandum adds that the “Executive Office of the President or components thereof” are also exempted from the hiring freeze.

As with the first two hiring freeze notices, this third one also requires that there be no negative impact to “Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits.”

In all instances, the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is authorized to make additional hiring-freeze exemptions as he deems necessary. Scott Kupor was recently confirmed by the Senate as the new OPM director. Before his confirmation, Rob Shriver served as acting director for the office.

A memorandum providing civilian hiring freeze guidance.

This memo is designed to explain and clarify the hiring freeze order from January 2025. It details who is covered under and exempted from the hiring freeze and what steps departments should take to request and receive exemption approvals.

A fact sheet on the hiring freeze and hiring restrictions.

This document basically explains the hiring freeze: why it was put in place and why it has been extended. It informs that federal hiring must align with the merit hiring plan and that

“Upon expiration of the hiring freeze and implementation of the hiring plan, agencies will be able to hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service (with appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and public safety exceptions).

Beyond the hiring freeze: the merit hiring plan.

The Trump administration has made big changes to the federal workforce, and these changes go far beyond the hiring freeze. The merit hiring plan provides really good insight into the new hiring process that the federal government is implementing.

This document outlines merit hiring plan that government hiring managers and leaders must implement in regards to hiring, recruitment and workforce reform.

It’s the plan that outlines how agencies need to proceed with meeting reduced time-to-hire goals and outlines what to prioritize related to recruiting, reviewing, ranking and assessing job candidates and making hiring decisions.

Again, if you are a federal employee or want to become one, the ongoing hiring freeze is likely causing you some frustration. To keep yourself up-to-speed about what is happening with the hiring freeze and why these things are happening, I recommend you review the listing of official documents detailed above.

By doing this, you know you’ll be getting the most accurate information available.

Recommended reading:

Veterans Affairs Confirms 29,000 Jobs Will Be Eliminated By September 30

How Long Will The Federal Hiring Freeze Last? Implications For Government Employees

Can Trump Dissolve USAID? 10,000 Jobs Hang In The Balance