Governmentwide NDA for Federal Employees Proposed

The Office of Personnel Management is seeking public comment on a draft governmentwide nondisclosure agreement for federal employees, a proposal that would standardize how agencies document employee obligations to protect nonpublic, confidential and proprietary government information.

The notice, scheduled for publication May 27, asks for comments within 30 days on a draft “Confidential Government Information Nondisclosure Agreement” for use by federal agencies with new and existing employees. OPM said the form would document employees’ acknowledgment of existing legal duties to safeguard confidential government information while preserving rights to make disclosures authorized by law, including protected whistleblower disclosures. 

OPM said the agreement is intended to cover “all non-public, confidential, or proprietary information,” including information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, and sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law. 

The agency framed the proposal as a response to recent unauthorized disclosures, including leaks of internal rulemaking and policy-development materials, alleged disclosures concerning immigration enforcement actions, and disclosure of personal information about ICE employees. OPM also cited the Supreme Court’s use of nondisclosure agreements after the leak of the draft Dobbs opinion. 

The notice follows President Trump’s February 2025 executive order on the “Department of Government Efficiency” workforce optimization initiative, which directed OPM to revise suitability regulations to address integrity-related conduct, including refusal to certify compliance with nondisclosure obligations. OPM published a related suitability and fitness proposed rule in June 2025. 

OPM emphasized that the draft NDA would not create new substantive speech restrictions, displace other NDAs, or override lawful disclosure rights. Instead, it would provide a standardized certification that employees understand existing nondisclosure requirements. The form is expected to be optional for agencies, but agencies that use it would administer it during onboarding and to current employees. New vacancy announcements would disclose any signing requirement. 

The signed form would become part of an employee’s Electronic Official Personnel Folder, which follows federal civilian employees across agencies. OPM said it does not plan to amend the OPM/GOVT-1 system of records notice to accommodate the NDA. 

OPM specifically requested comments on the scope of covered information, whether the agreement should apply only to unclassified information, whether the form adequately explains what may not be disclosed, what agencies should do if current or new employees refuse to sign, and whether the form clearly communicates whether signing is voluntary or mandatory. OPM said it plans to submit the final form to the General Services Administration for designation as a GSA form.