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LEO pay scale 2026: GS, GL and the special rates
Grade, step, and which of three tables you are paid from. Most federal officers and agents are paid on the General Schedule, but not from the same table as the rest of the government — and in 2026 many of them moved onto special rates on top of that. Every figure here is OPM’s or the agency’s own.
GS vs GL vs the 2026 special rates
A federal job is advertised at a grade — GS-7, say, or GL-7. The letters tell you which table pays it. GS is the ordinary General Schedule. GL is OPM’s “Special Base Rates for Law Enforcement Officers at Grades 3 to 10”, higher at the bottom of the scale, where officers are hired. And for 2026 OPM added special rates for named law enforcement jobs: “the 1-percent across-the-board pay increase … plus an additional pay increase of approximately 2.8 percent, for a 3.8-percent total pay increase.”
| Step 1, 2026 | GS base | GL base (LEO) | Special rate, GL posts | Special rate, GS posts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | $34,799 | $42,919 | $51,632 | $41,863 |
| Grade 7 | $43,106 | $48,854 | $58,771 | $51,857 |
| Grade 9 | $52,727 | $54,485 | $65,545 | $63,431 |
| Grade 11 | $63,795 | — | $76,745 | $76,745 |
Both special-rate columns are for the Rest of U.S. locality area and already include its 20.30% supplement, so they take the place of locality pay rather than sitting under it. OPM publishes one pair per area: table L046 for posts that meet the federal definition of a law enforcement officer, which are the ones advertised as GL, and table L105 for covered posts that do not, advertised as GS. San Antonio’s LEO table (L055) starts grade 5 at $52,391 and Alaska’s (L001) at $58,383. GL stops at grade 10, so from grade 11 up the two columns meet.
Starting grade by agency: ICE, CBP, Border Patrol, BOP, DEA, FBI
| Job | Series | Hired at | Shifts? | 2026 special rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE deportation officer | 1801 | GL-5 or GL-7 | Irregular overtime (AUO), up to 25% | Covered |
| CBP officer | 1895 | GS-5 or GS-7; GS-9 with law enforcement experience | “May include rotating shifts” | Covered |
| Border Patrol agent | 1896 | GL-5 or GL-7 | “May include rotating shifts” | Covered |
| Bureau of Prisons correctional officer | 0007 | GL-5; GL-6 or GL-7 with experience | “Unusual shifts, Sundays, holidays” | Covered |
| VA police officer | 0083 | GS-6 | “Rotating shifts based on the needs of Police Services” | Not covered |
| DEA special agent | 1811 | “generally hired at the GS-7 or GS-9 level” | Availability pay instead | Covered |
| ICE HSI special agent | 1811 | GL-7 or GL-9 | Availability pay instead | Covered |
| FBI special agent | 1811 | GL-10; GL-9 for some | Availability pay instead | Covered |
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Working rotating shifts at CBP, Border Patrol or a federal prison? Save the rotation once and BlueShifts fills the year, nights marked apart.
Agents get availability pay instead of a rotation
Criminal investigators — the 1811 series, which is DEA, HSI and FBI agents — are expected to be available around the clock rather than to work a fixed roster. They are paid for it: DEA puts it as “25% Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) will be added to your base and locality pay.” Uniformed officers and agents on rotating shifts earn night, Sunday and holiday premium instead — how those work.
How steps work
Each grade has ten steps. OPM sets the wait: 52 weeks for each step from 1 to 4, 104 weeks for each step from 4 to 7, and 156 weeks for each step from 7 to 10 — ten steps take eighteen years — provided your last rating is at least “Fully Successful”. Promotion to the next grade is separate, and in these jobs it comes on a ladder the posting states — the CBP officer announcement, for one, gives a promotion potential of GS-12.
Questions
What is the LEO pay scale for 2026?
It is OPM's Salary Table 2026-GL, "Special Base Rates for Law Enforcement Officers at Grades 3 to 10", with the 1% General Schedule increase. GL-5 step 1 is $42,919, GL-7 is $48,854 and GL-9 is $54,485 before locality pay. Many federal law enforcement posts are paid from 2026 special rate tables above that.
What is the 3.8% special rate for federal law enforcement?
OPM memo CPM 2025-25 gave named law enforcement posts "the 1-percent across-the-board pay increase authorized by the President, plus an additional pay increase of approximately 2.8 percent, for a 3.8-percent total pay increase", effective January 11, 2026, through special rate tables L001 to L133.
What is the difference between GS and GL?
GL is the law enforcement version of the General Schedule for grades 3 to 10, with higher rates at each step. A job advertised as GL is paid from it; a job advertised as GS is paid from the ordinary table. From grade 11 up there is only GS.
What grade does CBP hire officers at?
CBP officer announcements list GS-5 and GS-7, with GS-9 open to applicants with law enforcement experience, and a promotion potential of GS-12.
Do Border Patrol agents get availability pay?
No. Border Patrol agents are paid overtime under their own law instead: "A fully trained Border Patrol Agent may be eligible for an additional 25% of base pay in accordance with the BPA Pay Reform Act of 2014."
How long does it take to reach step 10?
Eighteen years at acceptable performance: 52 weeks for each step from 1 to 4, 104 weeks for each from 4 to 7, and 156 weeks for each from 7 to 10.
Where this comes fromOPM Salary Tables 2026-GS and 2026-GL; OPM special rate tables L001, L046, L055 and L105; OPM fact sheet on within-grade increases; OPM memo CPM 2025-25 of 31 December 2025, “2026 Special Rates for Certain Law Enforcement Personnel”, and its follow-up for additional personnel; each agency’s own announcement on USAJOBS or its own careers page. Checked 23 September 2026.
Rotating shifts on a federal badge
CBP, Border Patrol, a federal prison or a VA police post: save the rotation once and BlueShifts fills the year, nights marked apart.
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