A secondary employment request form is the document a federal employee (and many state, local, and military employees) must submit to get written approval before starting any outside job, freelance work, or business activity. The specific form depends on your agency: the Department of the Air Force uses DAF Form 3902, the Department of Health and Human Services uses HHS Form 520, and other agencies have their own versions. The information requested and the review that follows are substantially the same across them. You cannot begin the outside work until the form comes back approved.
What the Form Asks You to Provide
The fields on the form exist so your supervisor and your ethics office can judge two things: whether the outside work will interfere with your government duties, and whether it creates a conflict of interest. Vague answers slow the review or get the form returned.
Expect to supply:
- The secondary employer’s legal name, physical address, and a phone number for verification.
- Your job title and a real description of the duties — the tasks, not just the label. Match what the outside employer told you about the role.
- Your work schedule: days, hours per week, and how long the job is expected to last. Reviewers check this against your primary duty hours.
- Whether the outside employer does business with your agency. The DAF Form 3902 asks directly whether the employer is a Department of Defense contractor. A “yes” triggers a deeper conflict-of-interest look.1Ellsworth Air Force Base. Application and Approval for Off-Duty Employment
- Conflict-of-interest certifications. Many forms include a checklist where you certify the outside work will not use government resources, will not involve your official title, and will not place you in a position incompatible with your current role.
Some forms ask for your hourly rate or expected pay. Even where the form does not, your ethics counselor may request it to evaluate financial conflicts.
If You’re Starting Your Own Business
Self-employment counts. Freelance work, consulting, or any solo venture still requires the form. List your business name as the secondary employer, use your own contact information, and describe the services and schedule the same way you would for a traditional second job.2State of Nevada Purchasing Division. Secondary Employment Disclosure If any of your clients or contracts involve a government agency, name them specifically. Those will get extra attention.
Conflicts That Will Get the Request Denied
The approval decision is not discretionary in the way a scheduling question might be. Ethics counselors apply specific regulations, and knowing them before you submit lets you avoid wasting the request on something that cannot be approved.
The Core Conflict Rule
Under 5 C.F.R. § 2635.802, a federal employee cannot engage in outside work that conflicts with official duties.3eCFR. 5 CFR 2635.802 – Conflicting Outside Employment and Activities A conflict exists where a statute or supplemental agency regulation prohibits the activity, or where the outside work would force you to recuse yourself from matters so central to your federal job that you could no longer perform it. A separate regulation, 5 C.F.R. § 2635.803, authorizes agencies to require the prior written approval the form is built around.4eCFR. 5 CFR 2635.803 – Prior Approval for Outside Employment and Activities
Financial Conflicts
Under 18 U.S.C. § 208, a federal employee who personally and substantially participates in a government matter affecting the financial interests of an outside employer (or their own stake in that employer) faces criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 216, including prison time and civil penalties.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 216 – Penalties and Injunctions This is the main reason agencies deny requests involving contractors or vendors that do business with them.
Representing Others Before the Government
18 U.S.C. § 205 bars you from acting as an agent or attorney for someone else in a matter where the federal government is a party or has a direct interest.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 205 – Activities of Officers and Employees in Claims Against and Other Matters Affecting the Government If the proposed side work looks like lobbying, legal representation, or advocacy before a federal agency, expect a denial.
Government Resources and Information
Ethics standards prohibit using official time, government equipment, or nonpublic government information for any outside venture.7Office of Government Ethics. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch Information you only know because of your government role counts.
Using Your Government Title in Outside Work
5 C.F.R. § 2635.702 prohibits using your government position in a way that could reasonably suggest agency endorsement of a private activity.8eCFR. 5 CFR 2635.702 – Use of Public Office for Private Gain Putting “Senior Analyst, Department of Energy” on a freelance consulting website would violate the rule.
Narrow exceptions exist. When teaching, speaking, or writing in a personal capacity, you may list your title as one biographical detail among others, but it cannot be more prominent than the rest. For board service and similar roles, you may use the title only with a prominent disclaimer that you are serving personally, not for the government.9NIH Ethics Program. Use of Official Government Title in Activities with Outside Organizations Think through the title question before you submit the form if the outside work is public-facing.
Political Side Work and the Hatch Act
Hatch Act restrictions on partisan political activity do not pause when you clock out of your federal job, and they apply to secondary employment too.10U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Hatch Act FAQs Most federal employees cannot run for partisan office or use social media for political activity while on duty or in the workplace. Employees in “further restricted” positions, including career Senior Executive Service members, administrative law judges, and employees of agencies such as the FBI and the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, face tighter limits that reach into off-duty activity.11U.S. Department of Justice. Political Activity and The Hatch Act If the side work is campaign consulting, political organizing, or managing a politically active account, clear it with your ethics counselor before filing.
Submitting the Form and the Approval Chain
Approval typically moves through three levels. The DAF Form 3902 process is representative:1Ellsworth Air Force Base. Application and Approval for Off-Duty Employment
- Your immediate supervisor reviews first, focused on whether the schedule and workload are compatible with your primary duties, and recommends approval or disapproval.
- A legal or ethics counselor evaluates the request against the conflict-of-interest statutes and the agency’s own regulations. Financial conflicts, representational issues, and contractor relationships surface here.
- The approving authority (usually a unit commander, division director, or equivalent) makes the final call.
Many agencies now route the form through an internal electronic ethics system rather than on paper, so check whether your organization requires an upload. Hanscom Air Force Base recommends starting the process at least two weeks before the planned start date.12Hanscom Air Force Base. Federal Employees Seeking Off-Duty Employment Need Approval Timelines vary. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics requires a decision within seven calendar days of receiving a complete application.13eCFR. 5 CFR 8001.102 – Prior Approval for Outside Employment Elsewhere, one to four weeks is a reasonable expectation depending on the complexity.
A denial should spell out the specific regulatory basis. Do not start the outside work until approval is in writing. Starting early exposes you to discipline for unauthorized outside employment.
Keeping the Approval Current
Approval is not permanent. Most agencies require annual renewal, and certain changes during the year require you to update your approval immediately.
HHS, for example, requires employees to file an annual outside activity report by February 28 covering all outside work during the previous calendar year. The employee indicates whether the activity will continue, and material changes (a new government position, changes to federal duties, or changes to the nature of the outside work) require a fresh approval form.14Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Report of Outside Activity (HHS-521)
Outside the annual cycle, tell your supervisor promptly if your outside hours increase, the duties change, the secondary employer takes on a government contract, or you move to a new position within your agency. Any of those can turn a clean arrangement into one that needs a new review.
Tax Withholding With Two Jobs
A second job creates a withholding problem many people miss. Each employer withholds federal income tax as if their paycheck is your only income, so the total withheld across both jobs is usually too low. The shortfall shows up as tax owed at filing, sometimes a large amount.
The fix is updating Form W-4. Step 2 is built for multiple jobs, and the IRS offers three ways to handle it:15Internal Revenue Service. Form W-4 – Employee’s Withholding Certificate
- The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator at irs.gov/W4App gives the most precise result, especially if the side work is self-employment.
- The Multiple Jobs Worksheet on page 3 of the W-4 walks through the math. Enter the result in Step 4(c).
- If you have exactly two jobs and the lower-paying one earns more than half what the higher-paying one does, check the Step 2(c) box on both W-4s.
Whichever method you pick, complete Steps 3 through 4(b) only on the W-4 for your highest-paying job. Leave those sections blank on the second job’s form.
If the second job is self-employment, you also owe self-employment tax: 15.3 percent of net earnings, combining Social Security and Medicare. The Social Security portion (12.4 percent) applies only up to $184,500 in combined wages and self-employment income for 2026.16Social Security Administration. Contribution and Benefit Base If your federal wages already exceed that cap, no Social Security tax applies to the side income, though the 2.9 percent Medicare portion has no cap.