• Promotion Information

  Commissioned Officer’s Effectiveness Report (COER)

  COERs are used by Promotion Boards to evaluate and score Precept 1: Performance. Therefore, the importance of having all required Annual COERs on file for at least the last 5 years (as applicable) cannot be overstated. All officers are strongly recommended to ensure that the most recent COER is on file, even if an Annual COER was not required. For temporary grade promotion, officers must have all required Annual COERs on file in the eOPF for the last 5 years (as applicable). For permanent grade promotion, the most recent COER must be on file and satisfactory. For non-competitive promotion, all required Annual COERs must be on file, the current COER must have an overall score of (S) satisfactory.

  The COER is located in the COER section of the eOPF. ALL officers (regardless of date of entry onto active duty) who are eligible for competitive promotion are strongly recommended to have a recent Annual or Paper COER (as applicable) in their eOPF. An Annual COER is defined as a COER which covers an evaluation period starting prior to July 1 and ending September 30 (in some circumstances a paper version of the COER may be used for this COER). A Paper version Transfer COER covering an evaluation period ending after June 30 but before October 1 will automatically stand as the officer’s Annual COER.

  The Annual COER may be a Detailed or Narrative COER. A Detailed COER evaluation is required when the rater has supervised the officer for 6 months or longer.

  The Narrative COER evaluation is used when the Rater has supervised the officer for less than 6 months and the Rater feels unqualified to perform the Detailed COER.

  A Paper Interim COER may be completed if the officer was called to duty after July 1 of the current COER year so the Promotion Boards will have a means of assessing recent performance. This Paper Interim COER may be a detailed or narrative COER based on the length of time the officer was supervised.

  All Paper COERs must be processed through the HHS OPDIV/STAFFDIV or non-HHS organization channels and Commissioned Corps Agency Liaisons who will send to DCCPR. COERs must be received no later than the deadline on the Promotion checklist to ensure availability for the Promotion Boards. Documentation will NOT be accepted directly from officers or through the eDOC-U upload system.

  It is the officer’s responsibility to ensure that all required COERs are on file in his/her eOPF. Officers are encouraged to access their latest COER in the eOPF and review each page to ensure that the document has been satisfactorily archived. Officers should also ensure that COERs from the last 5 years (as applicable) are on file in their eOPF. For temporary grade promotion, missing COERs within the last 5 years will result in not being promoted regardless of score and ranking, and may affect the ability to receive awards or special pays. For all types of promotion, failure to have the required annual COERs on file will result in removal from the promotion pool at the end of the Promotion Board review, regardless of score and ranking.

  Promotion-related questions about the COER may be directed to OSPHSPromotions@hhs.gov.

  For further guidance regarding the COER, contact your Commissioned Corps Liaison.

  If you do not find the answers to your questions on this website, please send an e-mail to: PHSPromotions@hhs.gov.

  Promotion Instructions are available on the Commissioned Corps Issuance System (CCIS).

  • Select "Commissioned Corps Issuance System" from the link bar at the top of this page.
  • Click on "Table of Contents."
  • Click on the "+" next to "Book 3: Personnel Management."
  • Click on Chapter 3: Promotions and Reductions.
  • Click the "+" next to the topic of interest related to promotions. The section title will turn blue.
  • Double click the blue section title and refer to the policy governing this process.
• USER ASSISTANCE

  Please check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) . FAQs are located at the top of the page next to the search function.

  Having Access Issues or Need IT Help? Please contact the Commissioned Corps Helpdesk at: CCHelpDesk@hhs.gov

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  Promotion Year 2019 Document Processing

  The Promotion Year 2019 document submission deadline was December 31, 2018. The ability to upload promotion-related documents is disabled in the electronic Document Upload (eDOC-U) until May...

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  New Readiness Compliance POM
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  A new Readiness Compliance Personnel Operations Memorandum (POM 821.69) for U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers is now available...

Protecting, Promoting and Advancing the Health and Safety of Our Nation. Division of Commissioned Corps Personnel and Readiness
1101 Wootton Parkway, Plaza Level, Suite 100
Rockville, MD. 20852
240-453-6000

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