DETO: Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas Explained

What Is a DETO?

A Domestic Employee Teleworking Overseas (DETO) is a U.S. Government direct-hire employee or U.S.-based Personal Services Contractor (PSC) who is assigned to a domestic position and approved to telework from an overseas location for a limited period of time. Although the employee is not assigned or detailed to the overseas location, the DETO's duty station is temporarily changed to reflect the overseas alternate worksite for the duration of the arrangement. (3 FAM 2371.2)

A DETO arrangement is not an employee entitlement. It is a limited-duration workplace flexibility option that the Department may consider to allow eligible employees to accomplish the duties of their domestic position from a foreign country. (3 FAM 2371.3)

A DETO is distinct from a Limited Noncareer Appointment (LNA) or a Hard-to-Fill arrangement. There is no authority to permit a U.S. Government employee to telework from an overseas location without a DETO arrangement. (OPM Fact Sheet)

The Sponsoring Employee Requirement

The State Department permits only Sponsored DETOs — employees who are on the U.S. Government orders of a sponsoring employee assigned overseas. Independent DETO arrangements (where the employee is not on the orders of a U.S. Government-employed spouse assigned abroad) are prohibited for State Department employees. (3 FAM 2371.2)

A sponsoring employee is either:

• A Direct-Hire Foreign Service or a Direct-Hire Civil Service employee who is or will be assigned (not TDY) to a U.S. mission abroad under Chief of Mission (COM) authority or an office of the American Institute in Taiwan; or
• A DoD employee or uniformed service member who is or will be assigned (not TDY) to a military base or U.S. mission abroad. (3 FAM 2371.2)

The duration of a DETO arrangement may not exceed the initial overseas assignment duration of the sponsoring employee. (3 FAM 2371.6)

Who Is Eligible

Foreign Service and Civil Service employees eligible for DETO agreements include (3 FAM 2371.3):

• Tenured Foreign Service Officers assigned to domestic positions
• Full and part-time Civil Service employees and employees on Job Share arrangements
• Reemployed Annuitants (REA) with valid and active contracts
• Employees with supervisory duties
• U.S.-based Personal Services Contractors (PSCs)

Employees ineligible for DETO agreements include (3 FAM 2371.3):

• Foreign Service Officers on Y Tours
• Political Appointees and personnel on Schedule C Appointments
• Employees whose duties include reporting on or playing any substantive role in the policy or administrative issues pertaining to the country from which the DETO would telework

DETO arrangements are prohibited at posts that are unaccompanied or partially unaccompanied, or where an authorized or ordered departure is in effect. (3 FAM 2371.3)

Pay

Foreign Service Employees

Foreign Service employees working on DETO arrangements are paid based on the overseas Foreign Service pay scale, which already includes Overseas Comparability Pay (OCP). No separate locality pay calculation is required. (3 FAM 2371.13)

Virtual locality pay is applicable for Foreign Service employees at FS-01 and below on a DETO arrangement, but only for retirement purposes. (3 FAM 2371.13)

Civil Service Employees

Civil Service DETO employees are eligible for location-based comparability pay under Section 9717 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117-263). Under this authority, the Civil Service DETO receives the lesser of:

• The locality pay the employee would have received at their domestic duty station had they not moved overseas as a DETO; or
• The current rate of Overseas Comparability Pay (OCP) paid to eligible Foreign Service employees working overseas (22.62% of base pay in 2025 and 2026). (3 FAM 2371.13; OPM Fact Sheet)

In practice, this means a Civil Service DETO stationed at a high-locality domestic duty station (e.g., New York, San Francisco) will receive the OCP rate of 22.62% rather than their domestic locality rate, because 22.62% is the lesser amount. A Civil Service DETO from a lower-locality domestic area may receive their home locality rate if it is lower than 22.62%. Each agency is responsible for determining and applying the correct rate. (OPM Fact Sheet)

DETO locality pay for Civil Service employees is treated as basic pay for the same purposes as title 5 locality pay — including retirement and life insurance calculations. (OPM Fact Sheet)

Holidays

DETOs are entitled only to U.S. holidays. They are expected to work during regular duty hours, or use leave (annual leave, leave without pay) or previously earned credit hours or compensatory time off, on local holidays of the receiving state and during U.S. Government office closures. DETOs are not entitled to premium pay or compensatory time when working on a local holiday. (3 FAM 2371.13)

Allowances: What DETOs Do Not Receive

In accordance with the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR) and 3 FAM 2371.14:

• DETOs are not eligible to receive allowances under the DSSR in their own right. This means a DETO does not receive Post Allowance (COLA), hardship differential, or danger pay in their own right.
• The sponsoring employee of the DETO may be eligible for such allowances at a level of payment that accounts for the DETO's presence in country when those allowances are based on family size.

This is a common source of confusion: the DETO's salary is paid on the domestic or overseas pay scale, but the overseas post allowances (COLA, hardship, danger pay) belong entirely to the sponsoring employee's compensation package, not the DETO's.

Official Status Overseas

DETOs are included on the sponsoring employee's permanent-change-of-station (PCS) orders, which authorizes U.S. Government-funded travel and relocation benefits consistent with those normally provided to an Eligible Family Member (EFM) at the relevant post. (3 FAM 2371.7)

DETOs are reported to the government of the receiving state as the spouse or domestic partner of an accredited diplomatic agent or other member of the mission's staff, as appropriate, and derive applicable privileges and immunities accordingly. (3 FAM 2371.7)

If the DETO meets relevant eligibility criteria, they may receive benefits normally afforded to EFMs who are not employed in a local position at post. These may include (3 FAM 2371.7):

• Access to the Department's medical program, including evacuation coverage
• Pouch and mail facilities, including APO/FPO
• Rest and Recuperation (R&R) travel
• Home leave travel
• Emergency Visitation Travel (EVT)
• Community Liaison Office (CLO) services

DETOs are subject to Chief of Mission authority at their overseas worksite and must comply with all applicable Overseas Security Policy Board (OSPB) standards. They will not be included in the post's staffing pattern or considered part of the post's regular staffing complement. (3 FAM 2371.7; 3 FAM 2371.8)

Home Leave and R&R Travel

DETOs derive home leave travel and R&R travel benefits from their sponsoring employee (spouse or domestic partner). A Foreign Service DETO does not accrue home leave during the DETO assignment and may not charge home leave travel to their own home leave account. (3 FAM 2371.18)

Leave options generally available for home leave travel and R&R travel are annual leave and leave without pay, coordinated with the DETO's home bureau. DETOs may also use previously earned credit hours or compensatory time off. (3 FAM 2371.18)

Eight-Year Domestic Assignment Rule (FS Tandems)

For Foreign Service employees, time spent on a DETO arrangement counts as overseas service for the purposes of the eight-year limit on continuous domestic service. Waivers of this rule require approval from the Director General. (3 FAM 2371.17)

Workers' Compensation

The DETO may be eligible for Workers' Compensation benefits for disability or death resulting from injury sustained in the performance of duty under the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP), when qualifying criteria are met under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). (3 FAM 2371.16)

The Approval Process

A DETO arrangement cannot begin until all required official approvals have been obtained. The process outlined in 3 FAM 2371.4 includes:

1. Employee obtains approval from supervisor.
2. Employee obtains approval from the employing bureau Executive Director.
3. In conjunction with the supervisor and bureau HR Specialist/Telework Coordinator, the employee prepares a draft DETO Agreement.
4. The DETO Agreement is reviewed and signed in sequence by: the employee, the supervisor, the employing bureau Executive Director, the host bureau Executive Director (if different), and the post Management Counselor or designated post management official.
5. For Foreign Service personnel: the employing bureau submits the completed package to GTM/CDA for review and approval.
6. Chief of Mission approval is required via NSDD 38 (for arrangements of 365 days or more) or eCountry Clearance (for arrangements lasting fewer than 365 days).

The DETO arrangement cannot begin until all required approvals — including COM approval via NSDD 38 or eCC — are in place. (3 FAM 2371.4; 3 FAM 2371.5)

Common Misunderstandings

Primary Sources

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