Requesting Reasonable Accommodations

The Department of State provides reasonable accommodation to qualified candidates with disabilities, unless doing would cause an undue hardship to the Agency. The Department of State also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified candidates on account of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, absent undue hardship.

Foreign Service testing is administered by two different entities, Pearson VUE and the Department of State, with separate procedures. All candidates must request reasonable accommodations in advance and reasonable accommodations do not transfer between the two entities.

Candidates who experience problems with the delivery of a reasonable accommodation should reach out to the Office of Accessibility and Accommodations (OAA) at OAA@state.gov no later than 5 business days after their assessment.

Pearson VUE:

Common tests administered by Pearson VUE include the CFPT, for Consular Fellows, the OMST, for Office Management Specialists, the DTOT, for Diplomatic Technology Officers, and the FSOT, Foreign Service Officer Test as well as the skills tests and/or Case Management Exercises for most other Foreign Service specialties.

Accommodation requests, once approved, are valid for one year for any Department of State test administered by Pearson VUE. It is possible to begin the reasonable accommodation process prior to registering for the test.

To request a new accommodation with Pearson VUE, visit https://home.pearsonvue.com/test-taker/Test-accommodations.aspx before scheduling your exam. You will be asked to choose your exam program.

Foreign Service Specialist candidates will select “Foreign Service Specialist Appointment Selection (FSSAS)” and Foreign Service Generalist candidates will select “Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT)” or “Foreign Service Officer Assessment (FSOA) or Case Management Exercise (CME)” as appropriate.

To transfer a previously approved Pearson VUE accommodation, call Pearson VUE Accommodations at 1-800-466-0450 from 8am to 8pm EST, Monday-Friday, to schedule your exam date. Candidates with a current, approved accommodation request registered in the Pearson VUE Accommodations portal (such as submitted for the FSOT) do not need to submit a new application.

Department of State:

Common tests administered by the Department of State include the FSSA (Foreign Service Specialist Assessment – Structured Interview), and the FSOA (Foreign Service Officer Assessment – Structured Interview and Group Exercise).

All candidates requiring accommodation must make a new request, including those with previously approved accommodations from the Office of Accessibility and Accommodation or Pearson VUE.

Accommodation requests must be made at least six weeks before your scheduled assessment. Email the Office of Accessibility and Accommodation at OAA@state.gov and provide them with your contact information, a brief description of your disability, and the accommodation requested.

OAA will contact you within five business days and will work with the Department of State Board of Examiners to ensure the accommodation, if it is deemed reasonable, is in place for your assessment.

Please ensure your email to OAA@state.gov has a subject line that reads “Reasonable Accommodation Request for FSSA (or FSOA, as appropriate) – Your name.”

Candidates who do not receive a response from OAA within 10 business days should follow-up on their request with OAA via email.

If you do not receive an approved accommodation at least five business days before your assessment date, you may be required to reschedule.

FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICER ASSESSMENT (Structured Interview and Group Exercise):

All candidates are provided breaks, including for lunch, during the Structured Interview and Group Exercise.

If a candidate seeks other breaks as part of a reasonable accommodation, including time for lactation, the candidate must follow the instructions above to request a reasonable accommodation at least six weeks before the assessment date.