Does pregnancy or childbirth qualify for the VLTP?

It can. A pregnancy with complications, a medically difficult recovery, or a newborn's medical condition can each be a qualifying medical emergency if the absence will exceed 24 work hours beyond available paid leave. Routine parental bonding time is different — that is covered by Paid Parental Leave, which provides paid time in place of unpaid FMLA leave after a birth or placement. Many employees combine programs: PPL or FMLA for bonding, VLTP for the medical side.

Can someone else apply on my behalf?

Yes. If you are not capable of submitting the written application yourself, a personal representative — a family member, friend, or colleague — may apply for you under 5 CFR 630.904(a). This matters in exactly the situations the program exists for, like sudden hospitalization.

Will my coworkers see my diagnosis if they donate?

No. Medical documentation stays with your agency's HR office under Privacy Act protections. Donors only see what you choose to tell them. A LeaveTransfer.org campaign never requires disclosing a diagnosis — you control the story text entirely.

How much donated leave can I receive in total?

There is no regulatory cap — OPM states plainly that there is no limit on the amount of donated annual leave a leave recipient may receive. Any hours you don't use are returned to your donors when the emergency ends.

Can I receive donated leave while I'm already on LWOP?

Yes. Donated annual leave can be substituted retroactively for leave without pay taken because of the same medical emergency, converting those unpaid hours into paid ones. It can also liquidate advanced annual or sick leave you were granted for the emergency.

How to Become a Leave Recipient Under the VLTP

By the LeaveTransfer.org team · Last reviewed July 1, 2026

To become a leave recipient under the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program, you apply in writing to your own agency — typically on OPM Form 630 — showing that a personal or family medical emergency will keep you away from work at least 24 work hours beyond your available paid leave. Your agency must answer within 10 calendar days (excluding weekends and holidays). Once approved, colleagues can donate annual leave to you, with no cap on how much you may receive.

Do you qualify as a leave recipient?

You qualify if you are affected by a medical emergency — defined in the regulation as a medical condition of you or a family member that is likely to require a prolonged absence from duty and cause a substantial loss of income because you lack available paid leave. The definition is deliberately condition-neutral: cancer treatment, a high-risk pregnancy, major surgery, a serious mental health condition, a child's illness, a spouse's accident — anything qualifies if it meets the duration and income tests.

The income test is a bright line, not a judgment call: your absence without available paid leave must be, or be expected to be, at least 24 work hours (prorated if you work part-time). Those hours can be consecutive or intermittent — recurring treatment days count. And the regulation explicitly forbids agencies from weighing anything else: not your salary, not your spouse's income, not your savings.

"Family member" reaches far beyond a spouse and children: parents and parents-in-law, siblings and their spouses, grandparents and grandchildren, domestic partners and their parents, and anyone related by blood or affinity whose closeness is the equivalent of family.

How to apply: OPM Form 630

Apply in writing to your own agency's HR office. OPM Form 630 is the standard application (agencies may have their own equivalent). It asks for:

Your name, position title, and grade or pay level;
Why you need transferred leave — the nature, severity, and expected duration of the medical emergency (and its frequency, if recurring);
Medical certification from a physician or other expert, if your agency requires it;
Anything else your agency's procedures require.

Two protections worth knowing. If you are not able to apply yourself, a personal representative — a spouse, an adult child, a colleague — may submit the application for you. And if your agency demands medical certification from more than one source, the agency must pay for the second and any further opinions. When the emergency involves a family member, the agency may ask you to document the relationship.

The 10-day decision — and what to do if you're denied

Your agency must notify you of approval or disapproval within 10 calendar days (excluding weekends and legal public holidays) of receiving your application. A denial must come with reasons.

If you are denied, read those reasons carefully — most denials turn on a fixable gap: certification missing, the 24-hour projection unclear, a relationship undocumented. You can supplement the paperwork and reapply. Also look sideways: if your situation doesn't fit the VLTP, other federal leave options — FMLA protection, advanced sick or annual leave, or an agency leave bank — may fit better, and several can be combined.

After approval: how donated leave reaches you

Approval opens the door for colleagues to donate. Donations arrive as donors file their forms — there is no limit on the total amount of donated leave you may receive. The practical challenge is making sure colleagues actually hear about your situation, which is where a LeaveTransfer.org campaign helps: one shareable page, on your terms, that any federal employee can find.

Donated leave is flexible about time. It can be retroactively substituted for leave without pay you already took for the same emergency — converting unpaid weeks into paid ones after the fact — and it can pay off a debt of advanced annual or sick leave granted for the emergency.

While you're using donated leave

Donated hours may be used only for the approved medical emergency — they aren't general-purpose vacation time.
Each pay period you must use your own accrued annual (and applicable sick) leave before dipping into donated hours. (A narrow statutory exception, 5 U.S.C. 6333(b), exempts certain employees with combat-related disabilities, while undergoing treatment for the disability, from this exhaust-your-own-leave-first rule.)
You keep accruing leave, into "set-aside" accounts capped at 40 hours of annual and 40 hours of sick leave per emergency; those transfer to your regular accounts when the emergency ends or donated leave runs out.
Donated leave doesn't count against the normal year-end carryover ceiling while the emergency continues.

Who sees your medical information?

Your diagnosis and medical documentation go to your agency's HR office as part of the confidential application — full stop. Donors don't receive your medical records, and federal Privacy Act protections govern how your agency handles them. If you run a public campaign, you choose every word of the story — it can say as little as "a serious medical situation in my family." Colleagues respond to the need, not the diagnosis.

When the medical emergency ends

The emergency formally ends when you tell your agency in writing that it's over, when the agency determines it's over (after giving you notice and a chance to respond), when you separate from federal service, or when disability retirement is approved. At that point no new donations can be accepted and unused donated hours are returned to your donors proportionally. One humane wrinkle: an agency may deem the emergency to continue so you have time to collect enough donations to cover LWOP you already took.

Frequently asked questions

Does pregnancy or childbirth qualify for the VLTP?: It can. A pregnancy with complications, a medically difficult recovery, or a newborn's medical condition can each be a qualifying medical emergency if the absence will exceed 24 work hours beyond available paid leave. Routine parental bonding time is different — that is covered by Paid Parental Leave, which provides paid time in place of unpaid FMLA leave after a birth or placement. Many employees combine programs: PPL or FMLA for bonding, VLTP for the medical side.
Can someone else apply on my behalf?: Yes. If you are not capable of submitting the written application yourself, a personal representative — a family member, friend, or colleague — may apply for you under 5 CFR 630.904(a). This matters in exactly the situations the program exists for, like sudden hospitalization.
Will my coworkers see my diagnosis if they donate?: No. Medical documentation stays with your agency's HR office under Privacy Act protections. Donors only see what you choose to tell them. A LeaveTransfer.org campaign never requires disclosing a diagnosis — you control the story text entirely.
How much donated leave can I receive in total?: There is no regulatory cap — OPM states plainly that there is no limit on the amount of donated annual leave a leave recipient may receive. Any hours you don't use are returned to your donors when the emergency ends.
Can I receive donated leave while I'm already on LWOP?: Yes. Donated annual leave can be substituted retroactively for leave without pay taken because of the same medical emergency, converting those unpaid hours into paid ones. It can also liquidate advanced annual or sick leave you were granted for the emergency.

OPM Forms 630, 630-A, 630-B & 630-COPM Form 630, 630-A, 630-B, and 630-C explained: what each VLTP form does, which one you need, official download links, and where to submit them.VLTP vs. FMLA & other optionsOut of paid leave? Compare the VLTP with FMLA, advanced annual and sick leave, leave banks, and the ELTP — and see which federal leave options combine.Donating annual leaveDonate annual leave to a federal coworker through the VLTP: donation limits, OPM Forms 630-A and 630-B, tax rules, and what happens to unused hours.VLTP frequently asked questionsAnswers to the most common questions about the Voluntary Leave Transfer Program: donating, receiving, forms, taxes, privacy, and how LeaveTransfer.org helps.

Sources

Official government sources, verified July 1, 2026: