DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL

104 ARMY PENTAGON

WASHINGTON, DC 20310-0104

SAGC-EF 29 July 2015

MEMORANDUM FOR Ethics Officials Using the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Using the AGEAR System

1. References:

a. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, Pub. L. 110-181, 

Section 847.

b. Memorandum, Deputy Secretary of Defense, 19 September 2011, Subject:

Mandatory DoD-Wide Use of After Government Employment Advice Repository 

(AGEAR) and Designation of Secretary of the Army as DoD Executive Agent for 

Operation of AGEAR.

c. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 48, Chapter 2, Subpart 203.171; 

Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Subpart 203.171.

2. Purpose. As the Department of Defense (DoD) Executive Agent for AGEAR, Army 

OGC is providing updated “business rules” to replace the March 2014 rules and assist 

ethics counselors (ECs) in properly processing requests for Section 847 opinions in 

AGEAR. 

3. Background. 

a. Section 847 requires a “covered DoD official”

1 who, within two years after 

leaving DoD service, expects to receive compensation from a DoD contractor, to, before

 

1 Section 847 defines a “covered DoD official” as an official or former official of the DoD that: 

(1) Participated personally and substantially in an acquisition as defined in section 4(16) of the 

Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act with a value in excess of $10,000,000 and serves or served--

(A) In an Executive Schedule position under subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

States Code;

(B) In a position in the Senior Executive Service under subchapter VIII of chapter 53 of title 5, 

United States Code; or

(C) In a general or flag officer position compensated at a rate of pay for grade 0-7 or above 

under section 201 of title 37, United States Code; or

(2) Serves or served as a program manager, deputy program manager, procuring contracting 

officer, administrative contracting officer, source selection authority, member of the source selection 

evaluation board, or chief of a financial or technical evaluation team for a contract in an amount in excess 

of $10,000,000. 
SAGC-EF

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Use of the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System 

2

accepting such compensation, request a written opinion regarding the applicability of 

post-employment restrictions to activities that the official or former official may 

undertake on behalf of a contractor. Ethics officials are required to issue a written 

opinion to the requester not later than 30 days after receiving the request. The statute 

and implementing regulation2 also prohibit DoD contractors from knowingly providing 

compensation to a “covered DoD official” within two years after the official leaves DoD 

service unless the contractor first determines that the official has received or requested,

at least 30 days before receiving compensation from the contractor, a written opinion 

from the appropriate EC regarding the applicability of post-employment employment 

(PGE) restrictions to activities the official expects to undertake on behalf of the 

contractor.

b. Reading Section 847 and DFAR 203.171 together indicates a request must 

meet the following criteria to qualify for processing in AGEAR: 1) the requestor must 

be a “covered DoD official” as defined by References a and c; and 2) the requestor 

must describe the activities that the former official is expected to undertake on behalf of 

the contractor within the two year period after leaving DoD service. This generally 

means the requestor must have an actual offer of employment or consulting for 

compensation tied to performing specific duties for that contractor. The offer may be 

contingent upon ethics and procurement rules compliance.

c. As the DoD Executive Agent for AGEAR, Army OGC has developed the 

following “business rules” to assist ECs in properly processing requests for Section 847 

opinions in AGEAR. Adherence to these rules will help ECs establish appropriate audit 

trails that will assist Army OGC and the DoD Inspector General in determining whether 

ECs are complying with Section 847. This, in turn, should aid future audits and 

assessments.

4. Business Rules. In processing requests for Section 847 opinions in AGEAR, ECs 

should: 

a. Reject requests that do not meet Section 847 criteria. ECs should not use

AGEAR to process requests for routine (non-Section 847) PGE opinions, or to retain 

routine PGE requests and opinions, including letters addressing the inapplicability of 

Section 847 to the requestor. ECs should only accept complete requests that establish 

eligibility for a Section 847 opinion in AGEAR for processing in AGEAR. If a request 

form submitted in AGEAR is, on its face, incomplete or otherwise indicates the request 

does not meet Section 847 criteria, then the responsible AGEAR Manager or EC should

promptly reject the request. If, once a request is accepted and forwarded to the EC, 

additional information is obtained indicating that the requestor does not meet the criteria 

for a Section 847 opinion; the EC should reject the request from AGEAR and process it

 

2 Defense Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFAR), Subpart 203.171.
SAGC-EF

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Use of the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System 

3

as a routine request for PGE advice outside of AGEAR. Procedures for rejecting a 

request follow: 

(1) To reject a request, the EC must log into AGEAR and click on the 

“View” button next to the requestor’s name. After the request is opened, click on the 

"Request Detail" tab at the top of the request. Then, click on the "Reject" button. When 

rejecting a request, AGEAR requires the EC to provide an explanation for the rejection. 

It is not necessary to upload supporting documentation. As a best practice, the EC

should download and save the completed request questionnaire elsewhere before 

clicking the “Reject” button so that it can be used in issuing a routine PGE opinion 

outside of AGEAR. 

 (2) After clicking the “Reject” button, a dialogue box will appear. Insert a 

written explanation (e.g., “Requestor is not a covered official” or “Requestor does not 

have an offer of employment or compensation from a specific DoD contractor”), then 

click on the “Save” button. Once the “Save” button has been clicked, the status of the 

request will change to “Rejected.” The “Reject” button is always available to the EC

regardless of the status of the request. No further action in AGEAR is necessary. The 

EO should inform the requestor of the rejection, and discuss other available options for 

routine PGE advice. 

b. Use the “Request More Info” button when requesting additional information 

from the requestor. If, after reviewing a request that initially appears to meet the 

eligibility criteria for a Section 847 opinion, the EO determines that additional 

information is required, the EC should promptly contact the requestor and request the 

missing information, e.g., copy of resume, description of current or anticipated duties, 

and any other supporting information needed to write the opinion. (Additional 

information is typically required because AGEAR does not permit requestors to attach 

documents to their requests, primarily due to information technology system security 

concerns.) The EC must document the request by clicking the “Request More Info” 

button in AGEAR, and entering a comment in the dialogue box. This will create an audit 

trail to document that the EC has not yet received a complete request with sufficient 

information to permit issuance of the Section 847 opinion to the requestor, thereby 

demonstrating to any reviewing authority that the EC is not responsible for any delay. 

c. Use the “Prepare Opinion” button once sufficient information has been 

provided for the EC to draft the opinion. Upon receipt of any necessary additional 

information and clarifications, the EO should immediately review them to determine if 

sufficient information has been received to write an opinion. If so, the EC must 

immediately click the “Prepare Opinion” button to begin the 30-day clock. EOs may not

delay this action to avoid triggering the statutory 30-day clock. The EC has 30 days 

from receipt of a completed request and all additional information required to prepare 

and issue the opinion. After clicking the “Prepare Opinion” button, AGEAR will display 

instructions and a date field. IAW the instructions, the EC will click the check box below 
SAGC-EF

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Use of the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System 

4

the date field and enter the date when all necessary information from the requester was 

received. The EC may then click the start button to begin preparing the opinion. The 

EC can either download the opinion template IAW the instructions and use it to 

complete the final opinion, or complete the opinion outside of AGEAR and attach it to 

the request in AGEAR. Once the EC completes the opinion letter, the EC must 

immediately close the request in AGEAR and provide the opinion letter to the requestor.

d. Close requests in AGEAR once the opinion has been issued. 

(1) To ensure the statutory 30-day clock is stopped in AGEAR and 

demonstrate to reviewers that the opinion was issued timely, ECs must take action to 

close the request in AGEAR once the opinion is issued. 

(2) Procedures to Close a Request in AGEAR. To close a request, the 

EO must click on the “Attachments” tab at the top of the request in AGEAR. The EC

then clicks on the “Add Attachment” button. Next, the EC must identify the attachment 

as the written opinion by clicking on “Opinion” from the four types of attachments that 

are displayed on the screen. Only by selecting the “Opinion” button will AGEAR allow 

the EC to close the request in AGEAR. The EC clicks on the “Upload” button to attach 

the opinion to the request in AGEAR. Finally, the EC clicks on the “Send Opinion and 

Close” button at the top of the request. This allows the EC to send the opinion to the 

requestor and close the request in AGEAR simultaneously. After the opinion has been 

sent, the status of the request will change to “Closed” in AGEAR. 

(3) As a best practice, the EC should also upload the transmittal 

document and, where available, proof of receipt by the requestor (e.g., e-mail 

exchange, cover letter, etc.) into AGEAR in addition to the opinion. This provides 

evidence that the opinion was actually provided to and received by the requestor during

subsequent investigation or legal action for violation of PGE restrictions.

e. Purging AGEAR records after five-years. 

(1) Section 847 mandates that AGEAR requests, opinions, and 

supporting materials “shall be retained for not less than five years beginning on the date 

on which the written opinion was provided.” Given the Privacy Act and records 

management objective to retain materials retrievable by an individual’s name or other 

personal identifier for no longer than the minimum period required, the AGEAR 

program office (Army OGC) will regularly purge AGEAR records more than five years 

old.

(2) Only the AGEAR program office can delete AGEAR records. Each 

legal office using AGEAR must notify Army OGC if it wants any of its AGEAR records 

retained for more than five years. This would include records subject to ongoing 

investigation, personnel action, prosecution, civil litigation, or similar matters that would 
SAGC-EF

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Use of the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System 

5

warrant a record’s retention. If Army OGC does not receive a request to retain the 

records, it will purge the AGEAR record after five years. Submit requests to retain records 

any time prior to seven days before the five-year anniversary of the date of the opinion.

(3) This establishes an ongoing requirement for legal offices in the field to 

communicate requests to retain AGEAR records approaching their five year expiration 

to the DoD SOCO and AGEAR Management Office as soon as the requirement is 

identified. The requesting office should ensure it receives confirmation of receipt of the 

request from the AGEAR Management Office.

5. Additional Information.

a. AGEAR Managers must check AGEAR for requests submitted to their 

agency. Army OGC is not responsible for forwarding requests assigned to non-Army

AGEAR Managers. 

b. FAQs are available to assist EOs in determining whether a request falls within 

Section 847 and is required to be processed and retained in AGEAR. Click the “Help” 

link at the very bottom of the Login screen to access the FAQs.

c. When viewing a request under the “Request Detail” tab in AGEAR, links along 

the right side of the screen allow ECs to skip directly to specific sections of the 

questionnaire. For example, if the EO needs to locate the requestor’s responses 

concerning whether they have participated in acquisitions/contracts in excess of $10 

million, the EO can click on the “DoD Procurement Information” link to go directly to that 

information.

d. DD 2945 was revised in July 2013 and this version has been uploaded into 

AGEAR. In Section IV, Question 19 requires reporting of positions held and major 

duties performed during the last five (5) years of DoD service. This allows identification 

of potentially relevant historical particular matters or interactions with a future employer. 

Note that under clarifying guidance issued April 16, 2014, for purposes of Section 847 a 

“covered DoD official” is a current or former DoD official who, within the two year period 

prior to his or her departure from DoD served in a triggering position or engaged in one 

of the triggering activities3.

e. Section 847 opinions issued outside of AGEAR must be uploaded into 

AGEAR. This includes both Section 847 requests and opinions that were created after 

the statute’s enactment but before AGEAR became mandatory on January 1, 2012, as 

well as any post-January 1, 2012 Section 847 requests and opinions not previously 

processed through AGEAR. These are collectively referred to in AGEAR as “Historical 

Requests.” When the EC logs into AGEAR, a button that says “Add Completed 

 

3 See note 1, supra.
SAGC-EF

SUBJECT: Updated Business Rules for Use of the After Government Employment Advice 

Repository (AGEAR) System 

6

Opinion” can be seen. The EC can click this button, complete the required information, 

upload the opinion and any corresponding DD 2945, questionnaire, and/or other 

relevant attachments, and then enter an “Opinion Sent and Closed Date.” 

f. When uploading a “Historical Request,” the EC may discover that the original 

drafter of the Section 847 opinion is not listed within AGEAR. If this occurs, we 

recommend that the EC take the following steps to provide an auditable trail for future 

program reviews:

(1) Upload the historical opinion using his/her own name under the Ethics 

Official Information;

(2) Under the Attachments tab, attach a document using the “Other” option, 

briefly explaining why the author of the Section 847 opinion was not listed in the 

system, e.g., the individual is no longer an EC for the relevant agency.

(3) Copy and paste that document’s text into the free-text “Description” field.

g. Requests submitted under incorrect DoD agency component. If the requestor 

selected the wrong DoD agency, the AGEAR Manager receiving the request must 

forward the request to the correct DoD agency using AGEAR. To do this, click the 

“Request Detail” tab, and then click the “Forward” button. On the “Forward Request to” 

page, click the “AGEAR Manager of another Agency”, and select the correct DoD 

agency from the dropdown menu. 

6. Contact. Please contact me at (703) 695-4296 or susan.d.tigner.civ@mail.mil if you 

have questions regarding the above guidance. For assistance in operating the AGEAR 

system, please contact the AGEAR Program Office at (703) 695-4296 or 

usarmy.pentagon.hqda-ogc.mbx.agear-manager@mail.mil.

Susan D. Tigner

Deputy General Counsel

 (Ethics & Fiscal)