Federal regulations require departments and agencies to evaluate the duties and responsibilities of positions to determine the appropriate risk designation or sensitivity and the level of investigation that should be conducted for the position. A list of designation levels for sensitive positions is below. This task is accomplished by the position’s hiring manager completing the Position Designation Automated Tool (PDT), which is then validated by the organization’s Human Resources Office using the Position Designation System (PDS). For more information about the PDT and PDS, please visit the Office of Personnel Management's Suitability Executive Agent website.

Valid position sensitivity designations are:

1. Nonsensitive (Low Risk)
2. Nonsensitive Public Trust (High Risk, Moderate Risk)
3. Noncritical-Sensitive (High Risk or Moderate Risk)
4. Special-Sensitive or Critical-Sensitive (High Risk)