Officer Evaluation Reports (OER) are an essential element for giving officers feedback on performance and providing personnel boards information for decisions on promotion, assignments, and career development. All officers must be familiar with the responsibilities and requirements in the Officer Evaluation System Directive.
Please check here for Officer Evaluation System Instructions
Text comments in the OER should describe specific examples to justify the descriptors in the performance dimension rating block. What skills did the officer use to meet a specific challenge or accomplish a goal? What was the impact to the unit or NOAA? Beware of just using adjectives to describe skills without providing a specific example. Comments on potential should include the officer's development of Leadership Competencies in the NOAA Corps Leadership Development Framework.
Processing of OERs at CPC
CPC reviews OERs for compliance with directives and consistencies between numerical scores and written comments. Reports with discrepancies are marked "invalid" and not accepted. The Rating Chain is notified via email of the discrepancies and the requirement to submit an amended OER within 30 days. Reports without discrepancies are marked "valid" and scanned into the Official Personnel File on-line. Note that OERs marked invalid are NOT provided to promotion boards.
"Top Ten" Tips for Ensuring OERs will clear CPC Review
Reporting Periods
The OER reporting period will end as shown in the schedule below. This schedule allows sufficient time for OERs to be submitted for review by the various boards early in the calendar year.
| Grade | Month |
| Captain | 31 October |
| Commander | 31 October |
| Lieutenant Commander | 30 November |
| Lieutenant | 30 November |
| Lieutenant (Junior Grade) | January 31/July 31 (officers >3 years only July 31) |
| Ensign | January 31/July 31 (officers >3 years only July 31) |
OERS are due to CPC within 45 days following the end of the reporting period, however prompt submission is recommended to ensure time to correct any deficiencies found during review.
OERs are no longer submitted to CPC via e-mail. OERs are submitted to CPC via a smartsheet form that can be found by following this link: https://app.smartsheetgov.com/b/form/6c3d2bc985054fcbb1d79934fabfd06e
The Viewable OER Status Dashboard is a status of OERs that have been received and are being processed by CPC. As the OER moves through processing, it is reflected here in real time.
Forms- O1-O2 Officer Evaluation Report NOAA Form 56-6E
- O3-O6 Officer Evaluation Report NOAA Form 56-6A
- Flag Officer Evaluation Report NOAA Form 56-6F
- Reviewer Comments NOAA FORM 56-6B
- Officer Support Form NOAA FORM 56-6C
Other Helpful Links
Supervisors Guide to NOAA Corps Officers:
https://www.corpscpc.noaa.gov/procedures/index.html
The Art and Science of OER Writing (USCG)
Contact the Chief, Career Management Division for further guidance on Officer Evaluation Reports.
