Written Materials for Ethics Education

This page features written materials to distribute to employees as part of their ethics education, including certain written materials that must be provided to employees per 5 C.F.R. part 2638, subpart C.

If you are looking for written materials to distribute to employees as part of their ethics education, consider using the following booklets and templates developed by OGE. These customizable and ready-to-use written materials will help federal employees understand how to carry out their fundamental government ethics responsibilities.

Provide the required written materials. Per 5 C.F.R. part 2638, subpart C, certain written materials, or written instructions for accessing them, must be provided to employees prior to their appointment to a position covered by the Standards of Ethical Conduct, upon their initial appointment to a supervisory position, and as part of their Initial and Annual Ethics Trainings. The required written materials OGE has developed to help ethics officials meet some of these regulatory requirements are set forth separately in the table below.

Customize these resources for your agency. For those materials that are customizable, please refer to the Guide for Customizing Handbook and Summaries (PDF) and watch the supplementary video tutorial for instructions. Note: The Guide sets forth two “required edits” for agencies to customize the Ethical Service Handbook for Executive Branch Employees (PDF). All other edits mentioned in the Guide for the customizable materials below are labeled as “elective.”



Title (with Link to Material)

Description

Required Written Materials Developed by OGE

Notices of Ethical Obligations Templates (Word)

These templates build on the information and guidance provided in the Program Advisory (PA) “New Requirements Effective January 1, 2017,” PA-16-11 (PDF ). They may be customized for your agency to meet the notification requirements set forth in 5 C.F.R. part 2638, subpart C for prospective employees and new supervisors.

Summary of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch (PDF)

This booklet contains summaries of the Standards of Ethical Conduct and illustrative examples. Either it, or an equivalent summary prepared by your agency, must be provided to Initial and Annual Ethics Training participants. Written instructions for how to access the summary is also permissible. Note: The Standards of Ethical Conduct can be found in full at 5 C.F.R. part 2635.

Additional Written Materials Developed by OGE for Ethics Education

14 General Principles (PDF)

This document displays the 14 General Principles of Ethical Conduct, as set forth at 5 C.F.R. § 2635.101(b).

Ethical Service Handbook for Executive Branch Employees (PDF)

This Handbook introduces the ethical and legal requirements of federal service. Note: It is a helpful resource to provide new employees entering government, and it requires agency customization before being used. See the Guide for Customizing Handbook and Summaries (PDF) for specific instructions.

Summary of the Criminal Conflict of Interest Laws for Employees of the Executive Branch (PDF)

This booklet contains summaries of the Criminal Conflict of Interest Laws and illustrative examples.

Ethics & Public Service: A Supplement to Annual Ethics Training (PDF)

This document provides helpful, plain language summaries of the Principles and Standards of Ethical Conduct and the Criminal Conflict of Interest Laws. Note: It is designed to be used with the “Customizable Annual Ethics Training Slide Deck (PPT)” for Annual Ethics Training, but it can be used with other types of ethics training, as well. For more information on how to customize this document and use it for Annual Ethics Training, see the “Annual Ethics Training Toolkit” on the Ethics Education Toolkits page.