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Land Law Examiner

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
BLM - Oregon State Office

Summary

You will serve as a Land Law Examiner with Bureau of Land Management.

We expect to fill one vacancy at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted yesterday · Apply by 07/29/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 29, 2026
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$54,370 - $86,461 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Promotion potential
11
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes - If selected for the GS-09 you will be required to annually complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 within 30 days of reporting to duty.
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
OR-MP-12999160-ZAW
Control number
876615800

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Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

  • Creating, updating, and maintaining the official Land Status Records, including Master Title Plats (MTP's), Historical Indices (HI's), and Control Document Index (CDI) to accurately reflect title, encumbrances, restrictions, leases, license, grants, and other actions impacting Federal interest lands.
  • Researches BLM and other land records to determine land ownership, types of ownership, rights, encumbrances, withdrawals, restrictions, and other land status for case processing or other agency and public inquiries.
  • Evaluates a wide variety of different lands and minerals case types that impact both private and public interests for accuracy and completeness.
  • Develops facts and evidence and applies appropriate laws and policies for specific cases as applicable to the official land status records.
  • Utilizes data, systems and applications to collect, enter, manipulate, update and maintain data according to prescribed Bureau and program standards. Ensures data quality and integrity by adherence to quality control standards and procedures.
  • Evaluates source documents and active database information to confirm that all status records and databases are accurate and current.


Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Direct Deposit participation required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probation period, or 2 year trial period, to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 07/29/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

To qualify for the GS-07:

You must posses at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following:
(1) Processing a variety of quasi-legal or legal documents, such as title abstracts, leases, contracts, deeds, mortgages, real estate records, legal land descriptions, land titles or tract maps.
(2) Conducting legal research to collect, verify, interpret, and analyze regulations, laws and information involving legal land descriptions.
(3) Conducting legal document examinations related to land law examining and its relation to public land laws, mineral leasing, and/or mining laws.
(4) Communicating orally and in writing to communicate with internal/external stakeholders and to prepare reports or written materials.
(5) Utilizing computer equipment and software applications to input, manipulates, update, and maintain data and request reports.

-OR-

Education: Graduate level education (including law school) that included or was supplement by 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. Examples include course work in land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation.

-OR-

Superior Academic Achievement: Bachelor's degree in a curriculum that is qualifying for this position as described above from an accredited college or university, and meets one of the requirements for Superior Academic Achievement based on the following: (1) class standing (upper third standing in the graduating class of a college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses); (2) grade-point average (3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0) as recorded on the official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or (3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; (3) election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Applicants who qualify for GS-7 on the basis of the superior academic achievement provision must have had at least 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. (See OPM's General Policies, Application of Qualification Standards Section 4.f.).

-OR-

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

To qualify for the GS-09:

You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following:
(1) Conducting record searches to document decisions related to public land and mineral leasing laws to adjudicate actions and determine criteria for special conditions, applications, patents, or requests.
(2) Utilizing land surveying terminology and land record systems to interpret and understand legal land descriptions.
(3) Determining surface and mineral ownership status from surface and quad maps, Master Title Plats, mineral plats, court decisions, commercial legal publications, or other related manuals and guidance.
(4) Communicating orally and in writing to convey decisions on applications and to provide responses to questions from the public and/or other internal/external organizations.
(5) Utilizing computer equipment and software applications to input, manipulate, update, and maintain data and request reports.

-OR-

Education: Completed at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college or university in a field directly related to the work of the position (including law school) that included or was supplemented by 12 semester hours of course work related to the administration of land laws. Examples include course work in land surveying, cartography, land use law, real estate law, land appraising, land use planning, water rights, mining laws, or legal instrument review and interpretation.

-OR-

Combination of Education and Experience:
You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

PROOF OF EDUCATION: All applicants who are using education or a combination of education and experience to qualify must submit copies of official or unofficial transcripts which include grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, institution name, and student name. If any required coursework is not easily recognizable on transcripts, or if you believe a portion of a particular course can be credited toward meeting an educational requirement, you must also provide a memorandum on letterhead from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official stating the percentage of the course that should be considered to meet the requirement and the equivalent number of units. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, if you are selected for the position, you will be required to produce the original official transcripts.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Additional information

This announcement is being advertised concurrently under number OR-FUL-13001839-ZAW which is open to all qualified persons who reside within the vicinity of the field unit. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered under both recruitment methods.

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 85 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-11. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):
Computer Skills
Data Interpretation
Map Interpretation
Teamwork
Technical Competence

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a structured resume review and structured interview. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

DUE WEIGHT: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, you must submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.

Bureau of Land Management

The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. Click here to learn more about The Department of the Interior and its bureaus.

The mission of the Bureau of Land Management is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Click here to learn more about The Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM manages 245 million surface acres. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western States, including Alaska. We are a small bureau with a big and complex job, determining the best combination of uses for public lands based on good science and input from the public both in local communities and across the country. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

Agency contact information

Zachary Williams
Phone
503-375-5638
Email
zachary_williams@ios.doi.gov
Address
BLM Oregon State Office
BLM Oregon State Office, OR-953
1220 SW Third
Portland, OR 97204
US

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