Office of Government Ethics

The analysis and resolution of conflicts of interests are key to agencies and employees managing and minimizing the risk of ethical failure. A thorough analysis is the first step in ensuring that agencies and employees take appropriate steps to remedy a potential conflict of interest. By resolving potential conflicts before they happen, ethics official help ensure that their agencies’ decisions are made in the public’s interest and are not unfairly influenced by personal financial interests.

Ethics education programs increase awareness of ethical obligations and guide employees in making ethical decisions.

A smooth transition of power within the executive branch requires significant preparation and planning. An agency’s ethics office plays a vital role in preparing and ensuring that new agency leadership, irrespective of the outcome of the election, can serve with integrity.

The financial disclosure system serves to prevent conflicts of interest by providing for a systematic review of the financial interests of both current and prospective employees.

This page provides a list of the topics used to tag each of the documents in the Legal Research Search Collection.

The Institute for Ethics in Government published a short video to help program leaders prepare staff for the annual confidential financial disclosure season.

This video identifies four strategies for optimizing executive branch ethics programs to handle the increase in work associated with the confidential financial disclosure season. It focuses on building staff capacity and the professional development of individual team members.

The Institute for Ethics in Government offers training and workshops to help ethics offices prepare for the annual confidential financial disclosure season.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 208, a nonprofit organization does not have a “financial interest” in a particular matter solely by virtue of the fact that the organization spends money to advocate a position on the policy at issue in the matter.

One of OGE’s main purposes is to help ensure public confidence in Government decision-making. OGE does this by providing the executive branch with the regulatory framework for preventing conflicts of interest in Government work and by promoting the ethical behavior of employees in the executive branch.

This week, OGE welcomed more than 20 new Designated Agency Ethics Officials and Alternates to their positions in a two-part orientation. Participants from agencies and departments across the executive branch met with OGE leadership, learned about the various responsibilities of ethics program leaders, and received an introduction to the laws and regulations that comprise the executive branch ethics program.

This report summarizes the results of OGE’s review of the ED ethics program. The review identified deficiencies that resulted in at least one recommendation.

OGE works to be a good steward of taxpayer monies. This section contains performance, budget, and planning reports so that citizens can see how OGE is doing.

OGE's Data Page includes links to OGE's Data Governance Board charter, which describes the development and implementation of the policies and processes which govern the collection or creation, management, use, and disclosure of OGE data. This page also includes OGE's data priority goals.

The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is a Federal agency. As part of its function, OGE provides ethics training to Federal employees in the executive branch. Executive Order 13160 mandates equal opportunity in all Federally conducted education and training programs. Under the Executive Order, discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation and status as a parent is prohibited in Federally conducted training programs and activities.

OGE is headed by a Director who is appointed to a five-year term by the President. In addition to the Office of the Director, OGE is divided into four divisions.

This page provides the names of the most senior ethics official at each agency; contact information for employees seeking ethics advice; a point of contact for requesting ethics documents such as public financial disclosure reports; and a link to each agency's ethics webpage (if applicable).

As the supervising ethics office for the executive branch, OGE provides expert guidance and support to agency ethics officials to promote consistent interpretation and application of ethics laws and regulations across the executive branch.

Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the Constitution, the laws and ethical principles above private gain

The OGE Privacy Program is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable privacy requirements, developing and evaluating privacy policy, and managing privacy risks consistent with OGE's mission.

A 530A account is an individual retirement account for eligible children, with special rules applying until December 31 of the year the beneficiary turns 17.

This guide was updated in November 2026.