Skip to main content

Salary Information

The Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the United States Attorneys’ offices use several pay scales in establishing salaries of government employees, including the General Schedule, the Administratively Determined Pay Plan, and Senior Executive Service.


General Schedule (GS)

For positions which use the General Schedule for salary assignment, updated scales are available on the Office of Personnel Management website.


Administratively Determined (AD) Pay Plan

The Administratively Determined (AD) Pay Plan is a component-specific compensation system for Assistant United States Attorneys, Supervisory Assistant United States Attorneys, Senior Litigation Counsel, Special Assistant United States Attorneys and United States Attorneys established under authority of 28 United States Code 548, Salaries, and approved by the Attorney General. Pay for performance is a key component of the AD pay plan.

General Information

  • Positions may be filled at any AD grade level.
  • Grade levels are based on the number of full years of professional attorney experience. Example:  A newly hired Assistant United States Attorney with 5 years and 10 months of professional attorney experience is initially hired at grade AD-25.
  • Initial salary may be set at any point in the recruitment range (between the minimum and the Q4 pay rate).  Initial pay setting practices vary between United States Attorneys’ offices.  Attorneys with prior experience under other federal pay schedules may be eligible for salaries above the recruitment range.
  • Eligibility determinations for promotion are normally made annually based on job performance and an evaluation of additional professional experience.
  • Promotions to supervisory and Senior Litigation Counsel positions are made on a temporary basis.

View AD Pay Plan Charts


Senior Executive Service (SES)

Certain positions are classified as Senior Executive Service, and those salaries are assigned differently. Learn more about SES on the Office of Personnel Management website.

Updated September 18, 2015