---
kind: "section"
citation: "5 U.S.C. § 3310"
title: "5"
title_heading: "Government Organization and Employees"
number: "3310"
heading: "Preference eligibles; examinations; guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/5/3310"
units:
  - "Part III — Employees"
  - "Subpart B — Employment and Retention"
  - "Chapter 33 — Examination, Selection, and Placement"
  - "Subchapter I — Examination, Certification, and Appointment"
---

# §3310. Preference eligibles; examinations; guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians


In examinations for [positions](/usc/5/5102.md?p=a-3) of guards, elevator operators, messengers, and custodians in the competitive [service](/usc/5/8401.md?p=26) (other than for [positions](/usc/5/5102.md?p=a-3) of housekeeping aides in the Department of Veterans Affairs), competition is restricted to preference [eligibles](/usc/5/4701.md?p=a-3) as long as preference [eligibles](/usc/5/4701.md?p=a-3) are available.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 89–554, Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 420; Pub. L. 117–168, title IX, § 905, Aug. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 1811.)

## Notes

| Historical and Revision Notes |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Derivation | U.S. Code | Revised Statutes and<br>Statutes at Large |
|  | 5 U.S.C. 852 (2d sentence). | June 27, 1944, ch. 287, § 3 (proviso), 58 Stat. 388.<br>Aug. 14, 1953, ch. 485, § 1(a) “Sec. 3 (2d sentence)”, 67 Stat. 581. |

The words “in the competitive service” are added for clarity. The reference to “examinations held prior to December 31, 1954, for positions of apprentices” is omitted as obsolete. Application of this section to the excepted service in the executive branch and to the government of the District of Columbia, as provided in former section 858, is carried into section 3320.

Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

### Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2022—Pub. L. 117–168 inserted “(other than for positions of housekeeping aides in the Department of Veterans Affairs)” after “competitive service”.