The Telangana government has temporarily lifted its ban on employee transfers, permitting staff movements across departments between May 1 and May 31, 2026, through Government Order Ms. No. 38 issued on April 21 by the Finance Department.
Employees who have completed three years at a posting as of January 1, 2026, are eligible for transfer under the revised guidelines. The three-year rule will not apply to requests based on spouse postings, which are treated as a separate category. The government has also made clear that no employee should continue in the same location beyond four years as of December 31, 2025.
“Transfers shall be made during the period from May 1 to 31, 2026, as per the schedule,” the Finance Department said in its official order, as reported by Deccan Chronicle and the Hans India.
Retirement-linked exceptions apply. Employees scheduled to retire before May 31, 2027, will not be shifted, even if they have completed four years at a station, unless they specifically request a transfer. To ensure continuity of work, departments have been asked to cap transfers at a maximum of 40% of employees within any cadre.
Employees will be treated as automatically relieved three days after their transfer orders are issued, according to the order. Personnel currently engaged in Census-related duties are exempt from the directive. Approval committees will oversee the process, and the state has mandated that all transfers be finalised through a transparent counselling process conducted through online or web-based platforms.
The transfer process will follow a structured May calendar. The first week will be used for administrative groundwork and vacancy listing. From May 8 to May 15, employees can submit their preference option forms. The next eight days, from May 16 to May 24, are earmarked for verification and counselling. Transfer orders will be issued between May 25 and May 31, with the ban reimposed from June 1.
Departments have been given room to design their own execution plans within this framework. The Education Department will issue separate operational guidelines for teaching staff. Revenue-generating departments such as Commercial Taxes, Excise, Transport, and Forest will follow their existing norms with room for minor adjustments. The Police Department will release its own instructions.
The reopening follows a prolonged freeze linked in part to the ongoing Census process, which had stalled routine administrative rotations. Priority in competing transfer requests has been set for couples seeking postings in the same station, employees nearing retirement, those with disabilities of 70% or more, widowed employees, and those dealing with serious medical conditions, including cancer, neurosurgery, organ transplants, or heart surgery.
For Telangana’s HR and personnel administration community, the one-month window resets a long-pending employee grievance around stalled postings, while the 40% cadre cap and counselling-led mechanism aim to balance movement with continuity of service delivery.
