Updating an EES rater after a permanent change of station

A U.S. Army soldier arriving at a new duty station after a permanent change of station (PCS) may find that EES still names the previous supervisor as rater. This mismatch can delay an evaluation and obscure who may enter, review or sign it.

The fix is more than typing a new name onto a form. IPERS must show the correct gaining unit and position, an authorised user must process the rater change, and any evaluation already open must follow the applicable EES workflow.

See what the movement changed

Movement records and evaluation duties are related, but they are not automatically synchronised. A PCS normally changes the soldier’s organisation, duty position and effective date; the rater remains responsible until the new assignment is properly established.

Record element	Before the move	After the move
IPERS assignment	Previous unit and position	Gaining unit and position with the PCS date
EES rater	Previously approved rater	Newly authorised rater linked to the assignment
Open evaluation	Draft or action with the old rater	Official transfer, cancellation or reopening action
Audit trail	Actions held by the losing unit	Approvals retained from both units

For Australian readers, the same move is usually called a posting. Australian Army career management is supported by the Australian Army Personnel Management Centre (APMC), not EES. At Duntroon, Kapooka, Townsville or Darwin, several units may share a location, so confirm which command owns the soldier’s position before changing the rater record.

Confirm who should be the rater

The rater is normally the senior leader who directly supervises the soldier and can assess the work, such as an NCO in the chain of command or a commander. The most senior person on a roster is not automatically the correct rater if they do not direct the soldier’s performance; a formal designation may be required.

The proposed rater should also hold the required training or certification and an active rater profile. An Australian staff member may coordinate the paperwork, but an Allied or civilian coordinator should not be entered in EES merely because they support the unit. Use an authorised U.S. Army role that can access the record.

Process the update in IPERS and EES

First, confirm that IPERS shows the gaining organisation, duty location, job title and PCS effective date. Before making changes, consult the evaluation timeline guide to identify open evaluations, pending actions and applicable deadlines. If the assignment still points to the old unit, the personnel cell must correct that record first.

Next, initiate the rater-change or update-rater action available to an authorised user. Complete the official selectors for losing and gaining raters, effective date and reason; depending on the record, the gaining rater or personnel office may also have to approve it. Avoid creating a duplicate profile or manually typing an unverified name.

Then verify both the IPERS assignment and any evaluation already generated in EES. A future evaluation should inherit the correct rater, while an existing evaluation may need a separate authorised transfer, cancellation or reopening action. Save the confirmation, approval status and completion time for the handover record.

Protect evaluations already in progress

A PCS does not permit a new rater to overwrite comments or ratings already entered. If an evaluation is open, follow the authorised action for its status; if it is complete, preserve the original rater and use the proper administrative correction or appeal channel. Backdating a change or editing a signed form can invalidate the audit trail.

Time zones matter for handovers between Australia and the United States. Darwin and Townsville do not observe daylight saving, while Sydney and Melbourne do, so the same deadline can shift by an hour and sometimes by a calendar day. Record the effective date and both local times in the handover message.

Resolve sign-in and rater-profile problems

Access problems after a move are often role-mapping issues rather than bad passwords. Confirm that the servicemember’s Common Access Card, PIN and assigned role work, then use the recover your iPERMS access guidance if sign-in fails. Credentials should never be sent by email; follow the official reset process.

If the soldier can sign in but the new rater cannot, check for an unaccepted invitation, inactive rater profile or mismatched organisation. Reconcile the unit roster, IPERS assignment, EES profile and open action before contacting the official EES help desk. The departing rater may no longer be available to complete the final step.

Keep a defensible handover record

Keep an auditable handover rather than relying on memory. Record the old and new units, positions, raters, effective dates, action references and approvals. Broader explanations of rater profiles and related Army administration are collected in the EES Army author archive, which can help when several evaluation cycles overlap.

• Record the losing and gaining units, positions and effective date.
• Confirm the new rater accepts the assignment and has an active profile.
• Match the IPERS assignment with every open EES evaluation.
• Use exact timestamps and time zones for remote handovers.
• Keep the audit trail without storing PINs or other credentials.
• Preserve completed evaluations and use authorised correction channels.

For an Australian “digger” moving into Canberra’s public-service or private-sector market, a plain-English summary of leadership, deployments and dates can help recruiters verify experience, but it does not replace the official evaluation record. Current IPERS/EES instructions and unit personnel channels remain authoritative because menus, roles and approval paths can change. A sound PCS handover leaves the assignment, rater profile, open evaluation and audit trail aligned.