The special installation bonus (PSI) remains a poorly understood mechanism for some agents who are entitled to it. The regulatory texts have not changed fundamentally since the decrees of 1989 and 1990, but the actual conditions for granting it vary depending on the branch of the public service and, above all, according to local practices that have tightened in recent years.
Commitment clause and reimbursement: the territorial turning point of the PSI
The founding decrees did not provide for any obligation to remain in position after the payment of the bonus. The situation has changed. Some local authorities condition the payment on a commitment to stay in position for a minimum duration, often set at three years, with a partial reimbursement clause in case of early mobility.
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Municipal council deliberations published in 2023 and 2024, particularly in Île-de-France and Occitanie, formalize this requirement. An agent who obtains their transfer before the scheduled term may be required to repay a portion of the amount received, calculated pro rata to the remaining time.
We recommend reading the deliberation of the host authority even before submitting the application. The conditions for obtaining the installation bonus therefore depend as much on the national regulatory framework as on the choices of the territorial employer. Ignoring a reimbursement clause can generate a receivable several months after taking up the position.
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Installation bonus in the State public service: index criteria and eligible areas
Decree No. 89-259 of April 24, 1989, sets the scope. The PSI concerns tenured civil servants whose gross starting index does not exceed a regulatory threshold, revised by Decree 2017-1137 of July 5, 2017, to take into account index revaluations related to the PPCR protocol.
Geographical area and first assignment
Only assignments in the Île-de-France region entitle one to the PSI in the State public service. The agent must hold their first position as a tenured civil servant in this area. A contractual employee who becomes tenured in the same position may claim it, provided they meet the index criteria at the time of tenure.
The payment is one-time only. It is not renewable in the case of a subsequent new assignment, even in another eligible municipality.
Interaction with early career bonuses
Since the remuneration reform initiated in 2023, the PSI can be combined with certain function allowances, including the so-called “teacher pact.” However, academic service notes (Versailles rectorate, back-to-school circular 2023) specify that this combination does not extend to local personnel retention schemes.
Academies facing recruitment challenges, such as Créteil, Versailles, or Guyane, sometimes supplement the PSI with housing assistance or scale bonuses. This differentiated treatment creates significant disparities from one territory to another, documented in the “Social Report” of the Ministry of National Education published in 2023 and 2024.
Installation bonus in territorial public service: mandatory deliberation and restricted scope
Decree No. 90-238 of October 17, 1990, transposes the mechanism to local authorities and their public establishments. The major difference with the State public service lies in a simple point: the local authority must have deliberated to establish the bonus. Without deliberation, no right is opened, even if the agent meets all other criteria.
Eligible municipalities fall under urban areas defined by order. The agent must receive their first assignment as a territorial civil servant there. Contractual employees converted to tenured status in the same position benefit from the same right, subject to index conditions.
Supporting documents and application deadline
The dematerialization of applications is progressing but remains uneven across local authorities. Some still require a paper file with proof of previous residence and the tenure order. We observe that the processing time varies from a few weeks to several months depending on the size of the authority.
The commonly requested documents:
- Appointment or tenure order mentioning the gross index
- Proof of residence in the eligible area, dated within the last three months
- Declaration of honor of no prior receipt of the PSI
- If applicable, signed commitment to remain in position for the duration set by deliberation
Common errors regarding eligibility for the special installation bonus
The most widespread confusion concerns the internship. An application or training internship does not constitute a first assignment in the sense of the texts. Administrative jurisprudence confirms that only the effective assignment after tenure triggers the right to the PSI.
Another point of friction: internal transfer. An agent who is already tenured and changes positions within the same geographical area cannot claim the bonus a second time, even if the new position falls under another public employer.
Finally, agents in category A whose starting index exceeds the regulatory ceiling are excluded from the mechanism. This ceiling was revised in 2017, meaning that some index grids that previously entitled one to the PSI no longer do so.
- The internship prior to tenure does not count as a first assignment
- The PSI is paid only once throughout the career, regardless of the branch
- Exceeding the index ceiling after PPCR revaluation excludes certain job categories that were previously eligible
The special installation bonus remains a significant financial lever for agents at the beginning of their careers, provided that three elements are checked before any action: the geographical area of assignment, the existence of a deliberation for the territorial bonus, and the possible duration commitment clause that now conditions payment in an increasing number of local authorities.