What federal agencies are exempt from government shutdowns?

1. What people are claiming—and where the claims line up or diverge

Analysts and guides assert that some agencies are categorically unaffected because they do not rely on annual appropriations, while other agencies continue only select functions designated as essential. Multiple sources list the Postal Service, Social Security and Medicare benefit payments, military operations, and core law enforcement and emergency services as continuing through shutdowns; these claims are consistent across 2018 guidance and recent 2025 reporting ^{[1] [3] [2]}. Disagreements arise around middle‑ground cases—departments that have mixed funding streams or large operational footprints, like Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the General Services Administration—where contingency plans and statutory exceptions determine which parts remain active. Recent 2025 pieces emphasize agency‑by‑agency variation and note that contingency plans are the practical deciders during any lapse ^{[3] [4]}.

2. The legal architecture that actually dictates who stays open

The legal framework centers on the Anti‑Deficiency Act and statutes that provide mandatory or other-than-annual funding, which permit agencies to incur obligations or make payments despite a lapse in appropriations; employees whose pay is covered by those authorities are not furloughed ^{[3] [4]}. Guidance documents and agency instructions issued in 2025 reiterate that "excepted" employees—those needed to protect life or property or to perform activities funded by non‑annual authorities—continue to work, and agencies must furnish written furlough notices to affected staff. That means exemptions are not categorical lists published once and for all; they are legal designations applied under contingency rules, and those rules can be updated between shutdowns ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Which agencies are most often listed as continuing operations—and why

Reporting from 2018 through October–November 2025 repeatedly names certain programs and agencies as continuing because of statutory funding or mission-critical duties: Social Security and Medicare payments (statutory mandatory programs), the U.S. Postal Service (self‑financed operations), the military (continuous operations), air traffic control and the U.S. Passport Agency (safety and travel continuity), and veterans’ health care services ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Articles published during the 2025 shutdowns underscore that while entire departments are not automatically exempt, specific functions within departments—like passport processing or critical HHS public‑health work—can be excepted and kept running under contingency plans ^{[3] [2]}.

4. How contingency plans and agency discretion shape real-world outcomes

Every affected agency prepares a contingency plan that lists which positions are “excepted” and which are furloughed; those internal plans are decisive in practice. Recent 2025 analyses note that some agencies with mixed funding continue substantial operations because of non‑annual funding streams or because leadership designates many staff as essential, whereas other agencies furlough larger shares of their workforce ^{[3] [4]}. This creates variable effects: national parks may remain open for certain passive uses but close staffed services; health programs may process critical claims while pausing discretionary research functions. The result is a patchwork of continuity and suspension, not a single, simple list of exempt agencies ^{[3] [4]}.

5. Pay, retroactive compensation, and who actually loses income

Legal guidance and recent reporting emphasize that excepted employees work through shutdowns and are generally paid, though pay may be delayed until appropriations are restored, while many furloughed employees do not receive pay during the lapse and may receive back pay only if Congress approves it afterward. Some categories—Senate‑confirmed appointees, certain political employees, federal judges, and active duty military—have distinct rules affecting pay continuity and timing, and those distinctions surfaced again in 2025 coverage of missed paychecks and retroactive pay decisions ^{[6] [7]}. Agencies also distinguish between employees whose duties are funded by mandatory authorities and those whose duties cease when annual appropriations lapse, producing widely different payroll impacts across the federal workforce ^{[1] [7]}.

6. Bottom line: expect nuance, check agency contingency plans, and watch Congress

The practical takeaway is that no single public master list of “exempt” agencies exists because exemptions derive from statute and agency contingency decisions, so most reliable reporting directs readers to agency guidance and to the statutory funding status of programs. Recent sources from 2018 and 2025 corroborate that mandatory programs and life‑safety functions continue, while discretionary programs funded by annual appropriations generally stop unless specifically excepted; the precise mix changes with each shutdown and with any new legislation Congress passes during or after the lapse ^{[1] [3] [4]}. For specific, current guidance during a shutdown, consult the affected agency’s contingency plan and the Department of Justice and OMB instructions issued for that lapse ^{[4] [5]}.