(a) A person who lost a period of eligibility on a register because he has served on active military duty since June 30, 1950, is entitled to have his name restored to that register or a successor register when he meets the following conditions:

(1) He has not served more than four years following the date of his entrance on active military duty, exclusive of any additional service imposed pursuant to law. The date of entrance on duty means the first date between June 30, 1950, and July 1, 1971, on which he began a new period of active military duty, whether it was by original entry, reentry or extension.

(2) He is honorably separated from active military duty.

(3) He applies for restoration of eligibility within 90 days after discharge from active military duty or from hospitalization continuing for 1 year or less following separation from active military duty.

(4) He is still qualified to perform the duties of the position for which the register is used.

(b) When a person is entitled to have his name restored to a register under paragraph (a) of this section, OPM shall enter his name at the top of the appropriate group on the register if another eligible standing lower on the register on which his name formerly appeared was given a career or career-conditional appointment from that register. For professional and scientific positions in GS-9 and above and in comparable pay levels under other pay-fixing authorities, all eligibles are in one group. For all other positions, preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of 10 percent or more are in one group and all other eligibles in another.

(c) When there is no appropriate existing register, OPM may establish special registers containing the names of persons entitled to priority of certification under paragraph (b) of this section, together with the names of eligibles described in § 332.311, and use these registers for certification to fill appropriate vacancies.