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How to Build a Years of Service Award Program: Tiers, Budget and Timeline

October 8, 2026

A years of service award program recognizes employees at fixed milestones, usually 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years, with a pin whose finish rises with the tier. The whole program is built from one design, so the cost is mostly the first order. At PinProsPlus a one-inch hard enamel pin costs $3.26 each at 100 pieces, artwork and U.S. shipping are free, and a standard order ships in 15 business days or less. For year-end recognition in December 2026, approve your artwork by Tuesday, November 10. For a January kickoff, by Tuesday, December 15.

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Table of Contents

Content

Why a pin, and why tiers

Most recognition gifts are consumed or forgotten. A service pin is the only one that is worn, and it is worn where colleagues see it. That is what makes the tier structure work: a 20-year pin on a lapel is visible proof that the company keeps its promises, and every 5-year recipient in the room can see what the next one looks like. A gift card cannot do that.

The other reason is administrative. Once the design is approved, HR does not decide anything again. Each year the program office pulls the list of anniversaries, presents the pins at the year-end meeting or the January all-hands, and reorders whatever tier is running low.

The tier structure

Six tiers is the common ceiling. Fewer works fine for a smaller company. What changes between tiers is the finish, not the design, so the 25-year pin is unmistakably the same pin as the 1-year, only richer.

Tier	Finish	What changes	Presented
1 year	Nickel	Base design, single enamel color	By the direct manager
5 years	Nickel	Full enamel colors	By the direct manager
10 years	Gold	Gold plating	By the department head
15 years	Gold	Gold plating, one set stone	By the department head
20 years	Gold	Two set stones	By an executive, in front of the team
25 years	Gold	Three set stones, presentation box	By the CEO, at the year-end meeting

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Two decisions to make before the quote. First, whether the 1-year tier exists at all: companies with high early turnover often start at 3 or 5 years. Second, whether the year appears on the front of the pin as a numeral, or only as the finish. A numeral is clearer at a glance; a finish-only system lets you reorder any tier from the same die without a new proof.

One design, several finishes

This is the part of the program that keeps the budget small. The design is cut once. Each tier is then a plating and enamel choice on the same die: nickel for the entry tiers, gold for the middle, gold with a set stone for the top. Our metal finishes page shows the plating options side by side. Each finish is its own production run, so each tier is quoted at its own quantity, but the artwork and setup are done once.

For the construction, hard enamel is the standard for a service pin: the enamel is polished flush with the metal, which is what gives the pin its jewelry-like surface and lets it survive years on a jacket. Die struck, with no enamel, is the traditional choice for a program that wants the pin to look like the ones it gave out in 1995. Both are available on our custom years of service pins page, alongside the plating and stone options.

Budget per employee

The mistake most programs make is to price the pin per recipient. Price it per tier instead, because the minimum order is 100 pieces per finish, and a tier you order once will serve the program for years. Published PinProsPlus prices per piece as of September 21, 2026, artwork and U.S. shipping included:

Hard enamel pins, price per piece (published September 21, 2026)
Size	100	200	300	500	1,000
3/4"	$3.12	$2.54	$1.95	$1.56	$1.40
1"	$3.26	$2.68	$2.08	$1.66	$1.52
1 1/4"	$3.38	$2.78	$2.18	$1.79	$1.64

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Three worked examples, using the one-inch hard enamel pin:

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First-year cost, 1" hard enamel pins at published prices
Company size	Program	First order	Cost	Covers
50 employees	One finish; the tier goes on the presentation card	100 pins	$312	About ten years of anniversaries
250 employees	Three tiers: 5, 10 and 20 years	100 pins per tier, 300 total	$978	Three to five years before the 5-year tier needs a reorder
1,000 employees	Five tiers: 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years	200 pins per tier, 1,000 total	$2,680	About 150 recipients a year; the 5-year tier reorders first

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At 50 employees the program costs $312 once and covers roughly a decade of anniversaries. At 1,000 employees, where about 150 people reach a milestone in a typical year, the first order is $2,680 and the annual reorder is a fraction of that, because only the busy tiers run out. Every size and quantity is on the full price list.

Year-end timeline

Two dates matter. Companies that present awards at a December meeting need the pins by the first week of the month. Companies that present at the January kickoff have five more weeks, but the holidays remove working days from the schedule, so the gain is smaller than it looks. Both timelines below account for Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

EMBED · Table 4 · Order-by dates

Past both dates? Put your event date in the quote form and we will tell you what is still possible.

Presentation

A service pin presented in a padded envelope through interoffice mail is a pin that ends up in a drawer. The programs that work share three habits. The most senior person available presents it, in front of the recipient's team. The presenter says the number of years out loud and one specific thing the person did. And the pin comes in a box or on a card, not loose. Presentation boxes and cards are listed on our pin extras page; for a 20-year or 25-year tier, a box is worth the small addition to the unit cost.

For remote staff, mail the pin in its box to the home address with a signed card, and present it again on the next video call. The second presentation is the one that counts.

Reorders

A reorder is quoted from your original artwork, so there is no design stage to repeat. Most programs reorder one or two tiers a year, usually the 5-year and the 10-year, and never touch the top tiers for a decade. Keep a count of what is left in each tier after the December presentation, and reorder in January: the timeline is quietest then, and the next round of anniversaries is eleven months away.

Frequently asked questions

How much do years of service pins cost?

At our published prices, a one-inch hard enamel pin costs $3.26 each at 100 pieces, $2.68 at 200, $2.08 at 300 and $1.66 at 500. Artwork and shipping inside the USA are free.

What milestones should a service award program recognize?

The common set is 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years. Companies with high early turnover often start at 3 or 5 years, and companies with long tenure add a 30-year tier.

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Do we need a different design for each tier?

No. One design, cut once, with a different plating and enamel finish per tier. A numeral for the year can be added to the front if you want the tier readable at a glance.

What is the last day to order for December 2026 recognition?

For delivery by Friday, December 4, approve final artwork by Tuesday, November 10 on the standard schedule of 15 business days or less, or by Wednesday, November 18 with the 10-day rush option. For a January 2027 kickoff with delivery by Friday, January 8, the dates are Tuesday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 22.

What is the minimum order?

The published price list starts at 100 pins per finish. Programs at small companies usually order one finish and distinguish tiers on the presentation card.

Can we reorder a single tier next year?

Yes. Ask for a reorder of that tier and we quote it from your original artwork. Most programs reorder only the 5-year and 10-year tiers annually.

Start with a quote

Tell us your headcount, how many tiers you want and the date of your first presentation. You will have a price within one hour and a proof to approve after that. Get a pin quote.

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