You must be able to complete 20 years of commissioned service before the age of 62. The age limit cannot be waived.

Please see our Tip Sheet for advice on completing and submitting your Photo, Resume, Structured Interview, Transcripts, Employment History, Leadership Involvement, Personal Statement, Adverse Information, and Letters of Recommendation.

We currently have two (2) selection boards per year for the Student Program, one in the Fall around October and one in the Spring around February. Please refer to the Student Program page for current deadlines.

No, you are only eligible to apply for the Direct Appointment Program if you have graduated from law school and have had an opportunity to take the first available bar exam.

Yes, provisionally-approved ABA law schools meet this requirement.

No, full-time students must have completed their first year of law school before applying to the Student Program. Part-time students must be within two years of graduating law school in order to apply—typically this requires completion of two years of part-time study. You may, however, be eligible to apply for a Summer Internship or Externship with the Navy JAG Corps.

You must be within 2 years of graduating from your second degree (whichever is later).

Part time students must be within two years of graduating law school in order to apply—typically this requires completion of two years of part-time study.

No, unofficial transcripts are sufficient for your application.

Please include a note in the “Remarks” section of your application stating that your law school does not provide student rankings.

Please include a note in the “Remarks” section of your application explaining the lack of LSAT score.

Email all separate letters to navyjagaccessions@us.navy.mil.

You should normally have a letter from your current or most recent employer. If you cannot obtain one, you should explain why in the remarks section of the application.

You only need to include transcripts from undergraduate and graduate institutions that you received a degree from, or where you are currently enrolled.

You are not eligible to apply to either the Student Program or the Direct Appointment Program. For the Student Program, you must not have had an opportunity to take the bar exam—as a JD graduate currently enrolled in an LLM program, you had the opportunity to take the bar exam. For the Direct Appointment program, you must be admitted to practice law.

If you do not take the bar exam until after the selection board deadline, then you should apply via the Student Program.

Please ensure your application account has the following documents uploaded or you have confirmed electronic delivery from a third party:

• photo
• resume
• 3-5 letters of recommendation
• undergraduate and law school transcripts
• LSAC score report

If all of these documents are uploaded or you have received confirmation from third party sources of separate electronic submission, please contact navyjagaccessions@us.navy.mil to verify that we have received all separately-submitted materials.

Results are usually available 6-8 weeks after the application deadline. Your status on the application page will be updated to either “Professionally Recommended” or “Not Professionally Recommended” to indicate your selection. The Navy JAG Corps Facebook and career page pages will also be updated when results are available. If you are professionally recommended, you will be contacted directly via phone and email.

The discussions at selection boards are not allowed to be shared outside of the board proceedings, so specific information pertaining to individuals is not available. Although we have offered a general record review in the past, our resources are such that we cannot continue to offer this service except in unusual circumstances. However, some general factors to keep in mind as part of the selection process:

• We receive hundreds of highly competitive applications each board and have only a limited number of selection quotas available to offer Professional Recommendations to. The selection rate for the Student Program continues to hover around 5 to 20% for the past 5 years, and even less for our other commissioning programs.
• Our board uses a whole-person standard, which takes into account academic performance, demonstrated leadership and teamwork, physical fitness, commitment to public service, the likelihood of success as a judge advocate, and structured interview feedback.
• If you have the opportunity, we always highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity to observe and work closely with Navy judge advocates through the internship/externship program. This provides candidates with a better understanding of the nature of our mission, practice, and Navy Core Values.

The decision is yours, but there is no downside to reapplying. Your application will receive a fresh look at each selection board that you are eligible for.

Every applicant is different. However, some general factors to keep in mind as part of our selection process:

• Our board uses a whole person standard, which takes into account academic performance, demonstrated leadership and teamwork, physical fitness, commitment to public service, likelihood of success as a judge advocate, and structured interview feedback.
• You may want to consider diversifying your letters of recommendation. Having letters from both prior/current employers and law professors will provide a more comprehensive picture.
• If you have the opportunity, we always highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity to observe and work closely with Navy judge advocates through the internship/externship program. This provides candidates with a better understanding of the nature of our mission, practice and Navy Core Values.

A “professional recommendation” means the Navy JAG Corps has pre-approved you for acceptance into our community. However, this is only the first step. You must now successfully complete the commissioning process and training pipeline before you begin your first tour of duty as a judge advocate. You should have received notification by telephone or email by now, including a deadline on when you must provide a response accepting or declining the Professional Recommendation. If you accept, you will begin working with your local recruiter. Upon being assigned a recruiter by Naval Recruiting Command, contact the recruiter as soon as possible either by email or by phone. Once you have made contact with your recruiter, you will begin working towards the second step of the process, commissioning. You will meet with your recruiter to fill out initial paperwork and will ultimately be scheduled for a full physical exam at your nearest Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS). You will also work with your recruiter to complete the documents necessary for a secret security clearance.

You will work with your local recruiter to begin the commissioning process. It is essential you get in touch with your recruiter as soon as possible after receiving your assignment in order to begin the process. The two major components of that process include passing a medical examination and completing all requirements for a secret security clearance.

When you commission varies significantly from person to person. Some individuals are able to commission within a few months of receiving their assigned recruiters and others may take up to a year.

You will begin the training pipeline after you have commissioned and after you have passed the bar exam. You must have passing bar results prior to attending Officer Development School (ODS). By way of example, if you graduated in May from law school and took the Arizona bar exam in July then you would most likely receive your passing bar results in September, and then begin ODS in October.

When you first commission through the Student Program you will do so into the Inactive Ready Reserve (IRR). At that time, you will not be receiving pay or benefits. When you begin active duty at ODS, you will officially start active duty and will receive all corresponding pay and benefits.

Where you are stationed depends on when you commissioned, your desired locations, and the needs of the Navy at the time you are detailed. The detailers will begin working with you a few months out from your law school graduation to request where you would like to be stationed. You will maintain a close dialogue with them as you begin the training pipeline.

A prior medical condition may delay or potentially halt your commissioning. Further information on how medical conditions may impact your commissioning can be found in the “medical” link under the “Who is Eligible” section.

Once you are professionally recommended you will work with your local recruiter to complete all required paperwork to obtain a secret security clearance.

If you are already professionally recommended and have commissioned in any military branch JAG Corps, you are not eligible for the summer internship. Individuals already professionally recommended but not yet commissioned will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Please reach out to navyjagaccessions@us.navy.mil or 202-685-5273 and we would be more than happy to discuss with you further.

The senior detailer will determine whether you need to attend ODS. The factors he/she will consider include the following: how long you have been in the reserves, when and if you served on active duty, and how long ago you served on active duty.

For promotion purposes, you will begin your time as a JAG as a new O-3. You will maintain your time in service for retirement purposes.

Yes, you will be receiving a superseding commission as a JAG and will need to go through MEPS again.

Yes, you will attend ODS.

For promotion purposes, you will begin your time as a JAG as a new O-3. You will maintain your time in service for retirement purposes.

Yes, you will need to attend MEPS again as you are receiving a superseding commission into the JAG Corps.

If your schedule permits, the following books are recommended to better prepare you for your time as a judge advocate:

• "The Admirals" by Walter Borneman
• "Endurance" by Alfred Lansing
• "Sea Power" by Admiral James Stavridis
• "The Essential Wooden" by John Wooden and Steve Jamison
• "The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork" by John C. Maxwell

These books contain valuable lessons in history, geopolitics, leadership, and perseverance. As the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) notes in the context of his own professional reading program, "Remember to never stop striving to expand your mind."