# New Zealand military ranks

New Zealand military ranks are largely based on those of the United Kingdom. The three services (Army, Navy, and Air Force) have their own rank structure, with a rank equivalency that allows seamless interoperability between the services. All three services form part of the New Zealand Defence Force.

## Commissioned officer ranks

| Navy | Army | Air Force | Notes |
| Admiral of the Fleet | Field Marshal | Marshal of the Air Force | King Charles III is the only current Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the RNZAF. |
| Vice admiral (VADM) | Lieutenant general (LTGEN) | Air marshal (AM) | Rank held by the current Chief of Defence Force; therefore only one of the services will have this rank at any one time. It is the highest obtainable rank of New Zealand Defence Force personnel. |
| Rear admiral (RADM) | Major general (MAJGEN) | Air vice-marshal (AVM) | Held by the Vice Chief of Defence Force, Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, and the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force. Other individuals holding this rank would be in specialised (United Nations or other coalition) postings. |
| Commodore (CDRE) | Brigadier (BRIG) | Air commodore (AIRCDRE) | |
| Captain (CAPT) | Colonel (COL) (Chaplain Class I) | Group captain (GPCAPT) (Chaplain Class I) | |
| Commander (CDR) | Lieutenant colonel (LTCOL) (Chaplain Class II) | Wing commander (WGCDR) (Chaplain Class II) | |
| Lieutenant commander (LT CDR) | Major (MAJ) (Chaplain Class III) | Squadron leader (SQNLDR) (Chaplain Class III) | |
| Lieutenant (LT) | Captain (CAPT) (Chaplain Class IV) | Flight lieutenant (FLTLT) (Chaplain Class IV) | |
| Sub lieutenant (SLT) | Lieutenant (LT) | Flying officer (FGOFF) | |
| Ensign (ENS) | Second lieutenant (2LT) | Pilot officer (PLTOFF) | The Army and Air Force’s first recognised commissioned rank. |
| Midshipman (MID) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | The rank of Midshipman is recognised as a commissioned rank; however, the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army and Air Force is not, and is used only for the purposes of training. |

### Rank insignia

The rank insignia of Commissioned Officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |
| Royal New Zealand Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Royal New Zealand Navy vte | Admiral of the fleet | Admiral of the fleet | | | Vice admiral | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | Rear admiral | Commodore | Commodore | Captain | Captain | Commander | Commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Ensign | Ensign | Ensign |
| New Zealand Army vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| New Zealand Army vte | Field marshal | Field marshal | | | Lieutenant-general | Lieutenant-general | Major-general | Major-general | Brigadier | Brigadier | Colonel | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Major | Captain | Captain | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Lieutenant | Second lieutenant | Second lieutenant | Second lieutenant |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force vte | Marshal of the RNZAF | Marshal of the RNZAF | | | Air marshal | Air marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air commodore | Air commodore | Group captain | Group captain | Wing commander | Wing commander | Squadron leader | Squadron leader | Flight lieutenant | Flight lieutenant | Flying officer | Flying officer | Flying officer | Pilot officer | Pilot officer | Pilot officer |
| Rank group | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |

#### Student officer ranks

| Rank group | Student officer |
| Royal New Zealand Navy | |
| Royal New Zealand Navy | Midshipman |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force | |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force | Officer cadet |

## Non-commissioned personnel

| Navy | Army | Air force | Notes |
| Warrant Officer (WO) | Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) | Warrant Officer (W/O) | The Warrant Officer of the Navy (WON), Sergeant Major of The Army (SMA), Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOAF), Warrant Officer Defence Force (WODF), And Army Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) hold this rank. |
| | Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) | | Company Sergeant Majors (CSMs), and Battery Sergeant Majors (BSMs) hold this rank. The Air Force and Navy have no Equivalent to this rank. The Air Force did have an equivalent up until it was phased out sometime during the 80s/90s. |
| Chief Petty Officer (CPO) | Staff Sergeant (SSGT) | Flight Sergeant (F/S) | |
| Petty Officer (PO) | Sergeant (SGT) | Sergeant (SGT) | |
| Leading Hand (LDH) | Bombardier/Corporal (BDR/CPL) | Corporal (CPL) | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Bombardier (BDR) in place of Corporal. |
| | Lance Bombardier/Lance Corporal (LBDR/LCPL) | | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Lance Bombardier (L/BDR) in place of Lance Corporal |
| Able rate (ABR) | | Leading Aircraftman (LAC) | Able's and LAC's are not considered NCO's and these ranks are normally awarded after completing trade training. |
| Ordinary rate (ORT) | Gunner (GNR) / Trooper (TPR) / Sapper (SPR) / Signaller (SIG) / Private (PTE) / Craftsman RNZEME | Aircraftman (AC) | In the Army, an individual's trade title is sometimes interchanged with the rank of Private. |
Note: Naval other rank personnel are referred to by both their rank and trade. Thus a sailor employed as a chef would generally hold the rank of ordinary chef (OCH), with a few exceptions. A Warrant Officer with a trade of weapon technician would hold the rank of Warrant Officer Weapon Technician (WOWT).

### Rank insignia

The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Royal New Zealand Navy vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Royal New Zealand Navy vte | Warrant officer | Warrant officer | Warrant officer | Warrant officer | Warrant officer | Warrant officer | | | Chief petty officer | Chief petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Petty officer | Leading hand | Leading hand | Leading hand | Leading hand | | | Able rate | Able rate | Able rate | Able rate | Able rate | Able rate | Ordinary rate | Ordinary rate |
| New Zealand Army vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | No insignia | No insignia |
| New Zealand Army vte | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 2 | Warrant officer class 2 | Staff sergeant | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Corporal | Corporal | Corporal | Lance corporal | Lance corporal | | | | | | | Private (or equivalent) | Private (or equivalent) |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Royal New Zealand Air Force vte | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | Warrant Officer | | | Flight Sergeant | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Corporal | Corporal | Corporal | | | Leading Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman | Leading Aircraftman | Aircraftman | Aircraftman | Aircraftman | Aircraftman | Aircraftman | Aircraftman |
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |

## Definitions
### Non-commissioned officer

A non-commissioned officer is defined as:
    "(a) In relation to the navy, a rating of warrant officer, chief petty officer, petty officer, or leading rank; and includes—
       (i) A non-commissioned officer of the army or the air force attached to the navy; and
       (ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the navy:
    (b) In relation to the army, a soldier above the rank of private but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—
       (i) A non-commissioned officer of the navy or the air force attached to the army; and
       (ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the army:
    (c) In relation to the air force, an airman above the rank of leading aircraftman but below the rank of officer cadet; and includes a warrant officer; and also includes—
       (i) A non-commissioned officer of the navy or the army attached to the air force; and
       (ii) A person duly attached or lent as a non-commissioned officer to or seconded for service or appointed for duty as a non-commissioned officer with the air force:" — Defence Act 1990, Sect 2 (Interpretation)

### Commissioned officers

Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force are commissioned by the Governor-General of New Zealand on behalf of the monarch of New Zealand, King Charles III. See also Officer (armed forces). Salutes rendered to officers by junior officers and enlisted personnel are indirect salutes to the monarch, based on the officer holding the monarch's authority.

## Higher flag ranks and ceremonial ranks

Appointments to the most senior ranks (those above the rank held by the chief of the defence force, usually lieutenant general or equivalent) are ceremonial, for the head of state and members of the royal family.