10 U.S.C. § 533 (ARMED FORCES)
§ 533. Service credit upon original appointment as a commissioned officer
(a)
(1) For the purpose of determining the grade and rank within grade of a person receiving an original appointment in a commissioned grade (other than a warrant officer grade) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, Regular Marine Corps, or Space Force, such person shall be credited at the time of such appointment with any active commissioned service (other than service as a commissioned warrant officer) that he performed in any armed force, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service before such appointment.
(2) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations, which shall apply uniformly among the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force, to authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to limit the amount of prior active commissioned service with which a person receiving an original appointment may be credited under paragraph (1), or to deny any such credit, in the case of a person who at the time of such appointment is credited with constructive service under subsection (b).
(b)
(1) Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the military department concerned shall credit a person who is receiving an original appointment in a commissioned grade (other than a commissioned warrant officer grade) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, Regular Marine Corps, or Space Force and who has advanced education or training or special experience with constructive service for such education, training, or experience as follows:
(A) One year for each year of advanced education beyond the baccalaureate degree level, for persons appointed, designated, or assigned in officer categories requiring such advanced education or an advanced degree as a prerequisite for such appointment, designation, or assignment. In determining the number of years of constructive service to be credited under this clause to officers in any professional field, the Secretary concerned shall credit an officer with, but with not more than, the number of years of advanced education required by a majority of institutions that award degrees in that professional field for completion of the advanced education or award of the advanced degree.
(B)
(i) Credit for any period of advanced education in a health profession (other than medicine and dentistry) beyond the baccalaureate degree level which exceeds the basic education criteria for appointment, designation, or assignment, if such advanced education will be directly used by the armed force concerned.
(ii) Credit for experience in a health profession (other than medicine or dentistry), if such experience will be directly used by the armed force concerned.
(C) Additional credit of (i) not more than one year for internship or equivalent graduate medical, dental, or other formal professional training required by the armed forces, and (ii) not more than one year for each additional year of such graduate-level training or experience creditable toward certification in a specialty required by the armed forces.
(D) Additional credit as follows:
(i) For special training or experience in a particular officer field as designated by the Secretary concerned, if such training or experience is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.
(ii) During fiscal years 2021 through 2025, for advanced education in an officer field so designated, if such education is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.
(E) Additional credit for experience as a physician or dentist, if appointed as a medical or dental officer in the Army or Navy or, in the case of the Air Force, with a view to designation as a medical or dental officer.
(2) The amount of constructive service credited an officer under this subsection may not exceed the amount required in order for the officer to be eligible for an original appointment in the grade of colonel in the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force, or captain in the Navy.
(3) Constructive service credited an officer under this subsection is in addition to any service credited that officer under subsection (a) and shall be credited at the time of the original appointment of the officer.
(c) Constructive service credited an officer under subsection (b) shall be used only for determining the officer’s—
(1) initial grade as a regular officer;
(2) rank in grade; and
(3) service in grade for promotion eligibility.
(d)
(1) Constructive service may not be credited under subsection (b) for education, training, or experience obtained while serving as a commissioned officer (other than a warrant officer) on active duty or in an active status. However, in the case of an officer who completes advanced education or receives an advanced degree while on active duty or in an active status and in less than the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree, constructive service may, subject to regulations prescribed under subsection (a)(2), be credited to the officer under subsection (b)(1)(A) to the extent that the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree exceeds the actual number of years in which such advanced education or degree is obtained by the officer.
(2) A graduate of the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Air Force Academy is not entitled to service credit under this section for service performed, or education, training, or experience obtained, before graduation from such Academy.
(e) If the Secretary of Defense determines that the number of qualified judge advocates serving on active duty in the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps in grades below major or lieutenant commander is critically below the number needed by such armed force in such grades, he may authorize the Secretary of the military department concerned to credit any person receiving an original appointment in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the Army or Navy, or any person receiving an original appointment in the Air Force or Marine Corps with a view to designation as a judge advocate, with a period of constructive service in such an amount (in addition to any period of service credited such person under subsection (b)(1)) as will result in the grade of such person being that of captain or, in the case of an officer of the Navy, lieutenant and the date of rank of such person being junior to that of all other officers of the same grade serving on active duty.
(f) A reserve officer (other than a warrant officer) who receives an original appointment as an officer (other than as a warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, Regular Marine Corps, or Space Force shall—
(1) in the case of an officer on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank held by the officer on the active-duty list immediately before the appointment; and
(2) in the case of an officer not on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank which the officer would have held had the officer been serving on the active-duty list on the date of the appointment as a regular officer.
(Added Pub. L. 96–513, title I, § 104(a), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2846; amended Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c), July 10, 1981, 95 Stat. 125; Pub. L. 98–94, title X, § 1007(c)(1), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 662; Pub. L. 100–180, div. A, title VII, § 714(a), Dec. 4, 1987, 101 Stat. 1112; Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 509(a), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1647; Pub. L. 113–66, div. A, title V, § 502, Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 750; Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title V, § 512(b), Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1377; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title V, § 502(a), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1739; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title V, § 502(a), title IX, § 924(b)(1)(B), (4)(C), (14), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3563, 3820, 3822, 3823; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title XVII, § 1716(b)(4), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 633; Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title V, § 521(c)(2), Dec. 23, 2024, 138 Stat. 1881.)
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Amendments
text: 2024—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 118–159 substituted “Marine Corps, or Space Force, or captain in the Navy” for “or Marine Corps, captain in the Navy, or an equivalent grade in the Space Force”.
2023—Subsecs. (a)(1), (b)(1), (f). Pub. L. 118–31 struck out “Regular” before “Space Force”.
2021—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps”.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(1)(B), substituted “Marine Corps, and Space Force” for “and Marine Corps”.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1)(D). Pub. L. 116–283, § 502(a), amended subpar. (D) generally. Prior to amendment, subpar. (D) read as follows: “Additional credit for special training or experience in a particular officer career field as designated by the Secretary concerned, if such training or experience is directly related to the operational needs of the armed force concerned.”
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(14), substituted “, captain in the Navy, or an equivalent grade in the Space Force” for “or captain in the Navy”.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 116–283, § 924(b)(4)(C), substituted “Regular Marine Corps, or Regular Space Force” for “or Regular Marine Corps” in introductory provisions.
2018—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(A), struck out “or (g)” after “subsection (b)”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(D). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(1)(A), added subpar. (D) and struck out former subpar. (D) which read as follows: “Additional credit, in unusual cases, based on special experience in a particular field.”
Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(1)(B), substituted “The amount” for “Except as authorized by the Secretary concerned in individual cases and under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in the case of a medical or dental officer, the amount” and “in the grade of colonel in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps or captain in the Navy” for “in the grade of major in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps or lieutenant commander in the Navy”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(A), struck out “or (g)” after “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 115–232, § 502(a)(2)(B), struck out subsec. (g) which related to constructive service credited to commissioned officers with cyberspace-related experience or advanced education serving on active duty.
2017—Subsec. (g)(4). Pub. L. 115–91 substituted “2023” for “2018”.
2013—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(1), inserted “or (g)” after “subsection (b)”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(1), inserted “or (g)” after “subsection (b)” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 113–66, § 502(2), added subsec. (g).
1993—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 103–160, § 509(a)(1), in second sentence, substituted “In determining” for “Except as provided in clause (E), in determining” and “advanced education required” for “postsecondary education in excess of four that are required”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(E), (F). Pub. L. 103–160, § 509(a)(2), (3), redesignated subpar. (F) as (E) and struck out former subpar. (E) which read as follows: “Additional credit of one year for advanced education in a health profession if the number of years of baccalaureate education completed by 75 percent or more of the students entering advanced training in that health profession exceeds, by one or more, the minimum number of years of preprofessional education required by a majority of institutions which award degrees in that health profession. The percentage of such persons shall be computed on an annual basis for each health profession from the data for the year in which the person being appointed, designated, or assigned was admitted to a professional school. However, a person may not receive additional credit under this clause if the amount of his baccalaureate education does not exceed, by one or more, the minimum number of years of preprofessional education required by a majority of institutions which award degrees for that health profession, determined on the basis prescribed in the preceding sentence.”
1987—Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 100–180 designated existing provisions as cl. (i) and added cl. (ii).
1983—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 98–94 inserted “, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Public Health Service”.
1981—Subsec. (b)(1)(A). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(1), inserted “, designated, or assigned” in first sentence after “persons appointed” and substituted “Except as provided in clause (E), in determining the number of years of constructive service to be credited under this clause to officers in any professional field, the Secretary concerned shall credit an officer with, but with not more than, the number of years of postsecondary education in excess of four that are required by a majority of institutions that award degrees in that professional field for completion of the advanced education or award of the advanced degree” for “(Except as provided in clause (E), in determining the years of constructive service under this clause, the Secretary concerned shall grant credit for only the number of years normally required to complete the advanced education or receive the advanced degree”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(B). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(2), substituted “appointment, designation, or assignment, if such advanced education” for “appointment as an officer, if such advanced education”.
Subsec. (b)(1)(E). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(3), substituted “person being appointed, designated, or assigned was admitted” for “person being appointed was admitted”.
Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(4), inserted provision that, in the case of an officer who completes advanced education or receives an advanced degree while on active duty or in an active status and in less than the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree, constructive service may, subject to regulations prescribed under subsection (a)(2), be credited to the officer under subsection (b)(1)(A) to the extent that the number of years normally required to complete such advanced education or receive such advanced degree exceeds the actual number of years in which such advanced education or degree is obtained by the officer.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 97–22, § 3(c)(5), substituted “A reserve officer (other than a warrant officer) who receives an original appointment as an officer (other than as a warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps shall (1) in the case of an officer on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank held by the officer on the active-duty list immediately before the appointment; and (2) in the case of an officer not on the active-duty list immediately before that appointment as a regular officer, be appointed in the same grade and with the same date of rank as the grade and date of rank which the officer would have held had the officer been serving on the active-duty list on the date of the appointment as a regular officer” for “An officer of a reserve component who receives an original appointment as an officer (other than a warrant officer) in the Regular Army, Regular Navy, Regular Air Force, or Regular Marine Corps shall be appointed in the grade and with the date of rank to which he would have been entitled had he been serving on active duty as an officer of a reserve component on the date of such original appointment as a regular officer”.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Effective Date
text: Section effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under this section effective Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as an Effective Date of 1980 Amendment note under section 101 of this title.
heading: Annual Report
text: Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title V, § 502(c), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3564, provided that:
“(1) In general.—
Not later than February 1, 2022, and every four years thereafter [sic], each Secretary of a military department shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the use of the authorities in subparagraph (D) of section 553(b)(1) [probably means section 533(b)(1)] of title 10, United States Code (as amended by subsection (a)), and subparagraph (D) of section 12207(b)(1) of such title (as amended by subsection (b)) (each referred to in this subsection as a ‘constructive credit authority’) during the preceding fiscal year for the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary.
“(2) Elements.—
Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, for the fiscal year and Armed Forces covered by such report, the following:
“(A) The manner in which constructive service credit was calculated under each constructive credit authority.
“(B) The number of officers credited constructive service credit under each constructive credit authority.
“(C) A description and assessment of the utility of the constructive credit authorities in meeting the operational needs of the Armed Force concerned.
“(D) Such other matters in connection with the constructive credit authorities as the Secretary of the military department concerned considers appropriate.”
heading: Ratification of Service Credit Awarded Prior to November 30, 1993
text: Pub. L. 103–160, div. A, title V, § 509(e), Nov. 30, 1993, 107 Stat. 1648, provided that: “To the extent that service credit awarded before the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 30, 1993] under section 533, 3353, 5600, or 8353 of title 10, United States Code, based on advanced education in medicine or dentistry was awarded consistent with that section as amended by this section (whether or not properly awarded under that section as in effect before such amendment), the awarding of that service credit is hereby ratified.”
heading: Transition Provision Under Defense Officer Personnel Management Act
text: For savings provision relating to constructive service previously granted, see section 625 of Pub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section 611 of this title.