Warrant officer ( United Kingdom ) A warrant officer ( WO ) in the British Armed Forces is a member of the highest group of non - commissioned ranks , holding the Queen ' s ( or King ' s ) warrant , which is signed by the Secretary of State for Defence . Warrant officers are not saluted , but are to be addressed as ' Sir / Ma ' am ' by subordinates . Their seniors may address warrant officers either by their appointment ( e . g . QMSI , RSM or sergeant major ) or as " Mister " , " Mrs " , or " Ms " and then their last name , e . g . " Mr Smith " . Although often referred to along with non - commissioned officer s ( NCOs ) , they are not NCOs , but members of a separate group ( traditional official terminology for the personnel of a unit is " the officers , warrant officers , non - commissioned officers and men " ) , although all have been promoted from NCO rank . Royal Navy . Use of the term ' warrant officer ' dates from the beginnings of the Royal Navy , a time when ships were commanded by noblemen who depended on others with specialist skills to oversee the practicalities of life on board . Specialists such as a ship ' s carpenter , boatswain and gunner were vital to the safety of all on board , and were accordingly ranked as officers - though by warrant rather than by commission . These and other specialists retained their distinctive rank and status until 1949 , when the rank of warrant officer was abolished . In 1973 , warrant officers reappeared in the Royal Navy , but these appointments followed the Army model , with the new warrant officers being ratings rather than officers , superior to the rate of chief petty officer . They were ranked as equivalents to warrant officers class I in the British Army and Royal Marines and with warrant officers in the Royal Air Force . The rank was initially titled as fleet chief petty officer , becoming warrant officer in the 1980s . In April 2004 , the Royal Navy created the rate of warrant officer class 2 ( WO2 ) , superior to the CPO and subordinate to existing warrant officers who were retitled as warrant office class 1 ( WO1 ) . The WO2 replaced the non - substantive appointment of charge chief petty officer ( CCPO ) in the technical branches . Prior to this change the CCPO was considered as a NATO OR - 8 , equivalent to WO2 . In non - technical branches , there is still no requirement to hold WO2 rank before promotion to WO1 . Warrant officers wear the same rank insignia as their counterparts in the Royal Marines . In 2005 , the Royal Navy introduced the appointment of executive warrant officer ( EWO ) in all ships and shore establishments . The EWO is the senior warrant officer within the unit , and a member of the senior command team . The appointment is intended to be filled by an experienced WO1 . Above these are four command warrant officers : CWO Surface Ships , CWO Submarines , CWO Royal Marines ( subordinate to the Corps RSM ) and CWO Fleet Air Arm . The most senior warrant officer is the Warrant Officer of the Naval Service ( WO ( NS ) ) , a position to be held by WO1 Steve Cass from December 2013 . This post replaced the Command Warrant Officer working under the Second Sea Lord in 2010 Royal Marines . Before 1879 , the Royal Marines had no warrant officers , but by the end of 1881 , warrant rank was held by sergeant - majors and some other senior NCOs , in a similar fashion to the Army . Warrant officers were given equivalent status to those in the Royal Navy from 1910 , with the Royal Marines gunner ( originally titled gunnery sergeant - major ) equivalent to the Navy ' s warrant rank of gunner . Shortly after the Army introduced the ranks of warrant officer classes I and II in 1915 , the Royal Marines did the same . From February 1920 , Royal Marines warrant officers class I were once more retitled warrant officers and given the same status as Royal Navy warrant officers and the rank of warrant officer class II was abolished in the Royal Marines , with no further promotions to the rank , although men who already held it retained it . As in the Royal Navy , by the Second World War there were warrant officers and commissioned warrant officers ( e . g . staff sergeant majors , commissioned staff sergeant majors , Royal Marines gunners , commissioned Royal Marines gunners , etc . ) . As officers , they were saluted by junior ranks . These all became ( commissioned ) branch officer ranks in 1949 , and special duties officer ranks in 1956 . In 1973 the Royal Marines reintroduced the same warrant ranks as the Army , warrant officer class 1 and warrant officer class 2 , replacing the ranks ( as opposed to appointments ) of quartermaster sergeant and regimental sergeant major . The insignia are the same , but all Royal Marines WO2s wear the crown - in - wreath variation . As in the Army , many warrant officers have appointments by which they are known , referred to and addressed . WO2 appointments are : WO1 appointments are : The most senior Royal Marines WO1 is the Corps Regimental Sergeant Major . Directly junior to him is the Command Warrant Officer . The rank below WO2 is colour sergeant , the Royal Marines equivalent of staff sergeant . British Army . In the British Army , there are two warrant ranks , warrant officer class 2 ( WO2 ) and warrant officer class 1 ( WO1 ) , the latter being the senior of the two . It used to be more common to refer to these ranks as WOII and WOI ( using Roman instead of Arabic numerals ) . Warrant officer 1st class or 2nd class is incorrect . The rank immediately below WO2 is staff sergeant ( or colour sergeant ) . WO1s wear a royal coat of arms on the lower sleeve , except for the regimental sergeant majors of Foot Guards Regiments who wear a larger version of the same coat of arms on the upper sleeve . The insignia of those holding the most senior WO1 appointment of Conductor is the coat of arms surrounded by a wreath . The four most senior warrant officer appointments in the British Army according to Queen ' s Regulations are , in descending order of seniority : Appointments . Most warrant officers have an appointment , and is usually referred to by his / her appointment rather than by his rank . Appointments held by WO1s include : WO2s wear a crown on the lower sleeve , surrounded by a wreath for quartermaster sergeants and all WO2s in the Royal Army Medical Corps and the 9th / 12th Royal Lancers ( The wreath was used for all WOIIs from 1938 to 1947 ) . The four most common WO2 appointments in descending order of seniority are : Other appointments held by WO2s include : From 1938 , there was also a rank of warrant officer class III ( WOIII ) . The only appointments held by this rank were platoon sergeant major , troop sergeant major and section sergeant major . The WOIII wore a crown on his lower sleeve ( which is why all WOIIs switched to a crown in a wreath during this period ) . The rank was placed in suspension in 1940 and no new appointments were made , but it was never officially abolished . Forms of address . How warrant officers are addressed depends , as does much else in the British Army , on the traditions of their regiment or corps . However , there are some general rules of thumb : Royal Air Force . The Royal Air Force first used the ranks of warrant officer class I and II which it inherited from the Royal Flying Corps . It also first used the rank badges of the Royal Coat of Arms ( commonly referred to as the ' Tate and Lyles ' - a reference to the similarity to the logo used by the Tate and Lyle Company ) and the crown respectively . Until the 1930s , these ranks were often known as sergeant major 1st and 2nd class . In 1939 , the RAF abolished the rank of WOII and retained just the WOI rank , referred to as just Warrant Officer ( WO ) , which it remains to this day . The RAF has no equivalent to WO2 ( NATO OR - 8 ) , an RAF WO being equivalent to WO1 in the Army , Royal Navy and Royal Marines ( NATO OR - 9 ) and wears the same badge of rank the Royal Coat of Arms . Warrant officers are addressed as " Warrant Officer " or sometimes this is abbreviated down to just " Warrant " . The correct way to address a warrant officer is " sir " or " ma ' am " by the airmen and " Mr or Warrant Officer - Name - " by the officers . Most RAF Warrant Officers do not hold appointments as in the Army or Royal Marines ; the exception to this is the Station Warrant Officer who is considered a “ first amongst equals ” by other RAF Warrant Officers on a RAF Station . Warrant Officers are the highest Non - Commissioned rank and they rank above flight sergeant s . In 1946 the RAF renamed its aircrew warrant officers master aircrew , a designation which still survives . In 1950 , it renamed warrant officers in technical trades master technicians , a designation which only survived until 1964 . The most senior RAF warrant officer is the Chief of the Air Staff ' s Warrant Officer . Cadet organisations . Sea Cadet Corps ( Navy ) . An eligible CPO ( SCC ) or C / Sgt ( SCC ) may apply for a warrant officer ' s selection board at national level , providing he or she meet the necessary requirements . Upon successful completion of this board , a CPO ( SCC ) will be rated WO2 ( SCC ) RNR , or a C / Sgt ( SCC ) will be promoted to WO2 ( SCC ) RMR . SCC WOs are permitted to use the postnominals RNR / RMR . Each area may select one WO from its pool of WO2 ( SCC ) RNR / RMRs , to undertake the role of area executive warrant officer , and with that responsibility be rated WO1 ( SCC ) RNR / RMR . Army Cadet Force and Combined Cadet Force . The rank of warrant officer does not exist in the ACF and CCF ( Army ) - it is often misused by those holding appointments as sergeants major or sergeants major instructor ( either cadets or adult instructors ) in the CCF ( Army ) and ACF who are not holders of warrants and thus not warrant officers . Air Training Corps and Combined Cadet Force ( RAF ) . Cadets . Cadets in the Air Cadet Organisation may hold the rank of cadet warrant officer . They are addressed as " Cadet Warrant Officer " not " sir / ma ' am " . An Air Training Corps squadron may have up to three CWOs . All ATC cadet warrant officers are appointed to the position from flight sergeant by their wing commander . They also exist in the RAF Section of the Combined Cadet Force . The insignia for a CWO is a crown within a laurel wreath . . Adult staff . ATC adult staff promoted to warrant officer have the title WO ( ATC ) , and are addressed as " sir / ma ' am " by subordinates and as " Mr " , " Mrs " or " Miss " by officers . Similar to the ATC adult NCO ranks WOs ( ATC ) are part of the ATC rather than the RAFVR ( T ) . A WO ( ATC ) does not hold a Royal Warrant or any military rank . The insignia for a WO ( ATC ) is an unadorned crown , except for ex - regular service warrant officers who wear the royal coat of arms .