How Criminal History Affects U.S. Military Enlistment

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The United States military services make every attempt to assess the moral quality of potential recruits, and several categories of moral offenses may preclude enlistment. This is primarily accomplished based on criminal record.

It's important to note that there is no such thing as a "sealed record," or an "expunged record" as far as the military is concerned. The recruiting services have access to law enforcement and FBI investigative records, which quite often will list arrests in these categories.

Disclosing Criminal History


Any offense which resulted in a conviction or "adverse adjudication" counts. Usually, if the charges were dismissed (without conditions), or resulted in an acquittal (finding of "not guilty"), they don't. However, sometimes the military will "count" an offense which resulted in a dismissal. For example, if you were caught shoplifting, and the charges were dismissed because the store owner didn't want to press charges, the military might count it.

On the other hand, if the charges were dismissed because the DA determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove you committed the crime, the military probably wouldn't count it. When determining whether or not an offense "counts" for enlistment purposes, the services are primarily interested in whether or not the applicant actually committed the offense, not whether or not a "legal" conviction resulted. Criminal offenses that fall into one of the below categories "counts" when it comes to enlistment purposes:


Enlistment Standards

Each of the services has their own standards when it comes to criminal offenses, and whether or not the offense(s) are disqualifying:

Criminal History (Moral) Waivers

The waiver process is a very subjective one.