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Military Enlistment Body-Composition Standards (2026)

What the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Space Force, and Coast Guard require on the way in: height, weight, WHtR, and body-fat limits for recruits.

Educational reference only. The numbers on this page summarize public service regulations for planning purposes. They are not official medical, recruiting, or administrative determinations. Always confirm your status with a recruiter, commanding officer, or hiring agency using the official assessment.

The 2026 picture

Accession (enlistment) standards sit close to the in-service standards. The WHtR screen applies on the way in: recruits must generally pass the WHtR < 0.55 gate (Marines < 0.52) or meet accession body-fat limits, which are typically a few points more lenient than in-service tables.

By branch

Army: AR 601-210 / AR 600-9 — WHtR < 0.55 gate with accession body-fat a few points more lenient for men. Navy & Air Force: screen at the same joint-force gate. Marine Corps: stricter 0.52 gate. Space Force: joins the Air Force standard. Coast Guard: 0.55 gate with service-specific body-fat tables.

First responders

Firefighters and police do not have a federal body-fat standard; agencies use the CPAT and state POST agility tests, with medical evaluations under NFPA 1580 for firefighters.

Practical takeaway

If you are close to the line, the single highest-leverage input is waist circumference: every inch of waist moves your WHtR by about 0.014 at 70 inches of height — roughly the difference between a pass and a secondary evaluation.

Check yourself against every branch

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Quick answers

Can I enlist if I fail the body-composition screen?
Usually you are given a window to improve and re-test; policies vary by branch and recruiter. Some branches offer waivers for otherwise-qualified applicants with strong fitness scores.
Do the 2026 standards apply to recruits too?
Yes — the WHtR screen is the joint-force standard for accession as well as in-service assessment, with accession body-fat limits typically slightly more lenient.

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