The age to enlist in the U.S. Army has changed from 34 to 42 for Active Duty, Army Reserve and National Guard, effective April 20.
Published on March 20, AR 601-210, the regulation that governs policies and procedures for the Army’s enlistment process, was updated to reflect the new enlistment ages.
The Army in recent years had capped the enlistment age at 35, although it did accept some older recruits with waivers, according to Army officials. The policy remains the same for the minimum age of 17 with parental permission or 18 years old.
The policy change aims to broaden the applicant pool, aligning with other branches like the Air Force and Space Force, and also removes waiver requirements for single prior marijuana possession convictions.
The average age of Army recruits has been rising, and studies show older recruits often have lower attrition rates and higher reenlistment rates.
The move follows recent recruitment challenges and attempts to tap into a more mature workforce that has already acquired life or work experience.
The updated enlistment age brings the Army in line with the Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard, which all accept recruits up to 42. The Navy accepts recruits up to 41, and the Marine Corps only accepts enlisted recruits up to 28 years old.
In 2006, the Army temporarily increased the maximum age to 42 during combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan but dropped back to 35 in 2016.
The Air Force and Space Force were the most recent to raise the enlistment age in 2023 when recruiters saw a slump and numbers fell short the goal for multiple years.
RAND Corporation analyses in a 2022 study indicate that older recruits (roughly ages 25–42) and, separately, older veterans, often bring higher levels of education, experience, and motivation to the military, resulting in better retention and promotion rates compared to younger peers, despite higher initial training attrition. That age group was also about 6% more likely to reenlist after their initial contract.
This research was sponsored by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs and conducted by the Personnel, Training, and Health Program within the RAND Arroyo Center.