Waiver Charts for Criminal and Conduct Offenses
Along with medical waivers, conduct waiver questions (Contact Me link at end of article) are the two most difficult to answer because of the numerous factors that go into a waiver determination. You see, just because a charge or group of charges can be considered for a waiver, it DOES NOT mean that you will get a waiver. This guide shows the waiver authority, but remember, anyone in the chain can decide not to have your waiver considered. Yes, even your Recruiter can decide not to process you.
Many factors beyond the type and number of offenses are used to determine eligibility, and they include, but are not limited to, your education status, ASVAB score, references from employers, community involvement (not court mandated community service), and more. This guide addresses basic enlistment only, and does NOT delve into the additional waivers you may require for a specific Navy job you may be seeking; or, if your crimes involved physical violence, alcohol involved driving, multiple drug related offenses, drug use, domestic violence, or sex related crimes.
Remember, a waiver is only required because the circumstance being waived is disqualifying. Many people do not make it through the conduct waiver process - in my experience, most of those disapproved were a result of the person being disrespectful; they almost seem to think the process to be a waste of time. Also, during the conduct waiver process, many applicants would blame someone else for their actions. They refused to take ownership of their past indiscretions.
My best advice; be humble and man/woman-up.
Why are conduct waivers completed? The waiver process is a filter to prevent enlistment of persons whose social habits are a threat to unit morale and cohesiveness while allowing those who may have made a couple of prior indiscretions, but still have a good potential to serve.
Important definitions:
- Adjudicated
- "The completion of a legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved." For the purposes of enlistment, if your charges are disposed with ANY condition, it will be considered a guilty finding and will be subject to, if otherwise qualified/required, a waiver by the proper approval authority. Example: a prosecutor tells you that your charges will be dropped if you write a "letter of apology", or if you pay restitution, the condition requirement of having to write the letter or to pay the restitution is considered an adverse adjudication. This includes charges that were dismissed, pardoned or disposed of in any manner that required you to do something, anything!
- Expungement
- Some states have established procedures for the subsequent "expunging of the record", "dismissal of charges", or "pardon" upon evidence of rehabilitation of the offender. Such action has the legal effect of extinguishing the initial "conviction" or "adverse juvenile adjudication" so that, under state law, the applicant has no record of conviction or adverse juvenile adjudication. In spite of this action, the record must be revealed and a waiver of the applicant's disqualification(s) is required at the proper enlistment decision level.
- Probation
- Probation is the suspension of a sentence of an individual convicted of an offense. The suspension of sentence will usually always require the individual to abstain from further unlawful activity during the period of probation and may or may not include other conditions imposed by the convening civil authority/court. The term unconditional/unsupervised probation is used to define a period of probation where the individual has no restrictions concerning freedom of movement, no future reporting requirements, no outstanding balance of fines, restitution or community service to be fulfilled, or any other tangible condition that would restrict the individual's ability to join and serve in the armed forces. Supervised/conditional probation is defined as any imposed condition that would restrict the individual from joining the armed forces due to movement restrictions, reporting requirements, unpaid balances of fines or restitution, or remaining community service requirements to be fulfilled. Persons under unconditional/unsupervised probation are enlistment eligible.
- Non-Traffic Offense
- Generally, if the maximum confinement under local law is four months or less, it is to be treated as a non-traffic offense.
- Misconduct Offense
- Generally, if the maximum confinement under local law exceeds four months but does not exceed one year, it should be treated as a misconduct offense.
- Major Misconduct Offense
- Generally, if the maximum confinement under local law is one year or more, it should be treated as a major misconduct offense.
You may not enlist into the service as an alternative to criminal prosecution, indictment, incarceration, parole, probation, or other punitive sentence. If a judge does reduce your sentence or punishment to join, then you are ineligible for enlistment until the original assigned sentence would have been completed.
All charges, citations, and warnings must be listed in your enlistment paperwork, but it is only those charges and citations that have been adversely adjudicated that will have to be considered when determining if a waiver is required or even necessary. So, let's get to it, what can be waived and who can waive it.
The waiver authority based on the number of traffic, misdemeanor offenses, and combinations of those charges that you may have committed are defined in the charts below:
| Offense | Number of Offenses | Waiver Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic Violations (Follow link for examples) | 5 or more | NTAG CO |
| Non-Traffic Offenses (Follow link for examples) | Up to 4 5 - 7 8 or more |
No waiver is required. NTAG CO No waiver authorized. |
| Misconduct (Follow link for examples) | 1 2 or 4 5 or more |
NTAG CO Eligibility Determination NTAG CO Waiver No waiver authorized. |
Combination Rules for Non-traffic and misconduct (not including major misconduct) offenses.
| Combination Rules for Non-Traffic (NT) and Misconduct (M) Offenses | |
|---|---|
| Combination of Offenses | Waiver Authority |
| 1 M and 4 to 6 NT 2 M and up to 5 NT 3 M and up to 4 NT 4 M and and ANY NT Total of NT+M=8 or more 1 Major Misconduct and three or more additional M and/or NT |
NTAG CO NTAG CO NTAG CO No waiver Authorized No waiver Authorized No waiver Authorized |
An offense is classified a "felony" without regard to the offender's age when the offense was committed, or whether the offense was disposed of by juvenile or adult criminal proceedings. A felony charge that is adjudicated as a felony which is amended later to a lesser offense classification shall be considered a felony for enlistment waiver purposes (unless the recruiting command's legal department determines otherwise).
Even though a probation violation will be charted as a Non-Traffic Offense, all applicants charged with probation violation(s) require an enlistment eligibility determination by Navy Recruiting Command's legal department.
Note: A conduct waiver that requires consideration by the Commander, Navy Recruiting Command are extremely unlikely to be forwarded for consideration unless you are an otherwise stellar applicant.
| Major Misconduct Offenses (Felonies) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Offense | Number of Offenses | Waiver Authority |
| Major Misconduct (Follow link for examples) | 1 or 2* | CNRC |
| 2 juvenile major misconduct offenses or a combination of 1 adult and 1 juvenile major misconduct. | ||
| If you have 2 adult or 3 or more major misconduct offenses. | No waiver authorized. | |
| * Cannot have more than 1 Major Misconduct offense adversely adjudicated as an adult. | ||
A combination of 1 major misconduct and 3 or more additional offenses, other than traffic violations, is NOT authorized for a waiver.
The Conduct Waiver Matrix above is for both active and Reserve, enlisted and officer programs.
To be clear about sealed juvenile records, several states have provisions for "sealing juvenile records" which serves to limit disclosures on the part of law enforcement officials and judicial authorities. In spite of the legal effect of such action, if you have a record, you must reveal the record, and a conduct waiver must be granted to authorize enlistment in these cases.
Self admitted crimes and offenses shall be processed in the same manner as adverse adjudications when the crimes or offenses are not revealed in police record checks or on file with civil authorities. Self admitted crimes and offenses shall be classified (charted) and waived at the appropriate level per this manual. However, any voluntarily disclosed, self admitted, or recruiter discovered form of police or criminal involvement by an applicant warrants further investigation and may be grounds for disqualification.
Applicants with pre-service conduct waivers (drug, alcohol, or criminal) are disqualified for overseas assignment for their first duty station.
Offenses of a Sexual Nature
You receive an automatic, permanent disqualification if you have been convicted of rape, sexual abuse, sexual assault, incest, carnal knowledge, forcible sodomy, sodomy of a minor, prostitution involving a minor, indecent assault, assault with intent to commit rape, assault with intent to commit sodomy, indecent act with a minor, indecent language with a minor, kidnapping of a minor (by a person not a parent), pornography involving a minor, attempt to commit any of the foregoing, conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing, any other sexual offense, or solicitation to commit any of the foregoing, or if you are required by any state or federal court, statute, or administrative regulation, to register as a sex offender - NO WAIVERS AUTHORIZED.
Well, this should be just enough information to confuse the crap out of you. I just hope that this information doesn't stop you from visiting the recruiting station and asking specific questions about your individual circumstance, and provides you with enough insight so you can be as prepared for the visit as you can be.
If you have any questions after reading the article, either contact your local recruiter, or you can ask me directly.
*** Once in the Navy, if you are arrested, you have an obligation to self-report the arrest immediately to your chain of command. Withholding that information would be a violation of a direct order and could be punishable under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
Page written and maintained by NCCM Thomas Goering, USN (Retired).
