Do Officers Take the ASVAB? OAR, AFOQT, SIFT and Officer Tests

Most commissioning paths do not use the ASVAB. The Navy uses the OAR from the ASTB-E, the Air Force and Space Force use the AFOQT, and Army aviation adds the SIFT. The ASVAB still counts in 3 places: Army officer programs that require a GT of 110, Coast Guard programs that accept a GT of 109, and enlisted-to-officer routes that read the score you earned when you joined.

Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 14, 2026

The short answer by Service

The ASVAB was built to classify enlisted applicants, and most commissioning sources screen with a test of their own. Which one you take depends on the Service and on whether you are a civilian, a cadet or someone already in uniform.

Which test screens officer candidates, as published by each Service, read October 2026

Service	Main officer test	Where the ASVAB still counts
Army	GT score from the ASVAB or AFCT; SIFT for aviation	GT of 110 for OCS, Green to Gold and warrant officer programs
Navy	OAR portion of the ASTB-E; full ASTB-E for aviation	Nuclear option of STA-21 for Sailors not already nuclear trained, under the fiscal year 2026 rules
Marine Corps	SAT, ACT or AFQT for enlisted-to-officer programs; ASTB-E for aviation	AFQT of 74 qualifies for MECEP, ECP, RECP and MCP-R
Air Force	AFOQT	Not used as a commissioning standard
Space Force	AFOQT	Not used as a commissioning standard
Coast Guard	ASVAB GT, SAT or ACT where a program requires a score; ASTB for aviation	GT of 109 is one of the accepted qualifying scores

The officer tests side by side

The officer tests draw on the same skills as the ASVAB: arithmetic, reading, vocabulary and mechanical reasoning. They add aviation knowledge and spatial tasks, and each reports its own scale. The test owners revise these rules, so confirm them with your recruiter or detachment before you schedule.

Officer selection tests compared, as published by the Navy, Air Force and Army, read October 2026

Test	Who uses it	What it measures	Scores	Format and retests
OAR (part of the ASTB-E)	Navy OCS and other non-aviation Navy officer programs	Math Skills, Reading Comprehension, Mechanical Comprehension	20 to 80, predicts academic performance at Navy OCS	Computer adaptive in APEX, 1 to 2 hours, no calculator, no cost; counts toward the same 3-attempt limit as the full battery
Full ASTB-E	Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilot and flight officer selection	The 3 OAR subtests plus Aviation and Nautical Information, a personality inventory (NATFI) and Performance Based Measures	AQR, PFAR and FOFAR on a 1 to 9 stanine scale, plus the OAR	2 hours to 3 hours 15 minutes; no more than 3 attempts at the current version, 30 full days between attempts
AFOQT	Every Air Force and Space Force line officer applicant, plus rated candidates	12 subtests feeding Verbal, Quantitative, Pilot, Combat Systems Officer and Air Battle Manager composites	Percentiles from 1 to 99	Electronic only since 2023; about 4.75 hours; 90 days between attempts; a third attempt needs a waiver
SIFT	Army aviation: warrant officer flight training and cadets or candidates branching aviation	Math, reading, mechanical concepts, mental rotation of aircraft, pattern recognition, aviation knowledge	Pass at 40	One retest after a failed first attempt, no sooner than the 46th day; no retest after a pass
ASVAB GT	Army officer and warrant officer programs; Coast Guard programs that require a score	Arithmetic Reasoning plus Verbal Expression	110 for the Army; 109 for the Coast Guard	ASVAB at MEPS for civilians; AFCT for Soldiers already serving

The Navy OAR and the ASTB-E

Navy Medicine Operational Training Command, which owns the test, describes the ASTB-E as the primary aviation selection test for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The Officer Aptitude Rating comes from 3 of its subtests, and applicants to non-aviation programs such as Navy OCS can take only that portion. Aviation applicants take the whole battery.

The OAR subtests are computer adaptive, so you cannot skip a question or go back to change one. The command warns against random guessing as time runs out: on these subtests, blind guesses usually cost more than the penalty for leaving items unfinished. Formulas are provided but calculators are not, which will feel familiar if you have practiced for the ASVAB's no-calculator math.

You get no more than 3 attempts at the current version of the OAR and ASTB-E, and after the third you are ineligible for ASTB testing. Your most recent attempt becomes your score of record even if an earlier one was higher. Navy Personnel Command program authorizations and Marine Corps orders set the minimums, which differ by program, so ask your officer recruiter which OAR you need.

The AFOQT for the Air Force and Space Force

DAFMAN 36-2664, the Department of the Air Force manual that governs both Services' personnel testing, requires the AFOQT of applicants for any line officer training program. Commissioning requires a Verbal composite at the 15th percentile or higher and a Quantitative composite at the 10th percentile or higher, and rated jobs need 25 or higher on the matching Pilot, Combat Systems Officer or Air Battle Manager composite. The current edition, dated 17 January 2025, sets a 90-day wait between attempts and makes the best composite from any attempt the score of record.

The Space Force tells applicants on spaceforce.com that the AFOQT can be taken only twice. DAFMAN 36-2664 allows a third attempt with a waiver from the wing commander or equivalent. Plan as if you get 2 tries.

The Army SIFT for aviation

The Selection Instrument for Flight Training is the Army's screen for flight school. AR 611-110 requires a qualifying SIFT score before selection for initial-entry rotary wing training, and the Army Aviation Branch at Fort Rucker sets the passing mark at 40. The 153A rotary wing warrant officer page calls 40 the minimum and 55 or higher most preferred, alongside a GT of 110 minimum and 120 or higher preferred.

Where the ASVAB still matters

If you enlisted first, the ASVAB scores on your record follow you. Several commissioning programs read them directly, and for Soldiers the GT is the gate to OCS, Green to Gold and warrant officer programs.

ASVAB-related requirements for officer programs, as published by each Service in the source named, read October 2026

Program	Requirement	Where it is published
Army Officer Candidate School	GT of 110 or higher on the ASVAB; the regulation says this item will not be waived	AR 350-51, paragraphs 1-5b and 1-9a
Army Green to Gold	GT of 110 or greater; the Active Duty Option booklet says no waiver submissions are authorized	goarmy.com Green to Gold page; Cadet Command Green to Gold Active Duty Option booklet, edited 18 June 2025
Army warrant officer programs	GT of 110, the minimum for any officer-producing program	AR 135-100, paragraph 1-6c, as stated by Army Recruiting Command
Marine Corps MECEP, ECP, RECP, MCP-R	AFQT of 74, or SAT of 1000 (Math and Critical Reading), or ACT composite of 22; no waivers	MCO 1040.43B, chapter 1, paragraph 4c
Navy STA-21	SAT or ACT for non-nuclear options; the fiscal year 2026 announcement waived it for the nuclear option, where Sailors not already nuclear trained must meet nuclear field standards that include the ASVAB	NAVADMIN 019/25 (fiscal year 2026); NAVADMIN 048/26 (fiscal year 2027) refers applicants to OPNAVINST 1420.1C
Air Force and Space Force programs	AFOQT Verbal 15 and Quantitative 10	DAFMAN 36-2664, Table A2.1
Coast Guard programs that require a score	GT of 109 (AR plus VE), or SAT of 1100, or ACT composite of 23	Coast Guard PY25 Officer Application Guide

In the Army, a GT of 109 falls short of the 110 line for OCS, Green to Gold and warrant officer programs alike. AR 350-51 says the OCS test score requirement will not be waived, and the Green to Gold Active Duty Option booklet says no waiver submissions are authorized.

Army OCS, Green to Gold and warrant officer routes

AR 350-51 lists a GT of 110 or higher among the criteria all OCS applicants must meet. The regulation dates from 2001, and some of its other items, such as an SAT or ACT score and the old Army Physical Fitness Test, show their age. Work from the current packet checklist your career counselor gives you. The GT line itself matches what Army Recruiting Command says AR 135-100 sets for any officer-producing program.

The GT score combines Arithmetic Reasoning with Verbal Expression, the composite built from Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. If yours is short, Army Recruiting Command is blunt: Soldiers retest on the Armed Forces Classification Test at the installation testing facility, and should not retake the ASVAB or contact MEPS. Most installations also run the Basic Skills Education Program to prepare for it.

Marine Corps enlisted-to-officer programs

The Marine Corps reads the AFQT, not the GT, for its enlisted-to-officer boards. MCO 1040.43B applies the same test rule to MECEP, ECP, RECP and MCP-R: an AFQT of 74, an SAT of 1000 or an ACT of 22 on the most recent test. An AFQT of 74 sits in Category II, so the bar is well above enlistment minimums.

Aviation candidates must also reach an AQR of 4 and a PFAR or FOFAR of 6 on the ASTB. Each year's board MARADMIN, such as MARADMIN 459/25 for the 2026 boards, points back to this order and to the recruiting command's Officer Commissioning Manual.

Navy STA-21, Air Force and Space Force

Seaman to Admiral-21 runs on the SAT or ACT. The fiscal year 2027 announcement, NAVADMIN 048/26, lists non-qualifying SAT or ACT scores among the common reasons packages are not considered and points applicants to OPNAVINST 1420.1C for the eligibility rules. The fiscal year 2026 announcement waived the SAT and ACT for the nuclear option, but Sailors who were not already nuclear trained still had to meet the nuclear field standards, and those include ASVAB scores.

Airmen and Guardians who want a commission take the AFOQT like any civilian applicant; their enlistment ASVAB is not the commissioning standard for either Service. The Space Force also asks enlisted members for an AF Form 422 confirming prior testing and medical fitness.

Coast Guard officer programs

Coast Guard Recruiting Command lists Officer Candidate School and 12 Direct Commission Officer programs among its active duty programs, 3 reserve direct commission programs, and the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative and Wilks Flight Initiative as scholarship programs. The Coast Guard Academy is not in its PY25 Officer Application Guide, and the guide asks for a test score only where a program requires one. The minimums are then an ASVAB GT of 109, the sum of Arithmetic Reasoning and Verbal Expression, for tests taken after 1 July 2004, or an SAT of 1100, or an ACT composite of 23. The Wilks Flight Initiative requires the ASTB, with minimums of an AQR of 4 and a PFAR of 5.

The guide's OCS eligibility table lists age, education and service limits but no test, so ask the recruiter whether your program needs a score. If you need an ASVAB, the recruiter schedules it at the nearest MEPS, and Coast Guard members can retake theirs through their education services officer. Enlisted members applying to OCS for a temporary regular commission must be E-5 or above with 4 years of active duty, at least 2 of them in the Coast Guard.

If you are in high school and want a commission

The test that matters most right now is the SAT or ACT. The Army's ROTC scholarship page requires that you have taken one of them, and its West Point page asks for competitive scores on either. Air Force ROTC weighs the AFOQT, SAT or ACT in selection, and every Air Force and Space Force line officer still has to clear the AFOQT minimums before commissioning. The comparisons in ASVAB vs SAT and ASVAB vs ACT show how the content lines up.

The ASVAB is still worth taking seriously if there is any chance you enlist first. A Soldier who later wants Green to Gold or OCS brings the GT from that test, the same composite several Army jobs list in their requirements, and a Marine eyeing MECEP brings the AFQT.

Preparation also carries over. The OAR's Math Skills test covers arithmetic, algebra, geometry and simple probability without a calculator, and its Mechanical Comprehension test covers gears, pulleys, fluids and electricity. That is much the same ground as the ASVAB's Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge and Mechanical Comprehension subtests, which also feed the Services' line scores.

Frequently Asked Questions

Usually not. The Navy screens officer candidates with the OAR portion of the ASTB-E, and the Air Force and Space Force use the AFOQT for every line officer. The ASVAB comes back into play on the Army side, where officer programs require a GT score of 110, on the Coast Guard side, where a GT of 109 is one of the accepted qualifying scores, and on enlisted-to-officer routes that read the score you earned when you enlisted.

AR 350-51, the Army regulation for Officer Candidate School, lists a GT score of 110 or higher on the ASVAB among the criteria every applicant must meet. Green to Gold and Army warrant officer programs use the same 110 line. Soldiers who need to raise the score retest on the Armed Forces Classification Test at their installation, not on the ASVAB at MEPS.

No. The OAR is a score from 3 subtests of the Navy's Aviation Selection Test Battery: Math Skills, Reading Comprehension and Mechanical Comprehension. It is reported on a 20 to 80 scale and predicts academic performance at Navy Officer Candidate School. The content overlaps with ASVAB math, reading and mechanical subtests, but the scores are separate and one cannot stand in for the other.

DAFMAN 36-2664, the Department of the Air Force testing manual, sets a Verbal composite of at least 15 and a Quantitative composite of at least 10 for commissioning line officers through every accession source. Pilot, combat systems officer and air battle manager candidates also need 25 or higher on the matching rated composite. Composites are percentiles from 1 to 99.

No. The Army's own pages list the SAT or ACT for ROTC scholarship applicants and competitive SAT or ACT scores for West Point. Air Force ROTC selection uses the AFOQT, SAT or ACT in part, and Air Force and Space Force cadets must still meet the AFOQT commissioning minimums before they pin on gold bars.

Yes, through the AFQT. MCO 1040.43B lets enlisted-to-officer applicants qualify with an AFQT of 74, an SAT of 1000 in Math and Critical Reading, or an ACT composite of 22, and it says no waivers will be considered. Aviation candidates also need qualifying ASTB scores.

A 40. Army Aviation Branch guidance and the warrant officer recruiting pages both list 40 as the minimum, while the 153A warrant officer page lists 55 or higher as most preferred. If you pass, you cannot retest. If you score below 40, AR 611-110 allows one retest no sooner than the 46th day after the first attempt.

Sources

Navy Medicine Operational Training Command, Operational Psychology Department, ASTB-E Overview page (archived copy of February 2026): subtests, OAR and aviation score scales, 3-test limit, retest policy.
Navy Medicine Operational Training Command, ASTB-E Frequently Asked Questions page (archived copy of November 2025): administration time, computer adaptive format, calculator and cost rules, scores of record, minimum score references.
Department of the Air Force, DAFMAN 36-2664, Personnel Assessment Program, 17 January 2025, incorporating Change 1 of 15 July 2025, paragraphs 3.8.1 and 4.4.2 and Attachment 2 (A2.2 to A2.3 subtests, composites and testing time; A2.6 retests; A2.7 superscoring; Table A2.1 minimum standards).
U.S. Space Force, spaceforce.com, Join as Officer page, officer paths and AFOQT section, read October 2026; U.S. Air Force, airforce.com, Officer Training School and ASVAB pages, read October 2026.
Headquarters, Department of the Army, AR 350-51, United States Army Officer Candidate School, 11 June 2001, paragraphs 1-5 and 1-9a.
Headquarters, Department of the Army, AR 611-110, Selection of Army Aviation Officers and Warrant Officers, 9 August 2023, paragraph 2-1c and paragraph 4-3.
U.S. Army Recruiting Command, Warrant Officer Recruiting, ASVAB/GT Information page (last updated 14 June 2023) and 153A Rotary Wing Aviator page with its prerequisites summary (last updated 16 December 2024), Internet Archive copies read October 2026.
Headquarters, Department of the Army, AR 135-100, Appointment of Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Army, 1 September 1994, paragraph 1-6c (GT of 110 for commissioned and warrant officer appointments).
U.S. Army Aviation Branch, Fort Rucker, Cadets and Candidates page, qualifications FAQs on the SIFT, read October 2026.
U.S. Army, goarmy.com, Green to Gold, Officer Candidate School, ROTC Scholarships and West Point pages, requirements sections, read October 2026; U.S. Army Cadet Command, Green to Gold Active Duty Option Program Information Booklet, edited 18 June 2025, eligibility item 7.
U.S. Marine Corps, MCO 1040.43B, Enlisted to Officer Commissioning Programs, 29 October 2015, enclosure (1), chapter 1, paragraph 4c; MARADMIN 459/25, Calendar Year 2026 Marine Corps Recruiting Command Enlisted to Officer Announcement Selection Boards, 25 September 2025, references and paragraph 4.
Chief of Naval Operations, NAVADMIN 019/25, Fiscal Year 2026 Seaman to Admiral-21 Program Announcement, 28 January 2025, paragraphs 2, 7b, 8h and 9e; NAVADMIN 048/26, Fiscal Year 2027 Seaman to Admiral-21 Program Announcement, 5 March 2026, paragraphs 1, 5a, 6a and 8.
Coast Guard Recruiting Command, PY25 Officer Application Guide, updated 21 March 2024, section IV item 10 (test scores) and section VII (Officer Candidate School eligibility).