Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§514 Bounties prohibited; substitutes prohibited
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle A— - General Military Law › Part PART II— - PERSONNEL › Chapter CHAPTER 31— - ENLISTMENTS › § 514
Summary
No one may pay a reward to get someone to join the armed forces. Lawful clothing allowances or enlistment bonuses are not treated as those rewards. If you are required to do active duty, you may not hire or send someone else to serve in your place, and no one may be enlisted or appointed as another person's substitute.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §514
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)No bounty may be paid to induce any person to enlist in an armed force. A clothing allowance or enlistment bonus authorized by law is not a bounty for the purposes of this subsection.
(b)No person liable for active duty in an armed force under this subtitle may furnish a substitute for that active duty. No person may be enlisted or appointed in an armed force as a substitute for another person.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 514(a) 514(b)50 App.:458 (1st sentence, less applicability to induction).50 App.:458 (last sentence, less applicability to induction).June 24, 1948, ch. 625, § 8 (less applicability to induction), 62 Stat. 614. In subsection (b), the words “active duty” are substituted for the words “training and service”. The word “may” is substituted for the words “shall be permitted or allowed”. The last sentence is substituted for 50 App.:458 (words between 1st and last semicolons). 50 App.:458 (words after last semicolon) is omitted as applicable only to induction.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 514
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73