Title 10 — Armed ForcesRelease 119-73
§8458 Midshipmen: qualifications for admission
Title 10 › Subtitle Subtitle C— - Navy and Marine Corps › Part PART III— - EDUCATION AND TRAINING › Chapter CHAPTER 853— - UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY › § 8458
Summary
Requires candidates to meet age, residency, exam, citizenship, and oath rules to enter the Naval Academy. Candidates must be at least 17 and must not have passed their 23rd birthday on July 1 of the year they enter. They must take exams the Secretary of the Navy sets; if rejected at one exam, they cannot try again for the same class unless the Academic Board recommends it. Candidates nominated under certain types must live in the state or congressional district that nominated them, or in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, or the Virgin Islands if nominated from there. Some nominated candidates must be U.S. citizens, pass the required physical exam, and are appointed by order of merit from those who pass the required mental exam. Appointees must take an oath set by the Secretary of the Navy; refusing the oath ends the appointment.
Full Legal Text
Title 10, §8458
Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Each candidate for admission to the Naval Academy—
(1)must be at least 17 years of age and must not have passed his twenty-third birthday on July 1 of the calendar year in which he enters the Academy; and
(2)shall be examined according to such regulations as the Secretary of the Navy prescribes, and if rejected at one examination may not be examined again for admission to the same class unless recommended by the Academic Board.
(b)Each candidate for admission nominated under clauses (3) through (9) of section 8454(a) of this title must be domiciled in the State, or in the congressional district, from which he is nominated, or in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, or the Virgin Islands, if nominated from one of those places.
(c)Each candidate nominated under clause (2) or (3) of section 8454(b) of this title—
(1)must be a citizen of the United States;
(2)must have passed the required physical examination; and
(3)shall be appointed in the order of merit from candidates who have, in competition with each other, passed the required mental examination.
(d)To be admitted to the Naval Academy, an appointee must take and subscribe to an oath prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy. If a candidate for admission refuses to take and subscribe to the prescribed oath, the candidate’s appointment is terminated.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Historical and Revision Notes
Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 6958(a)(1)34 U.S.C. 1047 (less 1st proviso).
June 30, 1950, ch. 421, § 2 (less 1st proviso), 64 Stat. 304. 6958(a)(2)34 U.S.C. 1043.R.S. 1515. 6958(b)34 U.S.C. 1047 (2d proviso).
June 30, 1950, ch. 421, § 2 (2d proviso), 64 Stat. 304. 6958(c)34 U.S.C. 1042.Mar. 4, 1917, ch. 180, 39 Stat. 1182 (1st par.). 34 U.S.C. 1032 (less 1st 70 words).Dec. 20, 1917, ch. 5, § 1 (less 1st 70 words), 40 Stat. 430; Aug. 13, 1946, ch. 962, § 16, 60 Stat. 1061;
May 16, 1947, ch. 77, § 1(o), 61 Stat. 100. In subsection (a) the
Effective Date
is omitted as executed. The words “at least 17 years of age and must not have passed his twenty-second birthday” are substituted for the words “not less than seventeen years of age and not more than twenty-two years of age” to remove ambiguity, and for uniformity of treatment of provisions of this type. The reference to time of examination is omitted as being included within the Secretary’s authority to prescribe
Regulations
, which is stated in the subsection. The words “Academic Board” are substituted for the words “board of examiners”. In subsection (b) the words “domiciled in” are substituted for the words “actual resident of” since this term has been so interpreted.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Pub. L. 115–232, § 807(c)(1), renumbered section 6958 of this title as this section. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 115–232, § 809(a), substituted “clauses (3) through (9) of section 8454(a)” for “clauses (3) through (9) of section 6954(a)”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 115–232, § 809(a), substituted “clause (2) or (3) of section 8454(b)” for “clause (2) or (3) of section 6954(b)” in introductory provisions. 1997—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–85 added subsec. (d). 1996—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104–201 substituted “twenty-third birthday” for “twenty-second birthday”. 1991—Subsec. (c)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 102–190 redesignated pars. (3) and (4) as (2) and (3), respectively, and struck out former par. (2) which required candidates to have served at least one year as enlisted members on date of entrance. 1990—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–510 substituted “clauses (3) through (9)” for “clauses (3)–(7), (9) and (10)”. 1973—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–171 substituted “, (9) and (10) of section 6954(a)” for “and (9) of section 6954(a)” and struck out “or Territory”. 1962—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87–663 inserted references to American Samoa, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, and substituted “clauses (3)–(7) and (9)” for “clauses (3)–(7)”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of
Amendments
and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1973 AmendmentFor
Effective Date
of amendment by Pub. L. 93–171, see section 4 of Pub. L. 93–171, set out as a note under section 7442 of this title. Authority To Waive Maximum Age Limitation on Admission to Service Academies for Certain Enlisted Members Who Served During Persian Gulf WarFor authority to waive maximum age limitation in subsec. (a)(1) of this section on basis of service on active duty in connection with Operation Desert Storm, see section 514 of Pub. L. 102–190, set out as a note under section 7446 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
10 U.S.C. § 8458
Title 10 — Armed Forces
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73