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Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-102

§831 Art. 31. Compulsory Self-incrimination Prohibited

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 47 — UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE › SUBCHAPTER VI — PRE-TRIAL PROCEDURE › § 831

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

People covered by this chapter cannot be forced to say anything that would make them look guilty. Before anyone accused or suspected is questioned, the questioner must tell them what the charge is, tell them they don’t have to speak, and warn that anything they say can be used at a court-martial. No one can be forced to give irrelevant or degrading statements or evidence. Any statement taken in violation of these rules, or gotten by force, improper pressure, or illegal promises, cannot be used as proof at a court-martial.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §831

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)No person subject to this chapter may compel any person to incriminate himself or to answer any question the answer to which may tend to incriminate him.
(b)No person subject to this chapter may interrogate, or request any statement from, an accused or a person suspected of an offense without first informing him of the nature of the accusation and advising him that he does not have to make any statement regarding the offense of which he is accused or suspected and that any statement made by him may be used as evidence against him in a trial by court-martial.
(c)No person subject to this chapter may compel any person to make a statement or produce evidence before any military tribunal if the statement or evidence is not material to the issue and may tend to degrade him.
(d)No statement obtained from any person in violation of this article, or through the use of coercion, unlawful influence, or unlawful inducement may be received in evidence against him in a trial by court-martial.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 831(a)831(b)50:602(a).50:602(b).May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art 31), 64 Stat. 118. 831(c)50:602(c). 831(d)50:602(d). The word “may” is substituted for the word “shall” throughout the revised section.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 831

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102