Title 33, Navigation and Navigable WatersRelease 119-110
§3043 Mandatory Retirement for Age
Title 33 › CHAPTER 43 — NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONED OFFICER CORPS › SUBCHAPTER III — SEPARATION AND RETIREMENT OF OFFICERS › § 3043
Summary
Officers below rear admiral (lower half) must be retired or separated on the first day of the month after they turn 62. The President can delay retirement for officers in positions above captain, but the delay cannot go past the first day of the month after they turn 64.
Full Legal Text
Title 33, §3043
Navigation and Navigable Waters, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Officers below grade of rear admiral (lower half)
Unless retired or separated earlier, each officer on the lineal list of the commissioned corps who is serving in a grade below the grade of rear admiral (lower half) shall be retired or separated (as specified in section 1251(e) of title 10) on the first day of the month following the month in which the officer becomes 62 years of age.
(b)Flag officers
Notwithstanding subsection (a), the President may defer the retirement of an officer serving in a position that carries a grade above captain for such period as the President considers advisable, but such a deferment may not extend beyond the first day of the month following the month in which the officer becomes 64 years of age.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in section 853k of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 107–372.
Amendments
2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–263 substituted “be retired or separated (as specified in section 1251(e) of title 10)” for “be retired”.
Executive Documents
Delegation of Functions Functions of President under subsec. (b) of this section delegated to Secretary of Commerce by section 1(e) of Ex. Ord. No. 11023, May 28, 1962, 27 F.R. 5131, as amended, set out as a note under section 301 of Title 3, The President.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
33 U.S.C. § 3043
Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters
Last Updated
Sep 22, 2026
Release point: 119-110