--- kind: "section" citation: "10 U.S.C. § 14304" title: "10" title_heading: "Armed Forces" number: "14304" heading: "Eligibility for consideration for promotion: maximum years of service in grade" release: "119-102" date: "2026-07-12" url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/10/14304" units: - "Subtitle E — Reserve Components" - "Part III — Promotion and Retention of Officers on the Reserve Active-Status List" - "Chapter 1405 — Promotions" --- # §14304. Eligibility for consideration for promotion: maximum years of service in grade - (a) **Consideration for Promotion Within Specified Times.—** - (1) [Officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) described in [paragraph (3)](#a-3) shall be placed in the promotion zone for that [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1)’s [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) and competitive category, and shall be considered for promotion to the next higher [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) by a promotion board convened under [section 14101(a) of this title](/usc/10/14101.md?p=a), far enough in advance of completing the years of service in [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) specified in the following table so that, if the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) is recommended for promotion, the promotion may be effective on or before the date on which the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) will complete those years of service. | Current [Grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) | Maximum years of service in [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) | | --- | --- | | First lieutenant or Lieutenant (junior [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7)) | 5 years | | Captain or Navy Lieutenant | 7 years | | Major or Lieutenant commander | 7 years | - (2) [Paragraph (1)](#a-1) is subject to subsections (a), (b), and (c) of [section 14301 of this title](/usc/10/14301.md) and applies without regard to vacancies. - (3) [Paragraph (1)](#a-1) applies to an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) who is on the [reserve active-status list](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-7) of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps and who holds a permanent appointment in the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of first lieutenant, captain, or major as a [reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) of the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, or to an [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) on the [reserve active-status list](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-7) of the Navy in the [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) of lieutenant (junior [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7)), lieutenant, or lieutenant commander as a [reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) of the Navy, and who, while holding that appointment, has not been considered by a selection board convened under section [14101(a)](/usc/10/14101.md?p=a) or [14502](/usc/10/14502.md) of this title for promotion to the next higher [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7). - (b) **Promotion Date.—** An [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) holding a permanent [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) specified in the table in [subsection (a)](#a) who is recommended for promotion to the next higher [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) by a selection board the first time the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) is considered for promotion while in or above the promotion zone and who is placed on an approved promotion list established under [section 14308(a) of this title](/usc/10/14308.md?p=a) shall (if not promoted sooner or removed from that list by the President or by reason of declination) be promoted, without regard to the existence of a vacancy, on the date on which the [officer](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) completes the maximum years of service in [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) specified in [subsection (a)](#a). The preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of [section 12011 of this title](/usc/10/12011.md). - (c) **Waiver Authority for Navy and Marine Corps Running Mate System.—** If the [Secretary](/usc/10/12521.md?p=4) of the Navy establishes promotion zones for [officers](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-1) on the [reserve active-status list](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-7) of the Navy or the Marine Corps [Reserve](/usc/10/101.md?p=c-6) in accordance with a running mate system under [section 14306 of this title](/usc/10/14306.md), the [Secretary](/usc/10/12521.md?p=4) may waive the requirements of [subsection (a)](#a) to the extent the [Secretary](/usc/10/12521.md?p=4) considers necessary in any case in which the years of service for promotion, or for consideration for promotion, within those zones will exceed the maximum years of service in [grade](/usc/10/101.md?p=b-7) specified in [subsection (a)](#a). ## Source credit (Added Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1611, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 2934.) ## Notes ### Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries ### Effective Date Section effective Oct. 1, 1996, see section 1691(b)(1) of Pub. L. 103–337, set out as a note under section 10001 of this title. ### Minimum Service Qualifications for Promotion Pub. L. 103–337, div. A, title XVI, § 1685, Oct. 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 3024, provided that during the five-year period beginning on Oct. 1, 1996, the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Air Force could waive the provisions of this section and during any period in which such a waiver is in effect, establish minimum periods of total years of commissioned service an officer must have served to be eligible for consideration for promotion to the grade of captain, major, or lieutenant colonel by boards convened under section 14101(a) of this title.