To join the U.S. Navy, you need to meet requirements across six main areas: age, height and weight, body composition, a physical fitness test, a swim qualification, and a medical screening. Most of these are checked either at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) before you ship out or during boot camp itself. Here’s what each one involves.
Age Limits
You must be between 17 and 41 years old to enlist in active duty Navy. If you’re 17, you’ll need parental consent. Some exceptions exist for older applicants depending on the role, so a recruiter can clarify whether a waiver applies to your situation.
Height and Weight Standards
The Navy sets maximum weight limits based on your height, with separate numbers for men and women. There is no minimum weight requirement. Your height is rounded up to the nearest whole inch, and you’re weighed against a screening table. A few examples from the official chart give a sense of the range:
- 5’4″ (64 inches): max 160 lbs for men, 170 lbs for women
- 5’8″ (68 inches): max 181 lbs for men, 191 lbs for women
- 5’10” (70 inches): max 191 lbs for men, 201 lbs for women
- 6’0″ (72 inches): max 201 lbs for men, 211 lbs for women
- 6’2″ (74 inches): max 211 lbs for men, 221 lbs for women
The table covers heights from 51 inches all the way up to 86 inches for men and 85 inches for women. If you’re over the weight limit for your height, you aren’t automatically disqualified. You move to the next step: a body composition assessment.
Body Composition Assessment
If you exceed the weight screening, the Navy measures your abdominal circumference. Men who measure 39 inches or under at the waist pass. Women who measure 35.5 inches or under pass. If you exceed those numbers, you move to a third step where your body fat percentage is calculated using circumference measurements at multiple points on your body.
The maximum allowable body fat is 26 percent for men and 36 percent for women. Exceeding that limit means failing the body composition assessment entirely, which overrides any fitness test results. So even if you can run fast and do plenty of push-ups, being over the body fat threshold is a standalone failure.
Physical Readiness Test
The Navy’s Physical Readiness Test has three components: push-ups, a forearm plank, and a 1.5-mile run. Standards vary by age and gender, with the lowest passing category called “Probationary.” For the youngest age group (17 to 19), the minimum passing numbers are:
Males, Ages 17 to 19
- Push-ups: 45
- Forearm plank: 42 seconds
- 1.5-mile run: 11 minutes, 1 second
Females, Ages 17 to 19
- Push-ups: 45
- Forearm plank: 19 seconds
- 1.5-mile run: 13 minutes, 1 second
These are bare minimums. Scoring higher places you in better performance categories, which can matter for evaluations later in your career. The push-up count is the same for men and women in this age bracket, though the plank and run standards differ. Older age groups have adjusted thresholds, generally allowing slightly more time on the run and slightly lower repetition counts. An approved alternate cardio event (like swimming or cycling) can substitute for the run in certain circumstances.
Swim Qualification
You’re joining a naval service, so yes, you need to pass a swim test. The Third Class Swim Qualification is the baseline requirement and consists of two modules with four total events:
- Deep water jump: Enter the water from a platform or diving board.
- 50-yard swim: Swim the distance using any stroke.
- 5-minute prone float: Float face-down for five minutes, lifting your head to breathe as needed.
- Clothing inflation: While in the water, inflate your shirt and trousers (or coveralls) to use as a flotation device.
The first three events can be done in any order, and if you pass one, you don’t have to repeat it. The clothing inflation is a separate module. If you can’t swim when you arrive at boot camp, you’ll receive instruction, but you need to pass before graduating. Many recruits who couldn’t swim beforehand learn during training.
Vision and Hearing Standards
Your vision does not need to be perfect, but it must be correctable to 20/20 with glasses or contacts. Uncorrected vision generally can’t be worse than 20/100 for most ratings (Navy jobs), though specific roles like aviation have stricter requirements. Color vision is also tested, and deficiencies can limit which jobs you qualify for, though they don’t necessarily disqualify you from enlisting altogether.
For hearing, the Navy tests your ability to detect tones at several frequencies. The standard requires that your average hearing threshold at low and mid frequencies (500, 1,000, and 2,000 Hz) doesn’t exceed 30 decibels in either ear, with no single frequency worse than 35 decibels. At higher frequencies, the limits are 45 decibels at 3,000 Hz and 55 decibels at 4,000 Hz. In practical terms, if you can follow normal conversation without difficulty and don’t have significant hearing loss, you’ll likely pass.
Medical Screening at MEPS
Before you enlist, you’ll go through a full medical evaluation at MEPS. This covers your entire health history, a physical exam, blood work, urinalysis, and screenings for vision, hearing, and orthopedic issues. The Department of Defense maintains a list of conditions that are disqualifying, though many of them can receive a waiver.
Conditions that require a high-level waiver (from the Secretary of the Navy or equivalent) include a history of heart attack, the presence of a pacemaker or defibrillator, absence of a hand or foot, corneal transplant, loss of vision in one or both eyes, neurodegenerative disorders, and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia (when not medication-induced). These are serious barriers, but a waiver path technically exists.
A smaller set of conditions cannot receive a waiver at all. These include cystic fibrosis, congestive heart failure, ALS, multiple sclerosis, active epilepsy, current treatment for schizophrenia, a history of solid organ transplant, and any suicide attempt within the previous 12 months. If any of these apply, enlistment is not possible regardless of other qualifications.
Common conditions that come up during MEPS but are often manageable include asthma (depends on severity and how recently you’ve needed treatment), ADHD (may require documentation showing you’ve been off medication), prior broken bones (usually fine if fully healed), and mild skin conditions like eczema. Your recruiter can help you understand whether your specific medical history is likely to be an issue before you schedule your MEPS appointment.
Preparing Before You Apply
If you’re not currently meeting the fitness standards, start training well before you talk to a recruiter. A 1.5-mile run under 12 to 13 minutes, 45 or more push-ups in two minutes, and the ability to hold a forearm plank for at least a minute will put you in a comfortable range. Work on swimming if you’ve never been a strong swimmer, since the prone float in particular takes practice if you’re not used to relaxing in deep water.
For weight and body composition, the Navy cares more about whether you fall within their screening table than about a specific number on the scale. If you’re muscular and slightly over the weight limit, the abdominal circumference measurement and body fat calculation give you a second and third chance to qualify. But if you’re clearly over the body fat limits, losing weight before applying will save you time and frustration at MEPS.