Enrolment Requirements

Officers

1. Must be a Canadian Citizen.
2. Must have have a University Degree or University entrance-level courses and marks.
3. Must be free of any Legal Obligations (fines, probations, etc).
4. Must be 16 years of age with parental consent for Primary Reserves or 17 with parental consent for the Regular Force. (Note: Applicants to the RMC Jr program may be 16.)
5. Must be medically fit for the trade.
6. Must meet test standards.

Non Commissioned Members

1. Must be a Canadian Citizen.
2. Must have at least grade 10, grade 12 preferred.
3. Must be free of any Legal Obligations (fines, probations, etc).
4. Must be 16 years of age (or to turn before enrolled) with parental consent for Primary Reserves or 17 with parental consent for the Regular Force.
5. Must be medically fit for the trade.
6. Must meet test standards.

Options

1. For answers to common questions, check the Recruiting FAQs.
2. Still have questions? Search the Army.ca Recruiting Forums.
3. Questions unanswered? Ask on the Army.ca Recruiting Forums.
4. For official information, please see the The Official Canadian Forces Recruiting Site.

For more information, please contact your local Recruiting Centre. Check the Yellow Pages under "Recruiting", or call 1-800-856-8488 for your local recruiting centre.

Cadet Service

Former cadets can receive credit towards promotion in the Militia and Regular Force. Here is what the references have to say:

From CFAO 6-1 -- ENROLMENT - REGULAR FORCE

RANK ON ENROLMENT

9. Non-Commissioned Members. An applicant for enrolment as an NCM shall be enrolled in the rank of private with the status level of private (recruit) (Pte (R)), except as follows:

A former cadet of any of the Canadian cadet organizations who has completed three years as a cadet within the previous five years, during which time the cadet has passed a six-week trade or specialty course, shall be enrolled as Pte (R) and be granted a time credit of 180 days for the purposes of determining the date on which the member will become eligible to be paid the rate of pay prescribed for a private, pay level 1, incentive pay category 1.

Note - For Army cadets, qualification as Master Cadet, and for Air cadets, a flying scholarship or two completed summer camp courses, each of two weeks duration, will be considered equivalent to a six-week trade or specialty course. For Sea cadets, two completed summer camp courses will be considered equivalent to a six-week trade or specialty course.

From CFAO 49-5 -- CAREER POLICY - NON-COMMISSIONED MEMBER -PRIMARY RESERVE

3. On enrolment, re-enrolment or transfer, a member who has had former service in the Canadian Forces or in a cadet unit, or service with another country, may be granted a time credit for promotion to Cpl and above, in accordance with this paragraph and as determined by the enrolment authority pursuant to 49-11. The time credit or seniority granted shall apply only to the rank granted on enrolment as follows:

Former cadets of any of the Canadian Cadet organizations may be granted time credit for promotion in recognition of qualifications they have obtained prior to enrolment. The amount of credit shall be determined by CHQ.

From CFAO 49-12 -- PROMOTION POLICY -OFFICERS -PRIMARY RESERVE ANNEX A -- MINIMUM QUALIFYING TIME IN RANK FOR ENTRY TO PROMOTION ZONE FOR NEXT HIGHER RANK

2. Qualifying time for entry to the promotion zone for the next higher rank is reckoned from the date of seniority in the present rank, except that:

cadets who have served a minimum of two years in the rank of warrant officer and above may be granted one year qualifying time in the rank of lieutenant for promotion to the rank of captain.

Criminal Record

Having a criminal record may or may not preclude a career in the Canadian Forces, either Regular or Reserve, as an NCM or an Officer. A pardon is not necessarily mandatory either. The CF requires applicants to be "of good character" and have no outstanding obligations to the legal system, such as :

• family court issues
• pending charges
• outstanding fines
• are on probation, parolem, etc.

A criminal record will be one of the facts considered when an application is submitted, as will the seriousness of the offence.

From the army.ca forum:

My own personal experience: I have a criminal record for impaired driving dating back to 1992, when I was 19. It did not keep me from joining the Reserves as an Officer. In addition, I am currently applying for transfer to the Reg Force, and my file will go before the selection board in May. Now, I was advised that although it will not automatically prevent me from being selected, it will be taken into account with all other facts in my file (education, experience, interview, etc.)[1]

Another component of every application is a security check; entry into the officer ranks may require a higher security clearance than an NCM position, as well as the possible requirement of a pardon for all convictions, depending again on the seriousness of the offence.