37 U.S.C. § 201 — Pay grades: assignment to; general rules

submitted 64 years ago by Pub. L. 87-649 to r/title-37-PAY-AND-ALLOWANCES-OF-THE-UNIFORMED-SERVICES · 373 words · no verdicts yet

in plain englishAI-generated · not legal advice

This law sorts military officers and warrant officers into numbered pay grades based on their rank. Enlisted members are placed into pay grades too, but the top two grades require years of service. Special pay rules also apply to aviation cadets and pilots.

(a) This subsection sorts commissioned officers (not warrant officers) into pay grades, for the purpose of figuring out their basic pay. Each officer is placed into a pay grade based on the specific rank or grade they are currently serving in. The pay grades run from O-1 (lowest) to O-10 (highest), and the exact rank tied to each pay grade depends on which service the officer belongs to: - O-10: General (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force); Admiral (Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA); Assistant Secretary for Health (Public Health Service). - O-9: Lieutenant general; Vice admiral; Surgeon General. - O-8: Major general; Rear admiral; Deputy Surgeon General, or Assistant Surgeon General with the rank of major general. - O-7: Brigadier general; Rear admiral (lower half); Assistant Surgeon General with the rank of brigadier general. - O-6: Colonel; Captain; Director grade. - O-5: Lieutenant colonel; Commander; Senior grade. - O-4: Major; Lieutenant commander; Full grade. - O-3: Captain; Lieutenant; Senior assistant grade. - O-2: 1st lieutenant; Lieutenant (junior grade); Assistant grade. - O-1: 2d lieutenant; Ensign; Junior assistant grade. (b) This subsection sorts warrant officers into pay grades the same way, based on the warrant officer grade they hold, again for figuring basic pay. Chief Warrant Officer, W-5, is pay grade W-5; Chief Warrant Officer, W-4, is pay grade W-4; Chief Warrant Officer, W-3, is pay grade W-3; Chief Warrant Officer, W-2, is pay grade W-2; and Warrant Officer, W-1, is pay grade W-1. (c) An aviation cadet in the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard gets monthly basic pay at the lowest rate set for pay grade E-4 — unless they already qualify for the basic pay of a higher pay grade. (d) An aviation pilot in the Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve gets monthly basic pay at the rate set for pay grade E-5 — unless they already qualify for the basic pay of a higher pay grade. (e) Except for the aviation cadets and pilots covered in (c) and (d), the Secretary of the military department involved decides which pay grade each enlisted member falls into, using the pay grades listed in section 203 of this title. But there's a limit: except as section 307 of this title allows, an enlisted member cannot be placed into pay grade E-8 until they have completed at least 8 years of enlisted service, or into pay grade E-9 until they have completed at least 10 years. Years of service for this purpose are counted under section 205 of this title.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a)

For the purpose of computing their basic pay, commissioned officers of the uniformed services (other than commissioned warrant officers) are assigned by the grade or rank in which serving to the following pay grades:

Pay grade	Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Space Force	Navy, Coast Guard, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	Public Health Service
O–10	General	Admiral	Assistant Secretary for Health.
O–9	Lieutenant general	Vice admiral	Surgeon General.
O–8	Major general	Rear admiral	Deputy Surgeon General. Assistant Surgeon General having rank of major general.
O–7	Brigadier general	Rear admiral (lower half)	Assistant Surgeon General having rank of brigadier general.
O–6	Colonel	Captain	Director grade.
O–5	Lieutenant colonel	Commander	Senior grade.
O–4	Major	Lieutenant commander	Full grade.
O–3	Captain	Lieutenant	Senior assistant grade.
O–2	1st lieutenant	Lieutenant (junior grade)	Assistant grade.
O–1	2d lieutenant	Ensign	Junior assistant grade.

(b)

For the purpose of computing their basic pay, warrant officers of the armed forces are assigned, by the warrant officer grade in which serving, to the following pay grades:

Pay Grade:	Warrant Officer Grade:
W–5	Chief Warrant Officer, W–5.
W–4	Chief Warrant Officer, W–4.
W–3	Chief Warrant Officer, W–3.
W–2	Chief Warrant Officer, W–2.
W–1	Warrant Officer, W–1.

(c)

Unless entitled to the basic pay of a higher pay grade, an aviation cadet of the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard is entitled to monthly basic pay at the lowest rate prescribed for pay grade E–4.

(d)

Unless he is entitled to the basic pay of a higher pay grade, an aviation pilot of the Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, or Coast Guard Reserve is entitled to monthly basic pay at the rate prescribed for pay grade E–5.

(e)

Except as provided by subsections (c) and (d), enlisted members of the uniformed services shall, for the purpose of computing their basic pay, be distributed by the Secretary concerned in the various enlisted pay grades set forth in section 203 of this title. However, except as provided by section 307 of this title, an enlisted member may not be placed in pay grade E–8 or E–9 until he has completed at least 8 years or 10 years, respectively, of enlisted service computed under section 205 of this title.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 87–649, Sept. 7, 1962, 76 Stat. 453; Pub. L. 88–132, § 3(a), Oct. 2, 1963, 77 Stat. 212; Pub. L. 89–718, § 49(a)(1), Nov. 2, 1966, 80 Stat. 1121; Pub. L. 91–278, § 3(1), June 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 306; Pub. L. 95–79, title III, § 302(a)(1), July 30, 1977, 91 Stat. 326; Pub. L. 96–76, title III, § 313(a), Sept. 29, 1979, 93 Stat. 586; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, §§ 506(3), 516(2), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2918, 2937; Pub. L. 97–86, title IV, § 405(c), Dec. 1, 1981, 95 Stat. 1106; Pub. L. 98–94, title IX, § 932(d), Sept. 24, 1983, 97 Stat. 650; Pub. L. 98–557, § 25(b)(1), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2872; Pub. L. 99–145, title V, § 514(d)(1), Nov. 8, 1985, 99 Stat. 629; Pub. L. 101–502, § 5(k)(2), Nov. 3, 1990, 104 Stat. 1289; Pub. L. 102–25, title VII, § 701(b)(1), (c), Apr. 6, 1991, 105 Stat. 117; Pub. L. 102–190, div. A, title VI, § 605, title XI, § 1111(b), Dec. 5, 1991, 105 Stat. 1374, 1491; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 515(d)(1)(B), Jan. 6, 2006, 119 Stat. 3236; Pub. L. 116–283, div. A, title IX, § 925(c), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 3827; Pub. L. 119–60, div. A, title VI, § 601(b)(1), Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 901.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

1962Enacted · Pub. L. 87-649 · 76 Stat. 453
1963Amended · Pub. L. 88-132 · 77 Stat. 212
1966Amended · Pub. L. 89-718 · 80 Stat. 1121
1970Amended · Pub. L. 91-278 · 84 Stat. 306
1977Amended · Pub. L. 95-79 · 91 Stat. 326
1979Amended · Pub. L. 96-76 · 93 Stat. 586
1980Amended · Pub. L. 96-513 · 94 Stat. 2918, 2937
1981Amended · Pub. L. 97-86 · 95 Stat. 1106
1983Amended · Pub. L. 98-94 · 97 Stat. 650
1984Amended · Pub. L. 98-557 · 98 Stat. 2872
1985Amended · Pub. L. 99-145 · 99 Stat. 629
1990Amended · Pub. L. 101-502 · 104 Stat. 1289
1991Amended · Pub. L. 102-25 · 105 Stat. 117
1991Amended · Pub. L. 102-190 · 105 Stat. 1374, 1491
2006Amended · Pub. L. 109-163 · 119 Stat. 3236
2021Amended · Pub. L. 116-283 · 134 Stat. 3827
2025Amended · Pub. L. 119-60 · 139 Stat. 901

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 87-649 on 1962-09-07.

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