The Rule for Processing

No Waivers for Domestic Violence Convictions

February 21st, 2010

If you are considering enlistment in the Navy, and you have questionable conduct in your past that includes a charge of domestic violence – this post may answer a few of your questions.

Domestic Violence is incompatible with military service and contrary to the Navy’s core values. If you have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, you are ineligible for enlistment; however, there are exceptions to the rule, which are discussed below.

If you have a conviction for domestic violence, as defined in Title 18 U.S. Code Sections 921 and 922 as discussed below, you are ineligible for all military service – not just the Navy. Domestic violence offenses may also include, but are not limited to, assault, assault and battery, and disorderly conduct convictions in which the perpetrator and victim meet the conditions of the domestic violence rule. The domestic violence rule must be applied regardless of whether or not you were charged with domestic violence.

Rule: The crime of domestic violence means any crime which includes the attempt or use of physical force or the threat of use of a deadly weapon, where you (the perpetrator) are the:

  1. current or former spouse, parent or guardian of the victim; or
  2. you and victim are parents of a child; or
  3. you cohabitated with the victim as a spouse, parent or guardian; or
  4. you were serving in a role similar to spouse, parent or guardian of the victim.

This rule does not apply to deferred prosecutions, pretrial diversions, or similar alternative dispositions in a domestic violence case. These are not considered convictions for purposes of this rule, but will otherwise require waiver processing. Deferred prosecutions are not the same as deferred or suspended sentences, which are the result of a conviction. All questionable cases will be forwarded to Navy Recruiting Command‘s legal department by recruiting personnel.

Waivers for domestic violence convictions (misdemeanor or felony) are not authorized, per the Lautenburg Amendment to the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968.

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  • I have been in in the process of enlisting in the navy. when I started I told the recrutier I hade a domestic violence charge, he said no problem. 2 months down the line I go in to test for the mini afqt before going to meps and he tells me (oh I just got a memo last week saying no longer accepting dv casses prior to enlistment)? I sh*t a brick! just my luck…I did some research and apprently its just a battary charge and the court papers dont say dv. will this pass? anyone have any advice???

    Comment by devin — February 24, 2010 @ 6:27 am

  • Devin,
    The charge does not have to mention domestic violence – if the circumstances involved family, girlfriend or someone you lived with (as stated in the post)- then it falls under the rule. Now, that said – if you did not go to trial, and the case was handle via a pre-trial intervention (happens in most cases) then you may be eligible.

    The reason the policy exists is because of the change in the law that states to the effect that if you have been found guilty of a physical altercation that involved family or those you have lived with (including a mother of your child(ren)), then you cannot possess a firearm – because of that, a person would not be able to served in the armed forces. Hope that makes sense.

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — February 24, 2010 @ 6:29 am

  • My DV case was dismissed at the initial arraignment due to lack of evidence. Do I still need a waiver to enlist?

    Comment by Daniel — March 29, 2010 @ 10:10 pm

  • Daniel,
    Your Recruiter would need to pull copies of your court records and submit them to Navy Recruiting Command’s legal department for review. The process, once they have the records, takes no more than a couple of days.

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — March 29, 2010 @ 10:36 pm

  • I’m 21 and was in the recruiting process. Everything was good such as the ASVAD score (high), physical, etc. However, because of home situation (parents fighting/divorcing) between the ages of 13 and 16 I did some crazy things such as get caught by police smoking weed and getting probation, then at 16 I was caught drinking alcohol and tried to run away. Didn’t get far and again got probation and had to have counseling. Both cases were closed and I never violated my probation. At 16 I went to live with my grandparents and from then on, everything was good – no problems, etc. When the recruiter received the info on the two arrests, she then told me that I was rejected because I had tried to evade. I was really trying to do the right thing and this just knocked me for a loop. Does my record at 13-16 count that much when I did not have to stay in juvenile detention for either arrest. Will I ever be able to join the military?

    Comment by Michael — April 29, 2010 @ 7:09 pm

  • Michael,

    Those who grant waivers take a lot of things into consideration such as the number and type of charges, education status, ASVAB score, and the age you were at teh time of the offense(s), etc, but the matrix used to determine if the charges require a waiver are the same for juveniles and adults. You may have had two arrests, but you have, it sounds like, multiple charges that cannot be grouped together because they are separate acts – i.e. underage drinking and possession of alcohol may be considered a single offense, but the evading would be a separate charge. So, at a minimum it sounds like you have two Misconduct offenses – evading and possession of MJ and the non-traffic offense of possession of alcohol by a minor – those would require a Regional Commander waiver; plus, you have two offenses that are alcohol/drug related that would also require a waiver at the District Commanding Officer level. If the counseling you received was for alcohol abuse, then that would open another can of worms.

    The answer to your question, “Will I ever be able to join the military?” isn’t clear because so many factors are considered before a waiver could be reviewed and ultimately approved – has all the services declined you?

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — April 30, 2010 @ 6:11 am

  • Hi i have a dv case and was taken care of at the initial arraignment! I plead guilty but was dismissed after completion of anger management classes! Am i eligible to join the national guard! My recruiter at first said yes but have not heard back from him

    Comment by dave — May 21, 2010 @ 4:26 am

  • Dave,

    Your court record must be reviewed and considered by the service you are joining – the facts of the case, and how it was adjudicated is important. I suggest you contact the Recruiter and ask him specifically where your paperwork is in the process; ie, is your court documents in front of those who make the decision?

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — May 21, 2010 @ 7:42 am

  • hi, ive been in the process of joining the navy for a couple months now and i just went to the court to get my court dockets. about a year ago i was arressted for possession class D with intent but, the intent charge was amended and the whole case was dismissed before arraignment. i scored high on my asvab. will i be able to get a waiver for this?

    Comment by Rose — June 9, 2010 @ 10:33 am

  • Rose,

    The court records would have to stipulate that the intent portion wasn’t dropped because the police made a mistake/misjudgment, and the there never was an intent to sell. Otherwise, I see no way of you being able to process any further. Also, police and court records that you get are not authorized to be used in your processing – the Recruiter has to, by instruction (written policy), get the documents for the police station and/or court.

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — June 9, 2010 @ 10:49 am

  • Hello,

    I had a DV case that was drop down to disorderly conduct, I plead guilty to the disorderly conduct in the state of ohio. My lawyer and the prosecutor told me I should be OK under the latenburg Amendment.Will I be able to enlist in the Navy or any other branch of the military?

    Thank you

    Comment by will — June 10, 2010 @ 2:41 pm

  • Will,

    The court documents will have to be reviewed by Navy Recruiting Command’s legal department.

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — June 10, 2010 @ 5:35 pm

  • i just got off the phone with my recruiter and gave me the good news about my waiver being approved. I want to let everyone know that there’s hope on getting a DV charge waived.Good Luck!!!!

    Comment by Daniel — June 14, 2010 @ 7:56 pm

  • My fiance is in the navy reserves now and is trying to go active. All the paperwork for releasing him from his reserve unit has been approved the only issues we are having involves his criminal record. To make a long story short he was charged with disorderly conduct dv, assault dv, and a weapons charge also dv. The city dropped both the assault charge and the weapons charge because of lack of evidence. In the end he was charged with NON domestic violence disorderly conduct. The city changed the charge from domestic violence to non domestic violence. Will this disqualify him from enlisting? Could he qualify for a waiver seeing as he was charged but not convicted?

    Comment by liv — June 18, 2010 @ 1:45 am

  • Liv,

    The court documents will have to be reviewed by the legal department of Navy Recruiting Command for a determination. Anything I told you would be a complete guess as I have seen cases I though were no-brainers get disqualified and ones that were more than questionable (in my mind) go through.

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — June 18, 2010 @ 4:06 pm

  • Alright, I believe the recruiter said we should know by next week. I dont know if you know an answer on this either but I was reading the information above about the domestic violence rule. His situation involved his brother, they lived together but the rule does not mention siblings, does this still apply to him? If so, even though they dropped the charge to non domestic violence would it still apply because he was charge with disorderly conduct like it mentions above? I realize you may not have an answer but any help is greatly appreciated!

    Comment by liv — June 18, 2010 @ 10:47 pm

  • Liv,

    Not sure, but I am leaning toward “should be waiverable.”

    Another thought; if he joined the Navy Reserve after 1998(ish) and the charge occurred prior to his joining, then I would think his charge was already reviewed and didn’t meet the mandatory rejection criteria, or he wouldn’t be in the Reserve…

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — June 18, 2010 @ 10:56 pm

  • Unfortunately the incident occurred about 7 months ago while he was still in. He is not on probation, he only received a 300 dollar fine and no jail time. He is still able to purchase and legally own a firearm because of the domestic violence being dropped. He also informed his chain of command about the incident and they said it would not affect his military career. But now all he wants to do is switch from reserves to active because he loves the military and wants to do it full time. Do you know of anyone we can talk to about getting this expunged early or if its possible? Will getting this expunged help as far as military is concerned.

    Comment by liv — June 18, 2010 @ 11:52 pm

  • Liv,

    Having a charge expunged has no affect. http://www.navycs.com/blogs/2010/05/23/moral-waivers-for-enlistment

    Comment by NCCM(ret) — June 19, 2010 @ 6:20 am

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