The Ministry of National Defence has announced the rules for next year's military qualification, specifying the birth years and groups of citizens required to appear before medical boards in 2026. The planned call-up will cover 235,000 people.
The purpose of the qualification is to assess physical and mental fitness for military service, which is a key element of planning the country's defence resources. The procedure is intended to ensure that, if necessary, the armed forces will have an adequate number of reservists with appropriate qualifications.
Who is required to report?
- men born in 2007, the so-called basic year group,
- men born in 2002–2006, the so-called older year groups, who have not yet fulfilled the obligation to report for military qualification and therefore have not been assigned a fitness category for active military service;
- people who were declared temporarily unfit for military service in 2024 or 2025 (fitness categories B6 to B24), if their period of unfitness expires before the end of the military qualification in 2026. Calling this category of people for military qualification again and subjecting them to medical examinations will make it possible to issue a final decision assigning them to fitness category A, D or E, with the resulting consequences;
- women born in 1999–2007 who have qualifications useful for military service and have not yet appeared for military qualification;
- women undertaking education to obtain these qualifications who, in the 2025/2026 school or academic year, are completing studies in fields or education in occupations useful to the military.