The U.S. Army uses the Army Promotion Points List to determine which soldiers are qualified for promotion to the next rank. The list assigns a point value to various achievements, such as military education and training, awards, and decorations, as well as time in service and time in grade.
Soldiers earn army promotion points as they go through their careers. The number of points needed to move up to the next rank depends on the soldier’s military occupational specialty (MOS) and the number of available spots.
How to Read Army Cutoff Scores & Promotion Points
The United States Army publishes a monthly promotion point cutoff score for each MOS every month. The army cutoff scores are the minimum number of promotion points a soldier must achieve for promotion to the next rank.
Therefore, the cutoff score depends on how many spots are open at that rank and how many soldiers have enough promotion points to be eligible for the promotion. Soldiers who have reached or exceeded the cutoff score will be highlighted in order of how many promotion points they have on the promotion list.
Soldiers can look at the monthly enlisted promotion selection results posted on the Army HRC website to determine the cutoff scores. The results show the army cutoff scores for each MOS, the number of promoted soldiers, and the number of vacancies available for each rank.
How to Predict Army Promotion Cutoff Scores
While the Army does not release advance promotion point cutoff scores, soldiers can make educated guesses based on historical trends and current vacancy rates.
For example, if there are many vacancies for a particular rank and MOS, the promotion cutoff score may be lower than usual. On the other hand, the cutoff score may be higher if there are few openings or if many soldiers have many promotion points.
Soldiers can also use online tools like the Army Promotion Point Calculator to determine how many points they have and how likely it is that they will make the cutoff score.
The calculator considers a soldier’s current rank, time in service, time in grade, military education and training, awards and decorations, and other factors to calculate their total promotion points.
What are the Army Promotion Point Requirements?
The number of Army Promotion Points you need to move up in rank and MOS depends on what the Army needs and how many spots are open in each class. Most of the time, soldiers must earn a certain number of promotion points before getting one. The number of points required varies by MOS, ranging from around 450 to over 800.
In addition to earning promotion points, soldiers must meet other army requirements, such as passing the physical fitness test (ACFT 2023), meeting army height and weight standards, and getting the required military education and training. Soldiers may also need a recommendation from their commanding officer and to pass a review by a promotion board.
Ultimately, the Army Promotion Points List determines who can reach the next rank. Therefore, soldiers should learn about the army cutoff scores for promotion points in their MOS and use online tools to determine how likely they are to make the cutoff score.
Army soldiers can improve their chances of being promoted to the next rank and moving up in the military by getting promotion points and meeting other requirements.
Five Ways to Get More Army Promotion Points
- Number one: Max out your correspondence points. You get 90 points in that area, and if you don’t have a maximum, stop telling people. Correspondence and online training might waste time, but they’re worth 90 points.
- Number two: Get college transcripts. A lot of colleges offer to evaluate your military experience for college credits. Most of them will do it for free if you take a course. Some of them charge a fee. But what’s the fee if they give you 30 college credits and you get 60 promotion points?
- Three: improve your ACFT score. On April 1, 2023, in just under 30 days, your ACFT will be worth promotion points, so I suggest you get your score up. Remember, the difference between a 540 and a 440 score is almost 40 points.
- Number four: Improve your military experience and move your weapon score. The difference between a 26 and a 36 is nearly 75 points.
- Number five: Go to military schools. Airborne, aerosol, etc., all military training equals promotion points.