U.S. Marines · Military Police and Corrections

5811 Military Police

Marine MOS 5811 Military Police perform assigned military law enforcement duties to uphold the criminal justice system, maintain good order and discipline, and support the installation commander's law enforcement and security requirements. The current MOS Manual sets the entry line score at GT 95 — lower than the GT 100 that older editions published and that most third-party guides still repeat.

last verified 2026-08-06

5811 (Military Police) is in the Marines and requires a minimum AFQT of 31 and GT of at least 95. Last verified 2026-08-06 against NAVMC 1200.1L, MOS Manual (7 Mar 2025) — MOS 5811 prerequisites, Enclosure (1) pp. 3-329 to 3-330.

Quick check

Can I qualify for this job?

Enter the scores you already know. Leave a box blank if you do not have that score yet.

AFQT minimum 31Enter AFQT
GT minimum 95Enter GT

Plain requirement

What you need.

  • Min AFQT31
  • Training~20 weeks
  • GT line score≥ 95

AFQT 31 is a percentile. The line score above is not — it is a Marines composite, a weighted sum of your ASVAB subtest standard scores (GT = WK + PC + AR + MC — per MCO 1230.5C Enclosure 4 (Marine Corps composites), verified 2026-08-04). Work yours out from your score sheet with the Marines ASVAB line score calculator.

Source: NAVMC 1200.1L, MOS Manual (7 Mar 2025) — MOS 5811 prerequisites, Enclosure (1) pp. 3-329 to 3-330 · last verified 2026-08-06.

Role brief

About 5811 — Military Police.

Marine MOS 5811 Military Police perform assigned military law enforcement duties to uphold the criminal justice system, maintain good order and discipline, and support the installation commander's law enforcement and security requirements. The current MOS Manual sets the entry line score at GT 95 — lower than the GT 100 that older editions published and that most third-party guides still repeat.

After training

Common 5811 follow-on schools and paths.

  • Military Working Dog Handler (5812)A military policeman additionally trained to employ a military working dog. Requires holding and maintaining all 5811 prerequisites.
  • Military Police Investigator (5819)Investigative billet that requires already holding MOS 5811.
  • Special Reaction Team Member (5816)Tactical response billet layered on 5811; the manual keeps all 5811 prerequisites in force.
  • Physical Security Specialist (5814)Installation physical-security billet built on the 5811 prerequisites.

Starting pay · 2026

What this job pays as a junior enlisted member.

Base pay is set by pay grade, not by job — every Marines enlistee at the same grade earns the same monthly base pay. These are the 2026 active-duty rates (3.8% raise, effective 2026-01-01).

GradeRankMonthly base payService
E-1Private (Pvt)$2,407after 4 months of service
E-2Private First Class (PFC)$2,698under 2 years
E-3Lance Corporal (LCpl)$2,837under 2 years
E-4Corporal (Cpl)$3,142under 2 years
  • Plus food allowance (BAS)$460/moFlat enlisted rate, tax-free, paid on top of base pay.
  • Plus housing allowance (BAH)Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is paid on top of base pay and is tax-free, but it varies by duty-station ZIP code, pay grade, and whether you have dependents — there is no single nationwide figure. Use the official DoD BAH calculator for your assignment location.DoD BAH rate lookup →

Source: DFAS 2026 active-duty basic pay tables (3.8% raise, effective Jan 1 2026) · last verified 2026-05-23 · date retrieved 2026-05-23.

Eligibility notes

What 5811 candidates should check.

  • The line score is GT 95, not GT 100. NAVMC 1200.1L — the MOS Manual in force since 7 March 2025 — lists "Must possess a GT score of 95 or higher" among the MOS 5811 prerequisites. The previous edition we checked, NAVMC 1200.1D, published "a GT score of 100 or higher (may not be waived)", and most third-party MOS guides still quote that 100. The official Marines.com law-enforcement role page also lists GT 95 for the Military Police and Corrections field, so both current official sources agree on 95.
  • The MOS Manual attaches no AFQT minimum to 5811 at all — it gates the MOS on GT only. The AFQT 31 shown on this page is the Marine Corps enlistment floor for a tier-1 applicant (50 for a GED or nontraditional credential), which every applicant must clear before any MOS is on the table. AFQT and GT answer different questions and are not interchangeable.
  • For 5811 the non-score prerequisites disqualify more applicants than the line score does, and several of them are explicitly non-waiverable. The MOS Manual requires U.S. citizenship, secret security clearance eligibility, a valid state driver's license, clarity of speech, vision correctable to 20/20, being 18 years old before finishing military police school, and normal color vision — and it states that waivers to the color-vision prerequisite will not be granted.
  • The manual also bars applicants with a history of mental, nervous, or emotional disorders where a medical professional finds them unsuitable for military police assignment, and applicants with special or general court-martial convictions, felony convictions, or civil misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence. It states that waivers will not be granted for court-martial convictions or for domestic-violence convictions, citing the Lautenberg Amendment.
  • Entry-level Marines qualify by completing the Basic Military Police Course (A16RF33) at the Marine Corps Detachment, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Marines.com describes this as a 20-week course at the Marine Corps Police Academy there, following recruit training and Marine Combat Training. The same course is the qualifying school for lateral moves and prior-service retraining.
  • The 58 occupational field publishes its own physical demands: extended periods of running, walking, standing, bending, or driving, occasional lifting, pushing, or carrying of 50 pounds or more, and a requirement to push or drag heavy weights of 150 pounds or more. These are occupational-field duty standards, separate from the Initial Strength Test required before recruit training.
  • 5811 is the entry MOS for the military police field, and the manual lists five related skills that build on it: Military Working Dog Handler (5812), Traffic Management and Collision Investigator (5813), Physical Security Specialist (5814), Special Reaction Team Member (5816), and Military Police Investigator (5819). Each requires holding and maintaining all 5811 prerequisites, so the GT 95 gate carries forward into every one of them.

What ASVAB score do you need for Marine military police?

MOS 5811 Military Police requires a GT line score of 95 or higher, per NAVMC 1200.1L, the MOS Manual in force since 7 March 2025. You also need to clear the Marine Corps enlistment AFQT floor first — 31 for a tier-1 applicant with a high-school diploma, or 50 with a GED or nontraditional credential. The MOS Manual itself sets no AFQT minimum for 5811; it gates the job on GT.

Is the Marine MP GT requirement 95 or 100?

95. The GT 100 figure most guides publish comes from an older edition of the MOS Manual — NAVMC 1200.1D listed "a GT score of 100 or higher (may not be waived)". The current NAVMC 1200.1L lists 95, and the official Marines.com law-enforcement page lists 95 for the Military Police and Corrections field as well. If a source quotes 100 without naming an edition date, it is quoting a superseded manual.

How is the Marine GT score calculated?

The Marine Corps publishes GT as WK + PC + AR + MC in MCO 1230.5C — Word Knowledge plus Paragraph Comprehension plus Arithmetic Reasoning plus Mechanical Comprehension, using ASVAB standard scores. Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension together are what the ASVAB reports as VE (Verbal Expression). For 5811 the sum has to reach 95.

What disqualifies you from Marine MOS 5811?

Beyond the GT 95 line score, the MOS Manual requires U.S. citizenship, secret security clearance eligibility, a valid state driver's license, clarity of speech, and vision correctable to 20/20. Abnormal color vision is disqualifying and the manual states that waivers will not be granted. Special or general court-martial convictions, felony convictions, and civil misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence are also listed as non-waiverable.

How long is Marine military police school?

Marines.com describes a 20-week Military Police Basic Course at the Marine Corps Police Academy, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The MOS Manual names the same qualifying school as the Basic Military Police Course, course code A16RF33, at the Marine Corps Detachment there. It comes after recruit training at Parris Island or San Diego and Marine Combat Training at Camp Geiger or Camp Pendleton.

What does a Marine military policeman do?

The MOS Manual describes 5811 Marines as performing assigned military law enforcement duties that uphold the criminal justice system, maintain good order and discipline, and support the installation commander's law enforcement and security requirements. Typical billets include foot and motorized patrol, traffic management and accident investigation, crime prevention and physical security, patrol supervisor, watch commander, and provost sergeant. In reserve law enforcement battalions the billets run from fire team member through platoon sergeant.

Can you switch into 5811 from another Marine MOS?

Yes — the MOS Manual covers lateral moves, and they run through the same Basic Military Police Course as entry-level Marines. The manual routes the request through a career planner, then the nearest installation provost sergeant or senior enlisted advisor for screening, with a letter of recommendation from the installation provost marshal or law enforcement battalion commanding officer forwarded to Headquarters Marine Corps for final approval. A lateral mover still has to meet the GT 95 prerequisite.

Source: NAVMC 1200.1L, MOS Manual (7 Mar 2025) — MOS 5811 prerequisites, Enclosure (1) pp. 3-329 to 3-330 · last verified 2026-08-06 · date retrieved 2026-08-06.

Nearby targets

Related Marines score targets.

Related

Practice AFQT plus 5811 line-score subtests.

AFQT + GT practice targets

Compare Marines ASVAB requirements

Independent test-prep — not affiliated with DoD or the ASVAB program. See officialasvab.com for the test program.

Sources