Unofficial scoring tool — not a DoD system Standards current as of 27 JUL 2026
MilitaryFitnessCalc
2026 Standards

U.S. Army — E-5 and E-6 boards — 2026

Army Promotion Points Calculator 2026

All five categories — AFT, weapons qualification, military education, civilian education and awards — totalled to an E-5 or E-6 estimate out of 800.

Applies to SGT (E-5) and SSG (E-6) boards Authority DA PAM 600-8-19 · Army Directive 1 Oct 2025 Verified 27 July 2026

Procedure

  1. 01Pick the grade you are competing for. The categories are the same; only the monthly cutoff differs.
  2. 02Enter your AFT total, then select your weapons qualification and your highest military and civilian education.
  3. 03Add your award points, total the card, and read each category against its own maximum.
How this page is sourcedMFC‑705
Point values
DA PAM 600-8-19
AFT tiers
Army Directive, 1 Oct 2025
Page verified
27 JUL 2026
  • DA PAM 600-8-19 — Enlisted promotions and reductions.
  • AR 600-8-19 — Enlisted promotions and reductions (regulation).
  • HRC Enlisted Promotions — the monthly by-MOS cutoff scores, published at hrc.army.mil.

No person, credential or endorsement is claimed for this page. Cutoff scores are deliberately not republished here, because they change monthly and a stale one would be worse than none. Something wrong? Report an error.

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Army promotion points — 2026

Max 800

Five categories. Nothing is uploaded — the arithmetic happens on your device.

Your board

Competing for

The five categories and their maxima are the same for both grades. Only the monthly cutoff differs.

Your five categories

Enter an AFT total to apply the tier.

Live: 0 pts · score your AFT first

Primary weapon qualification

Selected: 0 pts

Highest NCOES completed

Selected: 0 pts

Highest civilian education

Selected: 0 pts

AAM 15 · ARCOM 25 · MSM 35 · BSM 40 · ACOM 50. Add up your own decorations; the category caps at 165.

Live: 0 pts

Free · no login · nothing leaves your phone

Estimated total

——— / 800 pts

Awaiting entry

0 of 800 points entered

Determination Blank — awaiting entry

No entry on file. Fill in the five categories above and total the card — the ledger below fills in with the points from each category and the share of its maximum you are holding.

Awaiting No entry on file
The answer

Your total, in context

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

What this is: an estimate of the five point categories, computed on your device. Your S1’s recomputation against DA PAM 600-8-19 and your records in iPERMS is the total that goes to the board. Cutoff scores are published monthly by HRC and are not part of this calculation.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

Unofficial tool. Not a Department of Defense system and not affiliated with the U.S. Army. Promotion point values follow DA PAM 600-8-19; the AFT contribution follows the Army Directive effective 1 October 2025. Confirm every figure with your unit S1.

What AFT score earns the maximum promotion points?

400 or above earns +30 promotion points, the most the AFT can contribute. 380–399 earns +20 and 350–379 earns +10. Anything below 350 earns nothing, even though 300 passes the General standard — which is why a soldier sitting on 340 has 30 points of headroom that costs nothing but training. The Physical Fitness domain is worth up to 120 points in total; the AFT is 30 of those.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

How Army promotion points work in 2026

Army promotion points decide which soldiers get promoted to Sergeant (E-5) and Staff Sergeant (E-6). Every eligible soldier competes within their own MOS — the soldier with the highest total above the monthly cutoff is promoted first. In 2026 the total comes from five categories with a maximum of 800 points.

The five categories, and their maxima
CategoryMaxHow to maximise it
Physical fitness domain120The AFT contributes up to +30 (score 400 or above); the remaining 90 domain points come from other fitness categories
Weapons qualification160Qualify Expert on your primary weapon (160 pts)
Military education260Complete SLC for the full 260; BLC/WLC is 80 and ALC is 160
Civilian education100A bachelor’s degree earns 75; a master’s earns 100
Awards & decorations165ARCOM 25, MSM 35, BSM 40, capped at 165
Total maximum800—

How the AFT score converts to promotion points

The Army Fitness Test contributes up to +30 promotion points toward your total. The rest of the Physical Fitness domain — up to 90 more — comes from other fitness categories. AFT scores are recorded in DTMS and count from 1 October 2025 (General standard) and 1 January 2026 (Combat MOS, Active Duty). Reserve and Guard Combat MOS soldiers: 1 June 2026.

AFT total to promotion points
AFT scoreCategoryPromotion points
400–500Excellent / Exceptional+30 — maximum from the AFT
380–399Good+20
350–379Satisfactory+10
300–349Minimum pass0
Below 300Failure0 — and triggers a Flag
Note

Exact point conversions are published in DA PAM 600-8-19. The ranges above are the tiers as published; use the calculator with your own AFT score for the estimate, and your S1’s recomputation for the number that counts. Not sure of your AFT total? Score it first, then come back — and if it is below 350, how to pass the Army AFT is where the +20 is.

Where to find your MOS cutoff score

Monthly promotion point cutoff scores are published by HRC (Human Resources Command) at hrc.army.mil under Enlisted Promotions. Cutoffs change every month with how many promotion slots are available for each MOS and grade. Check HRC in the first week of each month.

  • Totals above 700 are considered highly competitive in most MOSs.
  • Totals between 550 and 700 are typically competitive in most MOSs.
  • Totals below 500 usually need improvement in one or more categories before competing.
  • Some competitive MOSs have cutoffs above 750 — check your own.
Warning

This site does not publish cutoff scores. Cutoffs are set monthly by HRC per MOS and grade, and any number republished here would be out of date before you read it. Go to the source.

Common questions

How many promotion points does the AFT contribute?

The Army Fitness Test contributes a maximum of +30 promotion points toward SGT (E-5) and SSG (E-6) promotion. The tiers are 350–379 = +10, 380–399 = +20 and 400 or above = +30. The Physical Fitness domain maximum of 120 points covers all fitness categories, not the AFT alone. General standard effective 1 October 2025.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

What are all five categories of Army promotion points?

Physical fitness / AFT (120 points maximum), weapons qualification (160), military education (260), civilian education (100) and awards and decorations (165). The maximum total is 800 points.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

What AFT score earns maximum promotion points?

400 or above. Scoring higher than 400 does not add more — 400+ earns the same +30. The tiers are 350–379 = +10, 380–399 = +20, 400 or above = +30, and anything below 350 earns nothing even though 300 passes the General standard.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

How do I find the cutoff score for my MOS?

Monthly cutoff scores are published by HRC at hrc.army.mil under Enlisted Promotions. They change every month with the number of promotion slots available, and they vary widely by MOS and grade. Check the first week of each month.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

Do promotion points differ between E-5 and E-6?

The five categories and the maximum points per category are identical for E-5 (SGT) and E-6 (SSG). What differs is the monthly cutoff. An MOS with many available E-5 slots may sit well below its E-6 cutoff, or the other way round.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

What is the fastest way to increase promotion points?

Three things move fastest. Qualifying Expert instead of Sharpshooter on your primary weapon adds 40 points immediately. Moving your AFT from the 350–379 tier (+10) to 400 or above (+30) adds 20. Completing ALMS and distributed-learning courses through your unit adds points in the military education category within weeks.

Source: DA PAM 600-8-19 · AFT tiers per Army Directive effective 1 Oct 2025 · Verified 27 JUL 2026

Keep going

Army AFT calculator

Score all five events and get the total this page turns into promotion points.

AFT standards 2026

300, 350, the 60-point floor, and what a Flag under AR 600-8-2 blocks.

Army AFT scoring chart

Every point table, by age band and sex, for all five events.

How to pass the Army AFT

Where the fastest 20 promotion points are: the 350–379 tier to 400.

Height, weight and body fat

Assessed separately from the fitness test, and it can flag you just as fast.

All fitness guides

Every branch guide, plus PT gear and military gym discounts.

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