US military enlistment test
ASVAB: scores, requirements and what jobs you qualify for
The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is the test you take to enlist in the US military. This hub covers the part that actually decides your options: how your AFQT score is built, the minimum score each branch sets, and how line scores match you to a job. It is not a practice-test site - it is a plain, source-checked map of the numbers.
What the ASVAB is
The ASVAB is the multiple-aptitude test used to qualify and place applicants across the US armed forces. You take it through a recruiter at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS - there are 65 across the US and Puerto Rico) or a satellite Military Entrance Test (MET) site. It is administered at no cost as part of the military enlistment process (you take it through a recruiter), so there is no fee to sit it.
There are two formats. The computer-adaptive test (CAT-ASVAB) is 135 questions, about 197 minutes of testing (most finish in roughly 1.5 hours). The paper-and-pencil version is longer: 225 questions, about 149 minutes. Both produce the same kinds of scores.
Wait 1 calendar month to retake it the first time, another month for a second retake, then 6 months for any retake after that. Scores can be used for enlistment for up to 2 years from the test date.
The 9 subtests
The ASVAB is made of nine subtests. Your answers feed two things: the AFQT score that decides whether you can enlist, and the line scores that decide which jobs you qualify for. The question counts below are for the computer-adaptive test.
| Code | Subtest | What it measures | CAT questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| GS | General Science | Physical and biological sciences | 15 |
| AR | Arithmetic Reasoning | Arithmetic word problems | 15 |
| WK | Word Knowledge | Word meaning and synonyms | 15 |
| PC | Paragraph Comprehension | Getting information from written passages | 10 |
| MK | Mathematics Knowledge | High-school mathematics principles | 15 |
| EI | Electronics Information | Electricity and electronics | 15 |
| AS | Auto & Shop Information | Automobile technology, tools and shop terms (Auto and Shop are timed separately on the computer test but reported as one AS score) | 20 |
| MC | Mechanical Comprehension | Mechanical and physical principles | 15 |
| AO | Assembling Objects | Spatial reasoning: how parts fit together | 15 |
Note: AS (Auto & Shop Information) combines the Auto and Shop areas. On the computer test they are timed separately but reported as one AS score.
How scoring works (in brief)
The headline number is the AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score. It is a percentile from 1 to 99, built only from four subtests: Arithmetic Reasoning (AR), Mathematics Knowledge (MK), Word Knowledge (WK) and Paragraph Comprehension (PC). It is what gets you in the door, so it is the number every branch quotes as a minimum.
The subtest standard scores and the branch line scores work differently, and people often confuse them with the AFQT percentile. For the full picture - AFQT categories, standard scores and composites - see how ASVAB scores work.
Minimum score by branch
Each branch sets its own minimum AFQT, and individual jobs require higher line scores on top of that. Only some branches publish a number officially; others rely on commonly-cited figures that differ between sources. The full comparison is on the minimum ASVAB score by branch page.