Frequently Asked Questions

Depending on your age and whether you are required to furnish a bond, you will need to do the following:

You may register for a Singpass at the Singpass website. Please refer to this page for more information on the registration process. Do allocate enough time to set up your Singpass.

We recommend you register online. You may have to queue for up to 90 minutes if you decide to walk in to CMPB for registration.

No, we are unable to extend the deadline. We recommend you to complete your NS registration before the deadline. You may contact us for further assistance.

The medical screening is required for us to determine your medical fitness for NS after your studies. You should attend the medical screening even though you are currently repeating JC 1. Your medical fitness status will still be valid for your enlistment after you have completed your JC studies.

No. Your medical screening appointment is scheduled earlier so that your enlistment will not be delayed. For some cases, the medical assessment can take up to six to nine months depending on the complexity of the pre-existing medical conditions.

You may register for a Singpass at the Singpass website. If you have forgotten or misplaced your Singpass, you may reset your Singpass at the Singpass website. Please note that it takes about four working days for the Singpass to be mailed to local addresses and ten working days for overseas addresses.

If you failed your GCE 'O' or 'N' Level studies, you can be considered for further deferment to repeat your studies on a full-time basis.

If you failed your General Paper (GP) or Knowledge & Inquiry (KI) or obtained less than three H2 passes (excluding KI) in one sitting of the GCE ‘A’ Level examination, you can be considered for further deferment to repeat your GCE ‘A’ Level studies on a full-time basis. If you failed to attain the International Baccalaureate (IB) qualification, you can also be considered for further deferment to repeat your IB studies on a full-time basis.

If you are repeating your diploma course at the polytechnics, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, LASALLE College of the Arts, or Institute of Technical Education (ITE), you can be considered for further deferment of up to two years to repeat your studies on a full-time basis.

If you failed your National ITE Certificate (Nitec) or Higher Nitec studies at ITE, you can be considered for further deferment to repeat your studies on a full-time basis.

You may enquire with us on your eligibility for further deferment if you are repeating other courses.

If you are studying during a deferment period but wish to pursue or switch to a new course or institution, you must seek prior approval from us. Please provide us with the details of the course of study or institution which you are intending to switch to. Without obtaining approval prior to your course commencement, you may face disruption in your course. You may apply to change your course of study or school through OneNS.

A majority of you will only need to attend one medical review to obtain your medical fitness status which is required to determine the type of basic training you would attend. However, some medical conditions will require a specialist’s input and you will be referred to a restructured hospital for further tests or consultations. As such, the number of medical reviews will be dependent on the nature and complexity of your medical condition(s).

You will be able to check your medical fitness results, including your medical exemptions on OneNS in a month’s time if you are not required to attend any further medical reviews. If you are referred for further medical reviews, your medical fitness can only be finalised upon completion of your medical assessment. This depends on the complexity of your medical conditions and the wait time for appointment at restructured hospitals.

Pre-enlistees enlisting before October 2027 will continue to receive a PES status. Please refer to our page on PES for a full explanation of each PES.

You will be reviewed by the unit Medical Officer (MO) when your temporary PES/medical fitness status expires after you have enlisted. The unit MO will follow up on your outstanding medical issue and assign you a finalised medical fitness status after your medical assessment has been completed.

Please obtain an updated medical document in support of your appeal for a medical fitness review and submit it to contact@ns.gov.sg. Our Medical Officer will review the case upon receipt of the medical document. Should there be any change in your medical fitness and exemptions, we will inform you of your new enlistment date accordingly. You may view your medical fitness results, including your medical exemptions, on OneNS in one to two months’ time.

You can report to the Medical Classification Centre for a medical review from Monday to Friday, 2pm to 4pm.

The Medical Officer will assess if there is a change in your medical fitness status. You may be assigned to a different basic training programme.

Pre-enlistees enlisting before October 2027 will continue to receive a PES status. Your PES is one of the considerations to determine the type of basic training you will undergo.

Your medical history is important to the screening process. Prior to the medical screening appointment, you will be asked to declare pre-existing medical conditions in the Medical Screening Questionnaire. It is important that your parent or guardian endorse your Medical Screening Questionnaire before you report for your medical screening. Without doing so, your enlistment may be delayed.

You can download your Medical Screening Questionnaire online during your pre-enlistment documentation. Please bring the hardcopy Medical Screening Questionnaire with you to the medical screening together with relevant supporting documents (if any). Our Medical Officers will review it and take it into consideration when determining your medical fitness for National Service.

Please read our page on medical review which explains the steps and processes in detail.

You may choose to do the required test overseas and send a copy of your medical report to the Medical Classification Centre for our Medical Officer to review. You should bring along the referral letter given to you to show the overseas doctor so that the doctor will have more information on your medical condition. Please note that you will have to incur the cost for overseas medical review as MINDEF does not cover such expenses.

You have to send in your relevant doctor or specialist memo to Medical Classification Centre (MCC) through email. Should there be a need for further review by the Medical Officer, MCC will inform you accordingly. Based on the changes in your medical conditions, your enlistment date may be rescheduled.

It may lead to a delay in your enlistment as our Medical Officer will need to ensure that you have recovered sufficiently prior to enlistment.

You will receive an SMS or email notification from us if your appointment has been rescheduled.

If you did not receive a notification, please proceed with your appointment. When commuting for your appointment, please adhere to the national guidelines. Wear a mask at all times and keep a safe distance of at least 1 metre from others, even in open spaces. Stay safe.

You would have received a notification stating that your appointment has been rescheduled. You can log on to OneNS for more details on your new appointment. Should you wish to change your new appointment date, you can do so via OneNS.

Under the current PES system, you are assigned a single PES status (PES A to PES F), which determines the broad range of training activities and vocations that you are eligible to participate in. While this provides a general summary of your medical fitness, the PES system was not designed to reflect the specific functional strengths and limitations of each individual.

The refreshed MCS will allow MINDEF/SAF to more precisely characterise each serviceman’s medical fitness and his ability to perform various tasks. Under the refreshed MCS, you will receive three sets of information on your medical fitness.

There will be no change to the medical screening process that pre-enlistees undergo at the Medical Classification Centre. Pre-enlistees will complete 6 medical stations, which will take about 2.5 hours in total.

Medical screening for pre-enlistees under the refreshed MCS will commence from end-June 2026. This first batch of pre-enlistees who will be graded under the refreshed MCS will receive their medical grading results approximately two months after their medical screening appointment (i.e., Aug 2026 onwards), if they do not require further medical reviews. This will allow sufficient time for our Medical Officers to transit over to the refreshed medical classification system.

Thereafter, pre-enlistees can generally expect to receive their medical grading results in about one month.

Pre-enlistees will receive an SMS informing them when their medical grading results are available online on OneNS.

The medical screening process and experience remains unchanged. If your medical screening is after Jun 2026, you will be assessed under the refreshed Medical Classification System. However, if you are enlisting before Oct 2027, you will receive a PES status.

You will be notified of your PES status and Basic Training Programme in your Enlistment Notice. You will also be able to view your medical fitness information, including medical exemptions (if any), on OneNS. You will receive your Enlistment Notice around two months before your enlistment date.

The medical screening process and experience remains unchanged. If your medical screening is before Jun 2026, you will be graded under the current system and receive a PES status. However, if you subsequently are due to enlist from Oct 2027 onwards, you will be notified of your updated medical fitness information under the refreshed Medical Classification system. You may be required to visit the Medical Classification Centre (MCC) for a review of your medical fitness, as it has been some time since your medical assessment was completed. 

Your medical fitness information and Basic Training Programme will be reflected on OneNS as well as your Enlistment Notice. You will receive your Enlistment Notice around two months before your enlistment date. 

Pre-enlistees are able to view their medical exemptions on OneNS about one month after their medical screening appointment, if no further medical reviews are required.

Medical exemptions will help the SAF determine the types of training activities that each full-time National Serviceman is able to safely participate in. To ensure high standards of training safety, servicemen’s medical exemptions will be made known to trainers and commanders, who will be provided with clear guidelines on conducting training for trainees with differing medical exemptions.

The streamlined BMT programmes consolidates the existing BMT programmes. They take into account various medical exemptions that recruits may have, to ensure high standards of training safety. You will continue to participate in familiar activities such as weapon handling, field camp, standard obstacle course, and route marches, if you are eligible.

In BMT programmes 2 or 3 where recruits may be exempt from the above, the syllabus focuses on soldiering fundamentals and baseline physical fitness training. Recruits will still take part in activities such as drone flying and basic protection and security drills, in addition to progressive training in activities such as lower intensity strength training, and heart-rate zone runs.

Soldiers with specific medical exemptions may participate in physical and field training that might be of:

• Reduced intensity or duration (e.g., moderated pace, or shorter route march distances)

• Adjusted load or equipment and calibrated attire (e.g., lighter field loads or modified attire instead of full combat gear)

The above are examples where participation is retained, but with scaled demands.

The programme builds core soldiering skills that form a baseline for service in the military. Recruits will then receive further vocational training after being assigned to roles that are they medically eligible for. Subsequent stages of training in our Training Institutes will prepare the servicemen for their assigned vocations. This is no different from today.

If you perform well and demonstrate leadership potential during Basic Military Training, you will be considered for leadership appointments, and selected to attend Command School training at Officer Cadet School (OCS) and Specialist Cadet School (SCS).

Similar to today, you will be deployed to a vocation based on suitability, skills, interests, and the operational requirements of SAF.

Unlike the PES system that grouped NSFs into broad medical categories, the refreshed medical classification system allows for more precise medical characterisation. Hence, you may now be eligible for more vocations based on your specific medical exemptions, as well as your functional abilities.

You will only be deployed to vocations that you are medically assessed to be suited for. 

Some examples of Combat, Combat Support and Combat Service Support vocations include:

• Combat: Commando Trooper, Naval Diver and Infantry Trooper.

• Combat Support: Artillery Operator, Combat Engineer Pioneer, and Signal Operator.

• Combat Service Support: Army Technician, Supply Assistant, and Transport Operator.

You will receive an Enlistment Notice about two months before your enlistment date. This notice will inform you of your enlistment date, reporting unit and address as well as the things to bring on the first day.

We do not allow pre-enlistees to choose their enlistment date. However, if you need to defer your enlistment after receiving your Enlistment Notice, please submit your request to us and we will review it on a case-by-case basis. If we approve your request to change your enlistment date, we will enlist you as soon as possible in the next available intake.

We do not allow pre-enlistees to choose their uniformed Service or unit of their enlistment. The assignment is based on numerous considerations such as the operational and manpower requirements of each uniformed Service, your psychometric test results and medical fitness.

Yes, you may travel overseas but you will have to return to Singapore before your enlistment date.

Please note that you will be required to apply for an Exit Permit if you are travelling overseas for more than three months. Please refer to our page on Exit Permit.