Military
Military entrance testing — starting with the ASVAB, the aptitude battery every US enlistee takes.
Which exam are you taking?
Exams are grouped with their close relatives — the other tiers of the same licence, the same exam in other states. Open a group to see each exam with its free practice questions, study guide and cheat sheet.
- Military entrance exams1 exam420 free questionsThe ASVAB and the AFQT score that determines enlistment eligibility across all service branches.ASVABExplore Military entrance exams →
- Philippine military academy admission1 exam60 free questionsAcademic entrance preparation for the Philippine Military Academy.Philippine PMA Entrance ExamExplore Philippine military academy admission →
Enlistment, promotion or academy entrance — which military test is yours?
The three tests here belong to three different moments in a military career, and none of them is a pass-fail exam in the civilian sense. The ASVAB is the aptitude battery every U.S. enlistee takes; it produces an AFQT percentile that decides eligibility to enlist and a set of line scores that decide which jobs you qualify for, and each service branch sets its own minimums. The Air Force Promotion Fitness Examination is a promotion test for enlisted airmen, scored within the Weighted Airman Promotion System against minimums per test and combined. The Philippine Military Academy entrance examination is an admissions test for a service academy, with the Academy setting its own standards.
The ASVAB deserves the most explanation because its scoring confuses candidates. Subtests measure four domains — verbal, mathematics, science and technical, spatial — and are delivered as a computerized adaptive test at Military Entrance Processing Stations and most satellite sites, with paper at only a handful. Standard scores are normed against a reference population of young adults, and the AFQT percentile that decides enlistment is built from four of the subtests. Retesting is allowed, but with waiting periods that lengthen after each attempt.
The PFE is different in kind: study material is published by the Air Force itself in the Airman handbook and the enlisted promotion study guide, the test covers history, organisation, regulations, practices and customs, and its final section is situational judgement — scenarios scored on the most and least effective action.
Find your test
Links go to the exam guide, where subtests, formats and scoring rules come from the official program pages.
The ASVAB. Your AFQT percentile sets eligibility and each branch's minimum differs; your line scores open or close specific jobs. Taken at a MEPS or MET site, adaptive on computer almost everywhere.
Retests are permitted after a waiting period that grows with each attempt. The most recent valid score counts, so preparation before the retest matters more than the number of attempts.
The Promotion Fitness Examination under WAPS, with minimums per test and combined. The study material is official — the Airman handbook and the enlisted promotion study guide — and the last section is situational judgement.
The Academy's entrance examination, part of an admissions process with its own eligibility rules. The exam guide covers the tested areas and the application steps the Academy publishes.
Neither reports a simple pass. The ASVAB reports percentiles and composites; the PFE reports points inside a promotion formula. The exam guides explain each scale from the official documents.
How each process runs
- 01Enlistment: talk to a recruiter, schedule the ASVAB at a MEPS or MET site, and know the branch's AFQT minimum and the line scores for the jobs you want before you sit it.
- 02If the score falls short, wait out the retest period and retest; the intervals lengthen after each attempt.
- 03Promotion: study the official Airman handbook and promotion study guide, then test in your cycle; the WAPS formula combines the PFE with other factors.
- 04Academy entrance: meet the Academy's eligibility rules, register for the entrance examination, and pass the subsequent screening stages the Academy sets.
Fee, format and passing standard
The 1 exams asked about most, of 2 on this page. Each figure is that exam's verified fact, cited to the regulator's page on the exam guide it links to. A blank cell means the regulator publishes no fixed figure.
| Exam | Fee | Questions | Time | Passing | Written by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASVAB | — | — | — | No pass/fail — AFQT percentile (1-99) determines enlistment eligibility; each branch sets minimums | US Department of Defense (ASVAB program) |
Who writes these exams
- U.S. Department of Defense (ASVAB program)
- Develops and administers the ASVAB and sets the retest policy; each service branch sets its own AFQT and line-score minimums.
- U.S. Air Force
- Publishes the study material and administers the Promotion Fitness Examination inside the Weighted Airman Promotion System.
- Philippine Military Academy
- Sets admissions eligibility and administers its own entrance examination.
Official pages this section is drawn from
- U.S. Department of Defense (Official ASVAB) · Understanding ASVAB Scores
- U.S. Department of Defense (Official ASVAB) · What to Expect When You Take the ASVAB
- U.S. Department of Defense (Official ASVAB) · The CAT-ASVAB
- U.S. Department of Defense (Official ASVAB) · ASVAB Retest Policy
- Air Education and Training Command · USAF Enlisted Promotion Study Guides
- Department of the Air Force · Air Force Handbook 1, Airman
What you'll find on every Military exam
Each exam has up to four pages, one per job to be done: practice the questions, understand the exam, study the outline, or revise the morning of. Flashcards and glossary terms sit inside the study guide rather than on pages of their own.
- Practice tests2
- Free question banks with a worked explanation on every answer.
- Exam guides2
- Cost, format, eligibility and difficulty, straight from the official outline.
- Study guides2
- Full outline coverage, plus the exam's flashcards and glossary terms.
- Cheat sheets2
- One-page summaries built for the last review, with a PDF download.
Official sources
Every exam number on this page traces to a document published by the body that sets or administers the exam. These are the primary publishers cited across Military.
- US Department of Defense (ASVAB Program)officialasvab.comcited by 1 exam
- Philippine Military Academypma.edu.phcited by 1 exam
Last verified against these documents: