DoD · enlisted applicants, all branches · checked Nov 6, 2026
The ASVAB test, from subtests to a job
Updated Nov 6, 2026 · facts checked Nov 6, 2026
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is the aptitude test behind every enlistment in the U.S. military. One sitting gives two kinds of result: an AFQT percentile that decides whether you can join, and a set of line scores that decides which jobs you can be offered.
Enlistment eligibility (AFQT) and job qualification (each branch's line scores)
Official ASVAB · U.S. Army · U.S. Air Force [3][4][5]
Format
Computer-adaptive (CAT-ASVAB) at MEPS and most MET sites; paper and pencil at only a handful of MET sitesOn the computer the next item gets harder after a right answer and easier after a wrong one; CAT and paper scores are put on the same scale.
135 scored questions on the computer; 225 on paperThe computer version adds up to 15 unscored tryout questions in 2 to 4 of the subtests, with extra time when it does.
About 2 hours on average for the computer test; the paper session takes 3 to 4 hoursSubtest limits on the computer add up to 197 minutes without tryout questions; paper testing time is 149 minutes.
Subtest standard scores (mean 50, standard deviation 10); the AFQT is a percentile from 1 to 99The AFQT compares you with a 1997 national sample of 18- to 23-year-olds: an AFQT of 90 means you scored as well as or better than 90% of them. It is not a percent-correct score.
First retest after 1 calendar month, second retest 1 month after that, then 6 months between retestsThe same rule covers student (CEP) and enlistment tests. An AFQT gain of 20 points or more within 6 months triggers a confirmation test.
The battery works as a chain, and each link has its own page here:
Subtests. You answer short timed sections on science, math, words, reading, electronics, auto and shop, mechanics and spatial assembly. Each gets a standard score.
AFQT. Four of those sections, Arithmetic Reasoning, Math Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, are combined into the Armed Forces Qualification Test percentile. How it is built and what the categories mean is on ASVAB scores.
Eligibility. Each branch sets its own AFQT floor. The numbers, with the branch page for each, are on ASVAB scores by branch.
Line scores. Groups of subtests are added up into composites such as the Army GT or the Air Force MAGE scores; see line scores.
Jobs. Every job has its own composite minimums. The figures the branches publish are collected in one table on jobs by ASVAB score.
That is why two recruits with the same AFQT can be offered different jobs: the AFQT gets you in, and the line scores sort you.
The subtests and what each one feeds
Question counts and minutes are for the computer version. The last column links to the page for each subtest; Assembling Objects is a picture subtest, so it is described on exam facts rather than drilled here.
There is no separate Air Force, Army or Navy ASVAB. Every branch uses the same test and the same subtest scores; what differs is the AFQT floor each one sets and the way it groups subtests into line scores. The Air Force and Space Force report four MAGE composites, the Army reports its own set led by GT, and the Navy states job requirements as subtest formulas.
Some officer routes use a different test. Air Force officer candidates sit the AFOQT, Navy officer applicants outside aviation take the OAR, and the flight routes of each service are compared on how to become a military pilot. How the ASVAB and the Air Force officer test differ, section by section, is on ASVAB vs AFOQT.
Ways to take it
A recruiter schedules the test at a MEPS or a MET site; students take it through the ASVAB Career Exploration Program, and serving members through the base education office. The format and the timing rules are on ASVAB exam facts.
At home first: a recruiter can send you the PiCAT, an unproctored version you take on your own computer and then confirm with a short supervised check. The rules are on the PiCAT page.
Already serving: the in-service version is the AFCT, covered under exam facts.
A recruiter's pretest: the AFQT Predictor Test only estimates your AFQT; it does not replace the test.
Four questions, one from each AFQT subtest
0 of 4 answeredPick a letter: the reasoning for every choice opens under it.
Q1 of 4 · Arithmetic Reasoning (AR)
A supply depot received 225 boxes, each holding 36 items. The items are shared equally among 12 units. How many items does each unit receive?
The depot has 225 × 36 = 8,100 items, and 8,100 ÷ 12 = 675 items per unit.
8,100 is the total number of items before they are shared among the 12 units.
2,700 multiplies the 225 boxes by the 12 units instead of the items per box.
18.75 divides the 225 boxes by 12 units; it shares boxes, not the items in them.
Every two years, ships and aircraft from more than two dozen nations gather near Hawaii for a large naval exercise. Crews practice working together: one navy's helicopter lands on another navy's ship, and officers learn to pass orders across language barriers. The exercise also sends a message. When rival nations watch dozens of navies operating as one team, they see that an attack on one partner could draw a response from many.
According to the passage, one purpose of the exercise is to
Officers learn to pass orders "across language barriers"; the passage never says crews learn a common language.
The passage says rivals watching dozens of navies work as one team see that an attack on one partner could draw a response from many — a united front.
New ships and aircraft are never mentioned; crews practice working together.
The exercise is about operating as one team, not ranking the navies.
ASVAB study guide→A study order for the ASVAB: AFQT four first, then your job composites
The ASVAB in four answers
What does ASVAB stand for?
Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. "Battery" because it is a set of separately timed subtests, not one long exam.
What is the ASVAB used for?
Two things: whether you can enlist, which the AFQT decides, and which jobs you qualify for, which each branch's line scores decide.
Is the ASVAB only for enlisted recruits?
Mostly. Enlisted applicants take it; Air Force and Space Force officer applicants take the AFOQT instead, and Navy officer applicants outside aviation take the OAR. ASVAB scores can still matter: the Washington Army National Guard's aviation page asks warrant officer flight applicants for a GT of 110, explained on line scores.
How long do ASVAB scores last?
Scores can be used for enlistment for 2 years from the test date. If you test again, the Army counts your most recent score, not your highest; see retakes.