About conscription
Completing conscription provides experience and knowledge in national defence and broadens career opportunities. After conscription, one may enter the Estonian Military Academy and begin an officer’s career or continue as a professional servicemember by joining, for example, the Scouts Battalion.
A successful conscription begins with good physical preparation. Regular exercise, especially endurance activities like running and cycling, helps you perform better during service.
The Defence Forces have developed the training app “Spordivägi”, which offers training programs of varying difficulty levels for all fitness levels. The app provides science-based real-time feedback on your progress to help you achieve better results. You can start using the Spordivägi training app even before conscription – just download it.
You can also challenge yourself with the 12-week training program “Koos vormi”, developed in cooperation between the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments and Fit-Q. The program helps you achieve your fitness goals and prepares you for the Conscription Physical Ability Test (CPAT).
Failure to pass the CPAT means you will not be awarded a rank during conscription.
For example, if you are supposed to be given the rank of junior sergeant but fail the CPAT, you will initially remain a private until you pass the next test.
The CPAT consists of the following components:
- Push-ups (2-minute duration)
- Sit-ups (2-minute duration)
- 3200-meter run
There is at least a 10-minute rest period between exercises, and the order of exercises must not be changed. To successfully pass the test, you must score at least 60 points in each exercise.
The requirements valid in the Estonian Defence Forces are provided in a corresponding table, but you can evaluate your results using the Estonian Defence Forces general fitness test calculator or the U.S. Army general fitness test calculator.
You will not be called up for conscription if:
- you are pursuing higher education in medicine or nursing
- your state of health does not meet the medical requirements for conscription
- you have a severe or profound disability as determined under the Social Welfare Act
- you have not completed at least the second stage of basic education
- you are a suspect or accused in a criminal case (until the criminal proceedings are concluded)
- you are detained or imprisoned as defined by the Imprisonment Act
- you are working under an international agreement at a military headquarters of the OECD or NATO
You will be discharged from conscription and transferred to the reserve if:
- you have entered alternative service
- you have reached the age of 28
- you have been sentenced to more than one year of actual imprisonment, and the conviction is not archived in the criminal records
- before being entered into the military service register, you have lived continuously abroad for at least seven years and have not submitted a written application for conscription or alternative service within five years
- you were born and have lived abroad before being entered into the military service register and have not submitted a written application for conscription or alternative service within five years of registration
- you have completed compulsory military service in the armed forces of a foreign country (a supporting document must be submitted for the application)
- you have served as a soldier in the armed forces of a foreign country for at least 12 months (a supporting document must be submitted for the application)
- you have completed alternative service abroad
- you are listed in the health care information system as a doctor or nurse and have completed the training required by the Defence Forces:
- Staff Officers’ Basic Military Course (SOSBK)
- Module I of the Military Medicine Basic Course (SMBK) – Introduction to Military Medicine; Infantry Battalion Medical Tactics and Equipment
- Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC)
- you have been appointed as a judge and the Council for the Administration of Courts has made a recommendation for your discharge
If you were discharged from conscription before the end of the service period, you have the opportunity to continue your service if the reason for discharge (e.g. injury) no longer applies. To do so, you must submit an application to the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments via the military service website.
Conscription can be continued by a man or woman up to the age of 27, if approved by the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments and the commanding officer at the service location. Conscription may only be continued once.
If you were discharged for health reasons, your health condition will first be assessed by the medical staff of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments. To continue service, your health must meet the medical requirements for conscription.
If the reason for discharge was other than health, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments will verify that the reason no longer applies.
If a woman who has entered conscription service withdraws within the first 90 days and does not have a military service obligation, she may also apply to continue conscription. In such case, she must assume a military service obligation, which cannot be revoked later.
See the Support and FAQ page for more information.
What do you gain from conscription?
- Confidence and physical strength – conscription develops both mental and physical endurance.
- Leadership and teamwork skills – you gain valuable skills that help in both professional and personal life.
- Time management and discipline – the habits formed during conscription help you handle everyday challenges.
- Friends and lifelong connections – relationships formed with fellow servicemembers can become lifelong friendships and be beneficial in the future.
Facts about conscription
26%
The benefits of completing conscription for personal development have increased.
14,3%
Individuals who have completed conscription earn significantly higher salaries.
56%
More conscripts enter military service immediately after high school than before.