Army Cutoff Scores — September 2026: your MOS, without the PDF dig.
Every month HQDA decides, MOS by MOS, how many points it takes to pin SGT and SSG — then publishes it as a memo buried on a site that fights your phone. Here it is as a lookup: type your MOS, see this month's number and the trend. Every value is pulled from the signed memo and linked to its source. Latest verified month: September 2026.
Showing September 2026 (Active Army) — effective 01 September 2026. Tap a row for the month-to-month trend.
Source: HQDA Promotion Point Cutoff Scores (COS) for 01 September 2026, HQDA memo dated Aug 20, 2026, retrieved Aug 24, 2026. Every number on this page is machine-extracted from the signed AHRC-PDV-PE memo — nothing is estimated or filled in. Legend, straight from the memo: 24 = not enough eligible soldiers; 798 = no promotions needed; N/A = no list published for that grade.
Which Army MOS got harder — and easier to promote in
Across July 2024 – September 2026 we tracked the E-6 (Staff Sergeant) cutoff for 144 Active-Army MOS, straight from the signed monthly HQDA memos. The headline:
- Got hardest: 17E — the SSG cutoff climbed +351 points (113 → 464) over the window.
- Eased the most: 94Y — down -474 points (762 → 288).
- Toughest room right now: 14H needs 780 for SSG on the latest memo — a hair under the 798 closed line.
- Promoting everyone eligible (cutoff 24) on the latest memo: 10 MOS, including 12D, 12M, 12T, 13R.
Hardest to make SSG now
Highest E-6 cutoff on the latest memo. The closer to 798, the more the door is shut.
Got harder over the window
Biggest rise in the SSG cutoff from first to latest verified month.
Got easier over the window
Biggest drop in the SSG cutoff — the rooms that opened up.
Method: figures are computed only from values machine-extracted from the signed HQDA AHRC-PDV-PE memos linked in the tracker above — Active Army, E-6. “Got harder/easier” compares the first and most-recent real cutoff for each MOS over July 2024 – September 2026, requires at least 8 months of presence, and treats a move under 20 points as flat. The 24 (not enough eligibles) and 798 (closed) sentinels are states, not scores, so they never enter a trend average. Months we could not retrieve are absent — never estimated. Lower confidence on any MOS that appears in only a handful of memos.
How to read a cutoff score
That's the promotion point total you needed, integrated and in the system by the 26th of the prior month, to promote on the 1st. Meet it, you pin. Miss it by one point, you wait. Run your own math in the promotion points calculator and compare against your MOS's recent months here.
Memo language: “not enough eligible soldiers.” Everyone on the list promotes, and the Army still has empty NCO slots. If your MOS sits at 24 for months, you are in promote-fast territory — the only things between you and sergeant are eligibility, BLC, and getting your packet integrated.
Memo language: “no promotions needed.” 798 isn't a score to chase — it's a locked door. The MOS is at or over strength at that grade. If your MOS posts 798 month after month, your timeline is stalled by manning math, not by your performance. That's worth knowing before you reenlist for the same job.
The memo's management flag for “we'd promote more if more were eligible.” STAR MOS soldiers are supposed to get BLC priority (AR 350-1, para 3-35). Starred + low cutoff = the fastest rank track in the Army that month.
The part the recruiter never draws on the whiteboard: your MOS choice is a promotion-speed choice. The same soldier with the same points promotes on a completely different timeline depending on which line of this table they signed into — in the months we track, some MOSs promoted everyone eligible while others stayed closed at 798 the entire stretch. Cutoffs move monthly with the Army's manning needs — which is exactly why we track them monthly instead of quoting a stale screenshot.
Made the list? Here's what happens before the 1st.
Your promotion is effective the 1st of the memo month; the orders themselves come through your S1 in IPPS-A, and they are frequently late. Screenshot the memo line for your MOS now — it is the document that ends the “we never got the orders” conversation. If you have never touched a PAR, the IPPS-A walkthrough is the ten-minute version.
Two pieces, two uniforms: a hook-backed insignia for the center of the OCP coat and a sew-on for the patrol cap (AR 670-1 covers wear; it does not cover the on-post tailor's two-week backlog every time a memo drops). Buy both before the 1st. Nothing else on the promotion-gift internet is required.
The clock restarts the day you pin. Points entered after the 26th roll a month; weapons and AFT scores count from the date recorded, not the date you shot. Run the E-6 or E-7 math in the promotion points calculator while the board packet is still fresh.
The Kit
The Pin-On Kit
You made the list. The rank the page just told you to buy, before the 1st.
These are affiliate links — if you buy, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It never changes what we recommend, and we'll tell you to skip things we'd get paid for. How this works.
- Check price on Amazon ↗
Army OCP Rank Insignia, Sergeant — hook-backed — Vanguard
The one that goes center-chest on the OCP coat. Hook-backed, so it goes on the day the orders publish, not the day you find a tailor.
- Check price on Amazon ↗
Army OCP Rank Insignia, Sergeant — sew-on — Vanguard
For the patrol cap, which still gets sewn. Buy it with the coat rank so you are not the sergeant wearing specialist on your head at the ceremony.
- Check price on Amazon ↗
Army OCP Rank Insignia, Staff Sergeant — hook-backed — Vanguard
Coat rank for the E-6 list. Same rule: hook on the coat, sew-on for the cap.
- Check price on Amazon ↗
Army OCP Rank Insignia, Staff Sergeant — sew-on — Vanguard
Patrol cap rank for SSG. The tailor on post has a two-week backlog every time a cutoff memo drops. Plan accordingly.
Save Your Money
Skip the "NCO promotion gift box," the engraved shadow box, and anything with a coin in it — your unit will hand you a coin. Two pieces of rank on the correct uniforms is the entire shopping list.
Verify it yourself
Don't take our word for it — that's the whole point of this site. Every month block above links the exact memo it was extracted from. The official publication page:
- HRC — Monthly Enlisted Cutoff Scores + By-Name Listspublished ~20th of the prior month
- AR 600-8-19 — Enlisted Promotions and Demotionsthe governing regulation (new edition effective 06 April 2026)