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Tools · HQDA Cutoff Scores

Your MOS cutoff, 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: June 2026.

Showing June 2026 (Active Army) — effective 01 June 2026. Tap a row for the month-to-month trend.

MOSSGT (E-5)SSG (E-6)

Source: HQDA Promotion Point Cutoff Scores (COS) for 01 June 2026, HQDA memo dated May 20, 2026, retrieved Jun 19, 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.

The Analysis · 23 months of HQDA memos

Which Army MOS got harder — and easier to promote in

Across July 2024 – June 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 +417 points (113 → 530) over the window.
  • Eased the most: 94Y — down -493 points (762 → 269).
  • Toughest room right now: 25U needs 797 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, 19D.

Hardest to make SSG now

Highest E-6 cutoff on the latest memo. The closer to 798, the more the door is shut.

  1. 25U797
  2. 12P790
  3. 15M785
  4. 68R781
  5. 91F780
  6. 68E768
  7. 15N763
  8. 92F750
  9. 25B735
  10. 68T734

Got harder over the window

Biggest rise in the SSG cutoff from first to latest verified month.

  1. 17E+417 (113→530)
  2. 94E+250 (387→637)
  3. 88L+214 (124→338)
  4. 19K+206 (72→278)
  5. 15Q+155 (247→402)
  6. 68Y+142 (287→429)
  7. 35S+141 (551→692)
  8. 89D+123 (277→400)
  9. 68T+119 (615→734)
  10. 46S+115 (450→565)

Got easier over the window

Biggest drop in the SSG cutoff — the rooms that opened up.

  1. 94Y-493 (762→269)
  2. 31D-455 (754→299)
  3. 35L-424 (596→172)
  4. 12H-370 (606→236)
  5. 35PAZ-351 (654→303)
  6. 19D-260 (424→164)
  7. 11B-250 (687→437)
  8. 79S-246 (449→203)
  9. 15W-240 (674→434)
  10. 68H-229 (723→494)

Closed the longest

Posted 798 (no promotions needed) the largest share of the window — overstrength at E-6.

  1. 35PQB100% closed
  2. 42R100% closed
  3. 88H100% closed
  4. 91C100% closed
  5. 15D96% closed
  6. 35PFR96% closed
  7. 15B87% closed
  8. 25E87% closed
  9. 94Y87% closed
  10. 94P74% closed

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 – June 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

A real number (say, 450)

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.

24 — the floor

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.

798 — closed

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.

★ STAR MOS

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.

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:

Frequently asked

What is a promotion point cutoff score?
Every month HQDA publishes, per MOS, the minimum promotion point total needed to pin SGT (E-5) or SSG (E-6) that month. If you are integrated onto the recommended list with your data in the system by the 26th of the prior month and your points meet or exceed the cutoff, you promote on the 1st. The cutoff is set by the Army's manning math — how many NCOs the MOS needs versus how many eligible soldiers are on the list — not by how good you are.
What do 24, 798, and N/A mean?
Straight from the memo's own notes: a cutoff of 24 means "not enough eligible soldiers" — everyone eligible promotes, and the Army wishes there were more of you. A cutoff of 798 means "no promotions needed" — the door is closed that month no matter your score. N/A means HQDA published no list for that grade/MOS that month. 24 and 798 are sentinels, not real score targets.
What is a STAR MOS?
The memo's own definition: an MOS where more soldiers would have been promoted if more had been eligible in IPPS-A with a promotion point score. Translation — undermanned at the next grade. Per AR 350-1 paragraph 3-35, soldiers in a STAR MOS are supposed to get priority for BLC seats because their promotion potential is higher. If your MOS is starred and you're not on the list, the bottleneck is your paperwork, not the Army's math.
Is my MOS getting harder or easier to promote in?
That depends entirely on the MOS, which is why we track the full window instead of a single month. Some MOS have seen the E-6 cutoff climb hundreds of points over the last two years (the room is filling up); others dropped just as far (the room opened). The "Which Army MOS got harder — and easier" analysis on this page ranks the biggest movers both directions, comparing each MOS's first and most-recent verified cutoff. Look up your MOS in the tracker for its own month-by-month line, and read the trend before you reenlist or re-class — a rising cutoff is the Army telling you that grade is getting crowded.
Why does my MOS promote at 350 while my buddy's needs 798?
Cutoffs are supply and demand per MOS, recalculated monthly. An undermanned MOS can promote everyone eligible (cutoff 24); an overstrength MOS can sit closed (798) for months. This is the single most under-briefed fact in recruiting: the MOS you sign determines how fast you make rank far more than how good you are at your job. Check the trend on this page before you re-class or reenlist.
When do my new points count?
Per the HQDA memo: promotion points are effective the 1st of the following month, and data entered after the 26th rolls to the month after that. Example from the memo itself: a weapons or AFT score recorded on 3 May counts against the 1 July cutoffs, not 1 June. The Army locks its decision data at 0200 Eastern on the 2nd calendar day of the month. Plan your point-chasing around the 26th, not the 31st.
Where does this data come from, and how fresh is it?
Each month's numbers are machine-extracted from the actual HQDA Promotion Point Cutoff Scores memo (office symbol AHRC-PDV-PE, signed by the Chief of Enlisted Promotions), and every month on this page links the exact document it came from with the date we retrieved it. Months we could not retrieve and verify are simply absent — we don't estimate, interpolate, or backfill. HRC publishes around the 20th for the following month.
Does this cover the National Guard or non-AGR Reserve?
No. The HQDA COS memos cover the Active Army and the USAR Active Guard Reserve. The Army National Guard and TPU Reserve promote through vacancy-based systems — see our Reserve / Guard promotion math tool for how that actually works.
Related
Promotion Points Calculator (E-5 / E-6)Reserve / Guard Promotion MathPromotion Board Records Review (E-7+)PT Calculator (AFT scoring)COOL Cert Guide (civilian-ed points)NCOER Decoder
Published by the Honest MOS Editorial DeskVerified against DoD/.gov sourcesUpdated May 2026Editorial standards