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The ASVAB and your AFQT score
Before you study anything, know what you are aiming at. The ASVAB has ten tests, but four of them make the one number the military uses to decide whether you can enlist. Here is what that number means, and the score each branch asks for.
One test, ten parts, one number to get in
The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) is the military’s entrance test. Your scores help decide two things: whether you can enlist, and which jobs you can get. Age, education, health and background count too.
The AFQT is a score, not a separate test
Your AFQT (Armed Forces Qualification Test) score is calculated from four of the ten tests: Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. This course teaches exactly those four.
How the score works
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The ten tests, in the order you take them
On the computer version there are ten tests. Auto Information and Shop Information are taken separately but reported together as one score, AS. The paper version, used at only a few sites, combines them into one test.
The four marked AFQT count for whether you can enlist. All of them can count for which jobs you qualify for.
Next step: The formulaThe ASVAB testsTest Code Counts for General Science GS Jobs Arithmetic Reasoning AR AFQT and jobs Word Knowledge WK AFQT and jobs Paragraph Comprehension PC AFQT and jobs Mathematics Knowledge MK AFQT and jobs Electronics Information EI Jobs Auto Information AI Jobs Shop Information SI Jobs Mechanical Comprehension MC Jobs Assembling Objects AO Jobs -
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The formula: reading counts double
AFQT = AR + MK + 2 × VE
AR is Arithmetic Reasoning and MK is Mathematics Knowledge. VE is your verbal score, made from Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. VE is not just WK + PC added together: the two are combined with official weights into one verbal score. Then the result of AR + MK + 2 × VE is turned into a percentile from 1 to 99, and that percentile is your AFQT. What matters for you is the 2: in the formula, your verbal score counts twice and each math score counts once.
Next step: PercentilesMathArithmetic Reasoning + Mathematics Knowledge
Two of the four parts of the formula
VerbalWord Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, as VE, counted twice
The other two of the four parts
ShortcutWhat this means for your plan
Half of the formula is reading and vocabulary. If math feels hard, do not skip Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension: in the formula, they count as much as AR and MK together.
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A percentile is not a percent correct
Your AFQT compares you with a national reference group: young people aged 18 to 23 who took the ASVAB in a 1997 study. An AFQT of 62 means you did as well as or better than 62% of that group. It does not mean you got 62% of the questions right.
The scores are grouped in categories. Category IIIA or higher (50 and up) may qualify for enlistment incentives, extra benefits for joining.
Next step: Score you needAFQT categoriesCategory AFQT percentile I 93–99 II 65–92 IIIA 50–64 IIIB 31–49 IVA 21–30 IVB 16–20 IVC 10–15 V 1–9 -
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The score you need, branch by branch
These are the minimums the branches publish on their own websites. Rules can change, and some jobs ask for more, so check your case with a recruiter.
Federal law says a person who did not graduate from high school needs an AFQT of at least 31 to enlist. With a GED (a high school equivalency certificate), the Marine Corps and the Air Force ask for 50.
You need 31 to join the Army. If your AFQT is at least 21, the Army has a 90-day study program, part of its Future Soldier Preparatory Course, to help you raise your score. When you retake the ASVAB, the Army uses your most recent score, not your highest, so retake it only when you are ready. If you are joining another branch, ask your recruiter which score counts.
Next step: Line scoresMinimum AFQT (official sites, November 2026)Branch Minimum Army 31 Marine Corps 31, or 50 with a GED or nontraditional diploma Air Force 31 for high school seniors and graduates; 50 with a GED Coast Guard 32 Navy No number published; ask a recruiter Space Force A qualifying score; jobs set their own minimums -
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The AFQT gets you in; line scores pick your job
Each branch uses line scores (also called composites), built from ASVAB tests, to decide which jobs you qualify for. The Army’s GT score, for example, is AR + VE. The Air Force uses four, called MAGE: Mechanical, Administrative, General Aptitude and Electronics.
So a higher AR, MK and verbal score helps twice: it raises your AFQT and the line scores many jobs use.
To enlistYour AFQT
AR, MK, WK and PC
For a jobYour line scores
Combinations of the ASVAB tests, different in each branch
4 myths about the score
Each of these is common, and each one can make you study the wrong thing.
A percentile is a percent correct
An AFQT of 50:
WrongYou got half the questions right
RightYou did as well as or better than 50% of the reference group
The AFQT is its own test
What the AFQT is:
WrongA separate exam you take after the ASVAB
RightA score calculated from four ASVAB tests
Only math matters
Where to spend your time:
WrongMath first, reading if there is time
RightVerbal counts twice: study both
Every branch asks for the same score
The minimum AFQT:
Wrong31 for everyone
RightIt depends on the branch, and on a GED
6 questions to check yourself
Pick an answer, then read why. These are about the test itself, not test questions.
Which four tests make your AFQT?
Show the answer
B. The AFQT uses Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. General Science, Mechanical Comprehension, Electronics and the others count only for jobs. The answer: AR, MK, WK and PC.
Your AFQT is 45. What does that mean?
Show the answer
C. The AFQT is a percentile: it compares you with a national group of young people. It is not a count or a percent of right answers. The answer: You did as well as or better than 45% of the reference group.
In AFQT = AR + MK + 2 × VE, what is VE?
Show the answer
A. VE is the verbal score, made from Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension, and the formula counts it twice. The answer: Your verbal score, from WK and PC.
An applicant has a GED and wants to join the Air Force. What minimum AFQT does airforce.com give?
Show the answer
D. Air Force: 31 for high school seniors and graduates, and 50 for GED holders. 32 is the Coast Guard minimum, and 21 is where the Army’s study program starts. With a GED, the minimum is 50.
An AFQT of 58 is in which category?
Show the answer
B. Category IIIA covers the 50th to the 64th percentile, and 58 is in that range. IIIB is 31 to 49 and II is 65 to 92. 58 is in category IIIA.
What decides which military jobs you qualify for?
Show the answer
C. The AFQT is the score used to decide whether you can enlist. Each branch then uses combinations of tests, the line scores, to match you with jobs. The answer: Your line scores, built from the ASVAB tests.
9 flashcards
Tap a card to flip it. Keep the ones you miss until they stick.
All 9 cards known.
You finished this lesson: The ASVAB and your AFQT score.
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In the course, every topic is drawn step by step on a whiteboard while a voice explains it, with timed practice tests and a plan for your test date. The first lessons of every module are free.