How Often Do Military Get Paid? Pay Dates & Schedule

Military personnel receive their pay twice a month, providing a consistent and predictable income stream. This structured payment schedule helps service members manage their finances effectively. The system is designed to ensure financial stability for those serving.

Standard Bi-Monthly Pay Schedule

Active-duty military members receive their pay on the 1st and 15th of each month. This consistent bi-monthly schedule provides a reliable income stream for service members and their families. The Department of Defense Financial Management Regulation (DoDFMR), Volume 7A, guides these standardized pay policies, ensuring uniformity across all service branches.

The schedule adjusts for weekends and federal holidays. If the 1st or 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a holiday, payment is advanced to the preceding business day. For example, if the 15th is a Sunday, funds are available on Friday, the 13th. This ensures service members have timely access to their earnings.

The pay received on the 1st of the month covers compensation for the period from the 16th of the previous month through the last day of that month. Conversely, the pay disbursed on the 15th accounts for earnings from the 1st through the 15th of the current month.

Understanding Pay Delivery

The primary method for military personnel to receive their bi-monthly pay is through direct deposit. This electronic transfer system routes funds directly into a service member’s bank account, ensuring secure and prompt access to earnings. Direct deposit reduces the risk of lost or stolen checks and accelerates fund availability.

Each bi-monthly payment is accompanied by a Leave and Earnings Statement (LES). This document details basic pay, allowances, and special pays received for that pay period. The LES also itemizes all deductions, including federal and state taxes, retirement contributions, and voluntary allotments for savings or insurance premiums.

Service members access their LES through secure online portals, such as MyPay, provided by the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS). Reviewing the LES for each pay period allows individuals to verify the accuracy of their bi-monthly deposits and understand their financial entitlements.

Pay for Reservists and New Recruits

Pay schedules for military reservists differ from active-duty personnel, aligning more closely with their specific drill obligations. Reservists typically receive payment after completing their monthly drill weekend, which often consists of four drill periods over two days. This means their pay usually arrives once a month, reflecting the specific training and duty hours they performed.

When reservists are called to active duty for extended periods, such as annual training, temporary duty assignments, or deployments, their pay schedule generally shifts. During these longer active duty orders, their compensation often transitions to align with the standard bi-monthly payment cycle of the 1st and 15th. The frequency of payment for reservists is thus directly tied to their specific duty status and the duration of their service commitment.

New recruits often experience a delayed or prorated first paycheck during their initial entry training, such as basic training or officer candidate school. This delay occurs due to the administrative processing required to establish their pay accounts and entitlements within the military’s complex financial system. It can take a few weeks, typically ranging from two to six weeks, for their complete pay records to be fully set up.

Once their pay accounts are established and verified, new recruits typically receive back pay for any missed initial payments, ensuring they are compensated for all time served from their entry date. After this initial administrative phase, they transition to the standard bi-monthly pay schedule of the 1st and 15th of the month. This ensures they receive consistent payments once fully integrated into the active-duty pay system.