How to become a Royal Marines officer
You can get into this job through:
- applying directly to the Royal Navy
Volunteering
You can join the Royal Marines Reserve as an entry officer to get experience of life in the service and to learn new skills at the same time.
You'll need to be aged between 18 and 42, or 18 and 56 if you're an ex-regular.
If you're between 13 and 18 years old, you can join the Royal Marines Cadets.
Direct Application
You can apply directly for marines officer training.
You'll need to be:
- aged between 18 and 25
- at least 145cm tall
- physically fit
You'll also usually need a minimum of:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths
- 2 A levels or equivalent
If your initial application is accepted, you'll be invited to talk to someone at your local armed forces careers office about what you want to do. You will then do the Defence Aptitude Assessment (DAA) followed by medical and physical fitness checks, and interviews.
If you get through the first stages, you will be asked to attend a two-and-a-half-day course at the Royal Marines training centre at Lympstone in Devon. If successful, you'll go onto full officer training.
You will complete a Chartered Management Institute qualification in Management and Leadership during training. You may take other qualifications depending on which specialism you choose to follow.
More Information
Career tips
You will need to pass physical fitness assessments, including swimming, to be accepted into the Royal Navy. Get fit to Join has information on how to check your current fitness and how to improve to the level required.
Further information
You can find more details about how to become an officer in the Royal Marines from Royal Navy Careers.