NATO military rank codes

NATO military ranks use a standardized system of codes to allow for comparison between member nations, though the specific names for each rank vary by country.

Rank codes

NATO maintains a "standard rank scale" which is also known as a "standardized reference system" in an attempt to standardize NATO codes of rank for military personnel and indicated correspondence with nations ranks. NATO's standardized reference system is intended to be used "by nations when preparing personnel tables, requisitions, reports and returns destined for NATO nations, organizations and commands."
The NATO codes assigned for each grade are based on the agreed corresponding army grades with the naval and air forces grades determined from them by "national regulations".
The NATO rank reference code categories were established in STANAG 2116. It is known for certain that STANAG 2116 was ratified by Denmark on 19 January 1971 and that the 3rd edition of STANAG 2116 was adopted no later than October 1975. The current- 7th - edition is just the cover, and the core of the standard is in set out in APersP-01 Ed. A.

Edition/Version	Date
STANAG 2116 Ed.1	approximately 1971
STANAG 2116 Ed.2	no data
STANAG 2116 Ed.3	no later than October 1975
STANAG 2116 Ed.4	June 14, 1978
STANAG 2116 Ed.5	March 13, 1996
STANAG 2116 Ed.6	February 25, 2010
STANAG 2116 Ed.7, APersP-01 Ed.A V.1	January 13, 2021
APersP-01 Ed.A V.2	March 11, 2022
APersP-01 Ed.A V.3	June 16, 2022

Officers codes

OF-10 – OF-1 are used for commissioned officers:

OF-10 – OF-6: General officers
OF-5 – OF-3: Senior officers
OF-2 – OF-1: Junior officers

According to the standard, OF-10 is a national title, so it is not found in most of the armed forces of NATO countries, including the US Armed Forces. For example, in the French Armed Forces OF-10 is not a rank but a title, which corresponds moreover to a high position in the state. There is no OF-10 in the British Royal Marines; in the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, rank OF-10 is applicable in wartime only. The armed forces of Albania, Latvia, Lithuania and Luxembourg also lack the OF-9 rank.
In the Latvian Armed Forces the officer rank Lieutenant is identified by the Code OF-0.

Other ranks codes

OR-9 – OR-1 are used for other ranks :

OR-9 – OR-5: Non-commissioned officers
OR-4 – OR-1: Other ranks/enlisted ranks

For NATO purposes, NCOs are ranked OR-5 to OR-9. However, national rank structures might differentiate from this.
In the U.S. armed forces, warrant officer is a separate and distinct category of officers. This officer rank and precedence is below those of officer personnel, but above that of non-officer personnel, and has a special group of codes. In the Commonwealth tradition warrant officers are the highest other ranks.
In the British Armed Forces senior non-commissioned officers are in OR-5 to OR-7 and junior non-commissioned officers are in OR-3 and OR-4. In the U.S. military OR-5 and above are non-commissioned officers for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force but in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, OR-4 and above are non-commissioned officers.

Comparison to US system

The numbers in the system broadly correspond to the U.S. uniformed services pay grades, with OR-x replacing E-x. The main difference is in the commissioned officer ranks, where the US system recognizes two grades at OF-1 level, meaning that all O-x numbers after O-1 are one point higher on the US scale than they are on the NATO scale. For warrant officers, NATO codes and U.S. uniformed services pay grades are equivalent.

Officer rank code application

Annex B to APP-06 standard lists 11 formation/unit groups and identifies the command level of some of them:

Non-officer rank code criteria

The Bilateral Strategic Command Directive 040-002 "NATO Non-Commissioned Officer and Junior Officer Bi-Strategic Command Employment and Development Strategy", based on the NATO Non-Commissioned Officer and Junior Officer Bi-SC Strategy and NCO Guidelines describes the NATO rank indicators for NCOs:

OR-1 OR-3: "These are the basic entry ranks into the military structure."
OR-4: "The first level of leadership within the NATO NCO ranks."
OR-5: "The OR-5 is the first NATO designated NCO grade and the level of leadership with the greatest impact on subordinate ranks."
OR-6: "This is the first grade at which OR should be considered for Staff NCO duties at NATO higher headquarters employment. As such some NATO nations may recognize OR-6 through OR-9 as Senior NCOs or Warrant Officers."
OR-7: "The OR-7 is empowered and considered a key element within the command structure. At this level, SNCOs are expected to be able to provide sound advice to their leadership. While no formal mandate exists, this is the level at which, when consistent with their national authorities, SNCOs start to provide mentorship/assistance for Junior Officers."
OR-8: "Uses enhanced leadership skills and broad operational experience to advise unit/element leaders and commanders on organizational effectiveness. OR-8s are expected to merge subordinates talents, skills, and resources with other NATO cross functional team and organization to implement planning and management processes for collective mission accomplishment."
OR-9: "The most experienced SNCO within the NATO NCO structure. This grade is normally utilized in an advisory capacity when assigned to a higher headquarters."
Non-NATO use of NATO rank codes

Based on the intentions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine to join NATO, NATO codes for military ranks have been officially introduced in these countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted a corresponding law in 2005. In Ukraine, the introduction of NATO codes for military ranks took place during 2019-2021, including:

Date	Event
Oct. 17, 2019	the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 205-IX which introduced sergeant ranks in the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to NATO standards
Jun. 4, 2020	the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law of Ukraine No. 680-IX which introduced general officer ranks in the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to NATO standards	-
Sep. 7, 2020	the Order of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine No. 317 approved the List of T/О-positions of privates and NCOs and their corresponding military ranks and tariff categories of positions, which came into force on January 1, 2021	-
Oct. 13, 2020	the Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 431/2020 amended the List of positions subject to replacement by general officers, taking into account the new system of military ranks	-
Jan. 6, 2021	the website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine reported that "By order of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the List of NATO military rank codes is being implemented according to the NATO standard STANAG 2116"	-

Some European NATO partners such as Austria and Ireland describe their ranks in terms of NATO rank codes for comparison with NATO forces. Finland and Sweden also had a conversion table to NATO standards prior to becoming a NATO member.

Mapping to "star ranks"

grades are usually defined by the number of stars they ‘wear’. In the third edition of the STANAG 2116, OF-6 to OF-10 were described as "to be used for one to five star ranks or equivalents respectively". In the fourth through sixth editions of the standard, the term 'four star' was used for the OF-9 of the Italian and Portuguese armed forces. APersP-01 Ed. A clarified that in the French forces the OF-9 "is the highest rank in the hierarchy … therefore, carry the 4 stars and 5 stars rank marks".