NATO military rank codes

NATO military ranks help soldiers from different countries understand each other's positions and importance. Countries in NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, all use a special set of codes to compare their ranks. These codes are OF for officers, like leaders and commanders, and OR for other ranks, which include enlisted soldiers and support staff. Even though each country may call its ranks by different names, the codes make it easier for everyone to communicate and work together during joint missions and operations. This system ensures that soldiers from any NATO member can recognize and respect each other’s roles, no matter where they come from.

Rank codes

NATO has a system to help compare military ranks across different countries. This system uses codes like OF for officers and OR for other ranks. It helps NATO members share information about their military personnel more easily.

The codes are based on army ranks, with naval and air force ranks decided by each country's own rules. There are specific codes for different levels of officers and other ranks, such as enlisted members and non-commissioned officers. Each country may have its own names for these ranks, but the codes help keep things consistent across NATO.

Officer ranks
Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1
Uniformed services pay grade	Special grade		O-10		O-9		O-8		O-7		O-6		O-5		O-4		O-3		O-2			O-1

Other ranks
Rank group	Non-commissioned officers																						Enlisted
NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Uniformed services pay grade	Special			E-9			E-8		E-7		E-6						E-5						E-4				E-3		E-2						E-1

Officer rank code application

Group	Symbol	Unit	Commanding officer
§ B.2 of APP-06	in U.S.	in UK
Group 11	☓☓☓☓☓	Army Group	joint force commander	OF-9	OF-9
Group 10	☓☓☓☓	Army	―	OF-8 or OF-9	OF-8
Group 9	☓☓☓	Corps	normally OF-8	OF-8	OF-8
Group 8	☓☓	Division	normally OF-7	OF-7	OF-7
Group 7	☓	Brigade	normally OF-5 or OF-6	OF-5	OF-6
Group 6	❘ ❘ ❘	Regiment	usually OF-4, OF-5 or OF-6	OF-5	OF-5 or OF-4
Group 5	❘ ❘	Battalion	OF-3 or OF-4	OF-4	OF-4
Group 4	❘	Company	OF-2 or OF-3	OF-2	OF-3
Group 3	●●●	Platoon	OF-1/OF-2 or OR-7/OR-8	OF-1	OF-1

Non-officer rank code criteria

The NATO Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) and Junior Officer (JO) Bi-SC Strategy describes special codes for NCO ranks.

OR-1 — OR-3: These are the first ranks when someone joins the military.
OR-4: This is the first step into leadership for NCOs.
OR-5: This is the first important NCO rank and has a big effect on others.
OR-6: This is the first rank that might work at important NATO offices. Some countries call OR-6 through OR-9 “Senior NCOs” or “Warrant Officers.”
OR-7: This rank helps leaders with advice. At this level, Senior NCOs may also help younger officers.
OR-8: These leaders use their skills to help unit leaders plan and work together with other teams.
OR-9: This is the most experienced NCO rank and usually works as an advisor at higher offices.

Non-NATO use of NATO rank codes

Some countries that want to join NATO, like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine, have started using NATO codes for military ranks. Bosnia and Herzegovina did this in 2005, and Ukraine did it between 2019 and 2021.

Even some NATO partners such as Austria and Ireland use NATO rank codes to compare their ranks with NATO forces. Before they joined NATO, Finland and Sweden also had a way to match their ranks to NATO standards.

Mapping to "star ranks"

Main article: Military star ranking

In many armies, the level of a general officer is shown by the number of stars on their uniform. For example, in some rules, OF-6 to OF-10 mean one to five stars. In Italy and Portugal, the OF-9 level is called "four star". In France, the OF-9 level is the highest rank and can show either four or five stars.

Comparative ranks of member armed forces

Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member army officers
Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member army enlisted
Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member air force officers
Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member air force enlisted
Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member navy officers
Main article: Ranks and insignia of NATO member navy enlisted