Deferral from Mobilisation in 2026: All Grounds and Who Grants It

During mobilisation, not every person liable for military service can be called up: Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilisation Preparation and Mobilisation” No. 3543-XII sets out who is entitled to deferral from call-up. Below is the full list of grounds under the current version of the law, and who checks entitlement to deferral and grants it.

Family circumstances

The following are not subject to call-up during mobilisation (Article 23(1)):

• three or more dependent children under 18 – except for those with child maintenance arrears exceeding the total of three months’ payments (item 3);
• a child under 18 whose other parent has died, has been deprived of parental rights, has been declared missing or absent, has been declared dead or is serving a prison sentence; and also where the person raises and supports the child alone under a court decision, or the father was recorded in the Register of Births on the basis of part one of Article 135 of the Family Code (item 4);
• a child with a disability under 18 – for the parents, guardians, custodians, foster parents and parent-educators raising the child (item 5);
• a child with a serious illness from the list in the law (including cancer, a severe mental disorder, type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy) who has not been assigned a disability – on the basis of a document from a medical advisory commission (item 6);
• a dependent adult child with a Group I or II disability (item 7);
• adoptive parents, guardians, custodians, foster parents, parent-educators and foster carers of orphans or children deprived of parental care under 18 (item 8);
• a child under 18 and a husband (wife) who is doing military service (item 15).

Caring for relatives and disability in the family

• permanent care of a sick wife (husband), child, father or mother who needs permanent care according to a medical and social expert commission, a medical advisory commission of a healthcare facility or a decision of an expert team assessing everyday functioning; of the father or mother of one’s wife (husband) – on additional conditions set by the law (item 9);
• a guardian of a person declared legally incapable by a court (item 10);
• a wife (husband) with a Group I or II disability (item 11);
• a wife (husband) with a Group III disability – only if it was assigned as a result of cancer or the absence of a limb (hand, foot) or of one of a pair of organs, or where there is cancer, a mental disorder, cerebral palsy or other paralytic syndromes (item 12);
• one of the parents – one’s own or one’s spouse’s – with a Group I or II disability, where there are no other persons who are not liable for military service and are required by law to support them (except where those persons themselves have a disability, need permanent care, are under arrest or are serving a sentence). If there are no such persons not liable for military service, only one person liable for military service can provide care – chosen by the person with a disability (item 13);
• a second-degree family member of a person with a Group I or II disability who provides permanent care for them – no more than one, and provided there are no first-degree family members or they themselves need permanent care; if there are no second-degree family members either, the rule extends to the third degree (item 14).

Important: on the grounds in items 9–14, deferral can be granted to only one person liable for military service – this is enforced by the Unified State Register of Conscripts, Persons Liable for Military Service and Reservists (Article 23(10)).

Health and reservation

• persons with a disability, and those temporarily unfit for military service for 6–12 months on a military medical board finding – followed by a further military medical board examination (item 2);
• employees reserved for the period of mobilisation and wartime by state authorities, enterprises, institutions and organisations in the procedure set by the Cabinet of Ministers – if they are on the special military register (item 1).

Study, education and research

The following are also not subject to call-up during mobilisation (Article 23(3)):

• students in vocational, professional pre-higher and higher education in full-time or dual form who are obtaining a level of education higher than one previously attained, as well as doctoral candidates and persons enrolled in an internship (item 1);
• researchers and academic staff of higher and professional pre-higher education institutions and research institutions who hold a scientific degree, and teaching staff of professional pre-higher, vocational and general secondary education institutions – if that is their main place of work at no less than 0.75 of a full-time position (item 2).

Death or disappearance of relatives, captivity, basic service

• close relatives (husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister) died or went missing under special circumstances while defending Ukraine against armed aggression, including under martial law (Article 23(3)(4)), or died or went missing during the anti-terrorist operation (item 3);
• family members of persons posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine for the events of the Revolution of Dignity (item 5);
• persons whose deprivation of personal liberty as a result of armed aggression against Ukraine has been established – call-up only with their consent (item 6);
• persons released from captivity who were serving and were discharged to the reserve in connection with their release – call-up only with their consent (Article 23(6));
• those who have completed basic military service – until the age of 25, call-up only with their consent (Article 23(5));
• those discharged after a one-year contract concluded under martial law at the age of 18 to 25 – for 12 months after discharge on the grounds set by the law, call-up only with their consent (Article 23(7)).

Positions that carry a deferral

The law separately names officials and employees who are not subject to call-up: heads of ministries and their deputies, heads of state bodies whose jurisdiction covers the whole territory of Ukraine, members of parliament, judges, members of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, members of the Accounting Chamber, staff of military command bodies and military units of the Ministry of Defence, the Armed Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service and other designated bodies, diplomats, certain categories of civil servants (Article 23(1), items 16–23), and other categories in the cases provided for by law (item 24).

Deferral does not prohibit service: persons with a disability and those with grounds under items 3–15 of Article 23(1) may voluntarily sign a contract (Article 23(2)).

Who checks entitlement to deferral and grants it

The grounds are checked and deferral is granted by territorial recruitment and social support centres (TRCs) (Article 23(8)). The details are set by the Procedure for calling up citizens for military service during mobilisation, for a special period, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 560 of 16 May 2024 (the Procedure): items 56–67 and Annex 5 with the list of documents.

How to apply

• Automatically – by a request in the electronic account of a conscript, person liable for military service or reservist, if entitlement to deferral is confirmed by data from state registers and this is technically possible (item 59 of the Procedure).
• Through an administrative services centre (TsNAP) – in person, addressed to the head of the TRC commission where you are registered for military service. The centre’s administrator prepares the application electronically through the Diia portal. The service is free; filing through a representative is not allowed. You need an identity document, a taxpayer card, a military registration document (including an electronic one) and documents confirming the ground (item 58 of the Procedure; items 3, 6 and 7 of the Procedure for filing applications through a TsNAP approved by the same resolution).
• Special cases. For reserved employees, deferral is arranged by the employer, and students submit to the TRC a certificate generated in the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (EDEBO) (items 58 and 62 of the Procedure).

If you already have a deferral, an application through a TsNAP will not go further, except where fewer than 30 calendar days remain until it expires or you are re-registering the deferral on a different ground (item 12 of the Procedure for filing applications through a TsNAP). During re-registration, the existing deferral remains valid until the commission decides and, if refused, until the end of its term, unless it is subject to cancellation (item 56 of the Procedure).

Processing times

• The TRC registers the application no later than one working day from the day it is received (item 58).
• The commission considers the application within seven working days of registration; if it has sent requests to state bodies – no more than 15 working days (item 60).
• Until a decision is made, the person liable for military service is not subject to call-up and, as a rule, is not sent for a medical examination (items 60 and 63).
• A positive decision is entered in the register within one calendar day and appears in the electronic account. The commission records the reasons for a refusal in its minutes; notice of the refusal is sent no later than the next working day, including to the e-mail address given in the application (item 60).

How long the deferral lasts

• for as long as the ground applies, but no longer than the period of mobilisation; if mobilisation is extended – automatically, as long as the ground still applies (item 60);
• for temporary unfitness – for the period stated in the military medical board resolution, but no more than 12 months;
• for students – for a semester, but no more than six months;
• for teaching staff and researchers – for one year, but no longer than the period of mobilisation; to extend it, they submit to the TRC a certificate from their main place of work no earlier than one week before the previous period of mobilisation ends.

If the ground cannot be verified through the registers, the TRC notifies the person by phone, e-mail or post that supporting documents are needed for the extension (item 60).

Which documents are needed

The full list is in Annex 5 to the Procedure. For the most common grounds:

• Three or more children: the birth certificate of each child; a marriage certificate with the children’s mother (father) or a document determining that the children live with you (a court decision, a decision of the guardianship authority or an agreement between the parents); information from the Unified Register of Debtors showing no entries about you in the “child maintenance recovery” category, generated no earlier than five days before the application is filed.
• Raising a child under 18 alone: the birth certificate and one of the following – the death certificate of the other parent; a court decision on deprivation of parental rights, recognition as absent, declaration of death or establishment of the fact of raising the child alone; an extract from the Unified Register of Persons Missing under Special Circumstances; a court judgment; an extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts where the father was recorded under part one of Article 135 of the Family Code of Ukraine.
• Permanent care: a document on the need for permanent care (a certificate to the examination report of a medical and social expert commission, a report of a medical advisory commission of a healthcare facility or an extract from a decision of an expert team assessing everyday functioning); documents on family ties; a document on receipt of compensation (an allowance or supplement) for care, or an act establishing the fact of permanent care.
• Wife (husband) with a Group I or II disability: the marriage certificate and a document on the disability (including a certificate to the examination report of a medical and social expert commission, an extract from an expert team decision, an ID card, a pension certificate or a social assistance certificate stating the group).
• One of the parents with a Group I or II disability: a document on the disability; a birth certificate (for the spouse’s parents – also a marriage certificate); a document confirming that other persons not liable for military service cannot provide support; if there are several persons liable for military service – a statement by the person with a disability on whom they choose to support them. The absence of other such persons must be stated in the application itself (item 58-1 of the Procedure).
• Study: a student certificate generated in EDEBO.

For grounds related to care, guardianship and support (subitems 6–14 of item 1 of Annex 5), you also attach a copy of the taxpayer card of the adult you care for or support.

Care without compensation: the act on permanent care

If you do not receive compensation (an allowance or supplement) for care, you first need an act establishing the fact of permanent care. An application in free form is addressed to the head of the executive body of the village, settlement or city council (in Kyiv – the district military administration) at the place of residence of the person being cared for. The commission considers it within ten calendar days and visits that person’s place of residence (item 61 of the Procedure).

Frequently asked questions

Is deferral granted to parents of three children?

Yes, if three or more children under 18 are dependent on you. The exception is child maintenance arrears exceeding the total of three months’ payments (Article 23(1)(3)).

Can I get a deferral for care if there are other relatives in the family?

It depends on the ground. For caring for a parent with a Group I or II disability, deferral is possible if there are no other persons not liable for military service who are required by law to support them; if there are none, only one person liable for military service, chosen by the person with a disability, can provide care (item 13). In general, on the grounds in items 9–14 the register does not grant deferral to more than one person liable for military service (Article 23(10)).

Can a deferral be “bought”?

No. Deferral is granted only on the grounds expressly named in Article 23 of the law; it is granted by the TRC or by the register on the basis of state register data.

What should I do if deferral is refused?

The TRC commission records the reasons for refusal in its minutes and sends notice of the refusal no later than the next working day – including to the e-mail address from the application. Check that your situation exactly matches the ground and that the set of documents is complete. The commission’s decision can be challenged in court (item 60 of the Procedure), including in the administrative court.

Can a lawyer file the deferral application on my behalf?

No. Through a TsNAP the application is filed in person; filing by a representative is not allowed (item 6 of the Procedure for filing applications through a TsNAP). A lawyer helps identify the ground, collect the documents, prepare the application and, if it is refused, challenge the decision.

This article reflects the position as of October 2026 (Law No. 3543-XII as amended on 31 July 2026; Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 560 as amended by Resolution No. 1019 of 13 August 2026). Mobilisation legislation changes frequently; take advice before acting on it.

Need help with a deferral? A lawyer will check whether your situation gives a ground, help with the documents and challenge a refusal → Deferral from mobilisation · Disputes with the territorial recruitment centre