Frequently asked questions about the State Defence Service

SDS is a modern response to current geopolitical challenges. Mission of SDS is to continuously strengthen national defence capabilities. SDS provides basic military training and understanding of the value of the Latvian State to maximise the involvement of population in national defence activities.

Through SDS, population can access knowledge and understanding about national defence, enhance individual skills and contribute to better national defence.

SDS allows any citizen of Latvia join national defence forces and provides new skills, competences and knowledge about defence sector and industry. It is also a good choice towards professional career. SDS gives young people personal military experience, allowing them to become a part of broader national defence community, make new friends and meet new cooperation partners. After the active service, they can continue to contribute to better national defence as non-governmental actors or business organisations registered in Latvia.

Duration of SDS will depend on the type of enlistment: 11 months in regular forces of the National Armed Forces or National Guard; 5 years in National Guard with at least 21-day total of individual training and no more than 7 days of collective training days per year; 5 years in reserve officer training programme for university and college students with the total training and military exercise time of at least 180 days.

SDS will be introduced gradually to make sure training meets relevant quality standards, equipment is modern, infrastructure and living conditions are good, and there is no problem with drafting a massive number of recruits without sufficient training and other resources.

National Guard have been and will remain one of the pillars of Latvia’s national defence. As a division of NAF, it will continue to offer all citizen voluntary military training.

As a subject, national defence course is still relevant and will become compulsory in all secondary schools providing general education from 2024/2025 school year. National defence lessons are designed to give pupils, including female students, basic knowledge about national defence.

Latvia is and will continue to be a member of NATO, enjoying the same collective defence guarantees as before. At the same time, Latvia must also utilise internal resources to build its own national defence force. Article 3 of the North Atlantic Treaty requires all member states to develop and maintain national armed forces in a state of readiness required to defend against any invasion. War in Ukraine has shown that countries need enormous resources to withstand the aggressions of that scope. This means Latvia must make sure it has sufficient resources to defend itself – it must train and maintain such assets. Allies will complement these resources with their technical capabilities that Latvia is not likely to be able to afford in the next decades – planes, long-range air defence systems, tanks or warships.

Until now, the main focus was on the rearmament of military units and their training. This phase has now been completed. There is also lack of new recruits volunteering for professional service. For many years Latvia mostly relied on volunteers enlisting in army to defend Latvia. Russian invasion of Ukraine has however shown that Latvia needs to reach sufficient size of militarily trained population in the long run, which means creating well-prepared and sufficiently sized reserve forces.

Ministry of Defence and NAF have been working on significant increase of national defence capabilities since 2014. But no one could have predicted the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. That is why it was decided to introduce SDS and thus significantly improve national security of Latvia and its population in the long run.

• 11 months' service in regular forces of the National Armed Forces or National Guard;
• 5 years' service in National Guard with at least 21-day total of individual training and no more than 7 days of collective training days per year;
• Five-year reserve officer training programme for university and college students with the total training and military exercise time of at least 180 days..

Five-year National Guard service is one of the State Defence Service options available for volunteers – Latvian male and female citizens aged 18-27. Like other National Guard members, SDS volunteers that choose National Guard will have to undergo the same 28-day minimum training annually. 

SDS recruits serving in National Guard will receive the same type and level of training as regular National Guard troops. This includes basic military training, specialised training and collective training, as well as various military tasks and duties. SDS troops will receive notification of National Guard training in advance. 

Employers are required to grant SDS drafted employees paid leave for the duration of intended training.

SDS troops joining the National Guard will be compensated for each respective day of training or duty. This compensation will be calculated on the basis of monthly compensation paid to full-time SDS recruits.

Five-year reserve officer programme is one of the State Defence Service options open to volunteers studying in universities and colleges who want to continue their studies while in SDS. 180-day programme is split between educational establishment and NAF units. It allows to detect young people with leadership skills and talent.

This is a service similar to special military training available for students – National Guard platoon commander or reserve platoon commander training on top of studies. 

SDS troops joining officer programme for university and college students will be compensated for each respective day of training or duty. This compensation will be calculated on the basis of monthly compensation paid to full-time SDS recruits.

Male citizens of Latvia born after 1 January 2004 can be drafted into SDS:

• within 12 months of reaching age 18 if they are not in education (does not apply to university education)
• within 12 months after graduation if continuing education after reaching the age 18 (applies to general, secondary and vocational education, does not apply to higher education)
• within 12 months of reaching the age 24 if they have failed to complete their studies by the age of 24 (does not apply to higher education)

Random selection on 23 January 2024 included Latvian citizens born between 1 January 2004 and 23 January 2006, i.e., those who had reached the adult age by 23 January 2024, the day of the random selection, and not in education.

Male and female Latvian citizens aged 18-27 can volunteer for State Defence Service.

SDS law will not apply to:

1. Citizen not meeting SDS health standards.
2. Latvian nationals acting as guardians of children whose other parent is deceased or incapable of parenthood, family court-appointed guardians and custodians of foster children.
3. Latvian nationals acting as caretakers of their spouse, children aged under 18 months or elderly parents according to relevant laws or specific court order.
4. Latvian nationals with double citizenship (nationality) having served abroad or completed alternative civilian service (alternative service) in another country.
5. Alumni of Colonel Oskars Kalpaks Military School for vocational education.
6. Latvian nationals who have served on the professional force at least 11 months without interruptions.
7. Ranking officers of agencies under Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Latvia and Latvian Prison Administration having been employed by these institutions more than 24 months.
8. Latvian nationals convicted of severe and serious crimes, irrespective of whether convictions have been lifted or deleted.
9. Latvian nationals convicted of aforementioned crimes without penalties, or found guilty under criminal investigation that has been closed.
10. Latvian nationals acting as parents, guardians or custodians of disabled minors.

Conscription for male population is sufficient for reaching current national defence targets. Mandatory enlistment of women in SDS is currently not necessary. Women are also eligible for voluntary military service in SDS forces.

Latvian nationals permanently residing abroad and having, in line with applicable rules and regulations, notified Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs of their current registered residence abroad will not be drafted until 2027.

According to the Law, service will not apply to Latvian citizen whose health condition does not meet the military standards. When a recruit is drafted randomly through the lottery, a health check notification is sent. Medical commission evaluates each recruit’s health condition and determines whether an individual is medically fit or unfit to join the army. State Defence Service will not draft young people with disabilities officially determined by State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability (SMC). These young people will not be notified of medical examination.

Yes. If and when eligible, National Guard members may also be enlisted into SDS.

The online application form is available HERE. For more information call 1827 or email vad@klustikaravirs.lv.

Volunteers ready to start their state defence service duties in January of 2025 will be able to apply until 15 June 2024.

Voluntary enlistment for 11-month military service is open twice a year, whereas 5-year National Guard service (with at least 28 active days annually) and university/college reserve officer programme are open once a year. Enlistments are announced through communication channels of Ministry of defence and NAF, as well as mass media.

SDS draft is announced by order of the Minister of Defence. Announcement will indicate the date of enlistment and number of recruits for each type of state military defence force. Decree will be published in the official journal “Latvijas Vēstnesis” no later than 6 months prior to actual draft date. 

SDS draft will mainly focus on Latvian nationals volunteering for military service. Latvian nationals applying for military service voluntarily will be offered to choose which type of state defence service they prefer.

Remaining recruits for state defence service units will be drafted based on random selection from the eligible pool. Recruits will be randomly selected to serve in the military for the duration of 11 months. Random selection will be proportionate to number of eligible state defence service recruits officially registered in each region. 

Latvian nationals training to become professional medical doctors, assistant physicians or nurses may choose the preferred type of state military defence service regardless of priorities defined by National Armed Forces. Skills and competences of such students may be used to assign them to particular state defence service positions.

All Latvian national aged 28 and above can join the National Guard, professional army or complete basic military training for army reserve.

If your beliefs, convictions or religion is incompatible with conscription service and you cannot join the military service to defend Latvia, you must apply for alternative service at the Ministry of Defence State Defence Service Recruitment Control Commission. Application must indicate and contain documents describing reasons for choosing alternative service.

All recruits, including those who applied for alternative service instead of military duty, are required to respond to SDS draft notification by completing an online form at www.klustikaravirs.lv (or send the completed from via mail or sign it with digital signature and send to e-mail address on www.klustikaravis.lv) and complete the medical examination when appointed.

When applying for SDS voluntarily, recruits can indicate the friends they would like to serve with. Their wishes are accommodated as much as possible, depending on the maximum allowed number of troops in the particular unit and other selection criteria (for example, skills indicated in the application form that could benefit military service).

Number of recruits will be determined on the basis of the national defence guidelines and priorities defined in the National Defence Concept, National Defence Operational Plan and National Armed Forces Development Plan. Decree to start draft will be published on the "Latvijas Vēstnesis" (Official Journal) no later than six months prior to draft date.

No. If you have volunteered for SDS and medical examination has cleared you for military service, you can no longer opt out of the SDS.

The same rules apply to those Latvian citizen who have voluntarily chosen the 5-year National Guard service or 5-year reserve officer programme for university and college students. Moreover, if you are enlisted in one of these services and fail to appear without substantial reason, you will be transferred to 11-month military service at NAF units defending Latvia.

Service may be postponed indefinitely due to substantial reasons, unless a person has reached the age of 26.

State Defence Service random selection is coordinated and managed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Relevant MoD procedures for registration, surveying and recruitment of Latvian citizens eligible or volunteering for the SDS are stipulated by Cabinet of Minister Regulation 409 “Procedures for registration, surveying, selection and recruitment of Latvian citizens for state defence service, and requirements regarding skills and competences obtained through national defence military service” of 13 July 2023.

Initial selection focuses on SDS volunteers. Then criteria for random selection described in the aforementioned Cabinet of Minister Regulation 409 of 13 July 2023 are applied to identify the remaining troops in the pool of eligible candidates.

According to Article 6 of the State Defence Service Law, after the determinations described in the Article 8 and Article 9 of the Law, SDS recruitment lists are compiled by State Defence Service Department of the Ministry of Defence (SDSD), which verifies these lists against public registers, namely Office of Citizenship and Migration Register of Natural Persons, which contains data about individuals eligible for SDS under the Article 2.2 of the Law; against MoD Resource Management System, which contains data about all individuals who have served at least 11 consecutive months as active duty troops; against Penal Register of the Ministry of Interior, which contains data about all convictions; against State Education Information System of the Ministry of Education and Science, which contains population education data; against Disability Information System of State Medical Commission for the Assessment of Health Condition and Working Ability, which contains medical examination records. The last step of the verification includes identifying of uniformed officers of institutions/agencies under the Ministry of Interior or the National Prison Administration who have been employed at least two years. 

Verification and evaluation of data pertaining to individuals eligible for SDS is completed by select number of MoD SDSD employees who strictly follow the four-eyes principle.

Recruitment lists are then used during the random selection draw.

23 January 2024 was the first time random selection of State Defence Service recruits was used. Anonymised lottery results are available here.

Transparency will be provided by an ad hoc committee of observers comprised of department employees from MoD (except SDSD staff) who will ensure the legitimacy and due diligence of the process. Mass media, NGOs and members of public are welcome to jo them.

It is a random selection and unique identifiers will be assigned to each recruit registering in respective municipality. Minimum selection threshold is one person per municipality, unless municipality has no eligible recruits in its territory who could enter the random selection.

These unique identifiers are randomly generated by special software. This software uses the prepared recruitment lists of eligible Latvian citizens to generate random sequence of numbers, which are then stored in selection file. Neither hardware nor software will be linked online to avoid any tampering. Digital security risks of the software have also been assessed by MILCERT, which has found the software to be safe.

Recruits selected for SDS through random selection will receive approved selection results (notification), confirming the draft and medical examination, on their official e-mail address, or to registered home address, no later than 2 weeks after the draw. In case of inactive e-mail address, notice will be sent to home address in a registered letter.

!NB!
According to Article 5.1.5 of the Law on the Official Electronic Address, all Latvian male citizens aged 18 to 27 must use the official e-mail address, except for the person:

• Who receives services at a long-term social care and social rehabilitation institution which is registered in the register of social service providers.
• Who has left the long-term social care and social rehabilitation institution which is registered in the register of social service providers in order to receive social care and social rehabilitation services at the place of residence.
• Who receives the services of a group house registered in the register of social service providers.
• For whom Group I disability has been determined.
   

• Recruits are required to fill out the application form on integrated recruitment platform www.klustikaravirs.lv no later than 5 days from receiving the SDS draft notice,
• Recruits are required to undergo medical examination scheduled by the MoD at the specified location. Medical examination is conducted at the National Armed Forces Support Command Medical Support Centre at 6 C Ezermalas Street, Riga.
• Prior to medical examination, recruits are required to obtain form 027/u from their General practitioner.
• Based on the results of medical examination and other information about the SDS eligibility of the potential recruit, MoD SDSD shall assess the candidate and determine whether according to the SDS Law candidate should be:

a) DRAFTED – indicating time and place where to report for duty (for 2024/2 draft: Ādaži, SzS MKBDE, 19.07.2024, 09:00-11:00);

b) POSTPONE – indicating reasons and date of postponement;

c) REJECT – because of ineligibility for service (name deleted from SDS records).

• MoD SDSD shall communicate its decision to recruits via official e-mail or in a registered letter through mail.
   

!NB! After receiving notice, recruits must mail only the envelope with application form! Health form and GP’s form must be presented during the medical examination on the appointment day.

If you are eligible as citizen of Latvia to be drafted into SDS, you may be drafted even as an active National Guard member. After receiving notice, all recruits are required to undergo scheduled medical examination. After the examination, but no later than three months prior to reporting, recruits will receive the decision of MoD SDSD. Eligible recruits must serve full duty despite the fact that they have already received basic training as National Guard.

All young people can be drafted into SDS within 12 months after the graduation from secondary school, even if they already study in university. After receiving notice, all recruits are required to undergo scheduled medical examination.

After the examination, but no later than three months prior to reporting, recruits will receive the decision of MoD SDSD to either draft, reject or postpone their service.

According to Article 27.2 of the State Defence Service Law, if a student of a university is required to enlist for the state defence service, university is required to restore the student, with all previous privileges and obligations, after such service. Draft notice must be presented to university as soon as received.

If student risks losing scholarship because of SDS, or there are significant conditions preventing student from continuing education after the service, deferral request, not extending beyond 26 years of age, may be placed.

Until 1 July 2024, medical examination of recruits will be funded from state budget and performed by medical unit of the National Armed Forces following the procedures and health standards identified and approved by the Minister of Defence. Prior convictions and other SDS criteria will be checked.

Decision regarding the drafting is taken after all examinations, including medical examination. Decision is sent to recruit’s official e-mail on www.latvija.lv. If such e-mail is inactive, notice will be sent to registered address or delivered in person. All male Latvian citizens aged 18 to 27 are required to have such e-mail according to the Law on the Official Electronic Address.

Draft decision and reporting procedures, including health assessment details, will be sent to official e-mail address or registered home address of the recruits, i.e., information to be sent to official e-mail address through www.latvija.lv. If a recruit has no official e-mail, information will be sent to official home address or delivered in person.

The grounds for deferral may include a higher education scholarship, place on the national team in one of sports disciplines, child care leave that is provided until a child reaches the 18-month age, important family matters or other significant circumstances that require a Latvian national eligible for state defence service to postpone the service until later time but no later than the age of 26.

Ministry of Defence shall monitor changes with respect to reasons for deferral of SDS.  If such reasons no longer apply, recruit will be drafted into state defence service or alternative service.

All members of defence forces and military service committing illegal acts are subject to disciplinary, administrative or criminal punishment. Avoiding of military service is punishable offence according to Criminal Law.

If recruit fails to appear for medical examination, he/she may be reprimanded or fined in the amount of 350 euro. If recruit fails to report for duty, he/she may be either escorted or fined in the amount of 50-5,000 euro.

Yes. All young people can be drafted into SDS within 12 months after the graduation from school, even if they already study in university. According to Article 27.2 of the State Defence Service Law, if a student of a university is required to enlist for the state defence service, university is required to restore the student, with all previous privileges and obligations, after such service. Draft notice (along with results of medical examination) must be presented to university as soon as received.

No, basic elements of civilian SDS training are the same as for professional force and National Guard. Latvian army aims to train the most competent, knowledgeable and skilled troops to prevent any aggressions against Latvia.

Yes. If unit to which an SDS recruit is assigned is ordered to take part in international training, some SDS troops might be allowed to participate, depending on their level of training, specialization, intended size of training, etc.

After SDS, recruits are discharged and become part of the reserve forces. They are required to be ready to undergo up to seven day-long regular annual training at any time in the next five years following the discharge. After this five-year period, recruits, who have completed SDS and are discharged into army reserve, are registered for additional training according to general procedures for reserve forces.

After completing state defence service, you automatically become member of reserve forces and may be drafted for regular or readiness civil defence training aimed at testing and improvement of skills and competences acquired while in service.

SDS troops who have chosen voluntary service and will be assigned to NAF for 11months will have the monthly pay of 600 euro for everyday needs, whereas those selected for SDS on mandatory basis will receive 300 euros.

SDS recruits serving in National Guard or in reserve officer training programmes for university and college students will be paid according to the number of days spent in service. Upon completing service, troops will receive discharge bonus of 1,100 euro. These are net amounts to be paid out to troops.

Ministry of Defence shall make social contributions for each recruit as required by the State Social Insurance Law and procedures therein.

If a recruit on 11-month SDS term with NAF, or in alternative service, has one or more children, he/she is entitled to benefit. Monthly benefit per child, paid for the duration of the service, shall amount to 200 euro.

SDS recruits opting for 11-month military service will receive free meals and accommodation in barracks, as well as free healthcare. Depending on the type of duties, recruits may be offered an opportunity to acquire driver’s licence.

Employers, universities and colleges are required to take their employees or students back after the military service.

SDS recruits serving in National Guard or in reserve officer training programmes for university and college students will be paid according to the number of days spent in service. They will be offered free meals on the days they spend doing service-related activities.

As currently planned, persons in alternative service will also be entitled to SDS pay in the amount of 400 euros. Those in alternative service are not entitled to free meals.

Experience of other countries such as Finland, Estonia, Switzerland shows that those who have completed military training are more resilient and capable of accepting and overcoming civilian-life challenges. Employers also view such employees more favourably as they believe that military service has taught these employees discipline, ability to work in a team and resilience towards stress and contingencies. Military service makes people tougher – an important quality that may help in various life situations. Finally, military service is a tangible way in which we individually, and as a society, show that we have values that we treasure and are ready to defend and fight for.

Moreover, SDS is a way to promote mental resilience and physical health of young people. It is also a way to promote discipline in population and offer everyone exciting and new career opportunities in national armed forces. SDS will contribute to long-term development of national armed forces, making them numerically stronger and better prepared, with reserve force that complements the regular force, filling vacancies and contributing to comprehensive national defence framework where every citizen is ready to join national defence forces at any time.