Yes, a Marine can go to BUD/S and become a Navy SEAL, but there is no direct door. You either finish your Marine Corps enlistment, separate honorably, and enlist in the Navy on a SEAL contract, or, if you’re a commissioned officer with fewer than three years of service, you compete for an inter-service lateral transfer. Both paths take time, paperwork, and a willingness to start over in some form.
The Two Routes
Which path applies to you depends on whether you’re enlisted or commissioned, and how far you are into your obligation.
Separate and Enlist in the Navy
This is the common route for enlisted Marines. Complete your enlistment, take the honorable discharge, and then enlist in the Navy with a SEAL contract. From that point you’re treated like any other Navy candidate: you meet Navy eligibility standards, pass the Physical Screening Test, and negotiate a contract that guarantees a shot at BUD/S. Your Marine time doesn’t carry the same weight it did, and there is no guarantee the Navy will have SEAL billets open when you’re ready to sign.
Inter-Service Transfer (Officers)
Federal law lets commissioned officers move between branches with presidential authorization and the consent of both services. 10 U.S.C. § 716 sets that authority and caps your precedence and rank at what you held the day before the transfer.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 716 DoD Instruction 1300.04 lays out the procedures for officers, warrant officers, and enlisted members.2Department of Defense. DoD Instruction 1300.04 – Inter-Service and Inter-Component Transfers of Service Members
For SEAL-bound Marine officers, the Navy’s Special Warfare Officer Community Manager publishes an application guide with the specifics. Candidates must have fewer than three years of commissioned service, be on permanent active duty throughout selection and transfer, and hold or be eligible for a Secret clearance. The lateral transfer must be executed within the fiscal year you apply in.3MyNavyHR. Inter-Service Transfer Application Guide
Enlisted inter-service transfers are technically allowed under DoDI 1300.04, but in practice they’re rare and depend on the Marine Corps agreeing to release you before your obligation ends.
The Physical Screening Test
Every SEAL candidate takes the PST. The minimums, from Navy personnel manual MILPERSMAN 1220-410, are:
- 500-yard swim (sidestroke or breaststroke, no fins) in 12:30 or faster
- 50 push-ups in two minutes
- 50 curl-ups in two minutes
- 10 pull-ups, no time limit
- 1.5-mile run in 10:30 or faster
Those are minimums to qualify, not scores that get you selected.4MyNavy HR. MILPERSMAN 1220-410 – SEAL/EOD/SWCC/Diver/AIRR Physical Screening Testing Standards and Procedures Competitive candidates swim under 10:30, hit close to 80 push-ups and sit-ups, do 11 or more pull-ups, and run the 1.5 miles in about 10:20. Scoring near the floor generally means going home.
Other Eligibility Rules
Age
Enlisted candidates must be between 17 and 28. Officer applicants can enter later, with recent changes allowing officers up to age 42 on a case-by-case basis. Waivers for the enlisted age cap exist but are uncommon.
ASVAB
Enlisted SEAL candidates need either a GS + MC + EI composite of 170 or higher, or a VE + MK + MC + CS composite of 220 or higher. VE + AR must also be at least 110, and MC alone must be 50 or above. If you didn’t take Coding Speed at MEPS, only the first formula is available to you.
Vision and Medical
Vision must be correctable to 20/25 or better. PRK and LASIK are accepted, but Navy medicine requires a waiting period after surgery before special operations screening. Special warfare medical screening is more invasive than a standard physical, and the Navy references DoD Instruction 6130.03 as the governing standard. Candidates who don’t receive required vaccinations, for any reason, are disqualified pending a waiver.5U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Manual of the Medical Department (NAVMED P-117) Change Notices Significant orthopedic injury history, certain psychological conditions, and chronic conditions that could interfere in austere environments are common disqualifiers.
How the Officer Transfer Application Actually Moves
The paperwork is heavy and the deadlines don’t slip. Start by coordinating with your chain of command and your detailer. You’ll need a DD Form 368, the formal Request for Conditional Release, documenting that the Marine Corps agrees to release you if the Navy accepts you.6Department of Defense. DD Form 368 – Request for Conditional Release Without it, nothing else matters.
The full package goes electronically to the SEAL Officer Community Manager. It includes a Naval Special Warfare application letter, the DD Form 368, medical screening forms, and a commanding officer’s endorsement letter. The Navy expects packages to be emailed with receipt verified within 96 hours.3MyNavyHR. Inter-Service Transfer Application Guide SECNAVINST 1000.7G governs the Marine Corps side, and officer transfers go through an Officer Retention Board convened under the Deputy Commandant for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.7United States Marine Corps. MCO 1001.65 – Officer Retention and Prior Service Accessions Getting your own service to let you go is often the harder half.
SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection
Inter-service transfer candidates are expected to attend SEAL Officer Assessment and Selection, a two-week program in Coronado held the summer before their planned transfer.8MyNavyHR. Sequence of Events for Interested SEAL Officer Candidates SOAS evaluates behavioral, physical, cognitive, and interpersonal performance, and the cadre sends its recommendations to the SEAL Officer Community Manager for final selection.
If operational commitments keep you from attending in person, a video or in-person interview with SOAS staff can substitute, but it’s a last resort. Your commanding officer’s endorsement letter has to explain why. The interview counts as one of your SOAS attempts, so treat it as the assessment it is.3MyNavyHR. Inter-Service Transfer Application Guide As of early 2026, the Navy is accepting FY27 applications with a deadline of February 23, 2026.9MyNavyHR. SEAL Officer Selection
Rank, Pay, and Bonuses When You Switch
Switching services has financial consequences that catch people off guard. Under 10 U.S.C. § 716, an officer transferring between branches cannot receive higher precedence or rank than what they held the day before the transfer.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 10 – Section 716 Enlisted Marines who separate and re-enlist in the Navy may see their rank drop, particularly when moving into a new rating that doesn’t line up with their Marine MOS. Expect to come in no higher than E-4, and possibly E-3 during training.
If you took an enlistment or reenlistment bonus from the Marine Corps, deal with it before you’re discharged. DoD recoupment rules provide that if you’re discharged for immediate reenlistment in another service and the new enlistment covers the remaining time on the old contract, the original enlistment may be treated as complete for bonus purposes.10Military Compensation. Recoupment General Rules If there’s a gap or the terms don’t line up, you could owe money back. Get the specifics in writing from your admin section before you sign anything.
What You’re Signing Up For
BUD/S is a six-month course at the Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, divided into three phases of roughly seven weeks each: basic conditioning (which contains Hell Week, a five-and-a-half-day stretch of continuous physical output with almost no sleep), combat diving, and land warfare. Navy data shows roughly 68% of candidates who start BUD/S don’t finish, and the program is designed to graduate about 20% of an entering class.
Graduating BUD/S doesn’t make you a SEAL. After BUD/S, candidates enter SEAL Qualification Training, a 26-week course covering field exercises, SERE, and Army airborne school. Only after SQT do you earn the Trident. Initial pipeline runs roughly 12 months or more, then 18-plus months of pre-deployment workups with your assigned SEAL Team. A Marine coming into this pipeline should plan on two to three years before deploying operationally.
MARSOC Is Worth Considering First
Before starting the inter-service marathon, decide whether you want special operations work or specifically the SEAL Trident. The Marine Corps has its own special operations force: Marine Forces Special Operations Command, known as MARSOC or the Marine Raiders. MARSOC operators conduct direct action, special reconnaissance, and foreign internal defense under U.S. Special Operations Command.
You stay a Marine, keep your rank and seniority, skip the transfer paperwork, and avoid the financial disruption of separating and re-enlisting. MARSOC runs its own assessment and selection, and qualified Marines can apply from within the Corps. If the goal is a Tier 1 special operations unit and you already wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor, MARSOC deserves a hard look before you start filling out a DD Form 368.