Uniform Code of Military Justice, punitive articles

Every punitive article on its own tag

Each page takes one article of the Code: what it covers, what must be proved, and where it sits beside the articles around it.

  • Articles 77 to 116
  • 50 articles
  • 2 guides

The tags, in the order of the Code

Each tag is one article, in the order of the Code.

Every article

50 articles

  1. Art. 77 Principals 10 U.S.C. § 877 5 min read
  2. Art. 78 Accessory After the Fact 10 U.S.C. § 878 5 min read
  3. Art. 79 Lesser Included Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 879 4 min read
  4. Art. 80 Attempts 10 U.S.C. § 880 7 min read
  5. Art. 81 Conspiracy 10 U.S.C. § 881 6 min read
  6. Art. 82 Solicitation 10 U.S.C. § 882 5 min read
  7. Art. 85 Desertion 10 U.S.C. § 885 6 min read
  8. Art. 86 Absence Without Leave 10 U.S.C. § 886 7 min read
  9. Art. 87a Resistance, Flight, Breach of Arrest, and Escape 10 U.S.C. § 887a 5 min read
  10. Art. 88 Contempt Toward Officials 10 U.S.C. § 888 4 min read
  11. Art. 89 Disrespect Toward Superior Commissioned Officer 10 U.S.C. § 889 6 min read
  12. Art. 90 Willfully Disobeying Superior Commissioned Officer 10 U.S.C. § 890 5 min read
  13. Art. 91 Insubordinate Conduct Toward Warrant Officer, NCO, or Petty Officer 10 U.S.C. § 891 5 min read
  14. Art. 92 Failure to Obey Order or Regulation 10 U.S.C. § 892 6 min read
  15. Art. 93 Cruelty and Maltreatment 10 U.S.C. § 893 5 min read
  16. Art. 93a Prohibited Activities with Military Recruit or Trainee 10 U.S.C. § 893a 5 min read
  17. Art. 94 Mutiny or Sedition 10 U.S.C. § 894 5 min read
  18. Art. 95 Offenses by Sentinel or Lookout 10 U.S.C. § 895 4 min read
  19. Art. 95a Disrespect Toward Sentinel or Lookout 10 U.S.C. § 895a 4 min read
  20. Art. 96 Release of Prisoner Without Authority 10 U.S.C. § 896 5 min read
  21. Art. 97 Unlawful Detention 10 U.S.C. § 897 4 min read
  22. Art. 98 Misconduct as Prisoner 10 U.S.C. § 898 4 min read
  23. Art. 99 Misbehavior Before the Enemy 10 U.S.C. § 899 6 min read
  24. Art. 100 Subordinate Compelling Surrender 10 U.S.C. § 900 5 min read
  25. Art. 101 Improper Use of Countersign 10 U.S.C. § 901 4 min read
  26. Art. 102 Forcing a Safeguard 10 U.S.C. § 902 4 min read
  27. Art. 103 Spies 10 U.S.C. § 903 5 min read
  28. Art. 103a Espionage 10 U.S.C. § 903a 5 min read
  29. Art. 103b Aiding the Enemy 10 U.S.C. § 903b 6 min read
  30. Art. 104 Public Records Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 904 3 min read
  31. Art. 104a Fraudulent Enlistment, Appointment, or Separation 10 U.S.C. § 904a 4 min read
  32. Art. 104b Unlawful Enlistment, Appointment, or Separation 10 U.S.C. § 904b 3 min read
  33. Art. 105 Forgery 10 U.S.C. § 905 4 min read
  34. Art. 105a False or Unauthorized Pass 10 U.S.C. § 905a 4 min read
  35. Art. 106 Impersonation of Officer, Noncommissioned Officer, or Agent 10 U.S.C. § 906 4 min read
  36. Art. 106a Wearing Unauthorized Insignia 10 U.S.C. § 906a 3 min read
  37. Art. 107 False Official Statements and False Swearing 10 U.S.C. § 907 4 min read
  38. Art. 107a Parole Violation 10 U.S.C. § 907a 3 min read
  39. Art. 108 Military Property Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 908 4 min read
  40. Art. 108a Captured or Abandoned Property 10 U.S.C. § 908a 5 min read
  41. Art. 109 Waste, Spoilage, or Destruction of Non-Military Property 10 U.S.C. § 909 4 min read
  42. Art. 109a Mail Matter Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 909a 3 min read
  43. Art. 110 Improper Hazarding of Vessel or Aircraft 10 U.S.C. § 910 4 min read
  44. Art. 111 Leaving the Scene of a Vehicle Accident 10 U.S.C. § 911 4 min read
  45. Art. 112 Drunkenness and Other Incapacitation Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 912 4 min read
  46. Art. 112a Controlled Substance Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 912a 5 min read
  47. Art. 113 Drunken or Reckless Operation of a Vehicle, Aircraft, or Vessel 10 U.S.C. § 913 4 min read
  48. Art. 114 Endangerment Offenses 10 U.S.C. § 914 5 min read
  49. Art. 115 Communicating Threats 10 U.S.C. § 915 5 min read
  50. Art. 116 Riot or Breach of Peace 10 U.S.C. § 916 4 min read

Read with the articles

The pages that cover more than one article.

The roll, newest first

Every page of the site, newest first. Page 1 of 3.

  1. AR 15-6 Investigations and What Service Members Actually Need to Know

    Army Regulation 15-6, dated and effective June 22, 2025, sets the procedures for three kinds of Army administrative fact-finding: preliminary inquiries, administrative investigations, and boards of officers. These proceedings are administrative, not criminal. The standard of proof is a preponderance of the evidence, and approved findings can support adverse administrative action; for officers in grade O-1 and above (not warrant officers), approved adverse findings are also entered in the Army Adverse Information Program (AAIP) and furnished to promotion selection boards. What rights a person has depends on the procedure used and on whether that person is a witness, a subject, or a respondent. In the regulation's terms, a subject is someone about whom some credible evidence suggests involvement that could lead to disciplinary or administrative action, and a respondent is someone the appointing authority designates for a hearing before a board.

    11 min read

  2. UCMJ Punitive Articles: A Guide to Articles 77 Through 134

    The punitive articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice are Articles 77 through 134 (10 U.S.C. §§ 877-934). All of them define offenses except Article 77 (principals) and Article 79 (lesser included offenses), which set rules for liability and findings rather than creating crimes. For each offense, the Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 edition), Part IV, lists the elements and the maximum punishment. This guide lists every punitive article from 77 to 134 with its Manual paragraph and links to the detailed pages on this site for Articles 77 through 116.

    7 min read

  3. Article 99: Misbehavior Before the Enemy Under the UCMJ

    Article 99 lists nine forms of misbehavior by a member of the armed forces "before or in the presence of the enemy," from running away and cowardly conduct to failing to help allied forces in battle. Every one carries a maximum of death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct. Whether a person was "before the enemy" is a question of tactical relation, not distance.

    10 U.S.C. § 899 6 min read

  4. Article 98: Misconduct as Prisoner Under the UCMJ

    Article 98 applies only to a person who is in the hands of the enemy in time of war. It punishes two things: acting without authority, to gain better treatment from the captors, in a way that harms other prisoners; and maltreating fellow prisoners from a position of authority. Escaping, even when the enemy punishes the others for it, is not an offense. The maximum is any punishment other than death.

    10 U.S.C. § 898 4 min read

  5. Article 97: Unlawful Detention Under the UCMJ

    Article 97 punishes a person who apprehends, arrests, or confines someone "except as provided by law." It is aimed at people who hold detention authority under the UCMJ and misuse it, not at private acts of false imprisonment. Force is not required, a reasonable belief that the restraint was lawful is a defense, and the maximum is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 3 years.

    10 U.S.C. § 897 4 min read

  6. Article 96: Release of Prisoner Without Authority Under the UCMJ

    Article 96 contains four offenses: releasing a prisoner without authority, allowing a prisoner to escape through neglect, allowing a prisoner to escape through design, and unlawfully drinking alcohol with a prisoner. The ceilings run from 1 year (drinking) to a dishonorable discharge and 5 years (escape by design). The release and escape offenses apply "whether or not the prisoner was committed in strict compliance with the law."

    10 U.S.C. § 896 5 min read

  7. Article 95a: Disrespect Toward Sentinel or Lookout Under the UCMJ

    Article 95a punishes wrongful and disrespectful language or behavior aimed at a sentinel or lookout who is on duty, when the accused knows the person's role. Words must be within the sentinel's hearing; behavior must be within the sentinel's sight. The maximum is 3 months of confinement and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 3 months, with no punitive discharge.

    10 U.S.C. § 895a 4 min read

  8. Article 95: Offenses by Sentinel or Lookout Under the UCMJ

    Article 95 applies only to a sentinel or lookout who is posted. Being drunk on post, sleeping on post, or leaving post before being regularly relieved carries up to a dishonorable discharge and 1 year in ordinary circumstances, 10 years while the accused is receiving hostile fire or imminent danger pay, and death in time of war. Loitering or wrongfully sitting down on post is a lesser offense with no death penalty.

    10 U.S.C. § 895 4 min read

  9. Article 94: Mutiny or Sedition Under the UCMJ

    Mutiny is easy to picture as a group refusal, but one form of it can be committed by a single person. The article covers mutiny, sedition, attempted mutiny, and failing to suppress or report a mutiny or sedition, and every one of those offenses carries a maximum of death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, in peace or in war.

    10 U.S.C. § 894 5 min read

  10. Article 93a: Prohibited Activities with Military Recruit or Trainee Under the UCMJ

    Article 93a makes it a crime for a trainer to engage in prohibited sexual activity with a recruit or trainee in a protected training status, or for a recruiter to do so with an applicant or a delayed-entry enlistee. Consent is not a defense. Protection depends on the person's training or applicant status and on an existing training or recruiting relationship, not on a period of time in service. The maximum is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 5 years.

    10 U.S.C. § 893a 5 min read

  11. Article 93: Cruelty and Maltreatment Under the UCMJ

    Articles 88 through 92 protect authority from the people under it. Article 93 runs the other way: it punishes a person who is cruel toward, oppresses, or maltreats someone "subject to his orders." The test is objective, the victim need not be in the accused's chain of command or even subject to the UCMJ, and the maximum is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 3 years.

    10 U.S.C. § 893 5 min read

  12. Article 92: Failure to Obey Order or Regulation Under the UCMJ

    Article 92 contains three offenses, and the first question in any case is which one is charged. Violating a lawful general order or regulation requires no proof that the accused knew of it and carries up to a dishonorable discharge and 2 years. Failing to obey another lawful order requires actual knowledge and carries up to a bad-conduct discharge and 6 months. Dereliction of duty ranges from 3 months to 2 years depending on willfulness and whether someone was killed or seriously hurt.

    10 U.S.C. § 892 6 min read

  13. Article 91: Insubordinate Conduct Toward Warrant Officer, NCO, or Petty Officer Under the UCMJ

    Article 91 protects warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, and petty officers the way Articles 89 and 90 protect commissioned officers: against assault, willful disobedience, and contempt or disrespect. Only a warrant officer or enlisted member can commit it. There is no death penalty and no wartime increase. The highest ceiling is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 5 years, for striking or assaulting a warrant officer.

    10 U.S.C. § 891 5 min read

  14. Article 90: Willfully Disobeying Superior Commissioned Officer Under the UCMJ

    Not every failure to follow an order is an Article 90 offense. Article 90 requires a lawful, specific command given personally to the accused by a superior commissioned officer, actual knowledge of it, and intentional defiance. Forgetting or neglecting an order, or breaking a general regulation, is not Article 90, though it may violate Article 92. The ceiling is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 5 years in peacetime, and death in time of war.

    10 U.S.C. § 890 5 min read

  15. Article 89: Disrespect Toward Superior Commissioned Officer Under the UCMJ

    Article 89 holds two offenses with very different ceilings. Disrespect toward a superior commissioned officer carries up to a bad-conduct discharge and 1 year if the officer is superior in command, or 6 months if superior only in rank. Striking, raising a weapon against, or offering violence to a superior commissioned officer in the execution of office carries up to a dishonorable discharge and 10 years, or death if committed in time of war.

    10 U.S.C. § 889 6 min read

  16. Article 88: Contempt Toward Officials Under the UCMJ

    Only a commissioned officer can violate Article 88, and only by using contemptuous words against one of the officials or legislatures the statute names. Criticism of policy, even sharp criticism, is not the offense. Contempt is. The maximum punishment is dismissal, total forfeitures, and one year of confinement.

    10 U.S.C. § 888 4 min read

  17. Article 87a: Resistance, Flight, Breach of Arrest, and Escape Under the UCMJ

    How serious an Article 87a charge is depends on which restraint was defeated. Breaking an arrest order carries up to a bad-conduct discharge and 6 months; resisting or fleeing apprehension, up to a bad-conduct discharge and 1 year; escaping pretrial confinement, up to a dishonorable discharge and 1 year; escaping confinement imposed by a court-martial sentence, up to a dishonorable discharge and 5 years. And if the restraint itself was illegal, there is no Article 87a offense at all.

    10 U.S.C. § 887a 5 min read

  18. Article 86: Absence Without Leave Under the UCMJ

    Article 86 punishes a service member who, without authority, fails to go to an appointed place of duty, leaves it, or is absent from the unit, organization, or place of duty where they are required to be. No specific intent is needed for the basic offense. The ceiling climbs with the facts: one month for a missed formation or an absence of up to three days, and up to a dishonorable discharge and 18 months for an absence of more than 30 days ended by apprehension.

    10 U.S.C. § 886 7 min read

  19. Article 85: Desertion Under the UCMJ

    What turns an unauthorized absence into desertion under Article 85 is intent: an intent to stay away permanently, or to avoid hazardous duty or shirk important service. Length of absence alone does not prove it. In peacetime the ceiling is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 2, 3, or 5 years of confinement depending on the type of desertion and how it ended. In time of war, desertion and attempted desertion can be punished by death.

    10 U.S.C. § 885 6 min read

  20. Article 82: Solicitation Under the UCMJ

    Article 82 is complete the moment a person seriously asks or advises someone else to commit a UCMJ offense, intending that it actually be committed. The other person does not have to agree, act, or even take the request seriously. The ceiling depends on what was solicited: the lesser of 10 years or the solicited offense's own maximum, except for espionage, desertion, mutiny or sedition, and misbehavior before the enemy, which have separate rules.

    10 U.S.C. § 882 5 min read

  21. Article 81: Conspiracy Under the UCMJ

    Under Article 81, an agreement to commit a UCMJ offense becomes a crime the moment any member of the agreement takes one step to carry it out. The planned offense never has to happen. The maximum punishment is the maximum for the offense that was the object of the agreement, except that death is not available unless the conspiracy is one to commit a law-of-war offense and a victim dies.

    10 U.S.C. § 881 6 min read

  22. Article 80: Attempts Under the UCMJ

    Article 80 punishes an attempt to commit almost any UCMJ offense, whether or not the offense is completed: under § 880(c), a person may be convicted of an attempt even if the evidence shows the offense was consummated. The government must prove a specific intent to commit the offense and an overt act that went beyond preparation. The ceiling is the maximum for the offense attempted, with two limits: no death penalty for any attempt, and no more than 20 years of confinement for any attempt except attempted murder.

    10 U.S.C. § 880 7 min read

  23. Article 79: Lesser Included Offenses Under the UCMJ

    An acquittal of the charged offense does not always end a court-martial. Article 79 (10 U.S.C. § 879) lets a court-martial find an accused guilty of a lesser offense, or of an attempt, that was never written on the charge sheet as a separate charge. It is not an offense anyone can be charged with. It is the rule that sets how far a finding of guilty may reach below the charge.

    10 U.S.C. § 879 4 min read

  24. Article 78: Accessory After the Fact Under the UCMJ

    Helping someone after a crime can be an offense even if the helper had nothing to do with the crime itself. Under Article 78, a service member who knows an offense has been committed and then receives, comforts, or assists the offender in order to hinder apprehension, trial, or punishment commits a separate offense. The ceiling is half the confinement authorized for the underlying crime, never death, and never more than 10 years.

    10 U.S.C. § 878 5 min read

  25. Article 77: Principals Under the UCMJ

    Article 77 does not create a crime. It decides who can be convicted of one. Under 10 U.S.C. § 877, a person who aids, abets, counsels, commands, or procures an offense, or who causes another to do an act that would be an offense if done directly, is a principal: guilty of the same offense as the person who carried it out and punishable to the same extent. There is no separate Article 77 charge and no separate Article 77 sentence.

    10 U.S.C. § 877 5 min read