Monday, December 21st, 2009

Will having bad credit disqualify you from enlisting into the Army?

Bad Credit Credit
lilo asked:


I have a relatively bad credit, credit cards in college, delinquent payments, etc, but I am on track to getting everything squared away. My total amount in debt is less than $5000 but I recently checked my credit score and it wasn’t that great. I hope to enlist into the Army next summer and was wondering if my bad credit score disqualify me from enlisting. Any information would help. Thank you.

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7 Responses to “Will having bad credit disqualify you from enlisting into the Army?”

Andrew Says:
December 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 am

It will limit your options as to what MOS you may want. With bad credit, or too much debt you will not be able to get a security clearance, therefore, your options are limited,

AD Says:
December 24th, 2009 at 9:06 pm

Bad credit won’t disqualify you from joining but it can disqualify you from getting a secret or top secret clerance, limiting the jobs you qualify for. You should talk to a recruiter next week instead of waiting until next summer for more info because on average people who join don’t ship to basic until several months later. Also, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can be used to drop your interest rates prior to enlistment to six percent.

. Says:
December 27th, 2009 at 3:04 pm

It won’t halt your enlistment, but I would bet 3 digits that you will not get anything to do with intelligence or the like.

Marc Says:
December 29th, 2009 at 3:54 am

No, it doesn’t effect your enlistment. BUT you will have problems later on if you do not pay it off, and let it remain as-is while you’re in, your commanding officer will have a few words with you. Plus it can disqualify you from the better MOS’s.

Use your bonus (If you’re join the Army, it’s basically the only branch that still offers them) to pay off the debt.

Ask your recruiter about it, he/she usually can come up with something.

Andrew Says:
December 30th, 2009 at 7:21 pm

It will prevent you from getting certain security clearances, so your choices will be limited. The chances of you being bribed are higher when you have debt and poor credit; obviously this would be detrimental to the Army.

Mewtwo Says:
January 1st, 2010 at 1:11 am

Credit Dodger.

Citizen Me Says:
January 1st, 2010 at 9:44 pm

5K isn’t that bad. Buckle down and pay it off. How bad is your credit? If you have a current money problem, then you will not be able to get a security clearance. If you take care of it, and later need a security clearance, then it is important to come clean on the application. Not fessing up is worse than the crime.

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