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Fitness report omission rules clarified, especially for board-eligible Marines

MARADMIN 209/26·May 5, 2026·2 min read·Official source
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The Marine Corps issued clarifying guidance on when annual (AN) and Annual Reserve (AR) fitness reports can be omitted. The core rule hasn't changed, but this message tightens the guardrails, particularly for Marines who are up for a promotion or selection board.

★ Affects all reservists: If you are board-eligible, your annual fitness report cannot be omitted, period.

Who it affects

All Marines, Total Force. That includes SMCR, IMA, and IRR. The AR report rules are directly relevant to reserve reporting chains. Reporting officials are the primary audience, but every Marine who is or might be board-eligible needs to understand this.

What you need to do

If you are a reporting official, review the omission rules before deciding to skip an AN or AR report:

  1. Check whether the Marine is board-eligible (promotion, command, school, slating). If yes, the omission is not authorized. Full stop.
  2. Check whether the report would be adverse. If yes, the omission is not authorized. If adversity comes up after an omission, document it on the next natural reporting occasion per Chapter 5 of MCO 1610.6B.
  3. If the Marine is a student in academic training shorter than 12 months and will receive an academic fitness report, omission is authorized regardless of board eligibility. The academic report captures the required information.

If you are a Marine being reported on, you cannot force your reporting official to omit or keep your report. But you can submit correspondence to the president of any board considering you. Check the specific board announcement MARADMIN for how to do that. It's encouraged, not required.

Key dates

  • No deadline tied to this message. The guidance is in effect now and applies going forward.
  • The 180-day omission window rule remains: omission is only on the table if another reporting occasion is coming within 180 days of the scheduled AN or AR date, and only when the exceptions above don't apply.

The official version

This guidance comes from MARADMIN 209/26. It clarifies MARADMIN 634-23, which changed the annual fitness report schedule. The governing manual is MCO 1610.6B, Marine Corps Performance Evaluation System Manual. Questions go to Maj D. L. Queen at MMPB-23: SMB_MANPOWER_MMRP-30@USMC.MIL or 703-432-0514.

This is written by a reservist, for reservists. It is not an official publication of HQMC or MARFORRES. Always verify guidance with your command or unit S-1 before acting on any article or summary.

Resources & references

The documents this bulletin points to, with a plain-English note on why each matters. Links marked CAC required need a government login.

  • Marine Corps Performance Evaluation System Manual (MCO 1610.6B)Reference

    This is the governing order for how fitness reports are written, structured, and administered. This MARADMIN references it specifically for how adversity must be documented when an annual report is omitted.

  • Changes to the Annual Fitness Report Schedule (MARADMIN 634/23)MARADMIN

    This earlier MARADMIN established the updated annual fitness report schedule and omission criteria that the current message is clarifying. Reservists should read it alongside this one to understand the full policy.

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Fitness report omission rules clarified, especially for board-eligible Marines — Reservable