The Polish Ministry of National Defense is calling 235,000 citizens for medical examinations – including men, women, and individuals over 50. Military qualification commissions will run from February 2 to April 30, 2026. The campaign's goal is to update records and determine fitness for service, but it is not equivalent to mobilization. Wyborcza reports this, as conveyed by UNN.
Approximately 235,000 Poles will receive summonses to appear before the military commission. These summonses will be sent to recipients starting next January, and the period of military qualification will last from February 2 to April 30, 2026, excluding public holidays. They will be delivered with a delivery notification. The goal is to determine physical and mental fitness for military service. The Ministry of National Defense has just presented a draft resolution on this matter.
Who must undergo a military medical commission (VLC)
As indicated, among those who must undergo a medical commission are "men and a separate group of women over 19 years of age." Afterward, they will be interviewed by a military representative and entered into military records. Each conscript will receive the rank of private, but not a military ID. It will only be issued to volunteers who wish to join the army. Volunteers not interested in military service will be transferred to the so-called passive reserve.
Military categories
As the publication explains, based on qualification, each participant will receive a so-called military category. There are four such categories, denoted by letters of the alphabet:
- A – fit for active military service;
- B – temporarily unfit for military service;
- D – unfit for active military service in peacetime, except for certain positions;
- E – permanently and completely unfit for active military service in peacetime and wartime.
In this regulation, the Polish Ministry of National Defense also defined the age groups and individuals who must appear before the commissions during the next calendar year. These, as stated, will be:
19-year-old men (born in 2007), the so-called basic age group;
- men aged 20-24 (born in 2002-2006), the so-called older generations, who have not yet fulfilled the obligation to undergo military qualification and therefore do not have a declared category of fitness for active military service;
- persons who in 2024-2025 were deemed temporarily unfit for military service (fitness categories from B6 to B24), if the period of incapacity ends before the end of the military qualification period in 2026. Re-summoning this category of persons for military qualification and their medical examinations will allow a final decision to be made on their assignment to fitness categories A, D, or E with the resulting consequences.
The army will also send letters with invitations to the VLC to women in military specialties and those studying in these fields, within the age groups specified by law. Namely:
- women born in 1999-2007 who have qualifications necessary for military service but have not yet applied for military qualification;
- women who are studying to obtain these qualifications and who are completing their studies in specialties or completing their studies in professions useful in military affairs in the 2025/2026 academic year.
Which women will be called up for military service in 2026
Women in Poland who have the following must undergo a VLC:
- medical professions;
- veterinary profession;
- maritime;
- aviation;
professions of psychologist, rehabilitologist, radiologist, laboratory diagnostician, IT specialist, teleinformatics specialist, navigator, and translator.
It is important that next year, the following must also undergo military qualification:
- 18-year-old volunteers who have volunteered themselves;
- everyone who has not yet received a defined military category, even if they have already turned or will turn 60 by the end of the year.
What the VLC includes
During the commission, a basic medical examination is conducted: blood pressure, height, and weight are measured, vision is checked, and blood and urine samples are taken. Since 2023, examination by a psychologist, neurologist, and ENT doctor has also become mandatory. In addition, doctors assess the general condition of the skin. The examination is conducted in underwear. The doctor may ask to remove underwear only if there is a justified medical need that cannot be checked otherwise.
Penalty for non-appearance
Failure to appear is subject to a fine – from several hundred to several thousand zlotys. In case of ignoring the summons, the police may forcibly bring the person to the commission. It is also possible to be entered into the register of evaders and face administrative punishment, including arrest.
If a person cannot come on the appointed day, they are obliged to notify the head of the gmina or the mayor no later than the date specified in the summons. In this case, it is necessary to explain the reason for absence, after which a new date and place for qualification will be assigned.
Military qualification is not equivalent to conscription into the army
It is noted that "Poland has a professional army and voluntary military service for people who have never served in the army before." Those interested can undergo military training and in the future join the reserve or the professional army.