Ministry Of Defence
The Ministry of Defence Medal Office issues medals to currently serving members of the armed forces, veterans and MOD employees. If you are a member of other services, such as the fire, police or prison service, you should contact your organisations Human Resources department in the first instance.
You can apply for a medal if you meet the criteria.
The information in this guide is intended to give a brief overview only.
Announcements
The Coronation Medal 2023 Enquiries
Details relating to the distribution process are in development and will be published as soon as available. Until that point, units and individuals are not to approach the MOD Medal Office or the MODs medal suppliers. Any enquiries or attempts to apply will not be acknowledged and will be deleted.
The Coronation Medal 2023
On 5 May 2023, the Culture Secretary announced the introduction of a Coronation Medal to recognise members of the Armed Forces, frontline emergency service workers and people actively contributing to the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, with an expected total of 400,000 recipients. In recognition of His Majesty The Kings role as Commander-in-Chief of the UK Armed Forces, members of the Defence community who meet any one of the following criteria will be awarded the Coronation Medal:
- Serving members of the Armed Forces who have completed five full calendar years of service and were in active service on 6 May 2023.
- Members of the Armed Forces who participate in Armed Forces Coronation events throughout the rest of 2023, such as official gun salutes, parades, or presentations of regimental colours.
- Civil Service and those from MOD-sponsored voluntary organisations who provide active contributory service to official constitutional Coronation events including events in the Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. These include the Coronation Service on 6 May 2023 (Operation GOLDEN ORB), or the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for Their Majesties on 5 July 2023 (Operation GOLDEN SCEPTRE).
The majority of eligible MOD personnel will automatically be identified and notified in due course. An application process will be announced for those who have left the Armed Forces since 6 May 2023. The medal will likely be distributed to eligible recipients from late Autumn 2023, as and when stock is available.
If you are employed or sponsored by another frontline emergency service that may be eligible for the Coronation Medal, please contact your respective Honours or HR departments for further information, as the MOD Medal Office only administers medals relating to the Armed Forces.
Delay to historic requests
As part of the Defence Records Management Project, archived service files up until 1 January 1963 are being transferred to the National Archives.
This is significantly impacting assessment beyond our four-month response time for WW2 medal applications.
We are working with the National Archives to speed up this process Regrettably, some applicants have suffered long delays. This is outside of our expected service standards, for which we apologise, and are grateful for your continued patience whilst this matter is resolved.
Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal Reserve Forces Criteria Review (Jul 23)
Following multiple appeals and the outcome of a Service Complaint upheld by the Defence Council, the eligibility criteria for the Queens Platinum Jubilee Medal (QPJM) in respect of Reserve Forces personnel are under review by the appropriate Reserve Forces and Defence Services Secretarys policy staff, and single Service authorities.
As a result, QPJM applications and appeals relating to Reserve Forces personnel are currently being frozen to avoid unnecessary work and will be reassessed against the revised criteria as soon as these are finalised. This work is likely to take a several months to complete and the outcome will be published via a DIN as soon as possible. It must be stressed that this review will not change the underlying requirement for 5 years (1826 days) qualifying service as at 6 Feb 2022, as this is a Pan-Government requirement.
Coronation Medal 1953
The MOD Medal Office is unable to accept and assess applications for Her Majesty The Queens Coronation Medal 1953. (Dec 2018)
Clarification of the qualification criteria for the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (ACSM) 1994 and 2011
A formal review of the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal policy and qualification criteria has been conducted to resolve ambiguity over how time on operations is counted towards the ACSM. More detailed information about the review, guidance on eligibility and how to apply can be found on The Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (ACSM) 1994 and 2011 Policy Review 2020.
Decorations, Gallantry and Distinguished Conduct medals
You cant apply for these awards. You must be recommended to qualify.
You can read recommendations for honours and awards at The National Archives.
The awards below are listed in the official order of precedence, The letters in brackets are put after a persons surname to show their award.
Victoria Cross (VC)
The Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the premier Operational Gallantry award given for most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.
It may be awarded to all ranks of the services and civilians and can be awarded posthumously. Individuals who perform a further act of such gallantry which would have merited a second award of the VC would be issued with a bar.
The MOD Medal Office does not issue this award.
George Cross (GC)
The George Cross
The George Cross is the premier award given for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. This is awarded for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger.
The George Cross is equal in stature in the UK honours system to the Victoria Cross, the highest military gallantry award. This has always been the case since the introduction of the award in 1940.
It may be awarded to all ranks of the services and civilians and can be awarded posthumously.
The MOD Medal Office does not issue this award. Replacement awards are available from the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood.
Orders of the Bath and the British Empire
Read information about the Order of the Bath and the Order of the British Empire.
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
The Distinguished Service Order is an operational gallantry award given for highly successful command and leadership during active operations. Personnel who perform a further act of such leadership which would have merited a second award of the DSO wo