The conscription board: deferment, fitness category and challenging the decision

What is happening

The problem is usually not the law but the paperwork. The right to a deferment exists, on grounds of study, health or family circumstances, but the certificate is drawn up in the wrong form, the diagnosis in the medical record is vague, and the investigation was never completed. The board looks at documents, not at your account of things.

The second pattern is the medical examination. The doctor at the enlistment office examines you quickly, records your complaints briefly and issues no referral for further investigation. A fitness category is assigned without regard to the documents you brought, and the call-up decision is taken the same day.

The third is timing. A board decision can be contested, but the window is short: while the call-up period runs and before you are sent to a unit. Every day of delay narrows the options, so the first step is to obtain an extract from the decision and put your objection in writing.

What the law says

• The law on military duty and military service (Federal Law 53-FZ) lists the grounds for deferment and exemption. The list is closed: if your ground is on it, the board must take it into account.
• The fitness category is determined by the medical panel against the schedule of illnesses. Where the investigation is incomplete, you are to be referred for further examination rather than given a category by guesswork.
• A board decision can be challenged before the regional conscription board or in court. Filing the challenge suspends enforcement of the decision until it is considered.
• You are entitled to an extract from the board's decision and to copies of the documents in your file, including the medical examination sheet.
• Evading conscription is a criminal offence. We work only by lawful means: deferment, exemption, challenge, and referral for further examination.
• At every stage a representative acting under a power of attorney may act with you: requesting documents, filing challenges and appearing in court.

What we do

• We go through your situation and tell you plainly whether a ground for deferment or exemption exists and what is needed to prove it.
• We assemble the medical documents so that the board can read them: records, test results and findings from the relevant specialists.
• We draft applications to the enlistment office: for referral for further investigation, for a deferment, and for an extract from the decision.
• We challenge the board's decision before the regional board and in court, and seek suspension of its enforcement.
• We record procedural breaches — examination without your documents, refusal to issue the decision, summonses outside the call-up period — and take them to the prosecutor's office.
• We accompany you to the board and represent you in court under a power of attorney.

What we need from you

• Your military identity or conscript document, if already issued, and the call-up notice you received.
• Medical documents: extracts from your records, test results and specialists' findings on your condition.
• Documents supporting a deferment: a certificate from your place of study, children's birth certificates, documents on a relative's condition.
• The extract from the board's decision and the medical examination sheet, if you received them.
• Any applications you have already filed with the enlistment office, stamped as received.
• Your passport and confirmation of registered residence.