• Medical Affairs

  Medical Waiver Program

  Public Health Service officers may have health conditions that make it unsafe for them to deploy or complete some readiness requirements. This program is administered by the Medical Affairs Branch (MAB) within Commissioned Corps Headquarters. Approval of Medical Waiver requests is not guaranteed. MAB has sole discretion of approval and time limitations of all medical waivers.

  Medical waivers are individual exemptions from performing or engaging in one or more of the following activities:

  • Deployment;
  • Receiving one or more immunization;
  • Performance of all or part of the APFT;
  • Meeting weight standards;
  • Maintaining uniform requirements (e.g., beard waivers, shoe waivers);
  • Completing Basic Life Support training; or
  • Fulfilling other requirements necessary for meeting and/or maintaining the Basic level of force readiness.

  Submission of a Medical Waiver Request

  • Single .pdf - medical waiver request form with the required medical documentation
    • Medical waiver request form
    • Provider’s letter or clinical note:
      • Diagnosis, working diagnosis, or symptoms
      • Plan of treatment, evaluation, recovery, or follow-up
      • Duration/end date for completion of the current plan
  • Submit in eDOC-U as "Request for Medical Waiver"

  Please have your provider review the Medical Waiver Program instructions attached to the waiver request for additional information.

  Officers can review their waiver status by:

  1. Going to the Officer Secure Area
  2. Clicking on the Officer- Self Service Page link on the left panel
  3. Selecting the Self-service tab
  4. Selecting the Readiness Information drop down
  5. Clicking Waiver tab (#4)

  Rejected Waivers:
  The primary reason that a waiver request is rejected is due to missing documentation or information. If your Medical Wavier request is rejected, officers should receive a system-generated notification with a summary explanation. For more information, please contact Medical Affairs at: PHSDMOCCHQ@hhs.gov

  
  SPECIFIC WAIVER REQUESTS
  

  Pregnancy waivers: Approval requires documentation which includes laboratory confirmation of pregnancy and estimated date of delivery (EDD). Pregnancy waivers end 12 months after anticipated delivery date.

      Pregnancy waivers include:

  • deployment
  • APFT
  • weight standards
  • live virus vaccinations

      Pregnancy waivers DO NOT include:

  • annual PHU
  • annual influenza vaccine
  • BLS

  If an officer’s pregnancy ends prior to 20 weeks gestation, the officer should inform Medical Affairs within 30 days by uploading a new Waiver request form with the date the pregnancy ended. The updated pregnancy waiver will expire 6 months after the end of the pregnancy.

  Breastfeeding: If an officer continues to breastfeed after expiration of the Pregnancy waiver at 12 months postpartum, the officer should submit a breastfeeding waiver request (no earlier than one week before expiration of the Pregnancy waiver) and be prepared to deploy. When the waiver is approved, MAB will assist in communicating the officer’s lactation needs (e.g., regular breaks, electricity, refrigeration) during potential deployments to RDB. Breastfeeding waivers will be provided for 5-month intervals, with ability to extend as needed.

  Requests for a full deployment waiver due to breastfeeding will only be considered if there is documentation from a healthcare provider that terminating breastfeeding (not just dietary supplementation which can be done with expressed breastmilk) will significantly adversely affect the health of the officer or her child. Officers should plan to submit a deployment waiver for this request.

  Pertussis vaccine: in the form of Tdap is now recommended during the third trimester of every pregnancy. If an officer’s tetanus immunization expires early in her pregnancy, to avoid being found not basic qualified, the officer should request a tetanus waiver until her third trimester.

  Retention Weight Standards: Some medical conditions or treatments can contribute to changes in weight or difficulty gaining or losing weight. When an officer requests a weight standards waiver, his/her healthcare provider must provide evidence-based data from the scientific literature regarding the effects of the condition or treatment on weight. The officer must also provide a pretreatment weight. If a waiver is granted, the extent of relaxing the standards will be based on the documented effects of the treatment. MAB will utilize peer reviewed medical literature to determine the effects of a treatment. If a waiver is due to expire but the medical condition preventing an officer from meeting readiness requirements persists, the officer is responsible for uploading a new medical waiver request with updated provider documentation and medical waiver request form for consideration of a new waiver. For more information, please contact Medical Affairs at: PHSDMOCCHQ@hhs.gov

  Last Updated: 09/25/2025
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