# The Royal Navy Terms of Service (Ratings) Regulations 2006, Regulation 3: Duration of terms of service


(1) A person may be entered in the Royal Navy for a term beginning with the date of his entry to service in the Royal Navy and ending 18 years after that date or on the date of his 40th birthday, whichever is the later.
(2) Alternatively, a person may be entered in the Royal Navy for a term expiring on a date falling between 6 months and 17 years after the date of his entry to the Royal Navy.
(3) The term for which a person may be entered may be a term of service wholly in the Royal Navy or may be a term of service partly in the Royal Navy and partly in the reserve.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/2918/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/royal-navy-terms-of-service-ratings-regulations-2006/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.