Navy Medicine > Special Pays

IMPORTANT!

18 Nov 2025: The FY26 NAVADMIN 229/25 has been released. Members have 30 days from today until Dec. 18, 2025, to have requests dated and submitted for an effective date as far back as Oct. 1, 2025, and not required to be retroactive. Anything dated Dec. 19, 2025, or later, and trying to go back more than 30 days from the date of the request, will be required to be retroactive.

For the Medical Corps, officers the Undersea Medical Officer (UMO) specialty eligibility, Incentive Pay (IP), or Retention Bonus (RB)/IP requires the officer to be privileged and practicing both specialties, and will be required to maintain privileges and will need to conduct at least 70 undersea related medical encounters in a fiscal year to continue to be eligible for the increase in IP and/or RB. If a physician does not meet the 70 annual undersea encounter requirement the IP and/or RB will be terminated, or if the member no longer wants to continue to remain privileged, and practicing as a UMO, the member must submit a request to terminate and renegotiate to receive only the clinical specialty IP and/or RB they are eligible for. Members must submit their Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) at the time of submitting their special pay request, and periodically to the UMO specialty leader who will verify a member’s eligibility.

There are significant changes to the FY26 Pay Guidance, and each Corps Pay Guidance must be reviewed in its entirety. All questions should be directed to your command human resources department (HRD)/administration, and the HRD/Admin should be the only ones contacting BUMED. Individuals contacting BUMED Special Pays will be directed to work through their command HRD/Admin who directly support them, so BUMED Special Pays can process the large volume of requests that will be incoming.

Any questions please direct them to your command Human Resources Department/Administrative Office, who should contact BUMED at the below email address.

BUMED SPECIAL PAYS POINTS OF CONTACT:
All inquiries, issues, and submissions to special pays are to be made to this email address.
Note: The BUMED Special Pays email address is for non-encrypted emails.
usn.ncr.bumedfchva.mbx.specialpays-bumed@health.mil

DOCUMENTS

Guidance for Special Pays (FY26)

Guidance for Special Pays (FY25)

References

Medical Department Special Pays Process Information for Reservists and Gaining Command (Dec 2023)
Medical Department Special Pays Information (Updated May 2023)
Command Special Pays FAQ
OPNAVINST 7220.17
Board for Correction of Naval Records (BCNR)

Special Pays Templates For Submission (Updated Oct 27, 2025)
General Instructions
Retention/Incentive Pay	Incentive Pay	Board Certification Pay
RB/IP Checklist	IP Checklist	BCP Checklist
RB/IP Request	IP Request	BCP Request
RB/IP CO Endorsement	IP CO Endorsement	BCP CO Endorsement
RB/IP Terminate/Renegotiate Request	IP Terminate/Renegotiate Request	BCP Terminate/Renegotiate Request
RB/IP Terminate/Renegotiate CO Endorsement	IP Terminate/Renegotiate CO Endorsement	BCP Terminate/Renegotiate CO Endorsement
	IP Retroactive Request	BCP Retroactive Request
	IP Retroactive CO Endorsement	BCP Retroactive CO Endorsement

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
7700 Arlington Blvd. Ste. 5113 Falls Church, VA 22042-5113
This is an official U.S. Navy website
This is a Department of Defense (DoD) Internet computer system.

General Navy Medical Inquiries (to Bureau of Medicine and Surgery): usn.ncr.bumedfchva.list.bumed---pao@health.mil

Northern Command: Dial 988 then Press 1
Pacific Command: Call +1 844-702-5493 (off base) or DSN 988 (on base)
European Command: Call +1 844-702-5495 (off base) or DSN 988 (on base)
Central Command: Call +1 855-422-7719 (off base) or DSN 988 (on base)
African Command: Call +1 888-482-6054 (off base) or DSN 988 (on base)
Southern Command: Call +1 866-989-9599 (off base) or DSN 988 (on base)