Law Education Program
The Law Education Program (LEP) gives active-duty Navy officers the opportunity to enter law school, earn the degree of Juris Doctor, and subsequently serve as a career Navy judge advocate. This is a selective program typically accepting only seven Navy officers each year.
Who Is Eligible
To be eligible for consideration by the LEP Selection Board, you must:
- Be a United States citizen of good moral character;
- Be on active duty as a commissioned naval officer;
- Be a college graduate;
- Be in pay grade O-1, O-2, or O-3 with 2 to 6 years active-duty service (including any active enlisted time) at the time you are to begin legal training;
- Be able to complete 20 years of active service, of which at least 10 years must be as a commissioned officer, before your 62nd birthday;
- Have taken the LSAT and have applied to an American Bar Association (ABA)-accredited law school with an active Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) Education Service Agreement (ESA); and
- Comply with all other requirements detailed in the governing instruction (SECNAVINST 1520.7G) and annual NAVADMIN.
No waivers will be considered for time-in-service requirements.
How It Works
LEPs will remain on active duty, with pay and benefits, while attending law school and completing the bar examination. Obligated service is two full years for each year or part thereof in the program, in addition to any other obligation, which the individual has incurred.
If you have already started your legal studies (such as through a part-time evening program), you may still apply for this program. If selected, the Navy will pay for the remaining courses of your legal education and you will have less obligated service.
For further details, please refer to SECNAVINST 1520.7G, and the most recent NAVADMIN.
Application Deadlines
The submission deadline for fiscal year 2028 (FY28) is September 30, 2026, as announced in NAVADMIN 171/26.
Application Process
The LEP Selection Board meets in February of each year. Selected officers are typically notified in March.
Generally, the application process involves the following steps:
- Complete a structured interview. Your interview must be completed before the application deadline, and you are responsible for contacting the appropriate office to schedule your interview. Your application will not be considered without a completed structured interview.
- Eligible officers who intend to apply for FY28 LEP selection must submit a written request with current contact information, the application form (SECNAV Form 1520/1) and the application materials required in SECNAVINST 1520.7G via their Commanding Officer (CO) or Officer in Charge (OIC). Members with verbal or written orders to a follow-on command must also obtain an endorsement from their gaining command’s CO/OIC.
- You must apply to at least one school at which in-state tuition can be obtained, one school near your current duty station, and one school located in a fleet concentration.
- LSAT score reports may be submitted via separate correspondence after the deadline to lucianna.h.stamper.mil@us.navy.mil, but must be received prior to the convening of the
- LEP Selection Board. Consult the annual NAVADMIN for the supplemental material submission deadline.
- You are not required to submit your periodic January LT FITREP because the LEP Selection Board meets in early February.
- LEP applicants may only attend ABA-approved law schools that maintain an active ESA with NPS. The list of NPS-approved schools is updated annually. View the latest list of approved schools.
NOTE: Letters of recommendation are not authorized and will not go before the LEP Selection Board.
If you have any additional questions, please contact the Navy JAGC Accessions Detailer at lucianna.h.stamper.mil@us.navy.mil.