Armed Forces Medical Services Doctor (Short Service Commission)

Treating soldiers, sailors, airmen and their families in military hospitals. Running unit medical centres. Field and high-altitude postings. Preventive health, vaccination drives and disaster relief. Doctors with a postgraduate degree may later work in their speciality.

A day in the work
Morning starts with a parade or roll call at your unit. Then you run the OPD at the military hospital or medical inspection room. You see soldiers with injuries, fevers and chronic illness, and families with children and elderly parents. Some days you visit a training area or a ship or airbase to check fitness and hygiene. If a field exercise or an emergency comes up, you may be away for days. You will not have the fixed routine of a city clinic.

1. Step 1 · Class 11–12Take Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English. Medicine is the first big gate, because an AFMS commission comes only after an MBBS.
2. Step 2 · Class 12Take NEET (UG) and get an MBBS seat in any NMC-recognised college, government or private. AFMC Pune is a separate route, covered under routes.
3. Step 3 · About 5.5 yearsComplete MBBS and the 1-year internship, then get permanent NMC or State Medical Council registration. The 2026 notice asked for final MBBS passed in no more than two attempts. The internship had to be completed by a cut-off date (31 July 2025 for the 2026 cycle). Appear in NEET (PG) as well. (reported — check with the official body)
4. Step 4 · When the notice opensApply online on the AFMS recruitment portal (join.afms.gov.in) when DGAFMS announces vacancies. The 2026 notice came in mid-February, and DGAFMS posted that registration would open on 24 Feb 2026 after the site was briefly down. The fee was ₹200 (reported). Maximum age was 30 for MBBS holders and 35 for postgraduates, counted on 31 December 2026 (reported). You are shortlisted by NEET PG score, and men and women are shortlisted separately (reported from the 2025 notice). (reported — check with the official body)
5. Step 5 · InterviewA Board of Officers interviews you at Army Hospital (R&R), Delhi Cantt. In the 2025 notice you needed at least 50% in the interview to enter the merit list (reported). They look at medical knowledge, communication and whether you suit service life. (reported — check with the official body)
6. Step 6 · Medical examinationA Special Medical Board checks your physical and mental fitness. If you are declared unfit, there is a process for appeal or review (reported). Final selection depends on your merit rank and being medically fit. (reported — check with the official body)
7. Step 7 · Commission and serviceYou are commissioned as a Captain in the Army, or the equivalent rank in the Navy or Air Force. The first term is 5 years and can be extended, up to 14 years in total (reported). After that you can ask for Permanent Commission, subject to vacancies and rules. Or you leave and go for postgraduate study or civilian practice. (reported — check with the official body)

• Short Service Commission after any MBBS (this profile)Who: Doctors from any NMC-recognised college, government or private MBBS and internship, NEET PG, apply on join.afms.gov.in, interview, medical board. Initial term 5 years (reported).
• AFMC Pune (see the separate AFMC doctor profile)Who: Class 12 PCB students who clear NEET (UG) and the AFMC selection You study MBBS at the Armed Forces Medical College and are bound to serve afterwards (about 7 years, reported). Some graduates get Permanent Commission. Check the AFMC admission notice for the current rules.
• Join as a postgraduateWho: Doctors who already hold MD, MS or DNB The same SSC notice allows a higher age limit (35 in 2026, reported). Postgraduates may still be posted as general duty medical officers at first, depending on need (reported).

Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

Pay is fixed by rank and grows with promotion, service years and postgraduate qualifications. Allowances change a lot with your posting, so a field or remote station and a big-city hospital can feel very different. Once you leave, private earnings depend on your speciality and city.

Women can apply for AFMS Short Service Commission. The 2026 notice kept separate vacancies for men and women (25 of 100 for women, reported). Official PIB releases say women doctors have been commissioned in the Army Medical Corps since 1958, and that women medical officers can be both short service and permanent. Medical fitness standards are strict. I did not find official relaxations for disability in this recruitment, so check the notice.

• Class 7–9Learn basic first aid through your school's Red Cross, Scouts and Guides or health club. Practise it with classmates, so you find out whether looking after people in a crisis suits you.
• Class 10–12If you are 15 or older, sign up on MY Bharat and join a health camp or cleanliness drive near you. Read Class 11 Biology (NCERT) alongside Class 12 so NEET (UG) does not catch you off guard.Open link ↗
• College or afterOpen the AFMS recruitment portal and read the latest Short Service Commission notice. Note the age limit, the internship cut-off date and the NEET PG rule, and plan your MBBS years around them.Open link ↗

• SSC means a fixed term, not a job for life. A pension comes with Permanent Commission, not with a short term (reported). SSC officers can apply for Permanent Commission subject to service needs and vacancies.
• You can be posted anywhere in India or abroad, in the Army, Navy or Air Force, depending on need (reported). You do not choose your service or your station.
• Seats are few. The 2026 notice had about 100 vacancies (75 men, 25 women). The 2025 notices were about 400 in April and about 225 in September (all reported). No applicant numbers were found, so do not treat any number as a fixed target.
• I could not find a second 2026 notice after February. Watch join.afms.gov.in and DGAFMS announcements instead of relying on job sites.