Back in the spring, an accountant could confidently tell a shop foreman: this man, with that military specialty code, won’t get a reservation, no matter what. By the summer of 2026, that rule had burned away. Starting July 3, the state allowed conscripts to be reserved regardless of rank, age, or military specialty — and HR departments had to learn the new criteria overnight.
The question of who qualifies for reservation now concerns not only company directors but also the men themselves, checking the Diia app every day to see whether their status has appeared. Let’s break down what’s changed and who it applies to.
Who qualifies for reservation under the new rules
The basis for reservation is set out in Article 25 of the Law “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization” and Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 76 of January 27, 2023, which was substantially rewritten in the summer of 2026 by Resolutions No. 692 and No. 862. Here’s who currently qualifies for reservation from mobilization.
- Heads of ministries and their deputies, patronage service employees, and category “A” and “B” officials in state authorities and local self-government bodies.
- Employees of enterprises officially confirmed as critically important for the economy or defense — regardless of the employee’s military rank, age, or military specialty.
- Agricultural producers — though the threshold has risen: a land bank of at least 1,000 hectares (up from 500) and annual revenue of at least UAH 40 million (up from UAH 20 million).
- Manufacturers of Ukrainian-made machinery and equipment whose products are included on the Ministry of Economy’s list.
- Employees of distribution system operators, coal mining and processing enterprises, and certain energy companies — for whom relaxed salary conditions apply.
The main condition for any of these categories is an official employment contract and a place on the list the employer compiles through Diia. A second, less obvious but critical condition is the enterprise’s average salary. Through August 31, 2026, the threshold is UAH 21,617.50, rising to UAH 25,941 from September 1.
Who does not qualify for reservation
Knowing the list of exceptions is just as important as understanding who qualifies — otherwise the HR department risks filing paperwork for nothing.
- Employees of enterprises without confirmed critically important status, or that haven’t completed criticality reconfirmation.
- People without official employment — a reservation is granted only under an employment contract, not a civil-law agreement or a verbal arrangement.
- Men who haven’t updated their military registration data at the recruitment center: without up-to-date data, a reservation simply won’t be processed.
- People placed on a “wanted” list — until they are removed from it; a special settlement mechanism exists, but it can only be used once a year and within a 45-day window.
- Conscripts registered with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) or intelligence agencies — a separate, standalone reservation procedure applies to them.
- Those who already have a deferment through another enterprise: as of July 3, 2026, a person is counted at only one place of employment — the one with the longer service record, not a secondary job.
The sharpest deadline still lies ahead — September 1, 2026. All current decisions on enterprise criticality remain valid only until that date, and if a company doesn’t reconfirm its status in time, it automatically loses the right to reserve people, no matter how important their work is. For a business building critical infrastructure, this isn’t a paperwork formality — it’s a question of whether the team will still be on-site tomorrow.
The rules will keep changing — over the past year, the Cabinet of Ministers has rewritten them at least three times. Watching an enterprise’s criticality status deserves the same attention as watching project handover deadlines.
Working with official reservation at SpecServis
“SpecServis” is a critically important construction enterprise, so some of our vacancies come with an official reservation from mobilization for the duration of the employment contract. The list of current vacancies is updated regularly.
More details about working conditions are on the SpecServis careers page.
