Wearing of medals for which persons are not entitled is an offence under section 195 of the Army Act (1955), superceded and covered by The Armed Forces Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2009 Made 5th May 2009
Medals are only issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Medal Office and can be claimed retrospectively and by next of kin.
You can get an Armed Forces Veterans Badge if you’ve served in any of the UK armed forces - there's no fee.
You’ll need to give as much information as possible, such as:
Type of service (eg army or Royal Navy) - Service number - Period of service
Fill in the application form below (verified 2023)
Send the form by post, fax or email to the Ministry of Defence Medal Office - the address is on the form.
Apply for Veterans Badge
(You may also apply for one replacement using the same form, if your badge has been lost or destroyed)
Introduced in 1962 to replace both 1918 and the naval general service medal.
Awarded to personnel of all services for at least 30 days peace duties between 1969 up to present day.
This medal can be engraved.
For full details of Medal Entitlements, please see the official MoD page
Ministry of Defence Medals
MoD Part 13 Orders - Wearing of Medals
Issued for 1080 days aggregated service
To be awarded the ACSM 2011 an individual must hold a qualifying operational medal such as the GSM (e.g. Northern Ireland, Air Ops Iraq), an OSM (e.g. Sierra Leone or Afghanistan), the Iraq Medal or other specifically designated multinational campaign medals, have completed more than 24 months (720 days) campaign service and be serving on or after 1 Jan 08.
Bars are to be awarded for each additional period of 720 days approved operational service. A month is defined as 30 days and part months may be accumulated.
Full details are laid out in ACSM 2011 DIN (2011DIN09-008), which replaces ACSM DCI Gen 65/94.
A formal review of the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal policy and qualification criteria has been conducted to resolve ambiguity over how time on operations is counted towards the ACSM. More detailed information about the review, guidance on eligibility and how to apply can be found on The Accumulated Campaign Service Medal (ACSM) 1994 and 2011 Policy Review 2020.
Those eligible to receive the medal include living holders of the Victoria Cross and George Cross and members of the Royal Household, as well as people who have been working in a number of front line public service jobs for five full calendar years on 6 February 2012.
These are:
Members of the Armed Forces;
Emergency services personnel in paid service, retained or in a voluntary capacity who face the prospect of dealing with emergencies as part of their conditions of service;
Operational prison services personnel who are regularly exposed to difficult and sometimes emergency situations;
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) still in service on 6 February 2012.
A Mention in Despatches is an operational gallantry award given to all ranks for an act (or acts) of bravery during active operations. This award is available posthumously.
You can replace a Mention in Despatches if you meet the criteria.
'Official' medals are those for which His Majesty, or his predecessors, has given approval. Only these medals are permissible for wear on a service uniform.
'Commemorative'medals are those which have been produced by organisations or private medal companies to commemorate particular branches of service or areas of operations. These should be worn on the opposite side to Official Medals.
You may wear the medals as next-of-kin of deceased on the right breast, by way of respect & remembrance.
