Securing a commission as an officer in the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) is a multi-step process. Refer to Applying to JRCOSTEP and Applying to SRCOSTEP for the steps involved in applying to those programs.

Since January, 2012, the Commissioned Corps has taken on the arduous task of developing a restructured application process along with new IT systems while simultaneously working the current applicant pool with placement support assistance over the past year as outlined in the Application process change document.

The future application process for the Commissioned Corps will include additional educational modules as part of a learning management system (LMS) and the implementation of an electronic application with enhanced functionality to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness. Additional information related to the new process will be shared under the features section of the Commissioned Corps home page as well as the face book page over the next several months (June-September 2013). We encourage you to monitor these areas for updates.

At this time the Commissioned Corps is continuing to accept new applications for the following professional groups and Program as we transition the internal business processes and assist the current 800 applicants that applied prior to January 1st, 2012:

• Physicians
• Dentists
• DOD Wounded Warrior Initiative applicants (psychiatrists, psychologists and psychiatric nurse practitioners). For more information please visit this site: http://www.usphs.gov/aboutus/dod-hhs.aspx

For the professions identified above please call our contact center at 1-800-279-1605 to obtain an application. They will provide you an electronic packet via email to include: prescreening assessment; general and specific (profession) appointment standards; application and checklist. When applying make sure you submit a complete application with official transcripts by following the checklist provided for initial application to the Commissioned Corps.