Reservation of employees during wartime: who has the right, who can be reserved and how to arrange it

Reservation of persons liable for military service is a temporary deferment from conscription during mobilization for employees without whom a government body, community, or enterprise cannot function properly. 

The state allows certain employers to “keep” some or all necessary employees at work so that defense, energy, transport, healthcare, trade, utilities, manufacturing, and other critical sectors do not stop. The purpose of reservation is directly defined by law: to ensure the operation of state authorities, local self-government bodies, as well as enterprises, institutions, and organizations during a special period.

Who can reserve employees today

As of 2026, reservation is available not only to government authorities. In particular, it applies to:

• state authorities and local self-government bodies,

• a number of law enforcement and special bodies,

• enterprises, institutions, and organizations recognized as critically important for meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations,

• enterprises, institutions, and organizations recognized as critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the vital needs of the population,

• certain international, humanitarian, and specialized structures, as well as mine action operators. 

For business, the main way to obtain the right to reserve employees is to get the status of a critically important enterprise or critically important institution.

For an ordinary commercial company, this means the following: it cannot simply submit a list of employees for reservation without a special status. First, it must be officially recognized as critically important either for the economy/vital needs of the population or for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or another military formation. Only after that is the company included in the Unified List, and then it becomes possible to submit lists through the Diia portal.

Which enterprises can obtain critically important status

There are two main options.

The first is that the enterprise is critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the vital needs of the population. To obtain this status, the company must meet the criteria established by the government. The basic criteria include, in particular: significant taxes and USC paid, significant foreign currency revenues, strategic importance for the economy and security, important significance for the sector or territorial community, absence of tax debt and USC debt, as well as an adequate average salary level. As a general rule, the basis is compliance with three or more criteria, and for most enterprises the absence of tax debt and the salary criterion are mandatory. 

For most private companies, it is not enough simply to say “we are important” — they must document both their benefit to the economy, a clean tax history, and a proper level of remuneration.

The second is that the enterprise is critically important for meeting the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations. This applies, in particular, to contractors under state defense contracts, subcontractors under such contracts, manufacturers of unmanned systems and other defense products, certain enterprises that train UAV operators, electronic warfare specialists, provide first aid training, as well as some private charitable organizations and companies that actually meet defense needs in the established volumes. 

If a company works directly for defense or performs a state defense contract, it may obtain critically important status specifically for the needs of the military.

Where to apply to obtain the status

If an enterprise wants to obtain the status of being critically important for the economy and the vital needs of the population, it applies to the relevant central executive authority, another state body, or the regional or Kyiv/Sevastopol city state administration (military administration), depending on its area of activity. For example, for enterprises in wholesale and retail trade, transport, warehousing, construction, water supply, heat supply, and so on, the competent authority may be the relevant body or the regional military administration. Such a body must consider the application within no more than 10 working days.

If an enterprise seeks to obtain critically important status for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations, the application is submitted to the body specified by the government criteria, and that body must also consider it within no more than 10 working days. 

In the first case, you prove that you are important for the economy or the population, in the second — that you are genuinely needed for defense.

Which employees can be reserved

Not just anyone and not “just in case” can be reserved, but only persons liable for military service who actually work or serve in an entity that has the right to reservation. For business, the main rule is this: it is specifically employees of a critically important enterprise or institution who are reserved. Separately, the law even allows the reservation of ultimate beneficial owners of critically important enterprises or institutions, even if they are not employees.

In most cases, the automatic transfer of an employee to special military registration occurs if the employee:

• is registered for military service,

• is in an employment relationship with the relevant employer,

• has updated their personal data,

• is not wanted. 

If a person’s military registration is “not in order” or their data has not been updated, the reservation may fail.

At the same time, since the end of 2025, the law provides for a special exception for certain employees of defense industry enterprises: even if they do not have properly issued military registration documents, are not registered, have not updated their data, or are wanted for violating military registration rules, they may still be reserved for up to 45 calendar days from the date of concluding the employment contract, but not more than once per calendar year. This is a special “emergency” rule for the defense industry, not a general rule for all companies.

How many employees can be reserved

For many employers, the familiar rule of up to 50% of employees liable for military service still applies, but it is no longer universal. For critically important institutions, the general limit is no more than 50% of employees liable for military service. At the same time, the government has expressly provided for the possibility of increasing this amount above 50% by decision of the Ministry of Defense based on recommendations of the interdepartmental working group.

For certain sectors, the limits are different. For example, for enterprises providing heat supply, hot water supply, centralized water supply, sewerage, and household waste management, the limit may be up to 75%. For enterprises and institutions operating in areas of possible or active hostilities, the government has allowed up to 100% of employees liable for military service to be reserved, provided that the requirements of the procedure are met. If a critically important enterprise or institution has only one employee liable for military service, numerical restrictions do not apply at all. 

Today, the reservation percentage depends not only on the status of the enterprise, but also on its field of activity and the territory where it operates.

For some critically important enterprises, primarily those recognized as important for defense needs, the number of employees who may be reserved is specified directly in the decision of the state body recognizing the enterprise as critically important. That is, in some cases, the enterprise’s “limit” is defined in the decision itself.

For what period reservation is granted

There is currently no single figure “for everyone”.

• For employees of critically important enterprises that meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other military formations, the reservation period is granted for the duration of the relevant contract (agreement). 
• For employees of critically important institutions important for the economy and the vital needs of the population, reservation is granted for 12 months. 
• For certain state bodies — for the duration of mobilization. 
• For international organizations — for the duration of the agreement, contract, or appointment term. 
• For the special exception concerning certain employees of the defense industry — 45 calendar days.

How reservation is arranged now

After the enterprise obtains critically important status and is included in the Unified List, the head or an authorized person submits a list of employees through the Diia portal and signs it with a QES. This is how the basic reservation mechanism works today during martial law.

According to the government procedure, the automatic transfer of an employee to special military registration after the list is formed usually takes place within 72 hours if the employee meets the requirements. For the special 45-day rule regarding certain defense industry employees, a period of 24 hours is предусмотрено. The Diia service page also states that the service is online and that the employee will be able to see the result in their status.

How an employee can confirm that they are reserved

Confirmation of reservation is the deferment information displayed in the electronic military registration document. A reserved employee can check their status in the Rezerv+ app and generate a military registration document on the Diia portal.

What additional conditions the enterprise must meet

For most critically important private enterprises, it is important not only to obtain the status, but also to maintain it. The authority that granted the status may inspect the enterprise and revoke the status if it no longer meets the criteria. Separately, the government requires that employees of critically important enterprises and institutions included in the lists be paid a monthly salary not lower than the minimum wage multiplied by a factor of 2.5, although there are several special exceptions to this rule for certain state, municipal, and energy entities. If a company obtains the status but later “falls below” the mandatory criteria, this status may be revoked.

When reservation ends

Reservation is not indefinite. The granted deferment is canceled, in particular, in the event of:

• expiration of its validity period,

• completion of the production of goods, works, or services for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,

• loss by the enterprise of critically important status,

• liquidation of the enterprise,

• dismissal of the employee,

• temporary suspension of the employment contract,

• a justified submission by the head through Diia,

• granting the employee another deferment under Article 23 of the Law,

• exceeding the established reservation limit. 

If the employee is no longer needed in this position, the company has lost its status, or it has exceeded the allowed number of reserved employees, the deferment will be canceled.

What this means for business in practice

For a company, the most important thing is not to start with the question “whom should we reserve”, but with the question “do we currently have valid critically important enterprise status and do we meet the mandatory criteria now”. Without this, reservation itself will either not start or will later be canceled. This is not only a staffing issue but also a reputational one: mistakes in critical status, salary indicators, employees’ military registration, or reservation limits create risks of refusals, inspections, and the loss of key specialists.

A short practical example

An official example of the current approach is the government decision that allowed critically important enterprises operating in frontline territories to reserve 100% of employees liable for military service. This is not a theoretical rule: the Ministry of Economy separately reported that such a mechanism has already been implemented on the Diia portal. That is, the current reservation system has indeed become more flexible than it was in 2022 and takes into account the real working conditions of business during wartime.

Official sources

1. Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization” — Articles 24–25: this law explains why reservation exists and who can generally be subject to reservation.

2. Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 27.01.2023 No. 76 “Certain issues of implementing the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization” regarding the reservation of persons liable for military service during the mobilization period and wartime”. This is the main document establishing the reservation procedure, terms, limits, grounds for cancellation, and criteria for critically important enterprises.

3. The “Reservation of Employees” service on the Diia portal — the official electronic mechanism through which employee lists are currently submitted for reservation.

4. The “Military Registration Document” service on the Diia portal: here an employee can confirm the fact of reservation because the deferment is displayed in the electronic military registration document.