UCMJ Article 83: Malingering
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Malingering is pretending to be sick or unfit, or deliberately injuring oneself, in order to avoid work, duty, or service. The purpose is the offense: a genuine illness or an accidental injury is not malingering however convenient its timing. The maximum ranges from 1 year of confinement for feigning to 10 years for a self-inflicted injury in time of war or in a hostile fire pay zone.
What § 883 prohibits
Under 10 U.S.C. § 883, a person subject to the UCMJ commits malingering by acting “with the intent to avoid work, duty, or service” in either of two ways: the person “feigns illness, physical disablement, mental lapse, or mental derangement,” or “intentionally inflicts self-injury.” Either is punished “as a court-martial may direct.”
This text was added by the Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5404) and took effect January 1, 2019. Before then, malingering was Article 115. The pre-2019 Article 83 covered fraudulent enlistment, which is now Article 104a. A charge sheet or record from before 2019 that cites “Article 83” for enlistment fraud, or “Article 115” for malingering, uses the old numbering.
Three elements, and a fourth in war
The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 7.b:
- The accused was assigned to, or was aware of prospective assignment to, or availability for, the performance of work, duty, or service.
- The accused feigned illness, physical disablement, mental lapse, or mental derangement, or intentionally inflicted injury on himself or herself.
- The accused’s purpose or intent in doing so was to avoid the work, duty, or service.
When the government alleges that the offense was committed in time of war or in a hostile fire pay zone, that circumstance becomes a fourth element it must prove.
What the Manual says about purpose and severity
Under ¶ 7.c(1), “it is the purpose to shirk which characterizes the offense,” whether the aim is to avoid all duty or one particular job. Two consequences follow:
- The seriousness or permanence of a self-inflicted injury, and the seriousness of a sham disability, are “not material on the question of guilt.” A minor wound inflicted to avoid duty can satisfy the offense.
- The extent of the injury or feigned condition may still be relevant as evidence of whether the purpose existed.
The injury can be inflicted by nonviolent means, including any act or omission that “produces, prolongs, or aggravates any sickness or disability.” The Manual’s example is voluntary starvation that causes debility, when done to avoid duty (¶ 7.c(2)).
Suicide attempts
The Discussion following ¶ 7.c(2) states: “Bona fide suicide attempts should not be charged as criminal offenses.” It directs the convening authority, in deciding whether an injury was a bona fide suicide attempt, to consider factors including health conditions, personal stressors, and DoD suicide-prevention policy. For a family member or service member reading this page after a self-harm incident, that instruction is the controlling text on whether an injury of that kind belongs in the criminal process at all.
Peacetime and wartime maximums
Every tier in ¶ 7.d includes a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. Confinement:
| Conduct | Ordinary circumstances | In time of war or in a hostile fire pay zone |
|---|---|---|
| Feigning illness, physical disablement, mental lapse, or mental derangement | 1 year | 3 years |
| Intentional self-inflicted injury | 5 years | 10 years |
The war or hostile-fire circumstance triples the feigning maximum and doubles the self-injury maximum.
Self-injury without the purpose to avoid duty
Article 83 requires the intent to avoid work, duty, or service. An intentional self-inflicted injury without that intent is a separate enumerated Article 134 offense (¶ 107), which requires proof that the conduct was prejudicial to good order and discipline or service-discrediting. Its maximum is a dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and 2 years of confinement, or 5 years in time of war or in a hostile fire pay zone. The same Discussion on bona fide suicide attempts applies there. The charging framework for that offense is described under Article 134, the general article.
Refusing medical isolation or quarantine is not malingering; it falls under Article 84, breach of medical quarantine.
Sources
- 10 U.S.C. § 883, Article 83, Malingering (Cornell LII)
- Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 7 and ¶ 107
General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.