Reference & AI

DAFI 51-201

Air Force

ADMINISTRATION OF MILITARY JUSTICE

Reviewed by Guilherme Correia, active-duty U.S. Air Force

DAFI 51-201, "ADMINISTRATION OF MILITARY JUSTICE", is a Department of the Air Force publication, dated January 9, 2026.

Published

January 9, 2026

OPR

AF/JA

Headquarters, Department of the Air Force

Official document

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DAFI 51-201 — index record

NumberDAFI 51-201
TitleADMINISTRATION OF MILITARY JUSTICE
PublishedJanuary 9, 2026
Certified currentJanuary 9, 2026
Guidance memorandumSeptember 29, 2026
Office of primary responsibilityAF/JA
Issued byHeadquarters, Department of the Air Force
Status on the indexCurrent
Last index actionCorrection, September 30, 2026
Source indexAir Force e-Publishing
Index last readOctober 20, 2026

Copied from Air Force e-Publishing (index). The publication itself is the authority; this page does not summarize or interpret it. Verify the current edition on the index before acting.

From the publication itself

Text below is lifted mechanically from the official PDF (226 pages, read October 20, 2026) with no editing or interpretation. Quote the document, not this page.

Purpose, in the publication’s words

This instruction implements Department of the Air Force Policy Directive (DAFPD) 51-2, Military Justice and Other Criminal Proceedings. It provides guidance and procedures for administering military justice. Users of this instruction must familiarize themselves with the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM), including the Rules for Courts- Martial (R.C.M.) and Military Rules of Evidence (M.R.E.), and applicable Department of Defense (DoD) guidance. This publication is applicable to the entire Department of the Air Force (DAF), including uniformed members of the Regular Air Force, United States Space Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, except where noted otherwise, all DAF civilian employees and those with a contractual obligation to abide by the terms of DAF issuances. Commands may supplement this instruction only with the prior, written approval of the Military Justice Law and Policy Division (FOA/JAJM), 1500 West Perimeter Road, Suite 1130, Joint Base Andrews,

Summary of changes, as printed

This document has been substantially revised and must be completely reviewed. This document implements requirements contained in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), as well as Executive Order (EO) 14130, 2024 Amendments to the Manual for Courts- Martial, United States. This document clarifies reviews of military protection orders and revised guidance related to resignations and retirements in lieu of courts-martial.

Contents

  1. Chapter 1—OVERVIEW, TEMPLATES, ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIESp. 26
  2. Section 1A—Overviewp. 26
  3. Section 1B—Roles and Responsibilitiesp. 27
  4. Section 1C—Additional Requirements and Delegations Affecting the Staff Judge Advocatep. 34
  5. Section 1D—Applicability of This Instructionp. 34
  6. Chapter 2—COURT-MARTIAL CONVENING AUTHORITYp. 35
  7. Section 2B—UCMJ Jurisdiction (Articles 2 and 3, UCMJ; R.C.M. 201, 202, 203, and 204)p. 36
  8. Chapter 3—MATTERS SPECIFIC TO THE AIR RESERVE COMPONENTp. 44
  9. Section 3A—Overviewp. 44
  10. Section 3B—Jurisdiction, UCMJ Authority, and Recall Processp. 44
  11. Section 3C—Investigations and Initial Dispositionp. 51
  12. Section 3D—Pre-Trial Mattersp. 52
  13. Section 3E—Post-Trial and Punishment Considerations for ARC Membersp. 52
  14. Section 3F—Victim Witness Assistance Program and ARC Membersp. 53
  15. Section 3G—ARC Judge Advocate Requirementsp. 53
  16. Section 3H—ARC Mandatory Legal Trainingp. 54
  17. Section 3I—ARC DCMS-AMJAMS Considerationp. 54
  18. Section 4A—Overviewp. 56
  19. Section 4B—Investigation and Prosecution Support Teams (IPST)p. 57
  20. Section 4C—Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Team (CIPT)p. 59
  21. Section 4D—Victim Supportp. 61
  22. Section 4E—No-Contact Orders, Military Protection Orders, and Civilian Protection Ordersp. 61
  23. Section 4F—Administrative Holds and Assignment Actionsp. 65
  24. Section 4G—Proof Analyses, Sensitive Case Information, and Lessons Learnedp. 66
  25. Chapter 5—COMPETENT SEARCH AUTHORITIESp. 68
  26. Chapter 6—OBTAINING EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONSp. 69
  27. Section 6A—Overview of Authorities for Search and Seizurep. 69
  28. Section 6B—Search Authorizations (M.R.E. 315)p. 69
  29. Section 6C—United States Mail and Government Information Systemsp. 70
  30. Section 6D—Investigative Subpoenasp. 71
  31. Section 6E—Stored Communications Act Data (R.C.M. 309 and 703A; Article 30a, UCMJ)p. 73
  32. Section 6F—Immunity (R.C.M. 704, M.R.E. 301(d))p. 77
  33. Chapter 8—RELEASE OF INFORMATIONp. 82
  34. Section 8A—Provision of Information to Defense Counselp. 82
  35. Section 8B—Provision of Information to Victims’ Counselp. 83
  36. Section 8C—Confidential or Otherwise Protected Informationp. 84
  37. Chapter 9—PRETRIAL CONFINEMENT (R.C.M. 305)p. 89
  38. Section 10A—Victims of Sexual Offenses: Views on Prosecutorial Jurisdictionp. 93
  39. Section 10B—Initial Disposition of Offenses under OSTC Authority (R.C.M. 306A)p. 94
  40. Section 10C—Coordination on All Cases Involving Separate but Concurrent Prosecutionp. 95
  41. Section 10D—Command Influence (Article 37, UCMJ; R.C.M. 104)p. 95
  42. Section 10E—Safe-to-Report Policyp. 95
  43. Chapter 11—PREFERRAL OF CHARGES (ARTICLE 30, UCMJ; R.C.M. 307)p. 98
  44. Section 11A—Miscellaneous Considerations Prior to Preferral of Chargesp. 98
  45. Section 11B—Preferral of Charges (Article 30, UCMJ; R.C.M. 307)p. 99
  46. Chapter 12—ARTICLE 32, UCMJ, PRELIMINARY HEARINGS (R.C.M. 405)p. 103
  47. Chapter 13—FORWARDING AND DISPOSITION OF CHARGESp. 109
  48. Section 13A—Pretrial Advice, Forwarding, and Review of Offenses Under Command Authorityp. 109
  49. Section 13C—Dismissal of Chargesp. 111
  50. Section 13D—Referral of Charges (R.C.M. 601)p. 111
  51. Section 13G—Transferring Chargesp. 114
  52. Chapter 14—CONVENING COURTS-MARTIALp. 115
  53. Section 14A—Detailing Members (R.C.M. 501, 502, 503, 911, 912A; Articles 25, 29, UCMJ)p. 115
  54. Section 14B—Preparing the Convening Orderp. 116
  55. Chapter 15—COURT-MARTIAL COMPOSITION AND COURT REPORTERSp. 118
  56. Section 15A—Military Judges (R.C.M. 503(b))p. 118
  57. Section 15B—Counsel (R.C.M. 503(c))p. 118
  58. Section 15C—Oaths (Article 136, UCMJ; R.C.M. 807)p. 123
  59. Section 15D—Court Reportersp. 123
  60. Chapter 16—PRE-TRIAL MATTERSp. 125
All 120 contents entries
  1. Chapter 1—OVERVIEW, TEMPLATES, ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIESp. 26
  2. Section 1A—Overviewp. 26
  3. 1.1. Overviewp. 26
  4. 1.2. Templatesp. 26
  5. 1.3. Mandatory Use of Court-Martial Checklistsp. 26
  6. Section 1B—Roles and Responsibilitiesp. 27
  7. 1.4. Secretary of the Air Force (SecAF)p. 27
  8. 1.5. The Judge Advocate Generalp. 27
  9. 1.6. Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC)p. 27
  10. 1.7. Military Justice and Discipline Directorate (JAJ)p. 27
  11. 1.8. Trial Judiciary (AF/JAT)p. 31
  12. 1.9. Court Reporterp. 32
  13. 1.10. SJAp. 32
  14. 1.11. Court-Martial Convening Authorityp. 32
  15. 1.12. Installation Commanders’ Logistical Supportp. 33
  16. 1.13. Unit Commanderp. 33
  17. Section 1C—Additional Requirements and Delegations Affecting the Staff Judge Advocatep. 34
  18. Section 1D—Applicability of This Instructionp. 34
  19. 1.14. FSS/CCp. 34
  20. 1.15. Title of Staff Judge Advocatep. 34
  21. 1.16. Acting as the Staff Judge Advocatep. 34
  22. 1.17. Convening Authority Delegation of Military Justice Administrative Dutiesp. 34
  23. 1.18. Signing on Behalf of the Convening Authorityp. 34
  24. 1.19. Staff Judge Advocate Rating Chainp. 34
  25. 1.20. General Rulep. 34
  26. 1.21. Article 60 Authorityp. 34
  27. 1.22. Offenses Under OSTC Authorityp. 34
  28. Chapter 2—COURT-MARTIAL CONVENING AUTHORITYp. 35
  29. 2.1. General Court-Martial Convening Authority (GCMCA)p. 35
  30. 2.2. Special Court-Martial Convening Authority (SPCMCA)p. 35
  31. Section 2B—UCMJ Jurisdiction (Articles 2 and 3, UCMJ; R.C.M. 201, 202, 203, and 204)p. 36
  32. 2.3. Summary Court-Martial Convening Authority (SCMCA)p. 36
  33. 2.4. Exercise of UCMJ Jurisdictionp. 36
  34. 2.5. Members of Department of Air Force Tenant Organizationsp. 36
  35. 2.6. Jurisdiction of Air Force District of Washington (AFDW)p. 37
  36. 2.7. Jurisdiction of Space Operations Command (SpOC)p. 37
  37. 2.10. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)p. 38
  38. 2.11. Joint Commands and Other Armed Forcesp. 38
  39. 2.12. General Officersp. 38
  40. 2.13. United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) Cadetsp. 39
  41. 2.14. Jurisdiction over Separated and Retired Membersp. 39
  42. 2.15. Jurisdiction Involving Federal Agenciesp. 40
  43. 2.16. Jurisdiction Involving State or Foreign Prosecution Interest (R.C.M. 201(d))p. 41
  44. Chapter 3—MATTERS SPECIFIC TO THE AIR RESERVE COMPONENTp. 44
  45. Section 3A—Overviewp. 44
  46. Section 3B—Jurisdiction, UCMJ Authority, and Recall Processp. 44
  47. 3.1. Air Reserve Component (ARC) Referencesp. 44
  48. 3.2. ARC Statusp. 44
  49. 3.3. Court-Martial Jurisdiction over ARC Membersp. 44
  50. 3.4. Court-Martial Considerations for ARC Membersp. 46
  51. 3.5. Recall to Duty Considerations for ARC Membersp. 47
  52. 3.6. ARC Member Recall Authorityp. 47
  53. 3.7. Additional Process Requirements to Recall an ARC Memberp. 48
  54. 3.8. Secretarial Approval of ARC Member Recall for Court-Martialp. 50
  55. Section 3C—Investigations and Initial Dispositionp. 51
  56. 3.9. NJP Jurisdiction Over ARC Membersp. 51
  57. 3.10. Other Administrative Actionp. 51
  58. 3.11. Investigations Involving ARC Membersp. 51
  59. 3.12. Search Authorizations (M.R.E. 315)p. 51
  60. Section 3D—Pre-Trial Mattersp. 52
  61. Section 3E—Post-Trial and Punishment Considerations for ARC Membersp. 52
  62. 3.14. IMDC Requestsp. 52
  63. 3.15. Plea Agreement Considerations with ARC Membersp. 52
  64. 3.16. Post-Trial and Punishment Considerations for ARC Membersp. 52
  65. Section 3F—Victim Witness Assistance Program and ARC Membersp. 53
  66. Section 3G—ARC Judge Advocate Requirementsp. 53
  67. 3.17. General Provisionp. 53
  68. 3.18. Determining the Appropriate Local Responsible Official (LRO)p. 53
  69. 3.19. ARC Judge Advocates Serving as Counselp. 53
  70. Section 3H—ARC Mandatory Legal Trainingp. 54
  71. Section 3I—ARC DCMS-AMJAMS Considerationp. 54
  72. 3.20. ARC Judge Advocates Serving as PHOsp. 54
  73. 3.21. ARC Judge Advocates Serving as Summary Court-Martial Officers (SCMOs)p. 54
  74. 3.22. SAPR Program First Responder Training for Legal Personnelp. 54
  75. 3.23. Refer to Section 32A for Article 137 requirements for ARC membersp. 54
  76. 3.24. Obtaining Inputsp. 54
  77. 3.25. Special Interest Reports (SIRs)p. 55
  78. Section 4A—Overviewp. 56
  79. Section 4B—Investigation and Prosecution Support Teams (IPST)p. 57
  80. Section 4C—Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Team (CIPT)p. 59
  81. Section 4D—Victim Supportp. 61
  82. Section 4E—No-Contact Orders, Military Protection Orders, and Civilian Protection Ordersp. 61
  83. Section 4F—Administrative Holds and Assignment Actionsp. 65
  84. Section 4G—Proof Analyses, Sensitive Case Information, and Lessons Learnedp. 66
  85. Chapter 5—COMPETENT SEARCH AUTHORITIESp. 68
  86. Chapter 6—OBTAINING EVIDENCE IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONSp. 69
  87. Section 6A—Overview of Authorities for Search and Seizurep. 69
  88. Section 6B—Search Authorizations (M.R.E. 315)p. 69
  89. Section 6C—United States Mail and Government Information Systemsp. 70
  90. Section 6D—Investigative Subpoenasp. 71
  91. Section 6E—Stored Communications Act Data (R.C.M. 309 and 703A; Article 30a, UCMJ)p. 73
  92. Section 6F—Immunity (R.C.M. 704, M.R.E. 301(d))p. 77
  93. Chapter 8—RELEASE OF INFORMATIONp. 82
  94. Section 8A—Provision of Information to Defense Counselp. 82
  95. Section 8B—Provision of Information to Victims’ Counselp. 83
  96. Section 8C—Confidential or Otherwise Protected Informationp. 84
  97. Chapter 9—PRETRIAL CONFINEMENT (R.C.M. 305)p. 89
  98. Section 10A—Victims of Sexual Offenses: Views on Prosecutorial Jurisdictionp. 93
  99. Section 10B—Initial Disposition of Offenses under OSTC Authority (R.C.M. 306A)p. 94
  100. Section 10C—Coordination on All Cases Involving Separate but Concurrent Prosecutionp. 95
  101. Section 10D—Command Influence (Article 37, UCMJ; R.C.M. 104)p. 95
  102. Section 10E—Safe-to-Report Policyp. 95
  103. Chapter 11—PREFERRAL OF CHARGES (ARTICLE 30, UCMJ; R.C.M. 307)p. 98
  104. Section 11A—Miscellaneous Considerations Prior to Preferral of Chargesp. 98
  105. Section 11B—Preferral of Charges (Article 30, UCMJ; R.C.M. 307)p. 99
  106. Chapter 12—ARTICLE 32, UCMJ, PRELIMINARY HEARINGS (R.C.M. 405)p. 103
  107. Chapter 13—FORWARDING AND DISPOSITION OF CHARGESp. 109
  108. Section 13A—Pretrial Advice, Forwarding, and Review of Offenses Under Command Authorityp. 109
  109. Section 13C—Dismissal of Chargesp. 111
  110. Section 13D—Referral of Charges (R.C.M. 601)p. 111
  111. Section 13G—Transferring Chargesp. 114
  112. Chapter 14—CONVENING COURTS-MARTIALp. 115
  113. Section 14A—Detailing Members (R.C.M. 501, 502, 503, 911, 912A; Articles 25, 29, UCMJ)p. 115
  114. Section 14B—Preparing the Convening Orderp. 116
  115. Chapter 15—COURT-MARTIAL COMPOSITION AND COURT REPORTERSp. 118
  116. Section 15A—Military Judges (R.C.M. 503(b))p. 118
  117. Section 15B—Counsel (R.C.M. 503(c))p. 118
  118. Section 15C—Oaths (Article 136, UCMJ; R.C.M. 807)p. 123
  119. Section 15D—Court Reportersp. 123
  120. Chapter 16—PRE-TRIAL MATTERSp. 125

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REF: DAFI 51-201, effective January 9, 2026

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Reviewed by Guilherme Correia · Military Toolkit editorial

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