Image: from AZERTAC News Agency X@AZERTAC
By Liam Scott | Staff Writer with Agencies
President Ilham Aliyev has issued a new decree outlining Azerbaijan’s next nationwide conscription cycle, officially scheduling the call-up of eligible citizens for active military service between January 1 and January 30, 2026. The order also sets the same period for the scheduled discharge of personnel completing their terms of service.
According to the decree, citizens born in 2008 who turn 18 by the date of conscription will be drafted. In addition, men born between 1996 and 2007 who have not yet completed compulsory military service, who are not eligible for deferral and who have not been formally exempted, will also be called up. This wide age bracket reflects existing conscription law, which allows for older individuals to be drafted if they have not previously fulfilled mandatory service obligations.
The decree further stipulates that soldiers who have completed the required length of active service, as defined by Article 38.1.1 of the Law “On military duty and military service,” will be discharged into the reserve during the same month-long period in January.
The Cabinet of Ministers has been instructed to take all necessary administrative and logistical steps to implement the decree, ensuring that both the induction of new conscripts and the release of outgoing servicemen proceed in accordance with Azerbaijani law.
The January 2026 conscription cycle marks another regular rotation in Azerbaijan’s compulsory service system, which continues to play a central role in maintaining the readiness of the country’s armed forces.