OFFICIALlast verified 2026-10-1821 and 23 Special Air Service (Reserve) — UK Special Forces (Reserve)
Role Fitness Test (Entry) — SAS Reserve
21 and 23 SAS (Reserve) are the Army Reserve regiments of UK Special Forces. The SAS Reserve role page lists the Army Reserve fitness standard: Mid-Thigh Pull 50 kg, seated 4 kg medicine ball throw 2.7 m and multi-stage fitness test level 5.8. Selection then starts with a six-day Briefing Course shared with the regular pathway (12.8 km Assurance March, UKSF Swim Test, 2 km aerobic activity, strength and conditioning assessment), whose standards are not published.
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Pay · free · 2026/27 rates (from 1 Apr 2026)
Special Forces pay for 21 & 23 SAS (R): annual pay spine and day rates
- Special forces pay supplement, other ranks, levels 1–10 (RRP Special Forces)£26.96 – £85.57 per day
- Day rate quoted for an SAS(R) Trooper (role page, 2025 rates) provisional£151.48 per day
Reservists are paid for each day of service, not an annual salary. According to army.mod.uk, SAS(R) soldiers receive Special Forces pay plus RRP (Special Forces); the figures shown are the annual full-time Special Forces pay spine for other ranks (incl. the 14.5% X-Factor), so what a reservist actually earns depends on the days served. RRP is listed per day and not added, because the level criteria are internal to the MOD. The role page quotes £151.48 a day for a Trooper, which matches 2025 rates; the “approximately £42,000” on army.mod.uk is out of date and not used.
provisional = official source with a provisional legal status, a secondary source or our own calculation; see the sources.
- AFPRB 55th Report 2026 (CP 1567), Appendix 1 and 3 (Oct 18, 2026)
- jobs.army.mod.uk — SAS Reserve (role page): Trooper £151.48 a day (matches 2025 rates) (Oct 18, 2026) provisional
- MOD — Armed Forces’ pay round 2027, remit letter (15 Jul 2026): 2026/27 award accepted (Oct 18, 2026)
- army.mod.uk — 21 and 23 Special Air Service (SAS): reservists “receive Special Forces (SF) pay, as well as Recruitment & Retention Pay (RRP)” (Oct 18, 2026)
The test, event by event
| Event | Minimum (SAS Reserve, Army Reserve standard) |
|---|---|
| Mid-Thigh Pull (MTP), peak force | 50 kg |
| Seated medicine ball throw, 4 kg (MBT) | 2.7 m |
| Multi-stage fitness test (bleep), level.shuttle | 5.8 |
Also required
- Age: apply by 47 years 6 months; former soldiers and Army Reserve members can start the Aptitude Phase up to 48 years 364 days. British Army BMI rule: usually 18–28; men with a BMI up to 32 may be considered in some cases, with a waist measurement.
- Before selection: Army Reserve basic training and initial trade training, followed by experience in the Reserve.
- Briefing Course (6 days, common to the regular and reserve pathways): 12.8 km Assurance March, UKSF Swim Test, 2 km aerobic activity and a strength and conditioning assessment — no standards are published. Successful candidates choose whether to attempt the regular or the reserve pathway.
- Aptitude Phase: 3 continuous weeks of progressive marches against the clock, ending with a testing endurance march over arduous terrain (no times published). Then SOPTAC, SOPT-2 (5 weeks: surveillance and reconnaissance, signals, SERE) and mandatory and continuation training.
- Minimum (SAS Reserve, Army Reserve standard) — jobs.army.mod.uk — SAS Reserve (role page, Role Fitness Test (Entry)) (2026-10-18)
Questions
Are there published standards for SAS selection?
No. The MOD publishes no recruiting pages or selection standards for the regular 22 SAS or the SBS, and the Briefing Course and Aptitude Phase of the reserve pathway are described without times or scores. The calculator therefore uses only the Army Reserve entry standard from the SAS Reserve role page. Figures that circulate online, such as march times on the Fan Dance, are not confirmed by the MOD.
How are the three tests carried out?
Mid-Thigh Pull: a bar at mid-thigh height, pulled up as hard as possible for 5 seconds on a dynamometer, 2 attempts, highest force counts. Medicine ball throw: seated with your back to a wall, 4 kg ball, 3 attempts, longest throw counts. Multi-stage fitness test: 20 m shuttles to a bleep; 5.8 means level 5, shuttle 8. The tests can be done in any order.
Where do the numbers come from?
The fitness standards come from the official British Army recruiting page for the SAS Reserve role (jobs.army.mod.uk), and the selection stages from that page and the army.mod.uk page on 21 and 23 SAS, both read on 18 October 2026. Pay figures come from the AFPRB 55th Report 2026 (Appendix 1, Table 1.11, and Appendix 3).
What does 21 & 23 SAS (R) pay?
Special Forces pay for 21 & 23 SAS (R): annual pay spine and day rates: in the default scenario (SF Range 1 (OR2–OR3) · Private, Lance Corporal · L1) £47,426 gross per year, 2026/27 rates (from 1 Apr 2026). The pay calculator on this page lets you change rank, seniority and allowances. Main source: AFPRB 55th Report 2026 (CP 1567), Appendix 1 and 3.
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