U.S. Senators, Representatives, and Delegates

Each member of Congress can have five constituents attending the Naval Academy at any time. When a constituents leaves the academy, a vacancy is created. Members may use any one of the following methods to nominate candidates to fill their vacancies:

• Nominate 10 candidates for each vacancy, permitting the Naval Academy to evaluate and select them for admission on a competitive basis;
• Designate one principal nominee and nine other candidates as alternates, ranked in order of preference; or
• Nominate one principal nominee and nine other candidates as competitors, permitting the Naval Academy to select the alternate competitors for admission.

In each of these methods, one fully qualified nominee is offered an appointment to the Naval Academy to fill the vacancy. The remaining fully qualified nominees also are considered carefully, and many are selected for admissions to fill the entering class from a national competition of qualified alternates.

Application dates: Each Congressional office has its own procedures and deadlines for accepting nomination requests. Most offices prefer that you contact them in the spring or summer of the year prior to admissions to the Academy. Congressional nominations are due in the USNA Nominations and Appointments Office by January 31 of the year of Admission to the Academy.

Apply to: Submit your letter of application to both of your U.S. Senators and to the representative from your home congressional district. It is not necessary to know the official personally.

The governor of Puerto Rico and the delegates to Congress from Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas Islands:

The number of positions subject to congressional nomination at the USNA include:

• 4 from the U.S. Virgin Islands, nominated by the Delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands;
• 4 from Guam, nominated by the Delegate from Guam;
• 3 from American Samoa, nominated by the Delegate from American Samoa;
• 3 from the Northern Mariana Islands, nominated by the Delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands;
• 1 from Puerto Rico, nominated by the Governor of Puerto Rico; and, 
• 5 from Puerto Rico, nominated by the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.