You found a host company. Your command seems open to it. Now you want one number: how long is SkillBridge?

The short answer is up to 180 days. But that number lies to most people. It is a ceiling, not a default. What you actually get depends on your branch, your rank, and your command. Some service members lock in a full 180-day slot. Others get 60. Both are normal.

I work directly with two of the largest SkillBridge providers in the country. Every week I run resume and job-search training for SkillBridge cohorts. The length question comes up in every single one. People hear "180 days" and plan their whole transition around it. Then their command hands them 90 and the plan falls apart.

This article gives you the real range. We will cover the maximum, the practical minimum, what shrinks your window, and two example plans you can copy. No phases or eligibility deep-dives here. Those live in other guides I will link as we go.

What Is the Maximum Length of SkillBridge?

The maximum is 180 days. That is the hard ceiling. No program can run longer.

This cap comes from federal law, not from a single command's mood. The rule lives in 10 U.S. Code § 1143 and the DoD policy that runs the program, DoDI 1322.29. The law lets you train with a civilian employer during your last 180 days of active duty. Not before. Not longer.

So 180 days is two things at once. It is the most time you can spend in a program. And it is the window the program has to fit inside. Your SkillBridge has to start and end within those final 180 days of service.

One thing trips people up here. SkillBridge is not a job. Getting accepted means you got into the program. You did not get hired. You stay on active-duty pay the whole time. The host company has no duty to give you a full-time offer at the end. Converting to a real job is a separate step, and it is never guaranteed. I cover that conversion in the SkillBridge offer negotiation guide.

Is There a Minimum Length for SkillBridge?

There is no legal minimum. The law sets a ceiling, not a floor. A program could run two weeks and still be valid.

But "no legal minimum" does not mean "any length works." Two real limits set the floor in practice.

First, the host company. Most providers build their programs around a set length. A cyber bootcamp might run 12 weeks. A logistics fellowship might run 16. You take the length they offer. You do not get to shave it down to fit a gap in your calendar.

Second, value. A 30-day program rarely gives the host enough time to train you and decide if they want to keep you. The whole point is to spend real time inside a company so they can see your work. Too short, and you lose the main benefit. Most useful programs run somewhere between 60 and 180 days.

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How Long Does SkillBridge Actually Last for Most People?

For most service members, the real answer lands between 60 and 120 days. The full 180 is allowed but less common than people think.

Why the gap between the legal max and what people get? Three things shape your actual window.

Your branch sets its own rules inside the 180-day ceiling. Your rank can cap you lower. And your command has the final say on whether the mission can spare you that long. The 180 in the law is the most you could get. What you do get is whatever survives all three filters.

How Does Your Branch and Rank Change the Length?

This is the part most people miss. Each branch can set tighter rules than the 180-day cap. And in 2026, rank started to matter a lot more.

The Air Force ties length to rank

The Air Force updated its SkillBridge policy in 2026. The new rules, in Air Force Instruction 36-2671, set three rank tiers. The lower your rank, the longer you can go.

• Category 1 (E-1 to E-5, O-1 to O-3): up to 120 days
• Category 2 (E-6 to E-7, WO to CWO-3, O-4): up to 90 days
• Category 3 (E-8 to E-9, O-5, CW-O4 to CW-O5): up to 60 days

O-6 ranks are not eligible at all under the standard policy. They have to request a waiver. The logic is simple. Junior enlisted get the most time because they have the steepest civilian learning curve and the lowest readiness cost. Senior members get less so the mission keeps running.

The approval authority climbs with rank too. A junior airman needs a field grade commander to sign off. Higher tiers need an O-6 commander. The Air Force SkillBridge timeline changes break this down further.

The Army uses a similar three-tier model

The Army revised its rules too. It moved from one flat length for everyone to a three-tier structure based on rank. Junior enlisted get the most days and the easiest path. Senior soldiers get a tighter window to protect readiness. The 180-day window still caps the top.

Navy and Marine Corps

The Navy and Marine Corps still work inside the same 180-day ceiling but run their own approval chains and timing rules. Command endorsement drives the real length. If you are Navy, the Navy SkillBridge differences guide walks through how it splits from the other branches.

What About the 2026 Project Patriot Pipeline Change?

There is one new wrinkle worth knowing. In June 2026, a Secretary of War memo launched the Project Patriot Pipeline. It changes the length math for one group.

If you are in your last 180 days and you request a SkillBridge inside the Defense Industrial Base, the military departments are directed to approve it as an exception to rank caps, unless approving it would impact critical readiness. Your command still has discretion. In plain terms, the defense industry path can open up more time than your rank tier would normally allow.

This is recent and still settling. If you are aiming at a defense contractor or a cleared role, ask your transition office how the Project Patriot Pipeline applies to your case. It could be the difference between a 60-day slot and a full window. For the broader picture, the 2026 SkillBridge rule changes cover what else moved this year.

When Does the Clock Start and Stop?

Length is not just a count of days. It is a window with a hard start and a hard end.

The whole program must fit inside your last 180 days of active duty. It cannot start earlier. It cannot run past your separation date. So your real length is boxed in by your DOS, your date of separation.

One detail catches people. Terminal leave counts. If you take terminal leave and run SkillBridge at the same time, those days come out of your total. The Air Force rules spell this out. Your combined SkillBridge training days and terminal leave days have to fit the cap. So if you planned 120 days of SkillBridge plus 30 days of terminal leave, the math may not work the way you hoped.

Plan the start date backward from your DOS. Count the program length. Add any terminal leave. Then check it against your rank cap and your branch rules. That is your true window. The SkillBridge application timeline guide shows how the approval steps fit before that start date.

What Does a 90-Day Plan Look Like vs a Full 180?

Numbers feel abstract until you see them as a plan. Here are two real shapes a SkillBridge can take. Both work. They just serve different goals.

The 90-day plan

You are an E-6 in the Air Force. Your rank caps you at 90 days. You find a project management fellowship that runs 12 weeks. That fits.

You start about 100 days before your DOS. The program runs the full 12 weeks. You leave a short buffer at the end for out-processing and any terminal leave. By your separation date, you have a finished program, a strong reference, and a shot at a full-time offer. Three months is enough to learn the role and prove your value.

The full 180-day plan

You are an E-4 in the Army. Your tier allows the most time. You found a host willing to run a longer program. You want maximum runway to switch into a new field.

You start right at the 180-day mark. The longer window gives you time to earn a certification, ramp up on real projects, and let the company see months of your work. For a deep career change, that extra time matters. You walk into your DOS with a near-complete transition behind you.

Can You Do More Than One SkillBridge or Extend It?

You get one SkillBridge authorization. You cannot stack two programs back to back to beat the 180-day cap. The total time across any SkillBridge participation has to live inside that single window.

You also cannot extend past your DOS. Once you separate, the program ends. If the host wants to keep you after that, they have to bring you on as a real employee. That is the goal, but it is a hiring action, not an extension of SkillBridge.

What you can do is choose the right length up front. If you have a clear DOS and your rank allows it, build the longest plan the host supports. You do not get a second swing. If your command says no the first time, the move is to fix the request, not to find a workaround. The denied SkillBridge guide covers that path.

How to Lock In the Right Length

The length question really has two parts. How long can you go, and how do you get command to say yes to it.

Start with the rules that apply to you. Find your branch policy. Find your rank tier. That gives you the most days you can request. Then match it to a host program that fits inside that number with room for terminal leave and out-processing.

The piece most people skip is the resume. Your application to the host company is what gets you the slot in the first place. A vague, military-jargon resume gets passed over no matter how clean your timeline is. Your resume has to speak the host company's language and show why they should give you months of their time.

That is the part BMR handles. Paste the host posting, and the builder tailors your resume to that exact program. It translates your military work into civilian terms and formats it so a hiring team can scan it fast. Built by veterans who have sat on both sides of the hiring desk. You can start free at the military resume builder, or read the SkillBridge resume guide first.

Get the length right, build the resume that wins the slot, and you walk into your separation date with a real head start. For the full program walkthrough, start with the complete SkillBridge program guide.