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Art. 31

What types of investigations require Article 31 compliance?

Published November 6, 2026

Any inquiry can, because the test does not depend on the name of the investigation. A warning is required when a person subject to the Code interrogates or requests a statement from a suspect about the offense, while acting or reasonably considered to be acting in an official law enforcement or disciplinary capacity (United States v. Cohen, 63 M.J. 45; United States v. Jones, 73 M.J. 357). The investigation’s label is one fact among others.

How the inquiries compare

Inquiry Result for a suspect Why
CID, NCIS, OSI, CGIS criminal investigation Warning required Law enforcement role is clear
Military police or security forces Warning required once the person is a suspect Same
Commander's or first sergeant's inquiry into misconduct Warning required if the person is suspected Disciplinary role
Army AR 15-6 or other service's administrative investigation Required for a suspect under the Cohen points Findings may support discipline; the investigating officer is subject to the Code
Inquiry leading to possible nonjudicial punishment Required Part V of the Manual itself says the member must be informed in accordance with Article 31(b) at the personal appearance
Inspector General Required when a suspect is questioned Army AR 20-1 describes rights warnings for subjects and suspects when required
Safety mishap investigation Different framework DoDI 6055.07 safety privilege and promises of confidentiality
Medical care or fitness evaluation Not for a real clinical purpose Purpose is clinical, unless it is really investigative
Routine accountability or status check Not unless it turns on suspected misconduct No suspected offense, or purpose is operational

The table is a starting point. A person may be a witness at one point and a suspect at another in the same inquiry.

What can a command do without warnings?

A command can investigate without warning anyone, as long as it does not question a suspect. It can gather records, talk to witnesses, and collect physical evidence. An inquiry may proceed even if a statement is lost for lack of a warning. The risk of skipping the warning falls on whatever comes out of that interview, not on the inquiry as a whole.

Unit-level inquiries

A problem may never reach an agent. A squad leader told to “find out what happened” may be a person acting for the command. The official-capacity question is decided on all the facts, and a junior leader’s lack of legal training does not resolve it. A squad leader who asks a suspected Soldier about a theft on behalf of the commander is a likely example.

Purely administrative actions

Article 31(d) speaks of a trial by court-martial. A statement taken without a warning in an administrative inquiry might still be considered in that administrative action, depending on the regulation. So a warning issue may make a statement inadmissible at court-martial while leaving it in a separation file. A person questioned in an administrative inquiry should not assume that a missing warning protects them from every use of what they said.

Conversely, a warning given in an administrative inquiry shows that the investigator recognized a potential offense. A person who receives one should treat the matter accordingly, and can decline to answer about the suspected offense. In some administrative settings, refusal to cooperate on other topics may carry its own consequences, and a person should get advice before deciding.

General information about military law, not legal advice, and it creates no attorney-client relationship. Rules change and outcomes turn on the facts, so a specific situation belongs with a military defense counsel, a legal assistance office, or a civilian attorney. Army regulations cited here apply to the Army, and other services have their own.

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