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New Zealand military ranks are largely based on those of theUnited Kingdom. The three services (Army,Navy, andAir Force) have their own rank structure, with a rank equivalency that allows seamless interoperability between the services. All three services form part of theNew Zealand Defence Force.
 Navy |  Army |  Air Force | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admiral of the Fleet | Field Marshal | Marshal of the Air Force | King Charles III is the only current Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the RNZAF. |
| Vice admiral (VADM) | Lieutenant general (LTGEN) | Air marshal (AM) | Rank held by the currentChief of Defence Force; therefore only one of the services will have this rank at any one time. It is the highest obtainable rank ofNew Zealand Defence Force personnel. |
| Rear admiral (RADM) | Major general (MAJGEN) | Air vice-marshal (AVM) | Held by theVice Chief of Defence Force,Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, and theChiefs of Army,Navy andAir Force. Other individuals holding this rank would be in specialised (United Nations or other coalition) postings. |
| Commodore (CDRE) | Brigadier (BRIG) | Air commodore (AIRCDRE) | |
| Captain (CAPT) | Colonel (COL) (Chaplain Class I) | Group captain (GPCAPT) (Chaplain Class I) | |
| Commander (CDR) | Lieutenant colonel (LTCOL) (Chaplain Class II) | Wing commander (WGCDR) (Chaplain Class II) | |
| Lieutenant commander (LT CDR) | Major (MAJ) (Chaplain Class III) | Squadron leader (SQNLDR) (Chaplain Class III) | |
| Lieutenant (LT) | Captain (CAPT) (Chaplain Class IV) | Flight lieutenant (FLTLT) (Chaplain Class IV) | |
| Sub lieutenant (SLT) | Lieutenant (LT) | Flying officer (FGOFF) | |
| Ensign (ENS) | Second lieutenant (2LT) | Pilot officer (PLTOFF) | The Army and Air Force’s first recognised commissioned rank. |
| Midshipman (MID) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | Officer cadet (OCDT) | The rank of Midshipman is recognised as a commissioned rank; however, the rank of Officer Cadet in the Army and Air Force is not, and is used only for the purposes of training. |
The rank insignia ofCommissioned Officers.
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Royal New Zealand Navy[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||
| Admiral of the fleet[2] | Vice admiral | Rear admiral | Commodore | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant commander | Lieutenant | Sub lieutenant | Ensign | |||||||||||||||
 New Zealand Army[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Field marshal | Lieutenant-general | Major-general | Brigadier | Colonel | Lieutenant-colonel | Major | Captain | Lieutenant | Second lieutenant | |||||||||||||||
 Royal New Zealand Air Force[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
| Marshal of the RNZAF | Air marshal | Air vice-marshal | Air commodore | Group captain | Wing commander | Squadron leader | Flight lieutenant | Flying officer | Pilot officer | |||||||||||||||
| Rank group | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Student officer | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal New Zealand Navy |  | |
| Midshipman | ||
| Royal New Zealand Air Force | .png) | |
| Officer cadet | ||
 Navy | Army | Air force | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warrant Officer (WO) | Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) | Warrant Officer (W/O) | The Warrant Officer of the Navy (WON), Sergeant Major of The Army (SMA), Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOAF), Warrant Officer Defence Force (WODF), And Army Regimental Sergeant Majors (RSMs) hold this rank. |
| Warrant Officer Class Two (WO2) | Company Sergeant Majors (CSMs), and Battery Sergeant Majors (BSMs) hold this rank. The Air Force and Navy have no Equivalent to this rank. The Air Force did have an equivalent up until it was phased out sometime during the 80s/90s. | ||
| Chief Petty Officer (CPO) | Staff Sergeant (SSGT) | Flight Sergeant (F/S) | |
| Petty Officer (PO) | Sergeant (SGT) | Sergeant (SGT) | |
| Leading Hand (LDH) | Bombardier/Corporal (BDR/CPL) | Corporal (CPL) | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Bombardier (BDR) in place of Corporal. |
| Lance Bombardier/Lance Corporal (LBDR/LCPL) | Army personnel in artillery units use the rank of Lance Bombardier (L/BDR) in place of Lance Corporal | ||
| Able rate (ABR) | Leading Aircraftman (LAC) | Able's and LAC's are not considered NCO's and these ranks are normally awarded after completing trade training. | |
| Ordinary rate (ORT) | Gunner (GNR) /Trooper (TPR) /Sapper (SPR) /Signaller (SIG) /Private (PTE) /Craftsman RNZEME | Aircraftman (AC) | In the Army, an individual's trade title is sometimes interchanged with the rank of Private. |
Note: Naval other rank personnel are referred to by both their rank and trade. Thus a sailor employed as a chef would generally hold the rank of ordinary chef (OCH), with a few exceptions. A Warrant Officer with a trade of weapon technician would hold the rank of Warrant Officer Weapon Technician (WOWT).
The rank insignia ofnon-commissioned officers andenlisted personnel.
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal New Zealand Navy[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant officer | Chief petty officer | Petty officer | Leading hand | Able rate | Ordinary rate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand Army[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant officer class 1 | Warrant officer class 2 | Staff sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Lance corporal | Private (or equivalent) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Royal New Zealand Air Force[1] |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Warrant Officer | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal | Leading Aircraftman | Aircraftman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A non-commissioned officer is defined as:
Officers of the New Zealand Defence Force are commissioned by theGovernor-General of New Zealand on behalf of themonarch of New Zealand, King Charles III. See alsoOfficer (armed forces). Salutes rendered to officers by junior officers and enlisted personnel are indirect salutes to the monarch, based on the officer holding the monarch's authority.
Appointments to the most senior ranks (those above the rank held by the chief of the defence force, usually lieutenant general or equivalent) are ceremonial, for the head of state and members of the royal family.