CAF Chaplaincy: Entry options for Defence Team members
April 20, 2026 - Defence Stories
Estimated read time – 2:00
Caption
Two CAF chaplains walking beside each other with stained glass windows in the background.
Are you interested in fostering the spiritual health and well-being of CAF members and their families? CAF members and civilians can join the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service (RCChS) as a Chaplain. Chaplains support CAF members within bases, wings, and formations, while offering presence, guidance, and hope. As a Chaplain, you may be called to:
- assist personnel and their families with ethical, moral, and spiritual challenges
- provide referrals to other professionals such as social workers, psychologists, or medical personnel
- prepare, preside over, and administer military ceremonies, spiritual faith tradition services and/or rituals
Entry options for CAF members
CAF members can apply for a Voluntary Occupational Transfer (VOT). VOT is the voluntary transfer from one military occupation to another. Calls for VOT applications are issued annually through a CANFORGEN. Programs are available for trained (accessible only on the National Defence network) and untrained (accessible only on the National Defence network) members (non-commissioned members and officers). If you require education or experience to meet entry standards, you may be eligible to transfer and study through the Specialist Officer Training Plan (SOTP). If you are interested in a VOT, speak to your chain of command or your Wing or Base Personnel Selection Office.
Another entry option available to CAF members is through Component Transfer (CT). CT is the administrative process by which a CAF member voluntarily changes components (Regular Force, Reserve Force, or Special Force). This entry option is faster than re-enrolment and provides career stability through long-term service in the CAF.
Entry options for civilian members
If you are a civilian member interested in joining the CAF as a Chaplain, there are two main entry options available to you. First, if you have completed the required education and experience for the trade, you may enter as a Direct Entry Officer (DEO). The DEO plan is an entry level plan which:
- is intended to enrol applicants who:
- are interested in pursuing a career in the CAF as an officer; and
- have completed a university degree in a suitable discipline.
- matches the educational qualifications of applicants with military occupations which can best use their education, experience, or training
- further develops existing qualifications, and employs enrolled applicants as general service officers (GSO) or specialist officers to assist the CAF in meeting the Defence mission
- complements other officer production plans; and
- is consistent with the Officership 2020 policy which requires all Regular Force officers to have an undergraduate degree.
If you need education or experience to meet entry standards, you may be eligible to enter through the Specialist Officer Training Plan (SOTP).
Contacts
For more information or non-urgent requests during regular business hours, contact a chaplain:
- by email: ChaplainMain-AumoneriePrincipale@forces.gc.ca
- by telephone: 1-866-502-2203