You’ve got an interview coming up or you’re weighing up a couple of job offers and an employer mentions the Armed Forces Covenant on its careers page. But before you take that at face value, it’s worth checking the Armed Forces Covenant list for yourself.
Plenty of organisations talk about supporting veterans without ever having formally signed the pledge, so a quick check can tell you whether the claim actually holds up. This guide walks through what the list is, how to search it and what a signature does and doesn’t tell you about an employer.
The list is simply the official register of organisations that have formally signed the Armed Forces Covenant. Signing is a public pledge to support the armed forces community, including veterans, reservists and military families, in areas like recruitment, flexible working and workplace culture.
However, signing the Covenant is a different, lower bar than the Employer Recognition Scheme’s (ERS’s) Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Signing is the entry point. Bronze is self-nominated, while Silver and Gold are assessed accreditation built on top of that pledge. For the full picture of what the Covenant covers, read our Armed Forces Covenant explainer and for how the award tiers work, see our Gold Award guide.
GOV.UK hosts the official searchable register of Armed Forces Covenant signatories. You can look up a business by name and see whether it appears on the list. An entry confirms that the organisation has signed the pledge, but it doesn’t tell you whether they hold a Bronze, Silver or Gold award, so don’t assume a signature equals accreditation.
GOV.UK also maintains a collection of corporate covenant signed pledges as a second official source, useful if you want to see the actual commitments an employer has made. Checking these registers directly is far more reliable than trusting a badge or a line of text on a careers page for your peace of mind.
The list isn’t dominated by a certain sector, but covers a wide range of organisations, including:
It’s natural to want to check a specific company by name, especially one you’re applying to. Rather than assume any employer’s status here, since the list changes regularly as new organisations sign up, the best approach is to run the name through the official GOV.UK register and see their current position.
These two things are often confused, so it’s worth being clear. Signing the Covenant is a pledge that almost any organisation can make. It shows intent and a baseline commitment, but it isn’t independently verified beyond the act of signing.
A Gold Award under the ERS is a different matter. It’s an audited accreditation that only a minority of signatories ever reach and involves demonstrating real, measurable support for the armed forces community over time.
In short, every Gold Award holder has signed the Covenant, but very few signatories go on to earn Gold.
While exploring job opportunities as a veteran and weighing up an employer, treat a Covenant signature as a useful baseline signal rather than a guarantee of a great experience. It tells you the organisation has made a formal commitment, but not what day-to-day working life actually looks like.
The strongest approach is to use it as one factor among several. Check the official list, then look at employee reviews on sites like Glassdoor, and where possible, speak to serving or veteran employees at the organisation. While preparing for civilian work it’s important to remember that a company with no Covenant signature isn’t automatically a bad choice, just as a signatory isn’t automatically a good one.
Checking a register is useful, but meeting employers directly is often more productive. Veteran-focused job fairs bring together a range of Covenant-signed organisations in one place, giving you the chance to ask questions that a webpage can’t answer, like how flexible working actually operates day to day or how many veterans are already on the team.
These events typically draw a mix of large employers, public sector bodies and smaller businesses, all at various stages of their Covenant commitments. Expect stalls, short talks and plenty of opportunity for informal conversations with hiring managers and existing veteran staff. It’s a practical way to compare employers side by side rather than relying on careers pages alone.
Visit Veteran UK for upcoming job fairs and events featuring Covenant-signed employers.
Any organisation can sign, regardless of size. The register includes charities, small and medium-sized businesses, public sector bodies and large corporations.
Search the employer’s name directly on the official GOV.UK register of Armed Forces Covenant signatories. This is not a guarantee, as not all firms may be listed yet.
The number changes regularly as new organisations sign up and as of May 2025, 13,000 organisations have pledged.
GOV.UK updates the register as organisations sign or renew their commitments, so it reflects a live, changing list rather than a fixed snapshot.
Yes, there’s no cost involved in signing. It’s a voluntary pledge rather than a paid scheme.
Signing is a pledge open to any organisation. An ERS award at Bronze is self-nomitaed, while Silver or Gold level is an assessed accreditation that sits on top of that pledge and requires demonstrated action.
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