Pay grades
W-3: chief warrant officer 3
Advanced-level warrant officers. Who uses the grade, how it is written, and the 2026 pay at each length of service.
W-3: rank in each service, insignia and 2026 pay
Army, W-3 · Warrant officer
Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CW3)
Chief warrant officer, commissioned
| Marine Corps | Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3) |
| Navy | Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3) |
| Air Force | warrant officer |
| Space Force | no rank at this grade |
| Coast Guard | Chief Warrant Officer 3 (CWO3) |
| 2026 basic pay, over 10 years | $6,910.50 a month |
Same pay grade means the same basic pay in every service. Basic pay only: housing, food and special pays are not included.
Everything about W-3W-3 is the third warrant officer pay grade. Its title is chief warrant officer 3 in the Army (CW3), the Marine Corps, the Navy and the Coast Guard (CWO3), the last grade the Coast Guard's warrant ladder shares with the others before its top at W-4. The Army describes its CW3s as "advanced-level experts" who provide "direction, guidance, resources, assistance, and supervision" to subordinates, mainly from team or detachment through brigade. The insignia differ by service, as the table below shows. Basic pay in 2026 starts at $5,223.30 a month and rises to $9,162.60 over 26 years. A CW3 with twelve years of service earns $7,136.40 a month, more than an O-3 with the same years. Army CW3s are promoted from CW2 and can go on to CW4 and CW5.
What is a promotion worth in basic pay?
W-3 to W-4, over 10 years
+$487.50 / mo
| W-3 | $6,910.50 |
| W-4 | $7,398.00 |
| Over a year | +$5,850 |
Same years of service in both grades, 2026 DFAS table.
Ranks and pay tables read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Depth in one field
The Department of War chart calls warrant officers "specialists and experts in certain military technologies or capabilities", in contrast to commissioned officers, who are generalists. Their pay rows reward long service in that field: the W-3 row rises at every step to over 26 years. At twelve years it compares with $8,788.20 for an O-3.
When does basic pay rise in this grade?
W-3: rate changes in the 2026 table
15 steps
| 2 or less | $5,223.30 |
| Over 2 | $5,440.50 |
| Over 3 | $5,664.30 |
| Over 4 | $5,736.90 |
| Over 26 | $9,162.60 |
10 more steps in between; the full row is in the table on this page.
Coast Guard warrant officers
The Coast Guard uses only W-2 to W-4, according to the Department of War chart. Its warrant officers are commissioned from their first warrant grade and carry Coast Guard insignia. The Coast Guard page shows its full ladder.
W-3 in the six services
| Service | Rank | Abbreviation | Insignia |
|---|---|---|---|
| Army | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CW3 | |
| Marine Corps | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CWO3 |  |
| Navy | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CWO3 |  |
| Air Force | warrant officer (titles not on the chart) | ||
| Space Force | no rank at this grade | ||
| Coast Guard | Chief Warrant Officer 3 | CWO3 |
W-3 basic pay in 2026, by years of service
| Years of service | Monthly basic pay | Over 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| 2 or less | $5,223.30 | $62,680 |
| Over 2 | $5,440.50 | $65,286 |
| Over 3 | $5,664.30 | $67,972 |
| Over 4 | $5,736.90 | $68,843 |
| Over 6 | $5,970.90 | $71,651 |
| Over 8 | $6,431.10 | $77,173 |
| Over 10 | $6,910.50 | $82,926 |
| Over 12 | $7,136.40 | $85,637 |
| Over 14 | $7,397.70 | $88,772 |
| Over 16 | $7,665.90 | $91,991 |
| Over 18 | $8,150.40 | $97,805 |
| Over 20 | $8,476.50 | $101,718 |
| Over 22 | $8,671.80 | $104,062 |
| Over 24 | $8,879.70 | $106,556 |
| Over 26 | $9,162.60 | $109,951 |