During the period of martial law in Ukraine, Ukrainian businesses have learned to operate under conditions of constant uncertainty. However, one thing remains unchanged—the need to preserve the team upon which the enterprise’s work depends. If your enterprise holds the status of being critically important for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihood of the population during a special period, the law provides the opportunity to temporarily exempt part of the staff from mobilization through a reservation (deferment). In 2025, this procedure changed significantly; below is key information on how it currently functions.

Reservation is an administrative procedure that, since December 2024, has been carried out exclusively through the “Diia” portal. An application can only be submitted by an enterprise officially included in the list of critically important entities. The relevant decision is made by the ministry to which the industry belongs (Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Health, etc.). The grounds for recognition are compliance with the Criteria and procedure for determining enterprises, institutions, and organizations that are critically important, as approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated January 27, 2023, No. 76.

If the enterprise holds this status, lists for reservation can be prepared. At this stage, it is important to understand: only conscripts who are registered for military service and are officially employed can be reserved.

The submission procedure takes place through the electronic cabinet on the “Diia” portal. Data for each employee is filled in, and everything is signed with the head’s Qualified Electronic Signature (QES/KEP). If everything is done correctly, within 72 hours, the employee will be included in the special military register and will receive a deferment. The information is automatically displayed in their “Rezerv+” cabinet, and the employer receives a notification via email.

Ukrainian legislation clearly defines an exhaustive list of grounds for refusing employee reservation, including:

• The employee is not subject to reservation (conscript/recruit, excluded from/not on/removed from military registration, reservist, already has a deferment, or already has an active reservation);

• Under 18 or over 60 years old;

• Not employed by this company;

• Missing data in the Register of Conscripts.

However, in practice, there are many cases where the bodies making the reservation decisions provide unlawful refusals or ignore requests. For example, a refusal may be motivated by the claim that the employee failed to update their registration data, a possible violation of military registration rules, the enterprise’s failure to accrue wages in previous months, formal inaccuracies in the application form, and other grounds.

In such cases, refusals are illegal and subject to appeal, as they are not based on the criteria provided by law.

At the same time, the automated systems of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Centers (TCC & SS) or integrated databases may record discrepancies or missing registration data, which can also affect the outcome. In such cases, it is advisable to take measures to eliminate technical and organizational deficiencies, specifically by updating employee data at the TCC & SS and preparing a reasoned response or complaint to the authorized body.

Nevertheless, if the enterprise does not wish to initiate an appeal, there is the possibility of re-submitting documents for reservation after addressing the comments or clarifying the data. This can be an effective alternative, especially when the reason for refusal was purely formal or technical.

Along with this, it is extremely important to involve a specialist in the preparation of documents who has experience in human resources administration, military registration, and the regulatory support of the reservation procedure. Professional support significantly reduces the risk of formal errors, data inaccuracies, and unlawful refusals.

Thus, the reservation procedure requires not only technical precision but also a deep understanding of legislative requirements, registration nuances, and administrative practice. Success largely depends on proper document preparation, the relevance of military records, the accuracy of employee information, and the experience of the individuals responsible for submission. Therefore, it is advisable to entrust this process to specialists who can anticipate risks, account for all requirements, and guide the employer through every stage.