Increasing the booking limit

The issue of reserving military personnel remains one of the most discussed topics in the business community in 2026. The standard rule, according to which a company can protect only 50% of its workforce from mobilization, is often perceived as an inflexible barrier. However, reality reveals a different picture: the established "ceiling" is not absolute. There is a legal and transparent path to expanding quotas, but it requires businesses to not simply formally submit lists, but to thoroughly and analytically demonstrate their exceptional value to the state.

Let's take a closer look at the legal framework surrounding this issue, as well as the services you can order in this area from the lawyers at "Prikhodko&Partners".

Going beyond 50%: Who is eligible for a "full" booking?

So, let's consider how to transform a company's status from "important" to "irreplaceable" and what mechanisms allow for a limit exceeding the standard half of the workforce.

First of all, it's important to understand the hierarchy of priorities established by the state. Currently, only those structures whose absence would directly threaten the country's defense capability have the unconditional right to reserve up to 100% of their workforce. This category includes:

• defense industry enterprises;
• fuel and energy sector companies;
• DefenseTech industry representatives with direct government contracts.

For all other economic entities, the 50% threshold is a baseline, not a final one. If a business can demonstrate that the standard quota leads to an inevitable shutdown of production or critical services, it has the opportunity to expand the limits.

Additional quotas through “separate decisions” of relevant ministries

A key tool in this process is interaction with sectoral ministries or regional military administrations. There is a legal mechanism for obtaining "individual decisions" that allow for increasing the number of reservations made in the so-called manual mode.

This doesn't imply corruption; on the contrary, it implies a thorough audit of the company's activities. The company must provide a comprehensive justification, clearly stating which specific tasks of national importance are being carried out and why they cannot be accomplished with only half the team. These could include:

• unique engineering developments;
• maintenance of nationally significant backbone networks;
• critically important imported equipment that has no analogues in Ukraine.

Therefore, it is necessary to prove that the enterprise actually plays a very important role for the economy as a whole and for the areas that ensure the country's vital activity, in particular.

Justification for the “uniqueness” of the personnel

A separate and extremely important point is proving the uniqueness of personnel. The state's modern approach to mobilization processes is moving away from quantitative indicators in favor of qualitative ones. The owner's simple desire to retain the team is no longer an argument. Technical confirmation of the indispensability of certain specialists is required.

If an employee's position requires a rare international certification, specific access to complex equipment, or experience that cannot be transferred to a new specialist within six months of training, this becomes the basis for a petition.

The business must prove that the loss of this particular specialist will stop the technological chain, which will lead to losses for the public sector or the regional economy.

Economic contribution as a lever for expanding limits

An equally important factor is a company's economic weight. In 2026, the state is increasingly taking a pragmatic approach: the military must be funded, and taxes provide the funding. The "tax per capita" indicator (the amount of taxes paid per employee) is becoming a decisive factor when considering applications for limit increases.

Companies that demonstrate high transparency, pay "official" salaries significantly above the industry average, and consistently contribute to the budget have a much higher chance of gaining regulatory approval. The logic is simple: the operation of such a company generates the resources necessary to maintain the Defense Forces, meaning its stability is in the state's strategic interest.

The process of overcoming the 50% barrier is always a dialogue about responsibility. Businesses should act not as petitioners, but as partners offering the state concrete value in exchange for the safety of their key personnel. This requires companies to take their documentation to a new level: from a dry list of names to a strategic justification for the role of each department and each position in the country's survival architecture.

When you contact the lawyers at "Prikhodko&Partners" Law Firm with such matters, we know how to effectively and efficiently assist you in increasing your booking limit. To request a consultation or legal support from our experts, please fill out the contact form on our website.