Civilian Marksmanship Program

The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a national organization dedicated to training and educating U. S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and airguns through gun safety training, marksmanship training and competitions. The CMP is a federally chartered 501(c)(3) corporation that places its highest priority on serving youth through gun safety and marksmanship activities that encourage personal growth and build life skills.

The CMP Mission was updated in September 2025 to:

The federal law enacted in 1996 (Title 36 U. S. Code, 40701-40733) that created the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, Inc. (CPRPFS, the formal legal name of the CMP) mandates these key “functions for the corporation:

1. To instruct citizens of the United States in marksmanship;
2. To promote practice and safety in the use of firearms;
3. To conduct competitions in the use of firearms and to award trophies, prizes, badges, and other insignia to competitors;
4. To secure and account for firearms, ammunition, and other equipment for which the corporation is responsible;
5. To issue, loan, or sell firearms, ammunition, repair parts, and other supplies under sections and of this title; and
6. To procure necessary supplies and services to carry out the Program.

The law specifically states: In carrying out the Civilian Marksmanship Program, the corporation shall give priority to activities that benefit firearms safety, training, and competition for youth and that reach as many youth participants as possible.

CMP history goes back to late 19th century efforts by U.S. military and political leaders to strengthen our country’s national defense capabilities by improving the rifle marksmanship skills of members of the Armed Forces.

The CMP traces its direct lineage to 1903, when Congress and President Theodore Roosevelt established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP) and the National Matches. From then until 1996, first the Department of War and later the Department of the Army managed the program that became known as the “civilian marksmanship program. During this period, program objectives shifted from military marksmanship to training civilians who might serve in the military to developing youth through marksmanship training. In 1996, Congress acted again to establish the Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearm Safety, which now governs the CMP.

In addition to being a lead organization in the annual conduct of the National Matches, the CMP is the national governing body for several shooting sport disciplines that include Service Rifle and Pistol, As-Issued Military Rifle, Rimfire Sporter, and National Match Air Rifle. The CMP provides competition rules and sanctioning services for events in each of these disciplines. It now sanctions over one thousand local and regional competitions a year in these disciplines. The CMP pioneered in developing its Competition Tracker system that applies computer and Internet technology to manage its database of competitors and manage competitions. Competition Tracker was the first system of its kind in the world to support the live posting of competition results on the Internet. The CMP is also the custodian of the Distinguished Badge program, which was initiated by the U.S. Army in 1884. Since Distinguished Badges are awards inaugurated by the U. S. Government, they are especially prestigious and coveted.