The ribbon is authorized to any member of the U.S. Navy or United States Marine Corps for service above the Arctic Circle.

The ribbon was made retroactive to January 1982 and is also granted to members of other branches of the military, providing they are serving with a Navy or Marine Corps command when the Arctic duty was performed.

[3] Awarded to officers and enlisted personnel for twenty-eight days, consecutive or non-consecutive, above the Arctic Circle after 1 January 1982.

Marine Corps personnel undergoing annual cold weather training above the Arctic Circle do not qualify for 2 for 1 credit.

Awarded as an extension of the Navy Arctic Service Ribbon to officers and enlisted personnel of the Navy and Marine Corps or civilians to units who conducted an ice-covered strait transit, a transit to the North Pole, assigned to a submarine that conducted a vertical surfacing through the ice, assigned to a submarine that conducted a seven day or more classified operation under the ice pack, or assigned to an ice camp or operations center.