National Civic Service Law, 5774-2014
חוק שירות לאומי-אזרחי, תשע"ד-2014
Published: 2014-03-19Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-04-06 · Last amended 2026-03-31✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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Chapter III: Operating Body
Approval of an operating body§
14.
(a)A person wishing to serve as an operating body shall submit to the Authority an application for approval in accordance with the provisions that the Minister shall prescribe.
(b)The following may submit an application to serve as an operating body –
(1)a public authority;
(2)a corporation that has at least seven members, the majority of whom are not family relatives, or a trust whose majority of trustees are not family relatives, that was incorporated in Israel and complies with the provisions of the corporate law applicable to it, and that exists and operates for a public purpose and whose assets and income serve solely to achieve that purpose; for this purpose, a person who has submitted a confirmation that it is a public institution pursuant to section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version] shall be deemed to have fulfilled the conditions of this paragraph.
(c)The Director, or a person authorised by the Director for that purpose, may grant approval as an operating body to a public authority if it is among the authorities listed in Section 4, and as detailed in that Section, or if the activity to be performed by persons serving in national civic service at that authority will be in the fields set out in Section 3; approval as an operating body for a public authority listed in paragraph (1) of the definition of "public authority" shall be granted in accordance with rules that the Director shall direct with the consent of the Civil Service Commissioner.
(d)The Director, or a person authorised by the Director for that purpose, may grant approval as an operating body to a corporation as referred to in subsection (b)(2), if the Director has found that all of the following conditions are fulfilled in respect of it:
(1)the main part of its activity is in one or more of the fields set out in Section 3, and the activity to be performed by persons serving in national civic service at that corporation will be in those fields;
(2)it was active in the field for which it applied for approval for at least two years prior to the submission of the application;
(3)it has undertaken to comply with the provisions of the corporate law applicable to it and with the provisions of the law applicable to it according to the field of service in which it operates;
(4)neither the purposes nor the acts of the applicant for approval constitute a denial of the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, support for armed struggle or an act of terror by an enemy or a terrorist organisation against the State of Israel, or incitement to racism, violence or terror;
(5)it is not a party, as defined in section 1 of the Parties Law, 5752-1992;
(6)it has declared that it does not engage in and will not engage in any activity that constitutes election propaganda or activity of a party-political nature.
(e)The Minister may prescribe additional conditions for approval as an operating body, in order to ensure the performance of the service in an optimal manner and to safeguard the interests of persons serving in national civic service, having regard, inter alia, to the type, field of service and the provisions of law applicable to an operating body according to the fields of service in which it operates, including in respect of the following matters:
(1)the ratio between the scope of activity in the fields of service as referred to in Section 3 and the overall public activity of the operating body;
(2)the number of persons employed in the operating body, the number of persons active in it and the number of service recipients from it;
(3)the remuneration of office holders in the operating body, having regard to its characteristics, including its financial turnover and the scope of service recipients from it;
(4)the number of persons serving in national civic service that an operating body is permitted to operate.
(f)The Director may grant approval as an operating body under this Section for a period not exceeding five years, and may extend the validity of the approval for additional periods, all subject to the provisions of Section 36.
(g)An operating body shall notify the Director, in writing, of any change that has occurred in any detail of the particulars that it provided to the Director pursuant to this Section, within 30 days from the day on which it became aware of the change, and shall attach the relevant documents.
Additional conditions for the activity of an operating body§
15.
(a)If the Director finds, at any time, that there is a need to direct additional conditions for the activity of an operating body in order to ensure the performance of the service in an optimal manner and to ensure the interests of persons serving in national civic service, the Director may impose such conditions and direct that they be fulfilled during all or part of the period of validity of the approval, and may also, if the Director finds that it is required due to a change in circumstances, remove or amend those conditions.
(b)In respect of an operating body in civil-security service, the Director shall not prescribe conditions as referred to in subsection (a) that relate to the unique characteristics of that body, except after consultation with the head of the operating body.
Duties of an operating body§
16.
(a)An operating body shall operate the persons serving in national civic service at it and shall fulfil its obligations towards them in accordance with the provisions of this Law and pursuant to an agreement to be signed between it and the Authority; special provisions regarding an agreement with an operating body at which persons serving in civil-security service serve shall be prescribed in consultation with the Minister designated as responsible for that body, if a Minister has been so designated.
(b)The Minister, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, shall prescribe provisions regarding the scope of the duty of participation of operating bodies in the cost of operating persons serving in national civic service at them and the means of fulfilling the duty of participation, provided that the scope of participation to be prescribed as aforesaid shall not be less than 15% and shall not exceed 40% of the average cost of operating a person serving in national civic service, in accordance with the type of operating body and the type of service, and the Minister may prescribe different rates of participation for different types of operating bodies and different types of service, as set out below:
(1)a public authority listed in paragraphs (1) to (5) of the definition of "public authority" in respect of which one of the following applies:
(a)it operates persons serving in civil-security service;
(b)it operates persons serving in civil-social service;
(2)a public authority listed in paragraph (6) of the definition of "public authority", or an operating body that is not a public authority, in respect of which one of the following applies:
(a)they operate persons serving in civil-security service;
(b)they operate persons serving in civil-social service.
(c)An operating body that operates persons serving in service abroad at it shall bear the full cost of their operation.
(d)The agreement shall include provisions regarding the recording of the attendance of persons serving in national civic service.
Cancellation or suspension of approval of an operating body§
17.
(a)The Director may cancel the approval of an operating body or suspend it, after having given the operating body an opportunity to state its arguments, if the Director has found that one of the following has occurred:
(1)the operating body has breached a provision of the provisions pursuant to this Law;
(2)a condition of the conditions for granting the approval pursuant to Section 14 has ceased to be fulfilled;
(3)a condition of the additional conditions that the Director directed pursuant to Section 15 has been breached;
(4)the operating body has dismissed one of its employees and has operated a person serving in national civic service in that employee's place, in contravention of the provisions of section 6(b);
(5)the approval was granted on the basis of false or incorrect information.
(b)The Director shall not cancel or suspend an approval pursuant to subsection (a)(1) to (3), except after having demanded that the operating body fulfil the condition or provision that was breached or that ceased to be fulfilled, as referred to in that subsection, in the manner and within the period that the Director directed, and the operating body has not done so; the provisions of this subsection shall not apply in a case in which it is not possible to fulfil the condition or provision that was breached or that ceased to be fulfilled.
(c)An operating body that intends to cease its activity shall notify the Director thereof one month in advance.
Publication of the list of operating bodies§
18.
The Director shall publish in the Reshumot (Official Gazette) and on the Authority's website, once a year during the month of December, the list of operating bodies, the field of service of each operating body and the number of persons serving in national civic service that it operated in the year preceding the date of the report.
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Contact Us →Chapter IV: The National Civic Service Authority and Supervision Powers
The National Civic Service Authority§
19.
(a)The National Civic Service Authority is hereby established, which shall be responsible for the operation of the national civic service in accordance with the provisions of this Law and shall operate within the office of the Minister.
(b)The Authority shall operate in accordance with the decisions of the Minister and pursuant to the policy of the Government, all in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
(c)The Government shall appoint, upon the proposal of the Minister, a Director for the Authority, who shall be in charge of the implementation of the functions of the Authority.
(d)The Director shall be a State employee and shall be directly subordinate to the Minister.
(e)The employees of the Authority shall act in accordance with the instructions of the Director and under the Director's supervision.
(f)The provisions of sections 23 to 28 of the Civic Service Law shall apply to the Authority and to persons serving in national civic service, with the necessary modifications, and the provisions of Chapter V of that Law regarding the Council as defined in that Law shall also apply for the purposes of this Law.
Authorisation of inspectors§
20.
(a)The Minister may authorise, from among the employees of the Authority, inspectors who shall be vested with the powers under this Law, in whole or in part, provided that an inspector shall not be authorised unless all of the following conditions are fulfilled in respect of that inspector:
(1)the inspector has not been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the inspector, in the opinion of the Minister, unfit to serve as an inspector;
(2)the inspector has received appropriate training in the field of the powers to be vested in the inspector under this Law, as the Minister has directed;
(3)the inspector meets additional fitness conditions, as the Minister has directed.
(b)The names of the inspectors authorised pursuant to this Section shall be published in the Reshumot (Official Gazette) and on the Authority's website.
Supervision powers§
21.
(a)For the purpose of supervising compliance with the provisions pursuant to this Law, including with respect to the nature and quality of the national civic service, an inspector may, after having identified himself or herself –
(1)demand from a person holding a position or an employee in an operating body and from a person serving in national civic service to provide any information or document required for the performance of the inspector's duty; in this Section, "document" – includes output, as defined in the Computers Law, 5755-1995;
(2)enter the offices of any operating body and the places where persons serving in national civic service perform their service; however, if those places serve as residences, the inspector shall not enter them except at a reasonable time coordinated with the manager of the place, and in the absence of such a manager – with all residents of the place, or pursuant to an Order of a court.
(b)An inspector shall not exercise the powers vested in the inspector under this Law except in the course of performing the inspector's duty and where both of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(1)the inspector visibly wears a badge identifying the inspector and the inspector's function;
(2)the inspector holds a certificate signed by the Director attesting to the inspector's function and powers, which the inspector shall present upon request.
(c)An inspector may exercise the powers vested in the inspector under this Law against the State and its institutions.
(d)An inspector is authorised to exercise the powers vested in the inspector under this Law also in the Area.
Exercise of powers against the defence establishment§
22.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 21, an inspector shall exercise the inspector's powers against the defence establishment in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
(b)An inspector shall not exercise the inspector's powers against the defence establishment unless an appropriate security clearance has been determined for the inspector for that purpose and in accordance with the information security rules of a security body; a security body shall bring its said information security rules to the attention of the Director.
(c)A senior officer or an authorised officer may delay the immediate entry of an inspector into a facility held by the defence establishment, if the officer has found that one of the following has occurred:
(1)entry at that time would disrupt an operational or intelligence activity, a criminal investigation, or a large-scale exercise or training in which combat means are used;
(2)hostile activity is taking place at the site;
(3)activity to which the inspector is not permitted to be exposed for reasons of State security or the foreign relations of the State of Israel is taking place at the facility;
if an authorised officer or senior officer has so determined, the officer shall notify an employee of the Authority thereof as shall be prescribed in a procedure, and shall set a new date for the entry of the inspector, as early as possible after the cause that prevented the entry has passed.
(d)The provision of information or a document, in whole or in part, to an inspector shall be in accordance with the inspector's security clearance and in accordance with the information security rules of the security body; however –
(1)an authorised officer may direct that particular information or a document of special security sensitivity not be transferred to the inspector, even if the inspector's security clearance is suitable, but rather to an employee of the Authority as shall be prescribed in a procedure;
(2)a security body shall keep a document required by an inspector for the performance of the inspector's duty in a place designated for that purpose in a facility held by that body, and it shall be accessible to the inspector or to the employee of the Authority designated as referred to in paragraph (1), as the case may be;
(3)an authorised officer may direct that an inspector shall not remove from a security facility a particular document that the officer has determined to be of special security sensitivity, and it shall be kept in the place referred to in paragraph (2).
(e)An authorised officer may direct that classified information that is not directly related to the cause of the supervision shall not be included in the information or document transmitted to the inspector or to the employee of the Authority as referred to in subsection (d)(1), provided that the officer notifies the inspector or the employee, as referred to, that the officer has omitted information.
(f)The Minister, with the agreement of the responsible Minister, shall direct, in a procedure, the manner of implementation of this Section in the defence establishment, having regard to reasons of State security, public order and public safety; the first procedure pursuant to this subsection shall be prescribed within six months from the date of commencement of this Law.
(g)In this Section –
"security body" – a body from among the bodies listed in the definition of "defence establishment";
"security clearance" – as its meaning in section 15 of the General Security Service Law, 5762-2002;
"defence establishment" – the Ministry of Defence, units and ancillary units of the Prime Minister's Office whose main activity is in the field of State security, the Israel Police, the Israel Prison Service and the Witness Protection Authority;
"senior officer" and "authorised officer" – as defined in section 10 of the Environmental Protection Law, as the case may be;
"responsible Minister" – the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, or the Minister of Internal Security, as the case may be.
Termination of service§
23.
(a)If a person serving in national civic service has not complied with the provisions pursuant to this Law or with the instructions of the operating body concerning the person's service, the Director may, after having received the opinion of the operating body, terminate the service of the person serving in national civic service or refrain from granting the person a certificate of completion of service as referred to in Section 12, provided that all of the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(1)the person serving in national civic service was summoned to a hearing for the examination of the termination of the person's service or the non-granting of a certificate of completion of service as referred to;
(2)the reasons for the termination of service or for the non-granting of the certificate were conveyed to the person serving in national civic service at least seven days before the date of the hearing prescribed as referred to in paragraph (1).
(b)The Director shall notify the commanding officer within seven days from the day on which one of the following has occurred:
(1)the Director has found that the Authority is unable to find an operating body at which a person designated for security service will perform national civic service;
(2)the service of a person serving in national civic service was terminated as referred to in subsection (a);
(3)the service of a person serving in national civic service was terminated before the end of the person's period of service and the Director has found that the Authority is unable to find another operating body at which the person designated for security service will perform national civic service.
(c)The provisions of section 26h(b) or 26j(b) of the Security Service Law, as the case may be, shall apply to a person designated for security service or a person serving in national civic service, as the case may be, in respect of whom one of the circumstances listed in subsection (b) has occurred.
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