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From the famous General Order 1 (The Prime Directive) to General Order 24 about destroying all life on a planet, Star Fleet regulations guide the men and women exploring the distant reaches of space where communication could be days even months away.

What are the General Orders of Star Fleet?


What led to this question was General Order Zero:

She announces that she has just received the “Omega Directive,” an order that requires Starfleet captains to destroy an object, the Omega Particle, at all costs - even the Prime Directive is null and void under such circumstances.

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The known General Orders (along with other regulations and guidelines) are listed on both Memory Alpha and Memory Beta:

General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society." (TAS: "The Magicks of Megas-Tu")

General Order 4: Said to be the only death penalty left on the books. (TOS: "Turnabout Intruder")

General Order 6: If all life aboard a Federation starship had perished, the ship would self-destruct within twenty-four hours to protect other ships from potential hazards within. (TAS: "Albatross")

General Order 7: No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV.

General Order 12: On the approach of any vessel, when communications have not been established... (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

General Order 13: Evacuation Order for Starfleet vessels. (Star Trek)

General Order 15: No flag officer shall beam into a hazardous area without armed escort. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

General Order 24: An order to destroy all life on an entire planet. This order has been given by Captain Garth (Antos IV) and Captain Kirk (Eminiar VII). On neither occasion was the order actually fulfilled. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy", "A Taste of Armageddon")

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/General_Orders http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/General_Orders

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  • You a missing at least Gen Order 2 - unnecessary force. – Athena Widget Dec 22 '15 at 17:17
  • @AthenaWidget - 'the taking of intelligent life' appears to be listed as a Starfleet order, not specifically labeled as a "General Order" - overall - it seems like these orders are all a mess and there isn't a cohesive unity across all series / media. As I said in the answer, these appear to be the ones that are 'known' / documented from official media (ie - discounting fan-fiction) – NKCampbell Dec 22 '15 at 17:19
  • Well, from Memory Alpha Several of the first one hundred plus Starfleet Orders... – Athena Widget Dec 22 '15 at 18:12
  • General order 7 has the death penalty – user46509 Jan 18 '16 at 19:09
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In addition to those listed in @NKCampbell's answer, the following are from Memory Beta and are therefore not canon:

General Order 16: a long-standing order initiated by Captain Jonathan Archer of the Earth Starfleet in 2151, directing any ship detecting a specific energy pattern emitted from devices known as the "Malkus Artifacts" to investigate, and to confiscate said devices. (ENT - The Brave and the Bold, Book One short story: "Prelude: Discovery")

General Order 21: Access to the Gateway system is restricted. (STO video game: Star Trek Online)

General Order 30: Deals with states of alert where hostilities are considered likely. (TOS novel: Timetrap)

Self Defense General Order (number unspecified, non-canon) - Starfleet vessels will respond to force with equal force and no more. (DC Comics, "Ashes of Eden", 1995)

Additionally, there was a proposed General order:

Following the Borg incursion of 2380, a new General Order was proposed by Starfleet Command. The proposed order stated that in the event that a Borg incursion into Federation space was detected, Captain Jean-Luc Picard was empowered to take what ever steps he saw as necessary to protect the Federation, and that his actions could not be countermanded nor could he be censured afterward. (TNG novel: Before Dishonor)

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