The use of Private Military and Security Companies, or PMSCs, is paramount in modern warfare, with the number of company employees sometimes exceeding the number of military personnel in a conflict zone.1 In international armed conflicts every individual has a status regulating their rights and duties under international law, but for employees of PMSCs that status is determined on a case-by-case basis.2 It may be so that a case-by- case assessment is the only viable option, but it also inevitably makes predictability more difficult. To increase predictability through clarifying and systematizing the relevant questions to be asked, in order to understand the specific circumstances and requirements for qualifying under each of the statuses, is therefore the goal of this paper.