Police civil service exam: which test is yours

Each row is one agency: the written test it uses or accepts, its passing rule, where you test and what you pay. The source is the agency's own page or the state rule, and the date is when we last checked it. A dash means the agency does not publish that rule or we could not confirm it, so ask its recruiting office.

Three patterns run through the rows:

• The cut score belongs to the agency, not the test. The owners of the PELLETB, NPOST and FrontLine National leave it to each department. Florida's CJBAT is the exception, with one state rule: 70, plus 30 of 50.
• Some departments take more than one test. LAPD waives its own Multiple Choice Test for a PELLETB T-score 42+. SFPD takes FrontLine (60 / 70 / 70, video / writing / reading) or a PELLETB score (T-score 42+, 2 years).
• Several large agencies write their own exam. NYPD, LASD, NYSP, Dallas PD and the Chicago Police Department give a test of their own. None of the four tests on this site stands in for those exams, and the table says so before you spend weeks on the wrong one.

• PELLETB: California POST's reading and writing battery, used by California agencies and academies. It is given only in California. Where to take it.
• NPOST: Stanard's National Police Officer Selection Test, required in Iowa by rule and used by agencies in Utah and other states. Stanard sells it under the name POST, so a "POST test" outside California may mean this one. Agencies that use it.
• FrontLine National: the NTN video, writing and reading test. About 350 agencies in 31 states, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands listed it as required on NTN's job board (as of Oct 21, 2026). One sitting can send scores to several departments. Departments by state.
• CJBAT: Florida's Basic Abilities Test. Required before entering any Commission-certified basic recruit training program in Florida, law enforcement or corrections.

• NYPD →NYPD uses its own DCAS exam: pass mark, schedule, list, and which abilities to drill
• CHP →The CHP written exam is the PELLETB, taken with CHP every time you apply
• LAPD →LAPD written step: its own Multiple Choice Test, or a PELLETB or FrontLine score
• California →California: PELLETB or another validated test, and what each department accepts
• Florida →Florida: the CJBAT before the academy, the SOCE after it
• Pennsylvania →Pennsylvania: an approved reading test, NPOST at 70% or Nelson-Denny
• Utah →Utah: no state NPOST rule since 2020, but SLCPD, West Jordan and UHP still use it