POST Exam Prep Guide
Everything you need to know to ace the law enforcement written entrance exam, by a former U.S. Secret Service Agent who has sat on hiring boards, trained new agents, and served as a Field Training Officer for law enforcement officers.
What Is the POST Exam?
POST stands for Peace Officer Standards and Training, the regulatory body in each state that sets minimum requirements for law enforcement officers. Every state has its own POST commission, and most require candidates to pass a written entrance exam before they can move forward in the hiring process.
The POST written exam tests your ability to read and comprehend written material, write clear reports, perform basic math, apply good judgment in field scenarios, and navigate spatial environments. The exam doesn’t test criminal law or police procedures. It tests the foundational academic skills every officer needs on the job.
Exam formats vary by state and agency. Some departments use the National Police Officer Selection Test (POST), others use PELLETB (California), NTN (National Testing Network), or their own proprietary exam. The underlying skill areas, however, are consistent across nearly all of them.
Passing scores also vary. Most agencies require a 70% or higher, and competitive candidates score in the 80 to 90th percentile. Retake policies range from 30 days to 6 months depending on the agency.
The written exam is typically one of the first major hurdles in the law enforcement hiring process. A low score can eliminate you before you ever get to the oral board or background check. Preparation is the difference between candidates who move forward and candidates who restart the process.
The written exam is just the first step.
Here’s what the full process looks like.
Written Exam
The entrance exam testing reading, writing, math, judgment, and spatial reasoning.
Physical Agility Test
Timed fitness events that vary by agency, typically a run, push-ups, sit-ups, and an obstacle course.
Oral Board Interview
A structured panel interview with sworn officers and/or HR staff evaluating your judgment, communication, and character.
Background Investigation
A comprehensive review of your history: criminal, financial, employment, social media, references.
Polygraph
Many agencies conduct a polygraph exam focused on honesty and undisclosed disqualifiers.
Psychological Evaluation
A clinical interview and written assessment to determine psychological suitability for law enforcement.
Medical / Drug Screen
Physical examination, vision and hearing standards, and drug testing.
Conditional Offer & Academy
You receive a conditional offer, then complete the police academy before final appointment.
Seven subject areas. Know the weight of each.
Every major state POST exam tests these seven subject areas. Tap any one to see what it covers.
Measures your ability to read a passage and accurately answer questions about it. Passages are typically police-related: incident reports, departmental policies, criminal statutes, or news articles. All answers come from the passage itself. Expect a 2 to 5 paragraph passage followed by 3 to 6 questions, and 15 to 25 of these questions on a full exam.
Tests sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, word choice, and clarity. You may pick the correctly written sentence, spot the error in an underlined portion, choose correct spelling, or complete a sentence. Typically 10 to 20 questions.
Basic arithmetic and applied math in a law enforcement context: speed, distance and time, fractions and percentages, unit conversions, and simple tables. No algebra or calculus, and calculators are typically not permitted. Typically 10 to 15 questions.
Tests whether you can structure information logically and identify what belongs in a police report: picking the best narrative, finding missing information, ordering scrambled events, and choosing the most professional sentence. Typically 10 to 15 questions.
Realistic scenarios where you choose the most appropriate response. It tests values, judgment, and practical decision-making around officer safety, use of force, community interactions, ethics, and chain of command. Typically 10 to 20 questions.
Vocabulary used in law enforcement: legal terms, procedural terminology, report-writing vocabulary, and radio language, including matching 10-codes to their meanings. Typically 5 to 15 questions.
Interpret a street grid to find the most direct legal route, tell which direction a subject traveled, identify an address from a description, or work out which way an officer is facing. Typically 5 to 10 questions.
Sharpen Your Observational Memory
Many POST exams include a memorization section where you study an image or scene and then answer questions from memory. Our memory training games build the exact skill these sections test, and the skills officers use every day. Included with Standard and Premium.
Scene Study
Study a street scene, then answer from memory.
Hot Sheet
Memorize BOLOs, then stop the right vehicles.
Dispatch Recall
Take a call, hold the details, answer later.
Patrol Route
Follow directions and pick legal routes.
Report Writer
Turn field notes into a clean narrative.
Report Review
Find the errors before the sergeant does.
Policy Call
Apply a written policy exactly as written.
Shift
Fast mixed drills under time pressure.
Flashcards
Your own decks with spaced review.
Ace the Oral Board Interview
The oral board is where highly qualified candidates get eliminated for poor answers. Our question bank covers behavioral questions (STAR format), scenario-based questions, and ethics and integrity questions, with panel evaluation criteria for each one.
POST Physical Fitness Test
The physical fitness test is a hard gate. Failing it ends your application regardless of written exam or oral board performance. Most law enforcement agencies use Cooper Institute standards at the 40th to 50th percentile.
12-Week LE Fitness Prep
Structured training targeting the Cooper 75th percentile with progress tracking. One-time PDF, $10.
After the Academy: State Certification
Certification requirements vary by state. Florida and Texas officers must pass mandatory state licensing exams, the Florida SOCE and Texas TCOLE, after the academy. Don’t assume graduation means you’re licensed.
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