Become an Officer

(a) In order for an individual to enroll in any basic licensing course the provider must have on file documentation that the individual meets eligibility for licensure and:

(1) a high school diploma;

(2) a high school equivalency certificate; or

(3) for the basic peace officer training course, an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States after at least 24 months of active duty service;

(b) The commission shall issue a license to an applicant who meets the following standards:

(1) age requirement:

(A) for peace officers and public security officers, is 21 years of age; or 18 years of age if the   applicant has received:

(i) an associate’s degree; or 60 semester hours of credit from an accredited college or university; or

(ii) has received an honorable discharge from the armed forces of the United States after at least two years of active service;

(2) minimum educational requirements:

(A) has passed a general educational development (GED) test indicating high school graduation level; or

(B) holds a high school diploma;

(3) is fingerprinted and is subjected to a search of local, state and U.S. national records and fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record;

(4) has never been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class B misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years from the date of the court order;

(5) is not currently charged with any criminal offense for which conviction would be a bar to licensure;

(6) has never been convicted of an offense above the grade of a Class B misdemeanor or a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years;

(7) has never been convicted or placed on community supervision in any court of an offense involving family violence as defined under Chapter 71, Texas Family Code;

(8) for peace officers, is not prohibited by state or federal law from operating a motor vehicle;

(9) for peace officers, is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition;

(10) has been subjected to a background investigation;

(11) examined by a physician, selected by the appointing or employing agency, who is licensed by the Texas Medical Board. The physician must be familiar with the duties appropriate to the type of license sought and appointment to be made. The appointee must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, within 180 days before the date of appointment by the agency to be:

(A) physically sound and free from any defect which may adversely affect the performance of duty appropriate to the type of license sought;

(B) show no trace of drug dependency or illegal drug use after a blood test or other medical test; and

(C) for the purpose of meeting the requirements for initial licensure, an individual’s satisfactory medical exam that is conducted as a requirement of a basic licensing course may remain valid for 180 days from the individual’s date of graduation from that academy, if accepted by the appointing agency;

(12) examined by a psychologist, selected by the appointing, employing agency, or the academy, who is licensed by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. This examination may also be conducted by a psychiatrist licensed by the Texas Medical Board. The psychologist or psychiatrist must be familiar with the duties appropriate to the type of license sought. The individual must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, to be in satisfactory psychological and emotional health to serve as the type of officer for which the license is sought. The examination must be conducted pursuant to professionally recognized standards and methods. The examination process must consist of a review of a job description for the position sought; review of any personal history statements; review of any background documents; at least two instruments, one which measures personality traits and one which measures psychopathology; and a face to face interview conducted after the instruments have been scored. The appointee must be declared by that professional, on a form prescribed by the commission, within 180 days before the date of the appointment by the agency;

(A) the commission may allow for exceptional circumstances where a licensed physician performs the evaluation of psychological and emotional health. This requires the appointing agency to request in writing and receive approval from the commission, prior to the evaluation being completed; or

(B) the examination may be conducted by qualified persons identified by Texas Occupations Code §501.004. This requires the appointing agency to request in writing and receive approval from the commission, prior to the evaluation being completed; and

(C) for the purpose of meeting the requirements for initial licensure, an individual’s satisfactory psychological exam that is conducted as a requirement of a basic licensing course may remain valid for 180 days from the individual’s date of graduation from that academy, if accepted by the appointing agency;

(13) has never received a dishonorable or other discharge based on misconduct which bars future military service;

(14) has not had a commission license denied by final order or revoked;

(15) is not currently on suspension, or does not have a surrender of license currently in effect;

(16) meets the minimum training standards and passes the commission licensing examination for each license sought;

(17) is a U.S. citizen.

Persons meeting the above requirements who are desiring to become a full-time or reserve police officer must complete an application/personal history statement and submit all accompanying documents.

In addition to meeting the above requirements, our applicants must successfully undergo the following:

• Written Test – This test checks for basic writing skills and reading comprehension. Minimum passing score is a 70%.
• Physical Fitness Test – Applicants must pass a basic fitness test that consists of:
  • 1 ½ Mile run – must complete in 19 minutes and 50 seconds
  • Pushups – must complete 20
  • Sit ups – Must complete 20
  • Bench Press – Must be able to complete on repetition of a bench press of ½ of the applicants’ body weight (or 130 pounds) whichever is less.
• Oral Interview Board – Applicants must successfully pass an oral interview board which tests logical reasoning ability.

We offer:

• Competitive Pay and Benefits (starting pay is $42,583.32–50,806.96, depending on experience)
• Paid training
• Incentive pay for college degrees
• Incentive pay for Intermediate, Advanced, and Master TCOLE licensing
• Uniforms/weapons provided
• TMRS retirement and an optional 457 retirement plan
• Medical, dental, life, and other optional insurance options available for officer and his/her family members
• We work under a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
• Above benefits are for full-time paid officers only