How to become a police officer in New Hampshire

In New Hampshire you are hired by a police department first, and the department then registers you for the state’s physical fitness entrance test and police academy. After you’re hired, you pass the fitness test and complete the 16-week full-time academy, which you must finish within six months of your hire date (NH Police Standards and Training Council).

Right now 58 open officer jobs are open to applicants who aren’t certified yet. You can filter the job list by certification to see them.

The three steps to certification

The Police Standards and Training Council, which certifies every officer in the state, lists the steps in this order (PSTC):

1. Be hired by a law enforcement agency in New Hampshire.
2. Pass the physical fitness entrance test. Your agency registers you for the next scheduled test.
3. Attend and pass the academy. If you pass the fitness test and there is space, you are enrolled in the next class.

Minimum requirements to be hired

The council’s rules set these minimums for every police officer hired in the state (Pol 301):

• Education: a high school diploma, a high school equivalency certificate, or a transcript showing two years of college (Pol 301.01).
• Citizenship: you must be a U.S. citizen (Pol 301.03).
• No felony convictions unless pardoned. Your agency fingerprints you and checks criminal and motor vehicle records in New Hampshire and everywhere you have lived (Pol 301.02).
• Background investigation: you fill out the council’s Personal History Statement, covering 10 years of homes and jobs, your finances, driving record and any drug use, and the agency checks references, employers and neighbors and interviews you (Pol 301.05).
• Medical exam: after a conditional job offer, a New Hampshire licensed physician or health care provider examines you (Pol 301.04).
• Psychological screening: required before hiring for state officers, and for local officers where the town has funded it (Pol 301.07).

The council’s academy page sums up the hiring standards as no serious criminal or motor vehicle record, a good credit history, a background investigation, a fingerprint check, a psychological evaluation and a medical exam (PSTC).

Each department adds its own requirements, such as a minimum age, a written test or a driver’s license, so read the posting. The State Police, for example, require you to be at least 21 and a U.S. citizen by the exam date, and, if you have no experience, an associate degree or 60 college credits, or a high school diploma or GED plus two years of law enforcement or military experience (NH State Police).

The written entrance exam

Many departments give applicants a written exam as part of their own hiring process, so check each posting. The State Police Trooper I posting says candidates “must successfully participate in a written examination and structured interviews,” with a test date of Saturday, March 6, 2027 (State of New Hampshire). Hooksett lists a written examination that is waived for certified applicants and free for non-certified applicants (Hooksett Police Department), and Berlin’s testing starts with physical fitness assessments, an entry-level written test and an oral board interview (Berlin Police Department).

The physical fitness test

To be certified you must pass a standardized fitness test based on the Cooper Institute’s standards: one minute of timed sit-ups, untimed push-ups and a timed 1.5-mile run. Academy recruits must score at the 35th percentile (PSTC), using the Cooper Institute’s norms for age and gender. After certification, you pass the same test every three years, with a medical clearance first, to keep your certification. Officers already certified on January 1, 2001 are exempt (Pol 404.06–404.07).

The full-time police academy

The New Hampshire Full-Time Police Academy runs 16 weeks, in a paramilitary setting with marching and saluting. You must pass every subject with at least 70%; a 70% overall average isn’t enough (PSTC).

You have six months from your hire date to complete it. The council can extend that for good cause, such as no academy being available, an illness or military service, but not past two years from your hire date. Until you graduate, you may work only in the direct presence of a certified officer (Pol 302.01).

Upcoming full-time academy classes as posted by the council (PSTC). The council’s Acadis system has seat counts and fitness test dates for each class.

Part-time police officers

A part-time certification limits you to 1,300 hours of police work a year. Training and court time don’t count toward the limit, but administrative time and paid details do (PSTC; Pol 302.11). The steps are the same as for full-time officers: get hired, pass the fitness test, then pass the part-time academy.

The Part-Time Police Academy is 200 hours of training, usually on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and all day Saturday, with the same 70% pass mark in every subject. The council’s page lists the next part-time class as “TBD” (PSTC). There are 13 part-time officer jobs on our job list now.

Already a certified officer in another state

If you are a certified, academy-trained, full-time officer in another state, you may only need the “New Hampshire Law Package” training and its tests instead of the full academy. New Hampshire recognizes other states’ training that is at least equal in scope to its own. If the subjects you would still need add up to 30% or more of the academy’s hours, you attend the whole academy. You still go through the background, medical, psychological and fitness requirements, and some departments require the full academy as their own policy (PSTC).

Job postings for certified officers are often called “lateral” or “certified” positions. Many postings in our job list accept both certified and uncertified applicants.

Keeping your certification

Your New Hampshire certification lapses if you leave your job and aren’t employed as an officer in the state again within 30 days. A department that rehires you can ask the council to recertify you without more training, which it grants unless the academy curriculum has changed in ways your training wouldn’t cover (Pol 401.01).