COMPUTER BASED TESTING
All of Minnesota’s peace officer licensing exams are administered by PSI using computer based testing (CBT). CBT allows exam applicants to choose from a variety of exam dates, times and locations including numerous sites throughout Minnesota and selected sites in other states. Please see the PSI link to the left for additional details.
TYPES OF EXAMS
The POST Board administers various licensing exams to eligible candidates. The information below will allow applicants to determine which exam they need to take.
The Peace Officer Licensing Exam is the exam given to students who complete a Professional Peace Officer Education (PPOE) program. First-time exam candidates may apply for this exam online, or obtain a written application from their PPOE coordinator. Applicants who pass this exam are eligible for a peace officer license for three years.
Applicants who have already passed the exam at some point in the past, should not apply for the Peace Officer Licensing Examination. Applicants who passed the exam more than three years ago but were never licensed need to apply for the Reinstatement of License Eligibility Exam.
The Reinstatement of License Eligibility Exam is administered to individuals whose license eligibility has expired. If the applicant was not hired as a Peace Officer in the State of Minnesota WITHIN three years of taking and passing the Peace Officer Licensing Exam or Reciprocity Exam, the applicant must reinstate their eligibility by taking and passing this exam.
The License Restoration Exam is administered to individuals whose peace officer license has been expired more than three years. For example, if the applicant went to work in private business for four years after his or her license expired and then decided to return to the police service, the applicant would need to take this exam.
The Reciprocity Licensing Exam is administered to experienced officers from other states, and from some federal and military police backgrounds. Specific documentation is required to qualify to take this exam.
See Applying for an Exam for additional information.
There are also links to all the exam applications and relevant information on the left side of this page.
