Basic Certificate*
Officers must have completed:
- The discipline-specific Basic course at MLEA or a POST-approved equivalent
- One full year of discipline-specific employment with the same agency
*Officers need not apply for a Basic Certificate. For all other certificates, an application must be submitted to POST. All certificate applications may be found here.
Instructor Certificate
Officers must have:
- An active Basic certificate which is not currently under sanction with POST
- Two years of experience as a public safety officer
- Completed a minimum 40-hour POST-approved Instructor Development course.
Intermediate Certificate
Officers must have:
- The discipline-specific Basic certificate
- Fours years of discipline-specific experience
- Required number of combined training credit hours:
- Peace officers – 200 hours
- Probation and Parole officers – 200 hours
- Detention/Corrections officers – 144 hours
- Public Safety Communications officers – 84 hours
Advanced Certificate
Officers must have:
- The discipline-specific Intermediate certificate
- Eight years of discipline-specific experience
- Required number of combined training credit hours:
- Peace officers – 400 hours
- Probation and Parole officers – 400 hours
- Detention/Corrections officers – 304 hours
- Public Safety Communications officers – 184 hours
Supervisory Certificate
A first-level supervisor is:
- above the operational level for which commensurate pay is authorized
- an officer who, in the chain of command, is principally responsible for the direct supervision of an agency’s employees, or may be assigned those supervisory responsibilities
To qualify for a certificate at this level, officers must:
- possess the discipline-specific Intermediate certificate
- have successfully completed a 32-hour, POST-approved management course
- at the time of application, serve satisfactorily as a first-level supervisor and have served in that capacity for one year prior to the date of application, attested to by the administrator of the employing agency
Command Certificate
Officers must:
- possess the discipline-specific Supervisory certificate
- have completed a professional development course or courses, cumulating a minimum of 160 hours of POST-approved management or leadership courses
- at the time of application, serve satisfactorily at the command or mid-management level and have served in that capacity for one year prior to the date of appointment, attested to by the administrator of the employing agency
Calculation of POST training hours
POST-Approved training can be obtained in two ways:
- A trainer obtains preapproval of a training by filling out an “Application for POST Credit Hours for a Training,” available on POST’s Forms page, providing and retaining the information required by law, and sending in a roster after the training. You can view a list of preapproved courses on the POST Bulletin Board.
- An officer receives POST credit after attending a training by filling out an “Application for Individuals Seeking POST Credit Hours for Out-of-State and Other Courses” or an “Application for Individuals Seeking POST Credit Hours for Online Courses,” available on POST’s Forms page, and providing and retaining the information requirement by law.
No training credit will be approved if the officer/trainer does not request POST credit within one year of the training’s completion.
Inservice training is training that officers obtain within their agency, which is not open to all public safety agencies. POST will not approve inservice training and place it on an officer’s POST training transcript. However, an officer may submit an inservice training transcript and receive up to 15% of the hours needed for a certificate.
Example:
A peace officer must have a total of 200 or more POST training hours to be eligible for an Intermediate certificate. Since you may earn no more than 15% (30 hours) in inservice credit, you must have a minimum of 170 hours in POST-approved training credit.