How to Become a Police Officer in Illinois

Who can apply

• You must be a person of good character, as reviewed by your hiring agency and the academy before basic training.
• You cannot enter a state-certified academy if you have any felony conviction, or a conviction for one of the misdemeanors listed in Section 6 of the Illinois Police Training Act (for example certain sex, theft, battery, deception and cannabis offenses), or any crime of moral turpitude. Supervision, conditional discharge and first-offender probation count as convictions for this rule.
• City police departments run by a Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (Illinois Municipal Code, Division 2.1) require applicants to be under 35 and to have a high school diploma or equivalent. Veterans may exceed the age limit by their years of active duty, up to 10 years. The board may also require an associate's or bachelor's degree.
• Under the same Municipal Code section, a non-citizen who is legally authorized to work in the U.S., or who has DACA, may apply for police officer if federal law allows them to possess a firearm.
• You must be hired by an Illinois law enforcement agency before you can attend the basic academy or be certified.

Step by step

1. Apply to and get hired by an Illinois police department or sheriff's office. Each agency runs its own entrance tests, background check and medical/psychological screening.
2. Your agency certifies to the academy, within 30 days before the start of training, that your background has been checked and you meet the Police Training Act standards.
3. Complete the Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course at a Board-certified academy, keeping a 70 percent average on written exams and passing the firearms course.
4. Pass the State Comprehensive certification examination (66 percent to pass).
5. All of this must be done within 6 months of your first day of full-time employment. The Board may extend this by no more than 90 days for good reason.
6. The Board issues your law enforcement officer certification. You may not act as an officer or carry a firearm under your agency's authority without active certification.

Training and exam

Training: Every full-time officer must complete the Board's Minimum Standards Basic Law Enforcement Training Course at a state-certified academy. It is full-time and continuous. State law requires the curriculum to include at least 12 hours of hands-on scenario role-play, at least 6 hours on use of force and de-escalation, and at least 6 hours on high-risk traffic stops, plus crisis intervention, firearms, first aid, domestic violence and sexual assault response, among many other topics. You must keep a 70 percent overall average on written academy exams, and absences cannot exceed 10 percent of course hours. Before the basic course starts, every trainee must pass all of the Board's POWER fitness tests (sit and reach, one-minute sit-ups, bench press and 1.5-mile run), given by the academy director. Part-time officers take a separate Part-Time Basic Training Course and must also pass the POWER test before starting it.

Exam: After the academy you take the State Comprehensive Examination, given by Board staff at the academy at the end of the course. You have 3.5 hours, and the passing score is 66 percent. Only trainees who finished the academy with at least a 70 percent average may sit for it. If you fail, your agency head can request a retake; you get up to 2 more attempts for each appointment, on an alternate version of the test. Out-of-state officers take the 200-question Equivalency Exam instead (66 percent to pass, at most three attempts in a career).

What it costs in Illinois

Fixed amounts are set by the state. Items marked “your quote” are priced by private sellers, so enter what you’re quoted.

How long it takes

State law gives you 6 months from your first full-time day to finish the academy and pass the certification exam, with a possible Board extension of no more than 90 days.

Keeping your certification

Renewal: Officers must complete at least 30 hours of mandated in-service training every 3 years (including use of authority, procedural justice, civil rights, child abuse reporting, autism-informed response and cultural competency), plus yearly training in law updates, emergency medical response, crisis intervention and officer wellness. Under the SAFE-T Act, officers must file an Officer Verification Form showing they completed all mandated training each 3-year cycle; the Board may deactivate the certification of officers who do not comply.

Good to know in Illinois

Six-month deadline: If you are not certified within 6 months of your first full-time day (plus any Board extension of up to 90 days), you forfeit the position. The hiring agency is then barred from employing you as an officer for one year; if it fails to train you a second time, it is barred permanently.

Officers from other states: Only your hiring agency can request a reciprocity waiver. You must have finished an equivalent POST-certified academy, worked one year full time in the state where you trained, and have no break in service over six months. With 1 to 2 years of service you also attend the 120-hour Transition Academy. With 2 or more years you complete the 118-hour online Law for Police course and 4-hour mandatory firearms training, then pass the 200-question Equivalency Exam. It must all be done within 6 months of hire. Officers with under one year of service must attend an Illinois academy.

Former military police: ILETSB now lets eligible veterans who served as active-duty military police request a certification waiver. After the waiver is granted they must complete the Illinois Law for Police Course, a two-day in-person sexual assault investigation course, a 40-hour mandatory firearms course with use of force training, pass the Illinois certification exam, and do any added training ILETSB requires. This does not currently apply to National Guard or Reserve members.

Age 20 college applicants: City departments under the Municipal Code may appoint applicants who are 20 and have completed 2 years of law enforcement studies at an accredited college, but they cannot make arrests or carry firearms until age 21.

Sources

• Illinois Police Training Act, 50 ILCS 705/6 - Powers and duties of the Board (disqualifying offenses)
• 50 ILCS 705/7 - Rules and standards for schools (curriculum and in-service)
• 50 ILCS 705/8.1 - Full-time law enforcement officers (6-month rule, waivers)
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.15 - Equivalency Examination
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.20 - Minimum Requirements of the Trainee
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.25 - Certification Examination procedures
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.30 - School Standards (fees)
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1720.35 - Academy Entrance Qualifications
• 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1770.207 - Part-time Wellness (POWER) Standards
• ILETSB - Out-of-State Trained Reciprocity Process
• ILETSB - Verification Process FAQ
• Illinois Municipal Code, 65 ILCS 5/10-2.1-6 - Examination of applicants
• ILETSB: Military reciprocity for law enforcement certification