How to Become a Police Officer in Nebraska

Who can apply

• You must be a U.S. citizen.
• You must turn 21 before you finish certification training.
• You need a high school diploma (home-school graduates count) or GED, and must read, write and understand English at an 11th-grade level.
• You need a valid driver's license.
• Your vision must be correctable to 20/30, with no irreversible eye disease.
• You cannot have any conviction punishable by a year or more in prison (unless overturned or pardoned), a violent Class I misdemeanor, a sexual assault or child abuse crime, or a domestic violence conviction that bars firearm possession.
• You cannot have a DUI/DWI conviction in the two years before admission, or a dishonorable or bad-conduct military discharge.
• You must pass a fingerprint criminal records search, a background investigation, a medical exam within one year before admission, a psychological evaluation (if never employed as a Nebraska officer), and the Council's physical fitness standards.

Step by step

1. Get hired by an agency, or apply to NLETC on your own. Self-sponsored applicants must send their packet at least 90 days before the course starts.
2. Request a seat in a basic training session from the NLETC registrar.
3. Pass the TABE reading test before training and complete the medical exam, psychological evaluation and fingerprinting.
4. Send the full application packet to NLETC in Grand Island (fingerprint cards, birth certificate, driver's license, diploma or GED, TABE results).
5. Complete basic certification training and, before graduation, CPR/First Aid/AED (adult, child and infant) and the online NIMS 100, 200 and 700 courses.
6. Receive your certificate from the Crime Commission.

Official application →

Training and exam

Training: To be appointed as a certified officer you need a certificate from the Crime Commission for completing the NLETC basic certification curriculum or an equivalent program approved by the Police Standards Advisory Council. The NLETC basic certification course lasts about 15 to 16 weeks (NLETC pages say both) and runs three times a year, with up to 50 students per class. A newly hired, not-yet-certified (conditional) officer may work for up to 16 weeks and must enroll in the next basic class. Before dealing with the public or carrying a firearm, a conditional officer must complete 24 hours of use of force, 16 hours of firearms and handgun qualification, 12 hours of arrest, search and seizure, 8 hours each of de-escalation, mental health crisis and anti-bias training, and 4 hours of substance abuse training, and may work only under direct field training officer supervision.

Exam: Before training you must pass the TABE (Test of Adult Basic Education), which shows you read, write and understand English at an 11th-grade level. If you fail, you can retake a different version as soon as you choose, but must wait 90 days to retake the same version unless the Council allows it on petition. To graduate and be certified, you must pass all written exams and performance objectives at the academy and complete the Council's essential physical job tasks.

What it costs in Nebraska

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

Keeping your certification

Renewal: Certified officers must complete continuing education every calendar year, starting the year after they are first certified. NLETC's current reporting form requires 32 hours, due by December 31. Under LB784 (2026), from January 1, 2027 officers at agencies with fewer than 25 full-time officers need 24 hours a year and officers at larger agencies need 32. Each year must include de-escalation, at least 2 hours of anti-bias and implicit bias training, firearms, officer wellness and legal updates. Every three years you also need mental health and substance abuse refreshers and a vehicle pursuit policy review.

Good to know in Nebraska

Officers certified in another state: An officer certified in another state can be certified in Nebraska after completing NLETC's reciprocity program and being approved under section 81-1414.13.

16-week limit: An uncertified conditional officer can work for no more than 16 weeks. The Council can extend this by up to 2 weeks for good cause, or up to 16 more weeks if the officer applied promptly and the training center could not enroll them.

Returning officers: A certified officer who was out of law enforcement more than 30 days but less than four years must requalify with a handgun and update CPR/First Aid when rehired.

Sources

• Neb. Admin. Code Title 79, Chapter 8 - Training Academy Admission Qualifications (Rev. 3-24)
• NLETC - Application Procedures and Admission Requirements for Basic Training
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1414 - Certification; conditional officers
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1414.07 - Continuing education (operative Jan. 1, 2027)
• NLETC - Law Enforcement Continuing Education Report (TC-916A)
• Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center Tuition/Fees (effective 07/01/2025)
• NLETC Basic Certification Course Overview