Alabama Police Academy Requirements and Standards

To attend a police academy in Alabama, you must first be hired by a law enforcement agency, then meet the standards set by the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) and complete at least 560 hours of basic training. Alabama police academy requirements run through APOSTC for every officer in the state, and unlike some states, you cannot enroll on your own. An agency hires you under a provisional appointment and sponsors your seat in the academy.

Who Qualifies

You must be at least 19 years old, a United States citizen, and hold a valid driver’s license.¹ For education, you need a high school diploma, a GED, or an accredited associate’s degree or higher. Many agencies set their own hiring floor at 21, so ask the department before assuming 19 is enough.

You Have to Be Hired First

APOSTC will not accept you into an academy as an independent applicant. You must be working full-time as a law enforcement officer for an agency at the time your application goes to the academy.² Full-time means 40 hours per week, or an average of 40 across pay periods. In practice, the agency gives you a provisional appointment and sends you to the academy.

That provisional appointment lasts 180 days from the date you were first employed. If you don’t earn certification inside that window, the appointment expires and you cannot reapply to any law enforcement agency in Alabama for two full years, measured from the day your provisional period ran out.³

The 180 days are cumulative. Switching departments, or leaving one and getting rehired at another, doesn’t reset the clock. Every day of provisional employment at any agency counts toward the same six-month total.³

If you fail the academy on your first attempt but still have provisional time left, your agency can request a second try. That’s the only extra attempt you get. A second failure bars you from the academy for two years from the date of that failure.³

What Disqualifies You

A felony conviction is a permanent bar from certification, employment, or appointment as an Alabama law enforcement officer.¹ APOSTC draws no distinction between types of felonies or how long ago they happened.

Misdemeanors don’t automatically end your candidacy, but offenses involving force, dishonesty, or false statements get heavy scrutiny. A misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence functions as a hard bar. Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm or ammunition, with no exception for officers acting in their official capacity.⁴ You cannot serve as a police officer in Alabama without carrying a firearm, so the federal prohibition closes the path.

Military discharge must be under honorable conditions. Any other discharge type can disqualify you. The background investigation also looks at financial stability, because habitual failure to pay debts can raise concerns about judgment.

Falsifying anything on your application triggers a mandatory two-year bar from seeking employment or certification.⁵ The falsification itself also becomes a character issue that can follow you after the two years end.

Physical Ability Test

APOSTC’s Physical Ability Test has two parts, and you must pass both before entering the academy. The endurance portion requires a 1.5-mile run in 15 minutes and 28 seconds or less, at least 22 push-ups in 60 seconds, and at least 25 sit-ups in 60 seconds.⁶

The agility course strings five job-simulation events into a 90-second time limit, including pushing a patrol vehicle 15 feet on a level surface and dragging a 165-pound dummy 15 feet at the end of a 25-yard sprint.⁶ The events run continuously with no rest between stations, and you’ll need to maintain this fitness level throughout training.

Medical and Psychological Clearance

A licensed physician (M.D. or D.O.), certified registered nurse practitioner, or authorized physician’s assistant must examine you and certify that you’re fit for academy training and the duties of an officer.⁷ Your hiring agency picks the provider.

A separate psychological evaluation must be done by a licensed behavioral health professional with experience in law enforcement. The evaluator states whether you are recommended or not recommended for appointment.⁷

A negative recommendation isn’t automatically the end. If your agency wants to move forward, it must submit documented supplemental information to APOSTC’s Committee on Character and Psychological Evaluation Review. The committee decides. If it rejects you, your provisional appointment is terminated and you’re ineligible for any law enforcement employment in Alabama for one year. After that year, you have to be reviewed and cleared by the committee before any agency can appoint you again.⁷

The Basic Ability Test

Before the academy, you must pass the Basic Ability Test (BAT), a written assessment administered through the Alabama Community College System using the ACT WorkKeys platform. The required components are Reading for Information, Locating Information, and Applied Mathematics. APOSTC sets the minimum passing scores based on a job task analysis of law enforcement work.

WorkKeys measures workplace skills rather than academic knowledge: reading workplace documents, finding information in charts and forms, and handling the math that comes up in police work. Community colleges across Alabama administer the test, and you can usually schedule through the testing center nearest to your hiring agency.

Inside the Academy

Alabama’s basic law enforcement academy runs at least 560 hours, typically delivered over about 14 weeks.⁸ Attendance counts: missing more than 5% of training hours can result in academic failure.

Sessions are held at APOSTC’s main facility in Tuscaloosa and at regional and departmental academies around the state, including one run by the Birmingham Police Department. Your hiring agency picks which academy you attend. Alongside classroom and practical instruction, you must pass a firearms manipulation skills test and a defensive tactics proficiency test to graduate. Passing earns you APOSTC certification, the credential that authorizes you to serve as a law enforcement officer anywhere in Alabama.

Keeping Your Certification

Every certified officer must complete 12 hours of APOSTC-approved continuing education each year and pass an annual firearms requalification course.⁹

If your continuing education falls 24 or more hours behind, APOSTC suspends your certification, and getting it back requires the full recertification training program, not just making up the missed hours.⁹ Failing annual firearms requalification can result in revocation. So can falsely reporting completed training.

If you leave law enforcement and later want to come back, the timeframes matter:

Under two years away: you can keep your certification active by maintaining continuing education hours even without being employed.
Two to ten years away: you must apply for renewal and complete an APOSTC-approved recertification course.
More than ten years away: your certification is void, and you would start over as a provisional applicant and complete the full academy again.⁹

Coming In From Another State

Alabama accepts officers certified in other states through a lateral transfer process. Instead of the full 560-hour academy, qualified lateral transfers complete a shorter program, currently 120 hours over about three weeks, covering Alabama-specific law, procedures, and standards.⁸

APOSTC reviews your out-of-state training against Alabama’s standards to determine equivalency. You still have to meet every other requirement: age, citizenship, background check, physical ability test, medical and psychological evaluations, and employment by an Alabama law enforcement agency. APOSTC evaluates each applicant’s credentials individually before approving the shortened program.

1
CareerOneStop. Certified Law Enforcement Officer License Requirements
2
Justia Law. Alabama Administrative Code 650-X-2-.01 – Training
3
APOSTC. Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Rules – August 2025
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
5
Alabama Administrative Code. Alabama Administrative Code 650-X-2-.05 – Character
6
Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code 650, app I – Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Physical Agility/Ability Examination
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Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code 650-X-2-.04 – Physical Examinations and Psychological Evaluations
8
APOSTC. 2021 Certification Training Curriculum
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APOSTC. Alabama Administrative Code Chapter 650-X-12 – Continuing Education