The EMPCO test in Michigan is the standardized written exam that most police departments, sheriff’s offices, corrections agencies, and fire departments require before they will consider hiring you. It costs $75 per attempt, you need 70% to pass, and the content is practical reasoning and judgment rather than criminal law.1Empco. Michigan Information Passing is the first gate in a longer hiring process, but it’s the step that trips up the most candidates because they walk in cold.
Which EMPCO Exam You Take
EMPCO administers three different exams and you need to sit for the one that matches the job you want. The NCJOSI² is for law enforcement positions like police officer and road patrol deputy. The NCOSI is for corrections and jail officers. The NFSI is for firefighters.1Empco. Michigan Information Registering for the wrong one wastes the fee, so confirm the exam your target agency accepts before you schedule.
What’s on the Written Exam
The exams test practical cognitive skills, not knowledge of Michigan statutes or criminal procedure. Expect reading comprehension, reasoning, basic grammar, attention to detail, and a behavioral component that evaluates judgment in workplace scenarios.2Empco. Information The academy teaches the law later.
Reading comprehension gives you a dense passage and then asks questions designed to catch people who skimmed. The reasoning sections ask you to spot patterns and work through problems methodically. Grammar and spelling lean toward the kind of writing you’d do in a police report.
The behavioral section is where unprepared candidates lose the most points. Each question presents a workplace situation with several answers that all sound reasonable. The difference between the best answer and the second-best usually comes down to whether you escalate or de-escalate, follow the chain of command, or prioritize safety over efficiency. Candidates who retake the exam often improve most here, because once you’ve seen the format, the pattern of the “correct” answers becomes recognizable.
Time Limits
The law enforcement NCJOSI² runs two and a half hours. The corrections NCOSI runs one and a half hours.1Empco. Michigan Information The firefighter NFSI runs two and a half hours.3Empco. Frequently Asked Questions Time pressure is real on the law enforcement test. Candidates who linger on reading passages often rush the behavioral section at the end and give back points they already earned.
Passing Score
The minimum passing score on all three exams is 70%. If you score below 70%, your result shows as “FAIL” with no percentage — EMPCO doesn’t tell you how close you came. A pass isn’t a universal green light either: some agencies set their own cutoff above 70% for law enforcement positions.1Empco. Michigan Information
Registering and Paying
Registration happens through the EMPCO portal at empco.net. You’ll create a permanent account that becomes your home base for testing, score tracking, and agency applications. Before you start, have your driver’s license, Social Security number, and full employment history with dates and supervisor contact information ready. The system also asks about military service and certifications.
The fee is $75 per attempt, paid online before you can reserve a slot.3Empco. Frequently Asked Questions Some departments reimburse the fee after hire, but that’s agency-specific and not something to count on.
Fill out the registration carefully. What you enter becomes part of the digital profile hiring agencies review, and a wrong phone number or misspelled former employer can create problems during the background investigation that you won’t learn about until weeks later.
Test Day Rules
Testing centers are located at community colleges and training facilities around Michigan. You pick your preferred location and date through the EMPCO portal when you schedule.
On test day, bring your driver’s license and either the email confirmation you received when scheduling or your scheduled test pulled up on your phone from your EMPCO account. Know your Social Security number. Calculators are not permitted on any exam.2Empco. Information
If you are not present at the scheduled start time, you will be denied entry. No exceptions, no refund. Arrive early enough to check in and settle before the clock starts, and leave your phone in the car or expect to store it before entering the testing room.
How Departments See Your Score
Your score posts to your EMPCO profile within 72 hours of the exam. Departments don’t automatically see it. You control visibility by selecting specific agencies through the “Select Agencies” tab in your account. Once you’ve selected an agency and you meet their minimum qualifications, that agency can view your profile and your most recent valid passing score.1Empco. Michigan Information
Most agencies don’t require a separate written application. Your EMPCO profile is the application. When a department is interested, they reach out and ask you to enter their formal recruiting process. The system is passive once your score is posted: you select agencies, keep the profile current, and wait for contact. Some agencies will not show interest until you’ve also uploaded proof of a physical abilities test, so check each agency’s requirements in the portal before assuming a passing EMPCO score alone is enough.1Empco. Michigan Information
Score Validity and Retakes
Law enforcement and firefighter scores are valid for one year from the test date. Corrections and jail officer scores are valid for three years in Michigan, a change that took effect in August 2021 under updated standards from the Michigan Sheriffs’ Coordinating and Training Council.3Empco. Frequently Asked Questions If your score expires before you’re hired, you have to retake the exam and pay the $75 again to re-enter the hiring pool.
Retake rules depend on which exam you took. Law enforcement and firefighter candidates can test twice within any 12-month period with no mandatory wait between attempts. After two attempts in 12 months, you must wait one full year from your first test date before trying again. Corrections and jail officer candidates in Michigan get unlimited attempts with no waiting period, a policy specific to Michigan corrections.3Empco. Frequently Asked Questions
Each attempt is another $75, so a failed test has real financial sting. If you scored in the low 60s, spend a few weeks on practice reading comprehension and basic math before rebooking.
Who Qualifies and Who’s Disqualified
Before you pay the fee, make sure you meet the baseline. Under Michigan Administrative Code R 28.14203, every law enforcement candidate must be a United States citizen, at least 18 years old, and hold a high school diploma or GED. An associate or bachelor’s degree also satisfies the education requirement.4Legal Information Institute. Michigan Admin Code R 28.14203 – Non-medical Selection Qualifications Individual departments often add requirements on top: a minimum age of 21, a certain number of college credits, or residency conditions. The state standards are the floor.
Criminal history can end the process before it starts. Any felony conviction permanently disqualifies you from law enforcement licensing in Michigan, including felonies that were later expunged, set aside, or dismissed through a delayed sentencing program. Adjudications under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act still count.
Specific misdemeanors also bar licensing: a second OWI within seven years, misdemeanor drug possession other than marijuana, certain drug use offenses, second-offense domestic violence, and misdemeanor stalking. A first-offense domestic violence conviction deferred under a diversion program still counts. Federal law separately prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a firearm, which makes law enforcement employment impossible regardless of what the state standards say.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts If you have any criminal history, get clarity from MCOLES before paying the exam fee.
What EMPCO Doesn’t Cover
Passing EMPCO is one piece of becoming a licensed Michigan law enforcement officer, not the whole thing. Before enrolling in a police academy you also have to pass the MCOLES physical fitness test and the MCOLES reading and writing test, both separate from EMPCO.
The physical fitness test has four events — vertical jump, sit-ups, push-ups, and a half-mile shuttle run — with minimums that vary by age and sex, and you have to pass all four. It must be completed within 180 days of your academy start date, and it is only accepted when administered at a MCOLES-supervised training academy.6Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. Pre-Enrollment Physical Fitness Test
The MCOLES reading and writing test is a separate exam measuring the skills needed for academy training and on-the-job performance. The fee is $72 and registration goes through the Talogy website rather than the EMPCO portal. Reading and writing test results do not expire as long as you tested after November 1, 1999.7Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. Reading and Writing Test
After the written tests, a department that’s interested in you will run a background investigation, oral board interview, psychological evaluation, and medical exam. The background check is where the most candidates wash out — investigators verify everything in your EMPCO profile and go well beyond it, and unexplained gaps or inconsistencies with what former employers say draw hard scrutiny. The full path from first test to academy enrollment commonly runs six months to a year.