Florida CJBAT: Exam Sections, Registration, and Retake Rules

The Florida CJBAT, short for Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test, is the entrance exam you must pass before enrolling in a law enforcement basic recruit training program in Florida. It contains 97 questions across three timed sections and gives you 90 minutes total to finish.¹ The Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission adopted the test under Section 943.17, Florida Statutes, and Pearson VUE administers it at testing centers around the state.² If you’re a veteran with an honorable discharge or you hold an associate degree or higher, you can skip the exam entirely.

Who Has to Take the CJBAT

Two groups are exempt from the law enforcement CJBAT:

Veterans who qualify under Florida Statutes Section 1.01(14), which generally means service in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces with an honorable discharge.
Anyone holding an associate degree or higher from an accredited college or university, regardless of the field of study.

Both exemptions are written into Section 943.17(1)(g), Florida Statutes, and have applied to law enforcement applicants since July 1, 2022.³⁴ One important limit: the exemptions only cover law enforcement academies. The statute specifically references “a law enforcement officer basic recruit training program.” If you’re entering a corrections academy, you still have to pass the corrections version of the Basic Abilities Test regardless of your military service or degree.

Former Florida-certified officers and officers certified in other states may also qualify through the FDLE’s Equivalency of Training process, which can waive both the CJBAT and portions of academy training.²

What the Exam Covers

The CJBAT is split into three separately timed sections, each measuring a different skill set.⁵

Section I: Behavioral Attributes

Forty-seven items in 20 minutes. This section measures job-related personality traits and behavioral tendencies the state links to success in law enforcement. There are no right or wrong answers in the traditional sense; your responses are compared to profiles of effective officers.

Section II: Memorization

Ten items. You view an image, study it for one minute, then have 90 seconds to answer questions about what you saw. It tests the kind of observation and recall you would use remembering details from a crime scene or a suspect description.

Section III: Written Comprehension, Expression, and Reasoning

Forty items in one hour. This is the heaviest cognitive section. It covers reading comprehension of the kind found in technical reports, grammar and written expression for report-writing, and both deductive and inductive reasoning for problem-solving.

Each section is timed independently, so unused time in one section does not carry into the next.¹

Passing Score and How Long It Lasts

The FDLE says passing scores are “based on research using educational and psychological principles” and are set by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission.² The official cut score is not published on the FDLE website. Some third-party preparation sources suggest you need at least 70 correct out of 97 with minimums from Sections II and III, but that figure does not appear in any official FDLE or Pearson VUE documentation.

A passing score is valid for four years from the test date.² If you let four years pass without entering an academy, you start over.

Scores are stored electronically in the FDLE’s Automated Training Management System. The FDLE does not send official score reports directly to applicants, so your social security number must be entered correctly in your Pearson VUE account for results to be processed.

How to Register and What It Costs

You register through Pearson VUE’s online portal. Create an account, select the law enforcement CJBAT, and pick an available testing center and date.¹ The fee is $39, paid by credit or debit card at booking. Testing centers do not accept payment on site, and the fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.⁶

The name on your Pearson VUE account must exactly match your government-issued photo ID. A mismatch at check-in will keep you out of the exam room, and the $39 is gone. Verify this before you confirm the reservation.

Test Day

Bring a valid government-issued photo ID. Pearson VUE accepts a driver’s license, passport, military ID, state identification card, or permanent resident card.⁷ Staff will verify your name, date of birth, gender, and social security number against your ID before you enter the testing room.⁴

Phones, books, notes, and printed materials stay in a secure locker. The exam is delivered on a computer under continuous proctoring. The administrative code lists prohibited conduct, including communicating with other candidates and possessing any portion of current or past exams. Violations are reported to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, which can bar you from future attempts.

Rescheduling, Cancellation, and Missed Appointments

To change your test date, call the Pearson VUE exam reservation line at least 24 hours before your scheduled exam. Cancel or reschedule inside that window and you forfeit the fee with no transfer option.⁶

If you miss your appointment because of a genuine emergency, Pearson VUE will consider excusing the absence. Qualifying situations include illness (yours or an immediate family member’s), a death in the family, a disabling traffic accident, court appearances, military duty, and weather emergencies. You have 14 business days after the missed exam to submit a written request with supporting documentation. Pearson VUE’s decision is final.

Retake Rules If You Fail

You can retake the CJBAT up to three times per discipline within any 12-month period.⁴ Any attempt beyond the third inside the same 12 months is invalidated. The $39 fee applies each time, so three failed attempts in a year cost $117 before the clock forces you to wait.

The 12-month window runs from the date of your first attempt in a cycle, not from the most recent one. Once that year resets, you get three fresh attempts. The administrative code sets no lifetime cap.

Passing the CJBAT Is Not the Same as Being Hirable

Passing gets you into an academy. It does not qualify you to be employed as an officer. Florida Statute 943.13 sets separate minimum qualifications that apply when an agency actually hires or appoints you:⁸

Age: at least 19 for law enforcement officers, at least 18 for correctional officers.
Education: a high school diploma or equivalent.
Citizenship: U.S. citizen.
Criminal history: no felony convictions and no misdemeanor convictions involving perjury or false statements, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld or the sentence was suspended. A dishonorable discharge from the Armed Forces is also disqualifying.

The age rule catches people. If you’re 18 and want law enforcement rather than corrections, you don’t yet meet the employment threshold under 943.13, even though some academies will admit you. Ask your academy whether you need to meet the employment age at enrollment or at graduation.

Individual agencies add their own screening on top of these statutory minimums, including background investigations, drug-use history reviews, polygraph examinations, and psychological evaluations. If anything in your history gives you pause, raise it with a recruiter before you spend money on the CJBAT and commit to an academy.

1
Pearson VUE. Florida Department of Law Enforcement (BAT)
2
Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Basic Abilities Test
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.17 – Basic Recruit Training Programs
4
Cornell Law Institute. Florida Admin Code 11B-35.0011 – Basic Abilities Test
5
Pearson VUE. CJBAT Candidate Information Bulletin
6
Pearson VUE. FDLE Basic Abilities Test Information
7
Pearson VUE. Pearson VUE Global ID Policy
8
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 943.13 – Officers Minimum Qualifications for Employment or Appointment