To become a correctional officer in Georgia, you apply directly to the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), clear a background check, drug screen, medical exam, physical fitness test, and a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) entrance exam, get hired at a specific facility, and then attend a five-week Basic Correctional Officer Training academy before working the floor.1Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a Correctional Officer
Who Qualifies
You must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or GED, and be a U.S. citizen.1Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a Correctional Officer The citizenship rule comes from the state statute on peace officer qualifications, so a work permit or green card is not enough.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers
Your criminal history has to be clean in specific ways. You cannot have been convicted of any crime punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal prison, and a pattern of misdemeanor convictions showing disregard for the law also disqualifies you. Pardoned traffic offenses do not count against you.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers GDC adds that any misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence is disqualifying.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Georgia Department of Corrections – Application Instructions
A licensed physician must examine you and find you free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition that would interfere with the duties of a peace officer.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers You pay for that exam yourself.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Georgia Department of Corrections – Application Instructions The state also requires good moral character, determined through an investigation under POST Council procedures.
The POST Entrance Exam (And the Degree Shortcut)
Before you can enter the training academy, Georgia law requires you to pass a POST entrance exam covering reading, writing, and arithmetic.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers POST accepts several standardized tests, including the Accuplacer Next Generation and the ACT, each with its own minimum section scores.4Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. POST Entrance Exam Results
If you already hold a degree from a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, you are exempt from the entrance exam entirely.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers An associate degree qualifies, and the field of study does not matter.
Physical Fitness Standards
You will be tested twice: once during hiring and again as part of POST certification. The GDC hiring fitness test differs by sex. Female applicants must complete four pushups in one minute, eight situps in one minute, and run one mile in 16 minutes or less. Male applicants must complete eight pushups in one minute, 12 situps in one minute, and run one mile in 16 minutes or less.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Georgia Department of Corrections – Application Instructions
The POST Physical Ability Test is tougher. It is a timed obstacle course you must finish in two minutes and six seconds or less, run on a space slightly larger than half a basketball court. You run laps, jump small hurdles, climb and descend a flight of stairs twice, crawl under a bar set at two and a half feet (with a two-second penalty if you fail it), leap a simulated six-foot ditch, scale a four-foot chain link fence, climb through a standard-sized window, and drag a 150-pound dummy 20 feet across a finish line.5Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. Physical Ability Test Many otherwise qualified candidates wash out here. Train for it before you show up.
How to Apply and Get Hired
A common mistake is thinking you attend training first and then apply. The order is the other way around. You apply to GDC, get hired at a specific facility, and that facility’s human resources office then submits a request for you to attend the academy.1Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a Correctional Officer
You apply through the GDC online jobs portal. Have ready your personal, educational, and employment history, a valid driver’s license, your Social Security card or an equivalent employment eligibility document, and your criminal history fingerprint results from a live scan.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Georgia Department of Corrections – Application Instructions
From there, screening runs on several tracks at once. GDC conducts a criminal background investigation, has you take and pass an online integrity test administered by its Human Resources office, and runs a pre-employment drug screening.3Georgia Department of Corrections. Georgia Department of Corrections – Application Instructions You also complete the physical fitness test and the medical exam. Plan for weeks, not days, because the background work includes fingerprint checks through both the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.2Justia. Georgia Code 35-8-8 – Requirements for Appointment or Certification of Persons as Peace Officers
What Happens at the Training Academy
Once hired, you report to Basic Correctional Officer Training (BCOT), a five-week, 240-hour program offered roughly nine times a year.6Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a GDC Correctional Officer
Week one is firearms. You have to shoot a passing score of 80 percent with the required weapon twice to move forward. Fail that qualification and you cannot continue to the remaining four weeks.6Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a GDC Correctional Officer
Weeks two through five combine classroom work with hands-on practical training. You cover Georgia corrections law, security procedures, restraint techniques, emergency response, interpersonal communication, and de-escalation. Written exams follow each subject, with a minimum passing score of 70 or 80 percent depending on how high-liability the material is.6Georgia Department of Corrections. Become a GDC Correctional Officer Completing BCOT satisfies POST certification for staff who supervise incarcerated individuals in state, county, and private facilities.
Pay, Benefits, and Moving Up
GDC does not publish a fixed starting salary on its public pages, and pay varies by facility and position. Overtime is available and sometimes mandatory, which can push your take-home up but makes schedules unpredictable. Raises are tied to tenure and performance reviews.
Benefits include health insurance, paid leave, and retirement through the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia, a defined benefit pension that pays based on years of service and salary rather than market performance.7Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia. Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia
From entry level, you can move up through Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain, with each rank adding authority and administrative duties. Promotion depends on tenure, performance evaluations, and extra training, and GDC runs specialized leadership programs for officers on that track. A criminal justice degree helps your odds without being strictly required for supervisory roles. Officers who want a different path can also move into probation and parole work or apply to the federal Bureau of Prisons, where Georgia POST certification and GDC experience carry weight.