How to Become a Correctional Officer in NJ: Steps, Disqualifiers, and Pay

To become a correctional officer in NJ, you apply through the New Jersey Civil Service Commission’s Law Enforcement Series announcement, pass a written examination, meet the physical fitness standards, clear a background investigation along with medical and psychological screenings, and complete a 19-week residential training academy run by the Department of Corrections.¹ The official title is Correctional Police Officer, and the role carries full police powers at all times, inside and outside the facility.² Starting pay during the academy runs about $48,000, climbing to roughly $118,900 at the top of the Senior Correctional Police Officer scale.³

Who Can Apply

The baseline requirements are short, and all of them must be met by the application deadline listed in the Civil Service announcement:⁴

At least 18 years old
United States citizen
High school diploma, vocational high school diploma, or an approved GED
A valid New Jersey driver’s license, if the specific position requires operating a vehicle as an essential duty

Residency

You do not have to live in New Jersey to apply, but residency matters later. Under the Civil Service rules, applicants must meet the residency requirements of the appointing jurisdiction by the application deadline and may need to maintain continuous residency through appointment.⁴ The New Jersey First Act, in effect since September 2011, adds further residency obligations for state employees. Out-of-state candidates can file, but should expect in-state residents to be favored when the eligibility list is certified to the Department.

Veterans Preference

If you served during a qualifying period and were honorably discharged, you can claim preference points that improve your position on the eligible list. The claim requires a DD-214 showing honorable discharge, plus a Civil Service Veterans Preference Claim Form filed with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.⁵ Pull your records well before the filing window opens; chasing down a replacement DD-214 at the last minute has cost people their preference.

What Will Disqualify You

Some items in your history will end the process before it starts. These come from a mix of New Jersey’s law enforcement hiring statute, Department of Corrections removal criteria, and federal firearms law.

Criminal Record

New Jersey bars anyone convicted of a first, second, or third degree crime under state law, or an equivalent offense elsewhere that would carry the same grading here.⁶ Convictions involving fraud or dishonesty disqualify, as does any combination of offenses that raises substantial doubt about your fitness to enforce the law. The Department of Corrections adds its own rules: two or more convictions for possession or use of a controlled substance remove you from the eligibility list, and any conviction for selling, distributing, or manufacturing a controlled substance does the same.⁷

Domestic Violence

Any domestic violence conviction, including a misdemeanor, is a permanent bar. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. 922 makes it a felony for anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess firearms or ammunition.⁸ Correctional Police Officers carry firearms, so the state cannot hire anyone with that record for the job.

Driving, Drugs, and Military Discharge

Two or more DUI convictions disqualify.⁷ A refused drug test, a failed drug test, or a positive result for an unauthorized controlled substance at any point in the hiring process ends the process immediately. A dishonorable discharge from any branch of the military is a disqualifier.

The Hiring Steps in Order

1. File the Application and Pay the Fee

Hiring runs through the Civil Service Commission, not through the Department of Corrections directly. Applications are filed online during the open filing window for the Law Enforcement Series announcement, which covers Correctional Police Officer along with other law enforcement titles. The processing fee is $70 and is non-refundable, regardless of how many title areas you select.⁹ Before you file, gather your Social Security number, a complete residential address history, your employment history with supervisor contact information, official education transcripts, and your DD-214 if you are claiming veterans preference. Inaccurate or incomplete entries can get you removed from the eligibility list.

2. Take the Written Examination

After the Commission processes your application, you receive an examination notice with the date and location of the Law Enforcement Series written test. Candidates who pass go into an eligible pool, and the Department of Corrections draws from that pool as vacancies open.⁴ A higher score moves you up the list, and veterans preference points are added at this stage. There is often a long gap between passing the exam and getting called forward, because the Commission certifies names only when the Department needs them.

3. Pass the Physical Fitness Test

Every applicant must meet the Police Training Commission’s Pre-Academy Physical Conditioning Entry Requirements:¹⁰

19 push-ups in one minute
22 sit-ups in one minute
Vertical jump of 12.5 inches
300-meter run in 84 seconds or less
1.5-mile run in 19 minutes or less

These are minimums. The academy itself pushes recruits well past this standard, and candidates who trained only to the cutoff numbers often struggle once they arrive. Start conditioning months before your test date.

4. Clear Medical and Psychological Screening

Candidates who pass the fitness test move into a medical examination, a drug screening, and a psychological or psychiatric evaluation.⁴ Failing any one of them removes you from the eligible list. The psychological evaluation surprises a lot of otherwise strong candidates, especially those unprepared for the structured interview format.

5. Complete the 19-Week Training Academy

New recruits attend the NJDOC Correctional Staff Training Academy, a 19-week residential program certified by the New Jersey Police Training Commission.¹ The academy operates under the Police Training Act, which requires correctional officers appointed by the state to complete a Commission-approved basic training course before permanent appointment.¹¹

Coursework covers criminal law, defensive tactics, firearms qualification, emergency medical care, correctional security concepts, investigations, human relations, and heavy physical conditioning. Recruits live on-site through the training week. Drug screening continues throughout, and a positive test means immediate dismissal. Recruits must qualify with firearms and pass all performance benchmarks to graduate. You are paid during the academy at approximately $48,000 per year, so training is not an unpaid stretch.³

What You Earn Once You’re Hired

Pay follows a structured progression tied to tenure and promotion. As of the July 2026 pay schedule:³

Academy training: about $48,000 per year
Post-academy, during the 12-month on-the-job training year: about $53,200 per year
Senior Correctional Police Officer, starting: about $73,100 per year
Senior Correctional Police Officer, top of scale: about $118,900 per year

Officers are enrolled in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS), contributing 10 percent of base salary, and receive state health, dental, vision, prescription, and life insurance coverage along with 13 paid holidays and accruing vacation and sick leave.¹²³

The whole process, from filing to graduation, takes most candidates well over a year once you add the wait between exam and certification. Treat each stage as its own hurdle. Keep your record clean, train harder than the published fitness minimums, and have your documents ready the day the filing window opens.

1
New Jersey Department of Corrections. NJDOC Academy Training
2
Civil Service Commission. Correctional Police Officer Job Specification
3
New Jersey Department of Corrections. NJDOC Salary and Benefits
4
Civil Service Commission. Law Enforcement Series Announcement
5
Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Civil Service Preference for Veterans
6
New Jersey Legislature. Assembly Bill 897 – Law Enforcement Officer Background Checks
7
New Jersey Department of Corrections. Department of Corrections Applicant Questionnaire and Removal Criteria
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
9
Civil Service Commission. Entry Level Law Enforcement Examination FAQ
10
New Jersey Department of Corrections. NJDOC Correctional Police Officer Qualifications
11
New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. New Jersey Statutes 52:17B-66 through 52:17B-69.1 – Police Training Act
12
New Jersey Department of the Treasury. Police and Firemen’s Retirement System Member Guidebook