To pass the Philadelphia police fitness test, you need to score at or above the 30th percentile for your age and gender on four events in a single session: one minute of sit-ups, a 300-meter run, one minute of push-ups, and a 1.5-mile run. The standards come from the Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC), and Philadelphia gives you three attempts during the hiring cycle.1Pennsylvania Code. 37 Pa. Code 203.11 – Qualifications Fail one event and you fail the whole test.
The 30th percentile is a baseline health standard, not an elite athletic cutoff, but applicants still wash out. Push-ups and the 1.5-mile run are the two events that disqualify the most candidates, usually for strict form and pacing.
The Four Events and What Counts as a Rep
Form matters as much as effort. A rep that doesn’t hit the full range of motion simply doesn’t count, and nervous candidates often lose five to ten reps on test day to reps that would have passed in their living room.
One-Minute Sit-Ups
Lie on your back with knees bent, heels flat on the floor, and fingers laced behind your head. A partner holds your feet. Each rep: curl up until your elbows touch your knees, then lower back down until your shoulder blades touch the floor. Your buttocks stay on the ground the whole time. Rest only in the up position. Your score is correct reps in one minute.2Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. Physical Fitness
300-Meter Run
A flat-out sprint on a measured course. Your time in seconds is your score. There’s no pacing to think about; you’re near maximum effort from start to finish.
One-Minute Push-Ups
Start in the up position, arms fully extended with elbows locked, hands roughly shoulder-width apart. A test administrator places a fist on the floor beneath your chest. Each rep: lower until your sternum touches the fist, then push back up to full extension with elbows locked. Back stays straight. Rest only in the up position. Knuckle and fingertip push-ups aren’t allowed.2Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. Physical Fitness
1.5-Mile Run
1.5 miles on a measured course. Your finish time is your score. Walking is allowed but makes the cutoff hard to reach for most age groups.
Minimum Scores by Age and Gender
You must meet or beat every number in your row. One miss fails the whole test. Gender for testing purposes is based on your government-issued ID.3Philadelphia Police Department. Agility Testing Applicants who fall outside the listed age brackets need special authorization from MPOETC before testing.
Male Standards
- Age 18–29: 35 sit-ups, 62.1-second 300m run, 26 push-ups, 13:16 for 1.5 miles
- Age 30–39: 32 sit-ups, 63-second 300m run, 20 push-ups, 13:46 for 1.5 miles
- Age 40–49: 27 sit-ups, 77-second 300m run, 15 push-ups, 14:34 for 1.5 miles
- Age 50–59: 21 sit-ups, 87-second 300m run, 10 push-ups, 15:58 for 1.5 miles
Female Standards
- Age 18–29: 30 sit-ups, 75-second 300m run, 13 push-ups, 15:52 for 1.5 miles
- Age 30–39: 22 sit-ups, 82-second 300m run, 9 push-ups, 16:38 for 1.5 miles
- Age 40–49: 17 sit-ups, 106.7-second 300m run, 7 push-ups, 17:22 for 1.5 miles
- Age 50–59: 12 sit-ups, 106.7-second 300m run, 7 push-ups, 18:59 for 1.5 miles
These are entrance standards. Once you’re in the academy, you have to maintain the 30th percentile throughout training; cadets who drop below it are removed from the program until they can test back in.3Philadelphia Police Department. Agility Testing
Order of Events, Rest, and Time Limit
The four events are administered in a fixed sequence on test day:2Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. Physical Fitness
- One-minute sit-ups
- 300-meter run
- One-minute push-ups
- 1.5-mile run
You get a minimum of five minutes of rest between events, and all four must be done inside a two-hour window. That’s generous under normal conditions, but it does cap how long you can wait if your legs are heavy after the sprint or your arms are shot after push-ups. The order works in most candidates’ favor: sit-ups come first while you’re freshest, the sprint sits in the middle so your upper body can recover before push-ups, and the long run comes last, where pacing counts more than explosive power.
Medical Clearance Before You Can Test
You can’t take the fitness test without a completed MPO-210 Physical Examination Form from MPOETC.4Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. MPOETC Forms Library The exam has to be done by a Pennsylvania-licensed physician, physician’s assistant, or certified nurse practitioner, who signs off that you can safely handle the cardiovascular stress of police training.5Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission. MPO-210 Physical Examination Form
The form needs the examiner’s signature, printed name, license number, and date. Academy application guidelines typically require the exam to be dated within six months of your class start, so don’t rush to the doctor the moment you apply. Expect to pay roughly $125 to $200 out of pocket depending on the provider.
What a Failure Costs You
Philadelphia allows three attempts to pass the fitness test during the hiring cycle.6Philadelphia Police Department. Hiring Process Overview If you miss one event, you don’t get to retake just that one. You repeat all four. Candidates who pass three events comfortably and miss the 1.5-mile run by a few seconds end up redoing sit-ups, the sprint, and push-ups the next time out, often more nervous than before.
Burn through all three attempts without passing and you’re out of that hiring cycle. Reapplying means waiting for a future open enrollment and starting the pipeline over, which can push your academy start back by many months.
How to Train So You’re Not Scraping the Minimum
Train to beat your row by a comfortable margin, not to match it. Test-day nerves, strict judging, and fatigue carried over from previous events will cost you reps and seconds you’d have on a good day in the gym. If your bracket requires 26 push-ups, you want to be hitting 35 clean reps in practice.
Give yourself at least 8 to 12 weeks of preparation. Run three or four times a week, mixing longer moderate-pace runs for the 1.5-mile with shorter interval work for the 300-meter sprint. Most men in the 18-to-29 bracket need roughly a 50-second 400-meter pace to clear the sprint standard, which takes actual sprint training rather than more jogging.
Practice sit-ups and push-ups under a timer with someone watching your form, not just counting out loud. For push-ups, drill the full range of motion with a fist or similar object under your chest so the depth is automatic. Push-ups that don’t go deep enough and reps where your back sags simply won’t count on test day. That gap between home reps and valid reps is where most candidates lose their margin.