Who we are looking for

You must be a minimum of 18 years old at the point of application. There is no upper age limit.

If you are a young person over the age of 18 and you believe you have the necessary skills and qualities we are looking for right now, then apply to be a police officer.

For those of you who have worked in various jobs over a number of years, or perhaps raised a family, then it is very likely that you have acquired many of the transferrable skills and experiences we are looking for and we would absolutely encourage you to submit an application form.

To be eligible, you must be a British citizen or a citizen of a country that is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

Commonwealth citizens and foreign nationals who are residents in the UK and free from restrictions are also eligible to apply.

You must also have been resident in the UK for a minimum of three years immediately prior to application.

You must possess a full, UK manual driving licence to be appointed as a police officer. Any applicants who possess a driving licence issued in Europe will require to have obtained a UK driving licence prior to appointment. Any applicants who do not possess either of these do not meet the essential criteria and will be rejected from the process.

Please ensure you declare any driving endorsements or penalty points as they will be discovered throughout the application process. At the point of application if you have more than 6 points on your driving licence this will result in a vetting rejection.

Part of the occupational requirement to become a police officer is to drive police vehicles in “response” conditions, with emergency blue lights and klaxons in operation, which requires you to meet the relevant DVLA Group 2 Medical Driving Licence standards (please see the GOV.UK website for more information under General Information; assessing fitness to drive).

Please note - it is a legal requirement to update the address on your driving licence, if the address you currently reside at differs from the one on your driving licence, then a member of the team will be in touch to clarify this discrepancy.

Not got your licence yet? You can apply to be a police officer as soon you pass your test. 

You do not need any formal qualifications to apply to become a police officer.

Your potential and life experiences are more important to us.

Vetting checks are carried out once you have successfully completed the application process.

It’s important to be accurate with all information supplied during the application process as it’s all confirmed at the vetting stage.

Vetting is part of the final stage of the selection process.

List of ineligible offences (List 1) 

Conviction of any of the offences below will lead to an application to join Police Scotland being ineligible and will be rejected at application stage.

• Offences involving death or serious injury including murder, culpable homicide, manslaughter, any offence of causing death by driving, attempted murder, assault to severe injury, assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement, assault to severe injury and danger of life, grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent.
• Treason, espionage, kidnapping, human trafficking, abduction, torture.
• Sexual offences such as rape, sexual assault, indecent images offences, lewd and libidinous practices, any other sexually coercive conduct, those who are registered sex offenders/the subject of Orders such as a Sexual Offences Prevention Order/Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
• Firearms or explosives offences.
• Any offence of domestic violence, controlling or coercive behaviour, stalking.
• Serious or fraudulent offences of dishonesty including armed robbery, burglary, theft by housebreaking, perverting the course of justice, perjury, corruption.
• Any offence as an adult resulting in a prison sentence.
• Perverting the course of justice, perjury, corruption.
• Drink/drug driving including failing to provide a specimen.

List of offences which will almost certainly lead to vetting refusal – with timescales (List 2)

Conviction of the below offences within the last 15 years, an application to join Police Scotland being ineligible and will be rejected at application stage.
Conviction of the below offences more than 15 years ago, the Force Vetting Unit will make an early assessment of suitability on a case-by-case basis.

• Hate crime including offences involving discrimination.
• Any offence of supply of controlled drug, being concerned in the supply of controlled drug.
• Dangerous driving.

For both lists

Involvement in any offence listed in List 1 or 2 of ineligible offences which did not result in a conviction, the Force Vetting Unit will make an early assessment of suitability on a case-by-case basis.

Driving licence 

Please ensure you declare any driving endorsements or penalty points as they will be discovered throughout the application process. At the point of application if you have more than 6 points on your driving licence this will result in a vetting rejection.

Ongoing investigation

If you are currently the subject of an ongoing police investigation, this will result in a vetting rejection.

Finances

You will be asked questions about your finances. These are required so that we can make a risk assessment about your vulnerability to bribery or corruption. Most people carry debt in the form of mortgages, car loans, credit cards, etc. We will not be making an assessment based upon the size of the debt you choose to carry, but your ability to manage that debt.

We will use a credit reference agency to assess how you manage your finances and, in most cases, where we can see that you are managing your finances, this will not be an issue. Where there is evidence that you are struggling financially, a careful assessment will be made of your overall financial stability. There are some financial circumstances which will make you ineligible to apply to Police Scotland:

• Applicants who are currently in a Trust Deed, or less than 12 months have passed since discharge.
• Applicants who have previously been sequestrated, or declared bankrupt, and less than 3 years have passed.
• If you have defaulted accounts totalling £1,000 or more. 

You must be physically fit and mentally resilient to undertake police duties. The fitness assessment is based on the Scottish Police Service National Fitness Standard. Currently running to 5.4 on the Bleep Test.

You will also be expected to maintain your fitness throughout your career. 

To be appointed as a police officer, you are required to undergo a medical examination towards the end of the selection process.

It is an essential criteria of the medical examination that your Body Mass Index (BMI) is within the range of 18 and 30.

You are encouraged to meet the BMI criteria at the point of application and maintain this standard throughout the selection process.

NHS BMI calculator

Your eyesight must meet the national eyesight standard. Eyesight will be not be assessed until the medical stage at the very end of the selection process.

Failure to meet the standard means you cannot be appointed.

To avoid disappointment, you may wish to consider consulting with a qualified optician before applying and consulting the national eyesight standard document.