The 60-Second Answer
The active New York City Police Officer filing series is Exam Nos. 7311 through 7322. Applications run in monthly windows from July 1, 2026, through June 14, 2027, with testing periods from August 2026 through July 2027. The application fee is $0: in OASys, choose No Fee as the payment method. These details come directly from the current DCAS Notice of Examination (NOE), not an older NYPD recruitment page or a third-party test-prep summary.
The biggest eligibility change is the education rule. By appointment, you need a four-year high school diploma or equivalent plus either 24 accredited college semester credits with at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA, or two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service. The written test is computer-based, and 70% is the passing score. Passing does not guarantee appointment; it puts you on an eligible list in final-score order.
Complete NYPD Exam Calendar: 7311–7322
Choose the exam number whose application window you can complete. The testing period follows several weeks later. DCAS publishes all twelve windows in one notice:
| Exam | Application and scheduling period | Testing period |
|---|---|---|
| 7311 | July 1–14, 2026 | August 3–8, 2026 |
| 7312 | August 3–17, 2026 | September 1–4, 2026 |
| 7313 | September 1–14, 2026 | October 5–9, 2026 |
| 7314 | October 1–14, 2026 | November 2–7, 2026 |
| 7315 | November 2–16, 2026 | December 1–5, 2026 |
| 7316 | December 1–14, 2026 | January 4–9, 2027 |
| 7317 | January 4–19, 2027 | February 1–6, 2027 |
| 7318 | February 1–16, 2027 | March 1–6, 2027 |
| 7319 | March 1–15, 2027 | April 5–10, 2027 |
| 7320 | April 1–14, 2027 | May 3–8, 2027 |
| 7321 | May 3–17, 2027 | June 1–5, 2027 |
| 7322 | June 1–14, 2027 | July 5–9, 2027 |
Apply through OASys, keep the emailed receipt, and verify the exam number and testing period on your dashboard. The DCAS open-competitive schedule is useful for confirming the currently open window, but the full NOE controls the rules.
Old NYPD Exam Information vs. the Active Notice
Search results still surface old pages, old books, and prep pages that blend different exam cycles. Use this correction table before you spend money or decide you are ineligible.
| Stale or unsupported claim | Current 2026–2027 answer |
|---|---|
| The filing fee is $54 or $47 | The active 7311–7322 NOE says $0 and tells applicants to select No Fee. |
| You need 60 college credits | Appointment requires 24 credits at a 2.0 GPA, or two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service, plus a high school diploma or equivalent. |
| The active series is 6312–6322 | The active series is 7311–7322. |
| You must be 21 to be appointed | The active minimum is 20 years and 6 months at appointment; you may take the test at 17. |
| The exam has 85 questions in 2.5 hours | The active NOE does not publish count or time. A legacy official NYPD FAQ says 55 questions in two hours; verify your admission notice. |
| NYC residency credit adds five points | The active NOE provides 10 points to qualifying candidates who first pass and properly claim the credit. |
| DCAS publishes topic weights | The active NOE lists nine abilities but does not publish percentage weights. |
This source hierarchy matters: the 2026–2027 DCAS NOE governs the current cycle. The official NYPD hiring FAQ is helpful for its explicit 55-question/two-hour description and list-process explanation, but the same page still displays older education and age requirements. Do not let its stale eligibility text override the active notice.
Who Qualifies for Exams 7311–7322?
You take the test before DCAS verifies every qualification, so check the appointment requirements yourself before filing. Under the active notice, you must meet all of the following at the specified stage:
- Education or military route by appointment: a four-year high school diploma or equivalent, plus 24 semester credits from an accredited college or university with at least a 2.0 cumulative index; alternatively, two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service satisfies the postsecondary route.
- Age: at least 17 on the date you take the multiple-choice test, at least 20 years and 6 months at appointment, and under 35 on the first day of the applicable application period. Qualifying military duty may reduce the calculated age by up to seven years.
- Citizenship: U.S. citizenship is required at appointment.
- Driver license: a valid, unrestricted New York State driver license is required at appointment and throughout employment.
- Residence: an appointed officer must live in New York City or Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Rockland, or Putnam County.
- Other screening: appointment also depends on background, medical, psychological, physical, and drug-screening requirements described in the NOE.
Do not confuse the residence allowed for employment with the narrower NYC residency-credit rule. The ten-point credit requires qualifying continuous residence within New York City from the test date through establishment of the eligible list, plus a timely claim made according to exam-day instructions. Merely entering a New York City address on the application is not a claim.
What the Written Exam Actually Tests
The current NOE identifies nine abilities and gives no official weights. Prepare across all nine instead of trusting a third-party percentage chart:
- Deductive Reasoning: apply a stated general rule to a specific set of facts.
- Inductive Reasoning: combine details to find a likely rule, pattern, or conclusion.
- Information Ordering: put actions, words, pictures, procedures, or operations in the required sequence.
- Memorization: retain and recall words, numbers, pictures, descriptions, or procedures.
- Problem Sensitivity: notice what is wrong or what is likely to go wrong.
- Spatial Orientation: determine locations and directions relative to yourself or another object.
- Visualization: mentally rotate, unfold, rearrange, or alter an object or pattern.
- Written Comprehension: understand English sentences, paragraphs, policies, signs, and documents.
- Written Expression: choose clear English wording and sentence construction so another person understands the message.
The exam may ask you to answer from documents supplied on test day. That makes careful source-bound reading more valuable than memorizing police codes or outside policy. If a question provides a rule, apply the rule as written—even if you have seen a different real-world procedure elsewhere.
Is there math or a floor-plan section?
The accurate answer is more nuanced than “yes” or “no.” The active NOE does not name a separate Mathematics domain. It does say Information Ordering can involve mathematical operations, and the older official 2021 NYPD Police Officer Exam Tutorial includes basic arithmetic and floor-plan examples. That tutorial also warns that it is not all-inclusive and does not guarantee which areas will appear on a later exam.
Prepare to calculate a percentage, read a simple diagram, follow room labels, and choose a direct route without treating math as a weighted current domain. This small amount of practice protects you from surprise while respecting what the current notice actually says.
Question Count, Time, and Scoring: Know the Source Boundary
The active 7311–7322 notice confirms a computer-terminal multiple-choice test and a 70% passing standard, but it does not state the number of questions or a time limit. An official NYPD hiring FAQ describes the Police Officer exam as 55 questions with two hours to complete it. Because that FAQ also contains visibly stale eligibility rules, use 55 questions and two hours as a reasonable practice benchmark—not as a replacement for your OASys admission notice.
Your final score determines your place on the eligible list. A higher score produces a better list position, so “just reach 70” is a weak strategy. First target reliable accuracy with untimed review, then add pacing. If you qualify for the ten-point NYC residency credit, DCAS adds it only after you earn a passing test score and satisfy the claim and residence conditions. Veteran and legacy credits have separate rules in the notice.
A Focused Two-to-Four-Week Prep Route
Week 1: Diagnose the nine abilities
Spend extra time on document-based reasoning. Read a short rule, hide it, summarize it in one sentence, and answer only from the supplied language. For memory questions, study an image for a fixed interval, remove it, and recall people, positions, numbers, colors, and directions.
Week 2: Build accuracy under short time limits
Run 10- to 15-question sets that combine paired abilities: deduction with written comprehension, ordering with spatial orientation, and memorization with problem sensitivity. Review every distractor. Use NYPD flashcards for definitions and recognition drills, but do not substitute flashcards for passage and diagram practice.
Add a few no-calculator arithmetic and floor-plan questions based on the older tutorial. Keep them in proportion: the current NOE's nine abilities, not a made-up math percentage, should control your study distribution.
Weeks 3–4: Simulate, repair, repeat
If you have four weeks, use the final two for mixed timed practice. A 55-question, two-hour session mirrors the legacy NYPD FAQ's explicit description, but confirm the actual limit on your appointment materials. After each session, use the NYPD cheat sheet to repair only the abilities that produced misses, then retest them in a new context.
In the last 48 hours, stop collecting new prep books. Review your error log, practice one final diagram and one memory exercise, and organize identification and travel. The goal is not to memorize police procedure; it is to apply supplied information accurately and quickly.
Exam-Day Rules That Can Cost You the Test
Bring one valid, non-expired, signature-and-photo ID whose first and last name match the application. The NOE lists acceptable forms including a state driver license, IDNYC, passport, military ID, employer photo ID, or student photo ID.
Electronic devices—including phones, smartwatches, cameras, headphones, and earbuds—may not be used at the site. Items brought in are placed in a sealed Yondr pouch. Calculators are not permitted. Unauthorized device use or opening the pouch early can nullify your score and disqualify you from City civil-service testing for up to five years. Follow any accommodation instructions before test day rather than bringing an unapproved assistive device.
What Happens After You Pass?
DCAS places passing candidates on an eligible list in final-score order and issues a list number. The notice says the list is usually active for four years. A list number is not a job offer: candidates are considered in order and must complete the NYPD's remaining screening steps.
At the investigation stage, the current notice requires a $75 fingerprint-screening fee and original or certified supporting documents. Keep transcripts, military records if applicable, identity documents, and license information ready. Continue updating your OASys contact details so a missed email does not become a missed appointment.
Free NYPD Exam Preparation
Use the official notice as the rulebook and free practice as the training ground:
- Free NYPD practice questions for mixed ability drills and explanations.
- Free NYPD study guide for structured lessons across the tested abilities.
- NYPD flashcards for retrieval practice and rapid review.
- NYPD cheat sheet for a compact final-week refresher.
File during the correct OASys window, save the current NOE, and study from the nine abilities it actually names. That approach avoids the two biggest risks in NYPD exam prep: missing an active deadline and preparing around stale exam facts.
Official Sources
- DCAS Notice of Examination for Police Officer Exams 7311–7322
- OASys HTML Notice of Examination
- DCAS Open-Competitive Exam Schedule
- Official NYPD Hiring FAQ, used only for its explicit 55-question/two-hour description and list-process details
- Official 2021 NYPD Police Officer Exam Tutorial, used only to illustrate historically published question styles
Always recheck your OASys dashboard and admission notice before test day; scheduling and operating instructions can change.
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