NYPD Exam 2026–2027: Dates, $0 Fee, 24-Credit Rule & Free Prep

Current Status on July 31, 2026

The active New York City Police Officer series is Exam Nos. 7311 through 7322. Exam 7311 filing closed July 14, and its testing period begins August 3. The next filing window is Exam 7312, August 3-17, 2026, followed by testing September 1-4. Later monthly windows continue through Exam 7322 in June 2027.

The application fee for every exam in this series is $0. Select No Fee in OASys. The governing DCAS Notice of Examination also confirms the 24-credit appointment route, age boundaries, nine tested abilities, 70% passing score, residency credit, screening requirements, and academy obligations.

Passing the written test creates an eligible-list position; it does not guarantee appointment. Start with the correct filing window, then prepare for both the test and the longer NYPD candidate process.

Complete Filing and Testing Calendar

Apply through the OASys notice page. Save the immediate receipt, confirm the exam number on your dashboard, and keep your email, phone, mailing address, name, and Social Security number current through the required DCAS process. The open-competitive schedule shows the currently open filing period, while the NOE controls qualifications and rules.

Current Rules Versus Search-Result Traps

Use a strict source order: the 2026-2027 NOE and your admission notice first, current DCAS rules second, and NYPD pages for candidate-process details. Some official NYPD pages retain old age or education text while their JST or medical sections remain useful. Never let an older FAQ override the active NOE.

Eligibility and Appointment Requirements

DCAS tests applicants before verifying every qualification. By appointment, the current notice requires a four-year high school diploma or approved equivalent and either:

• 24 semester credits from an accredited college or university with at least a 2.0 cumulative index; or
• two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service.

Foreign education must receive an equivalency evaluation through a service approved during NYPD screening. Do not assume an unreviewed foreign credential or non-semester-credit program will count.

The age rules apply at different moments:

• You must be at least 17 on the multiple-choice test date.
• You must be at least 20 years and 6 months at appointment.
• You must be under 35 on the first day of the application period for your exam number.
• Qualifying military duty may be deducted from actual age, up to seven years.

At appointment, you must be a U.S. citizen and hold a valid, unrestricted New York State driver license. You must maintain that license throughout employment. You must also understand and be understood in English.

Under the residence advisory in the NOE and New York State Public Officers Law, an NYPD officer must live in New York City or Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Rockland, or Putnam County. That employment rule is different from the test's NYC residency credit.

Ten-Point NYC Residency Credit

The credit is not automatic. You must first pass the multiple-choice test, follow the claim instructions on test day, and maintain continuous New York City residence from the test date through establishment of the eligible list. Entering a City address on the application does not claim the credit. DCAS will investigate eligibility, and a late claim cannot be accepted after list establishment.

Veterans' preference and legacy credits have separate definitions, proof, and deadlines. Use the DCAS Special Circumstances Guide rather than combining them with the residency-credit rules.

Written Exam Format: What Is Confirmed

The current NOE confirms a computer-terminal multiple-choice test and a 70% passing score. Your final score determines your position on the eligible list, so a higher passing score normally produces a lower, more favorable list number. The notice does not publish a guaranteed question count, time limit, or ability weights.

An older official NYPD hiring FAQ states 55 questions in two hours. Use that only as a practice benchmark and follow the timing printed on your current admission notice. Do not accept third-party claims of 85 questions, 90 minutes, or 39 correct answers as current DCAS specifications.

The nine abilities named in the active NOE are:

1. Deductive Reasoning: apply a stated general rule to specific facts.
2. Inductive Reasoning: combine details into a likely rule or conclusion.
3. Information Ordering: place actions, words, images, procedures, or operations in the required sequence.
4. Memorization: retain and recall words, numbers, images, descriptions, or procedures.
5. Problem Sensitivity: identify what is wrong or likely to go wrong.
6. Spatial Orientation: determine locations and directions relative to yourself or another object.
7. Visualization: predict an object's appearance after rotation, unfolding, movement, or rearrangement.
8. Written Comprehension: understand English sentences, paragraphs, signs, policies, and documents.
9. Written Expression: select wording and sentence construction that communicate clearly in English.

Some items may require answers based only on documents supplied at the exam. Apply the given rule, even if outside knowledge suggests another procedure. The current NOE does not name Mathematics as a separate ability, although Information Ordering may involve mathematical operations. An older official NYPD tutorial includes basic arithmetic and floor-plan examples but does not guarantee current content.

A Two-to-Four-Week Preparation Plan

free NYPD practice pathPractice questions with detailed explanations

Days 4-7: Repair reading and reasoning. Pair deductive reasoning with written comprehension, and inductive reasoning with problem sensitivity. For each item, identify the controlling sentence before evaluating choices.

Week 2: Train visual and sequence skills. Alternate memorization, spatial orientation, visualization, and information ordering. Use fixed study intervals for images, then recall people, positions, directions, colors, and numbers without looking back. Include a small number of no-calculator arithmetic and floor-plan items without inventing a current math weight.

Weeks 3-4, if available: Simulate and retest. Use short timed mixed blocks, then one 55-question/two-hour practice session as a legacy benchmark. Review every distractor, repair repeated causes, and retest in a new context. Confirm actual timing from your admission notice.

Use NYPD flashcards for definitions and recognition, and the NYPD cheat sheet for final review. Neither replaces document, diagram, and memory practice.

Exam-Day Rules

Bring one valid, unexpired photo-and-signature ID whose first and last name match your application. The NOE accepts specified government, military, employer, and student identification, including IDNYC. You may be denied testing without acceptable identification.

Calculators are prohibited. Phones, smartwatches, cameras, headphones, earbuds, and other listed electronic devices may not be used and are sealed in a Yondr pouch if brought to the site. Unauthorized use or opening the pouch early can nullify the score and bar you from City civil-service tests for up to five years. Obtain written approval in advance for any medical assistive device that gives alerts or vibrates.

What Happens After a Passing Score

The process is not a single interview. It usually moves through these stages, although NYPD may schedule them in a different order:

1. Eligible list: DCAS places passing candidates in final-score order and issues a list number. The list is usually active for four years.
2. Candidate portal: When reached, you receive instructions to create an NYPD Candidate Portal account, complete the Personal History Questionnaire, and upload requested records.
3. Investigation: The NOE requires a $75 fingerprint-screening fee and original or certified proof of identity, education, military service, and other qualifications. False, exaggerated, omitted, or unsupported statements can disqualify a candidate.
4. Medical assessment: NYPD evaluates whether you can perform essential job functions. Current candidate materials describe vision, color vision, hearing, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, and physician review. Follow your appointment instructions about which records to bring.
5. Psychological assessment: The process includes written and oral evaluation. NYPD describes the oral interview as covering education, employment, psychological, medical, legal, and social history.
6. Background and character investigation: Investigators verify education, employment, criminal and legal history, and other disclosures. Honesty and completeness matter; the total background is considered.
7. Physical and substance screening: Candidates must pass the qualifying physical test, drug screening, and other required screening. The NYPD hiring page identifies a six-station Job Standard Test completed continuously within 4 minutes 28 seconds.
8. Appointment and academy: Appointment remains conditional on meeting every requirement and available hiring needs.

NYC Personnel Rule IV treats minimum qualifications, satisfactory character, and required medical and physical standards as appointment requirements. A passing exam score cannot cure an unmet qualification.

Academy and Fitness Boundaries

NYPD announced that its recruit academy is approximately six months and was evaluated as equivalent to 45 college credits. The current NOE establishes a 24-month probationary period and requires academy firearms, academic, physical-performance, and driving tests, plus disciplinary and performance standards. Firearms qualification continues semiannually during employment.

The current NOE says the academy physical assessment may include a timed 1.5-mile run. NYPD's February 2025 policy announcement specified a graduation standard of less than 14 minutes 21 seconds. Treat current academy instructions as controlling if the department revises how the test is administered.

Begin fitness work before the candidate-process invitation, but train progressively. The pre-employment JST and academy graduation run are different assessments: passing one does not replace the other.

Background and Medical Preparation Without Guessing

Collect transcripts, military records, employment dates, residence history, license information, court dispositions, and requested medical documentation early. Do not hide an arrest, ticket, termination, treatment, medication, injury, or prior substance use because you assume it is automatically disqualifying. NYPD states that many issues are reviewed individually, while felony conviction, domestic-violence misdemeanor conviction, and dishonorable military discharge are statutory bars identified in its materials.

The active NOE requires good character, satisfactory background, medical and psychological qualification, physical qualification, and a pre-appointment drug screen. Candidate-specific determinations belong to NYPD and DCAS; a third-party guide cannot promise qualification or disqualification.

Official Source Checklist

Verify the 7311-7322 Notice of Examination, the OASys HTML notice, the DCAS open-competitive schedule, NYC Personnel Rule IV, the NYPD Police Officer hiring process, the NYPD candidate resource booklet, and the NYPD academy policy announcement.

Recheck OASys and your admission notice immediately before filing and testing. Those candidate-specific instructions control any operational detail that is absent from the published NOE.