Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to qualify for employment as a Tallahassee Police Officer: 

• Be a U.S. citizen.
• At the time of hire, be at least 20 years old and live within a 50-mile radius of the intersection of N. Monroe Street and E. Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, Fl.
• Have completed a Law Enforcement Officer certification course and passed the Florida State Officer Certification Exam. If requesting sponsorship to an academy, please visit TPD's Officer Trainee page.
• Possess a valid driver license and have a satisfactory driving history.
• Have vision correctable to 20/20, with color distinction and depth perception within an acceptable range.
• Successful completion of 45 quarter hours or 30 semester hours of college; or one year full-time law enforcement work in a sworn capacity; or one year active full-time military experience or active reserve military experience with at least one year of deployment; or one year full-time as a correctional officer; or one year as a full-time certified firefighter or emergency medical technician (EMT) or paramedic; or one year as a full-time communications operator/dispatcher with a public safety agency; or one year as a Community Service Technician with the Tallahassee Police Department.
• Have no convictions for any felony, perjury, false statement, or domestic violence offense. Have no DUI convictions in the past seven years. Other arrest histories are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
• Have no pending criminal charges.
• Be able to pass a drug history review: No use of marijuana within one year of application. No use of prescription medication or other legally obtainable substance in a manner for which it was not intended within three years of application.
• No use of marijuana within 1 year of application. No use of any other drugs (including anabolic steroids) within 5 years of application. No sale, distribution, manufacture, or transportation of any illegal drugs (as defined by F.S. 893.03). No use of prescription medication or other legally obtainable substance in a manner for which it was not intended within 3 years of application.
• Be able to pass a thorough background investigation.
• Submit a written essay.
• Successfully pass an oral board, truth verification exam, and drug, medical, and psychological screenings.

During the hiring process, all applicants must complete a minimum of two Patrol ride-alongs.

The physical assessment test is a measure of physical fitness an applicant must demonstrate. The assessment will consist of a 1.5-mile run or 3-mile walk, pushups, and sit ups. The applicant must achieve the required run/walk time and number of sit-ups and push-ups as it corresponds to their age and identified gender. If the applicant claims no gender or nonbinary then the lesser of the two qualification standards will be applied for the applicant’s age category. The chart below outlines what the applicant must achieve. The applicant will be evaluated in a pre-assessment of all three categories, contemporaneous to the successful completion of the oral board phase of hiring. The applicant may submit any passing assessment category score as their formal assessment results. Any assessment category remaining shall be completed successfully prior to the scheduled interview with the Chief of Police or his designee. An applicant who cannot complete the assessment after no more than four months may be discontinued from the hiring process. They will be able to reapply six months from the date of discontinued declaration. If hired, the employee will be required to pass all categories on a yearly basis per PBA contract. If the applicant fails to pass more than one category then they will be allowed to repeat the assessment within a two-month time frame and will only have to repeat the category they were deficient in.