The Police (Amendment) (Recruitment Standards) Regulations 2026

Made: 23rd February 2026

Laid before Parliament: 24th February 2026

Coming into force: 17th March 2026

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 50(1), (2)(b) and (4) of the Police Act 1996[^f00001].

In accordance with section 50(2ZC)[^f00002]of that Act, the text of these Regulations has been approved by the College of Policing.

Citation, commencement and extent

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Police (Amendment) (Recruitment Standards) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 17th March 2026.

2

These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

Amendment of the Police Regulations 2003

3

The Police Regulations 2003 are amended as follows.

4

In regulation 10 (qualifications for appointment to a police force)—

• (a) in paragraph (1), after sub-paragraph (ea), insert—

(eb) must, if a candidate for appointment in the rank of constable, unless the candidate is applying to transfer to the force from another police force, within the periods of time and to the standard set by the College of Policing for each of the following stages— (i) complete and submit to a police force the national application form; (ii) pass the national sift test; (iii) pass the online assessment process; and (iv) pass an in-person interview with the police force to which they are applying that meets the national standard;

• (b) in paragraph (3), after sub-paragraph (aa), insert the following definition—

(aab) “national application form” means an application form containing the complete set of questions as set by the College of Policing for the purposes of confirming the eligibility of a candidate for appointment to a police force;

• (c) In paragraph 3, after sub-paragraph (ab), insert the following definition—

(aba) “national sift test” means the online test as approved by the College of Policing for the purposes of determining whether a candidate for appointment to a police force meets the national standard; (abb) “national standard” means the minimum standard of competencies and values as set by the College of Policing that candidates must demonstrate to be suitable for appointment to the rank of constable; (abc) “online assessment process” means the online exercises as set by the College of Policing for a police force to assess a candidate’s suitability for policing.

Signed

Sarah Jones — Minister of State — Home Office — 23rd February 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Explanatory Note

These Regulations make amendments to regulation 10 of the Police Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/527) (“the 2003 Regulations”). The 2003 Regulations make provision about the terms and conditions of service of police officers in England and Wales, including the qualifications for appointment to a police force.

Regulation 3 adds the recruitment stages that a candidate must complete for appointment to the rank of constable. Regulation 3 also provides definitions for each of these recruitment stages.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1996 c. 16. Section 50 was amended by paragraph 3 of Schedule 22 and Part 8 of Schedule 28 to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c. 4), section 3 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26), and section 123(1) of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (c. 12).

[^f00002]: Section 50(2ZC) was inserted by section 123(1) of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and amended by section 48(6) of the Policing and Crime Act 2017. Section 123 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 was the subject of a correction slip published on 4th August 2014.