Regional Police Academy Eligibility

The Regional Police Academy is a 16-week, 800-hour police training school designed to provide basic law enforcement training to in-service and pre-service recruits. At the successful completion of academy training, a recruit becomes certifiable as a police officer through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES). This training is transferable to most other states.

The State Licensing Examination is given upon successful completion of all academy requirements. Passing the licensing exam, qualifies a recruit as licensable in Michigan to become a police officer. A license is granted upon employment by a police department.

MCOLES establishes the requirements for admission to all of the state’s regional academies.

The requirements are:

Age and citizenship --

• 18 years of age or older
• U.S. citizen

Education

• Minimum of an associate degree or higher.
  • Completion of your degree just prior to the academy or upon completion of the academy you will need a letter from the Criminal Justice Department indicating such.  Follow the instructions on this page: Click here.
• High school diploma or GED.

  • *Minimum 1-year training and experience as a military police officer in any of the service branches.  Contact MCOLES at (517) 322-1949 for more information.

• Sponsored by an agency (This waives the educational requirement).
• • High school diploma or GED.
  • Hired and on the payroll of a law enforcement agency.
  • Passed a drug test.

  • Contact the academy for more information on stipulations of this option.

Health and Physical Fitness

• Pass a physical examination (all candidates MUST successfully pass MCOLES physical fitness **test)
• Pass a hearing examination
• Weight proportionate to height
• Free from mental or emotional disorders
• Physical integrity
• Normal color vision and normal visual functions

Character 

• No felony convictions
• Good moral character
• Pass a limited background check

Other

• Possess valid Michigan operator's or chauffeur's license
• Pass an oral interview
• All candidates MUST pass MCOLES reading/writing test**

For further clarification: www.michigan.gov/mcoles
** NMU is a regional test site for these exams.