Out of State Officer Certification Process

Those out of state or federal officers seeking to obtain Texas Peace Officer certification will have to do so by applying through our governing body, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). Links will be provided on this page which will aid you in your endeavor to become Texas certified.

  1. Fill out the "Out of State Federal Initial Application" eligibility form and attach all required documents and send to TCOLE
  2. You’ll be assigned a representative who will review your packet
  3. Once approved, you will register, pay for and take the online Texas Supplemental Peace Officer Course (TCOLE #1018)
  4. You must also complete the online course for the TCOLE Rules overview
  5. Upon completion of both the Rules Overview and Supplemental course, you must then apply to take the state exam and once approved select a site to take the exam
  6. Pass the examination and obtain your Texas license

While it may sound daunting, the process is primarily front loaded in that you have to get the required documents. We encourage you to be patient as we have seen TCOLE take between 4-6 weeks for approval.  If you are hired as a pre-certified officer you will skip the academy but still must pass our field training program.

The online course is self-paced and I’ve seen it completed in 2-3 weeks as it really depends on your motivation.

The advantage of being pre-certified for us is lateral entry pay. We grant up to five years’ experience if pre-certified, which relates to the following scales:

1 year officer - $42,222

2 year officer - $46,226

3 year officer - $49,455

4 year officer - $50,451

5 year officer - $52,530 (max entry level)

We offer 20 year retirement with vesting in 5 years, 120 hours vacation/120 sick leave, 12 paid holidays, 2 to 1 retirement match at 7% and much more. We are a 93 officer department and work 12 hours shifts with alternating weekends off. Our four patrol shifts generally have 10 officers per shift and three supervisors, not including K-9 and other specialized units. Below are the links mentioned previously (TCOLE and the online course). Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Out of State & Federal Application

TCOLE: https://www.tcole.texas.gov/content/out-state-peace-officers

OSS Academy: https://www.ossfirst.com/ets/store/item/?id=c50cf8ff-00dc-11e6-a43e-005056a048ff