Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

31060.8.2 Minimum Legal Standards for Peace Officer

• Appointments: Persons appointed to peace officer classifications shall meet all of the following minimum legal qualifications and standards prior to appointment:

  • Be a citizen of the U.S.United States or a lawful permanent resident.

  • Be 21 years of age or older.

  • Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, State, and national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record.

  • Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough background investigation.

• Education: Persons appointed to peace officer classifications shall meet at least one of the following education requirements: 

  • Be a high school graduate. The high school shall be either a United States public school, an accredited United States Department of Defense high school, or an accredited or approved public or nonpublic high school.

  • Have passed the General Education Development Test or other high school equivalency test approved by the State Department of Education that indicates high school graduation level.

  • Have passed the California High School Proficiency Examination.

  • Have attained a two-year, four-year, or advanced degree from an accredited college or university.

  • Any accreditation or approval, as required by this section shall be from a state or local government educational agency using state or local government approved accreditation, licensing, registration, or other approval standards, a regional accrediting association, an accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, an accrediting association holding full membership in the National Council for Private School Accreditation, an organization holding full membership in AdvancED or Cognia, an organization holding full membership in the Council for American Private Education, or an accrediting association recognized by the National Federation of Nonpublic School State Accrediting Associations.

• Pre-Employment Screening: Persons appointed to peace officer classifications shall be free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition which might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer. Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician/surgeon. Emotional and mental condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician/surgeon or by a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders.