Prepare for 2026 Texas Civil Service Exams

There is currently no standardized civil service exam in Texas- this means each large city in the state can use a different civil service test to screen for potential hires through their hiring agency. If you want to become a police officer or firefighter, you will need to check which test you're taking, and should also prepare accordingly.

Applicants interested in state and local positions, including Houston and Dallas civil service, may apply online through the municipality’s website and follow the instructions for the job hiring process.

However, candidates interested in both fire and law enforcement sector positions are required to undergo Texas Civil Service exams specific to their job interest.

Click here for our main Civil Service Exam page- with an all-inclusive preparation pack and free sample questions, as well as study materials for civil service jobs around the United States. 

Many Texas Firefighter exams include questions in the map reading, math, and mechanical aptitude categories, as well as including a workstyle/personality test section.

These are the tests firefighter job applicants will need to take in the largest cities in Texas:

• Morris McDaniel Test (Austin Fire Department)- Includes the Reading Ability Procedure (RAP) and Entry Level Abilities and Behaviors Exam. Has an approximate duration of 4 hours.

• Fire Rescue Officer Training Exam (Dallas Fire Rescue)- Covers basic math, reading comprehension, map reading, spelling, mechanical aptitude, and attention to detail. Has a duration of 2.5 hours.
• FireTEAM Exam (El Paso Fire Department)- Measures human relations, mechanical aptitude, math, and reading ability. The minimum requirements to pass are a grade of 70% or better.
• IO Solutions NFSI (Fort Worth Fire Department)- Includes both a cognitive and personality section. has a total of 155 questions, with a 2.5-hour duration. requires a score of 70% and higher to pass. 
• FPSI National Fire Select Test (Mesquite)- Includes a general aptitude test and a personality test. The general aptitude test includes reading ability, mathematical reasoning, map reading, writing abilities, and other reasoning skills.
• Firefighter Selection Tool (Houston)- Tests deductive & inductive reasoning, information ordering, mathematical reasoning, spatial orientation, visualization and written expression (80 questions, 2 hours) and personality (120 questions, 30 minutes). 
• San Antonio Entry-Level Firefighter Exam (SAELFE) (San Antonio)- Includes language skills, visualization skills, and reasoning skills as well as behavior. The cognitive skills test has 100 questions, and the behavioral section has 150. The test's duration is 3 hours and 15 minutes.

Most Texas Police Exams include a math, reading, grammar, and Situational Judgement section.

These are the tests aspiring Police Officers will need to take in the largest cities in Texas:

• FrontLine National Test (El Paso)- Tests Personal Qualities, Situational Judgement, Report Writing, and Grammar. Includes 100 questions with 2 hours and 20 minutes to complete. Includes a Video-Based Human Relations and Judgment Test.
• National Police Officer Selection Test (NPOST) (Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Elsa)- Tests math, reading, grammar and police report writing skills. Includes 70 questions in total, with 75 minutes to answer them.
• NCJOSI 2 (Fort Worth)- Has 11 question categories. Includes 80 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 2 hours and 30 minutes.
• National Police Selection Test (NPST) (Austin)- Tests Writing Ability, Math, Situational Judgement skills, Reading Comprehension and Reasoning. Includes 120 questions with a 3-hour time duration.

Those interested in becoming a Texas state trooper are required to follow three steps:

1) submit an online application on the state website

2) fill out a self-evaluation questionnaire- this serves as a preliminary selection test

3) pass the Texas State Trooper Test.

The content of the Texas State Trooper Exam consists of reading comprehension and mathematics skills, both of which are found on the Police Civil Service Exam.

As part of the basic qualifications, the state of Texas generally requires candidates for TX peace officer, jailer, and firefighter positions to pass a training course before applying to individual departments.

Candidates for Texas police jobs must successfully a complete licensing course approved by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE) - names of these courses can be found on the TCLEOSE website. As part of the licensing process, candidates must also complete the TCLEOSE test, which consists of questions on Texas police law and procedure taught during the course.

The hiring and testing processes of both the Texas law enforcement and fire departments can be strict and difficult in order to ensure an unbiased selection of the most efficient and eligible candidates for these positions. JobTestPrep is now offering Civil Service practice packs, complete with practice tests, answers, and detailed explanations to help you better understand and improve your score. Try our free Civil Service sample questions.