The Louisiana Firefighter Civil Service Test is a statewide entry-level written exam required for anyone seeking to become a firefighter in Louisiana. It is administered by the Office of State Examiner (OSE), the state body responsible for all Fire and Police Civil Service testing in Louisiana.
All firefighter candidates in every municipality with over 7,000 residents must pass this exam before they can be considered for employment. The test is the same regardless of which Louisiana fire department you are applying to - your score is submitted to the local Fire and Police Civil Service Board, which uses it to determine eligibility.
Test format:
The exam contains 100 questions and must be completed within 2 hours and 10 minutes. It is a paper and pencil, multiple-choice test divided into two parts:
- Oral Directions - a 30-minute taped section testing your ability to follow spoken instructions. No admittance is permitted once this section begins.
- Written Exam - eight competencies: lecture notes, ability to learn and memorize information, reading comprehension, problem-solving, human relations, math, mechanical aptitude, and spatial relations.
Both parts are statistically combined into a single final score. The passing threshold is 75. Candidates who pass are placed on an eligibility list maintained by their local Civil Service Board.
No prior firefighting knowledge or experience is required to pass the exam