Police Civil Service Exam Prep: Practice Tests & Study Guides

The police written exam, also known as the law enforcement entrance exam, comes in many shapes and sizes which essentially all aim to measure two main fields - your general cognitive abilities, and your ability to exercise good judgement. To do this, the exam will present you with questions from a variety of fields, which include: 

• Reading comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and grammar
• Mathematical, deductive, and inductive reasoning
• Spatial orientation / map reading, visualization, memorization, selective attention, and problem sensitivity 

Although the police exams aim to measure similar attributes, they have very different testing methods in place to do so - and these each require accurate and thorough preparation. 

We've collected all the relevant information on US police exams into a PDF, downloadable here: Police Exam Questions and Answers PDF 2025

Below is a list of the leading law enforcement entrance exams used to select candidates for police roles. In order to help you prepare for the unique demands each one presents, our team of specialists have created specialized preparation packs which will allow you to stand out above the competition.

Click on the links below to learn more, and take the first step towards acing your test. 

• PELLET B Test (POST Entry Level Law Enforcement Test Battery) - widely used verbal aptitude test which takes two hours to complete and includes three sections with 105 questions: reading, writing, and logical ability. Get Free PELLET B Test Practice. 
• CPCA Test (Connecticut Police Cheifs Association Test) - this three hour test includes 100 critical reasoning (ability to analyze information and draw logical conclusions from it), math, and verbal reasoning questions. 
• FrontLine Test - a critical part of the police selection process in nine US states, this test includes 4 sections: a situational judgement video test, a report writing video test, a reading test and a multiple choice reading test. 
• MTA Police Exam - this highly challenging test takes two and a half hours to complete, includes 200 questions from ten different categories, as well as a situational judgment test. 
• CJBAT Test - a crucial step in order to join the Florida law enforcement agencies, which includes three sections: behavioral attributes, memorization, and verbal reasoning (including deductive & inductive reasoning, written expression and comprehension). 
• LEAB Test (Law Enforcement Aptitude Battery) - a screening test used in over fifty municipalities, counties, and states, such as Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. It includes a Cognitive Abilities Test, a Work Styles Questionnaire, and a Life Experience Survey. 
• MCOLES Test (Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards) - a reading and writing test developed by the State of Michigan which is a basic requirement for any police officer candidates. It includes 120 questions, half of which measure writing skills and the other half measuring reading comprehension. 
• NCJOSI Test (National Criminal Justice Officer Selection Inventory) - used to select police force candidates in seven states and over 24 police departments. This test comes in a long version and a short short one, both of which aim to measure your problem solving ability, verbal ability, and many other essential capacities. 
• NJ LEE Exam (New Jersey Law Enforcement Exam) - comprised of three sections: the ability test which measures your cognitive capabilities, the work styles questionnaire that measures personality traits and work related preferences, and the autobiographical life experience survey. 
• Nelson-Denny Reading Test - the main challenge in this test is the tight time limit: you will need to answer 128 questions in only 35 minutes, leaving just over 16 seconds per question. 
• Police Psychological Test - The police personality test measures your personality traits, motivations, preferences, work attitudes, and values. It is one of the most crucial steps in the police hiring process. 

The wide variety of police exams might appear confusing and even intimidating at first, but once you get to know the types of questions you will be facing and practice solving them under the same test conditions as the real test, you will see that you've got this.

The state police written exam is chosen by a committee known as POST (Police Officer Standard and Training). Each state and every department either designs its own exam or selects an exam provided by an assessment company. 

Click on your state in the table below to find out more about the police exams your state uses. If the state you need doesn't currently have a link, please visit our general police page, which offers plenty of information and a prep pack which covers all the most common question types you might face in a police test. 

Our police practice tests were prepared by experienced psychometric test writers who know the logic behind the test and how to model questions that closely resemble the real ones. The preparation material includes the same subjects that appear on the real test, in order to give you an edge on your police admission test day.

Not sure where to start? Try our free police practice test, get your result, and take the next step to pass the police entrance exam. If you have any questions about the police exam practice test or anything else, we are here for you. Email us and we will be happy to help.

Some popular police exams that the POST and departments may choose as their written exam can be found in the assessment company table below: