Citation, commencement and extent

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Police (Amendment) (Recruitment Standards) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 17th March 2026.

2. These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

Amendment of the Police Regulations 2003

3. The Police Regulations 2003 are amended as follows.

4. In regulation 10 (qualifications for appointment to a police force)—

(a)in paragraph (1), after sub-paragraph (ea), insert—

“(eb)must, if a candidate for appointment in the rank of constable, unless the candidate is applying to transfer to the force from another police force, within the periods of time and to the standard set by the College of Policing for each of the following stages—

(i)complete and submit to a police force the national application form;

(ii)pass the national sift test;

(iii)pass the online assessment process; and

(iv)pass an in-person interview with the police force to which they are applying that meets the national standard;”;

(b)in paragraph (3), after sub-paragraph (aa), insert the following definition—

“(aab)“national application form” means an application form containing the complete set of questions as set by the College of Policing for the purposes of confirming the eligibility of a candidate for appointment to a police force;”;

(c)In paragraph 3, after sub-paragraph (ab), insert the following definition—

“(aba)“national sift test” means the online test as approved by the College of Policing for the purposes of determining whether a candidate for appointment to a police force meets the national standard;

(abb)“national standard” means the minimum standard of competencies and values as set by the College of Policing that candidates must demonstrate to be suitable for appointment to the rank of constable;

(abc)“online assessment process” means the online exercises as set by the College of Policing for a police force to assess a candidate’s suitability for policing.”.