Department · Los Angeles
You clear the LAPD written step one of three ways: pass the department's own Multiple Choice Test, send a PELLETB score (T-score 42+), or share a passing FrontLine National score through NTN. The right one depends on where you live and where else you are applying.
| Item | What applies | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Written test |
| JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| Where you test | In person in Los Angeles, one half-day sessionyou can ask to take it remotely from home | JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| Test fee | LAPD's own test is freeFrontLine through NTN carries an NTN fee; NTN takes hardship fee-waiver requests | City of Los Angeles police officer job on NTNchecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| Score valid for | A passed LAPD test never expires | JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| PELLETB score accepted | Overall T-score of 42 or higher | JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| FrontLine passing scores | A passing score under the City of Los Angeles criteriathe City's Personnel Department checks the score you share through NTN; the page gives no numbers | JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
| Who can skip the test | Completed the CA POST Regular Basic Course, hold a valid Basic Course Waiver, or passed the City's Associate Community Officer test on or after November 5, 2021 | JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waiverschecked Oct 21, 2026 |
It covers judgment and decision making plus written communication. It is a free, half-day session in person in Los Angeles, and you can ask to take it from home. A passed LAPD test never expires. This is the simplest path if you have no score yet and are applying to LAPD alone.
Waiver line: Overall T-score of 42 or higher. That is the same line POST recommends to every agency. The PELLETB is given only in California, and a retest waits 30 days. Pick this route if you are applying to several California departments: one score can serve more than one. PELLETB practice test · where to take it.
LAPD accepts a passing score under the City of Los Angeles criteria. The City's Personnel Department checks the score you share through NTN, and LAPD's test page publishes no section cuts. Other departments' published cuts, such as SFPD's 60 / 70 / 70, are not LAPD's. You can test from home or at an NTN center. A score is good for 1 year, and a retest waits 3 months. Pick it if you are also applying outside California: NTN's job board listed it as required by about 350 agencies in 33 states (as of Oct 21, 2026). FrontLine practice test.
Skipping the written step entirely
You can skip the test if you completed the CA POST Regular Basic Course, hold a valid Basic Course Waiver, or passed the City's Associate Community Officer test on or after November 5, 2021. Check the LAPD test page before you book anything.
4 questions from our PELLETB and FrontLine National banks, two of each. They are not LAPD Multiple Choice Test items, and the number of options follows our bank, not either exam.
Select the sentence that is written most clearly and correctly.
Answer explanations
Correct: A semicolon correctly joins two complete clauses that are closely related.
Incorrect: Two independent clauses are joined by a comma alone, which is a comma splice.
Detectives determined that the signature on the check was a FORGERY. Choose the word that most nearly means the capitalized word.
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Forfeit looks similar but means to lose something as a penalty.
Incorrect: A scrawl is messy handwriting, which may be genuine.
Correct: A forgery is a fake, a copy made to pass as genuine.
Incorrect: An original is the genuine item, the opposite of a forgery.
Two neighbors call police about a hedge on their property line. One wants Officer Pena to order the other to cut it back; the other says it grows on her land. There have been no threats, only an argument. What should Officer Pena do?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: Ordering work on a disputed hedge means acting as if the officer had decided whose land it is, which he cannot do.
Incorrect: An officer looking at a hedge cannot settle where a property line runs. Picking a side would take a legal decision he has no authority to make.
Correct: Where the property line runs is a civil question for a survey or the courts, not for an officer on scene. With no threats made, calming them and explaining that limit is the right job.
Incorrect: Brushing them off leaves the argument running and tells both neighbors the police will not help.
When an officer finds a pedestrian walking along a highway at night, the first concern is that he could be hit by traffic. The officer should get the person to a _____ spot off the road before asking any questions.
Which word best completes the blank?
Answer explanations
Incorrect: A hidden spot does nothing about traffic and makes no sense as a place to question someone.
Incorrect: Darkness makes a pedestrian harder for drivers to see, so a dark spot adds to the risk.
Correct: The passage names the danger as traffic, so the first move is to get the person to a safe spot off the road.
Incorrect: A busy spot near traffic is exactly the danger the passage describes.
Answer every question to see your score
The order LAPD lists for a police officer applicant.
Application
Multiple Choice Test, or a waiver
Physical Abilities Test
Department interview
Personal History Statement
Polygraph examination
Medical evaluation
Field investigation
Psychological evaluation
Source for every step: JoinLAPD: Multiple Choice Test and waivers
PELLETB practice app
More PELLETB practice questions with explanations, in a study app. Not affiliated with California POST.
FrontLine National practice app
More FrontLine National practice questions with explanations, in a study app. Not affiliated with NTN.
No. It is LAPD's own test. A PELLETB score (T-score 42+) replaces it, so you need only one of the two.
Yes, on request. The standard session is a half day in person in Los Angeles, and you can ask to take it remotely from home.
Yes, a passing score under the City of Los Angeles criteria, checked by the City's Personnel Department. On cost: FrontLine through NTN carries an NTN fee; NTN takes hardship fee-waiver requests.
After the department interview and the Personal History Statement, and before the medical evaluation. The timeline above lists every step.