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National Police Officer Selection Test, explained

The NPOST is a written entry test for police officers from Stanard & Associates, given by the agencies that hire. You get 75 items in 75 minutes, split into four timed sections: math, reading, grammar and incident report writing. The department you apply to decides where you test, what you pay and what score passes.

  • 75items
  • 75 mintotal, four timed sections
  • Set by the agencypassing score
  • No calculatoron the math section

Try 5 questions from all four sections

0 of 5 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 5 · Grammar · 20 itemsNot answered

The victim could not remember ___ car was parked behind hers.

Answer explanations

A

Incorrect: Whom is an object pronoun and also cannot show ownership.

B

Correct: Whose is the possessive form, so it tells us the car belonged to someone.

C

Incorrect: Who is turns the sentence into nonsense: "who is car was parked behind hers."

D

Incorrect: "Who's" is a contraction of two words, and "who's car was parked" does not make sense.

E

Incorrect: "Who" is a subject pronoun; it cannot show who owns the car.

Question 2 of 5 · Incident Report Writing · 10 itemsNot answered

Which sentence from a burglary report should be rewritten because its passive voice hides who handled the evidence?

Answer explanations

A

Incorrect: The writer says who photographed and secured the items and gives the bag number.

B

Incorrect: Officer Lane is named as the one who collected and photographed the glass, so the actor is clear.

C

Incorrect: The writer is the actor ("I placed"), and the bag number is given.

D

Incorrect: Detective Ruiz is named, and the item has a property number.

E

Correct: No one is named as the person who bagged, labeled or stored the evidence, so the chain of custody has a gap.

Question 3 of 5 · Mathematics · 20 itemsNot answered

The department ordered 39 cases of flares at $46 per case. What was the total cost of the order?

Answer explanations

A

Incorrect: $1,764 comes from figuring 9 × 46 as 384 instead of 414.

B

Incorrect: $1,594 is $200 short of 39 × 46, a slip in the hundreds column.

C

Correct: 39 × 46 = 1,380 + 414 = $1,794.

D

Incorrect: $85 is 39 + 46; the problem calls for multiplying, not adding.

E

Incorrect: $1,894 is $100 too high, a slip in the hundreds column.

Question 4 of 5 · Mathematics · 20 itemsNot answered

A 7% evidence-handling fee is added to a $125.00 processing charge. What is the total amount due?

Answer explanations

A

Correct: $133.75 is the $125.00 charge plus a 7% fee of 0.07 × $125.

B

Incorrect: $132.00 adds a flat $7 instead of 7 percent of the charge.

C

Incorrect: $116.25 subtracts the fee from the charge instead of adding it.

D

Incorrect: $125.70 adds only 70 cents, a decimal slip in the 7% fee.

E

Incorrect: $8.75 is the fee by itself, not the total amount due.

Question 5 of 5 · Reading Comprehension · 25 itemsNot answered

Posting Order 1 states: "The daily watch bulletin must be posted by 0800 hours. If the bulletin includes a missing-person notice, it must be posted by 0630 hours. On weekends, the bulletin may be posted as late as 1000 hours unless it includes a missing-person notice."

On a Saturday, the watch bulletin includes a missing-person notice. According to the passage, by what time must it be posted?

Answer explanations

A

Incorrect: 1000 is the weekend deadline, but the order withholds it from bulletins that include a missing-person notice.

B

Incorrect: 0800 is the normal deadline for a bulletin with no missing-person notice.

C

Incorrect: No 0900 deadline appears anywhere in the order.

D

Incorrect: The order sets weekend deadlines, so the bulletin is still posted on Saturday.

E

Correct: A bulletin with a missing-person notice is due by 0630 hours, and the weekend extension excludes such bulletins.

Answer every question to see your score

The test at a glance

Checked Oct 21, 2026 against each source linked in the table. Every rule in more detail, with links you can share: NPOST exam facts.
FactDetailSourceChecked
Also calledPOST (Stanard's own name), NPOST, Utah N.P.O.S.T.; not the same test as California's POST PELLETBStanard & Associates: National Police Officer Selection Test · Salt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQOct 21, 2026
Run byStanard & Associates, Inc.scored by the hiring department or by StanardStanard & Associates: National Police Officer Selection TestOct 21, 2026
Who uses itRequired for entry-level officers in Iowa; used by agencies in Utah and other statesStanard calls it the official test of 29 state police chiefs' associationsIowa Administrative Code 501—2.2 (entry-level testing) · Stanard & Associates: National Police Officer Selection Test · Salt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQOct 21, 2026
SectionsMathematics, reading comprehension, grammar and incident report writingStanard & Associates: National Police Officer Selection Test · Stanard & Associates: POST study guide (2009), as published by Utah POSTOct 21, 2026
Questions75 items20 math, 25 reading, 20 grammar, 10 report writingStanard & Associates: POST study guide (2009), as published by Utah POST · Salt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQ · Utah Highway Patrol: NPOSTOct 21, 2026
Testing time75 minuteseach section is timed on its own: 20, 25, 15 and 15 minutesStanard & Associates: POST study guide (2009), as published by Utah POST · Salt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQOct 21, 2026
Test formatMultiple choice and true/false in the first three sections; written sentences in report writingtrue/false items and two- or three-option grammar items sit alongside five-option (A–E) itemsStanard & Associates: POST study guide (2009), as published by Utah POST · Weber State University Testing Center: NPOSTOct 21, 2026
CalculatorNot allowed; scratch paper is providedWeber State University Testing Center: NPOST · Utah Highway Patrol: NPOST · Stanard & Associates: POST study guide (2009), as published by Utah POSTOct 21, 2026
Passing scoreSet by each hiring agency70% on each section is common: Iowa requires it by rule, and Utah agencies such as West Jordan use the same cutIowa Administrative Code 501—2.2 (entry-level testing) · City of West Jordan: NPOST testingOct 21, 2026
ResultsAbout 2–4 weeks after the test, from the test siteUtah Highway Patrol: NPOST · Salt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQ · City of West Jordan: NPOST testingOct 21, 2026
Retake ruleSet by the agency or test siteUtah sites: 60 days before retaking the same version (A, B or C); an alternate version can be taken soonerSalt Lake City Police Department: NPOST FAQOct 21, 2026
Test feeSet by the test site or agency; there is no national priceUtah sites listed $40 to $60; the Iowa academy lists $100 for a POST administration and $20 to transfer a prior scoreas of Oct 21, 2026 · site fees change, check with the test siteCity of West Jordan: NPOST testing · Weber State University Testing Center: NPOST · Iowa Law Enforcement Academy: fees (cognitive testing)Oct 21, 2026

Where the 75 items are

Reading has the most items and report writing the fewest, but the clock matters as much as the count: grammar gives you 15 min for 20 items. Each bar opens that section's page, with its own questions and pacing notes.

Source: Stanard & Associates study guide, as published by Utah POST, p. 4 · checked Oct 21, 2026

“POST test” can mean two different tests

Stanard's own name for this test is the POST, which is why searches for a “post test” for police land here. In California, though, the POST entry-level test is the PELLETB from California POST, a different test of writing and reading with no math section. If a California department asks for a POST score, it means the PELLETB.

Who uses it

  • Iowa: required by state rule for every entry-level law enforcement applicant.
  • Utah: Utah POST stopped requiring the test in March 2020; Utah agencies still use it. Salt Lake City and West Jordan are two departments that require it, and Salt Lake City accepts only the Utah NPOST, taken in Utah (Utah page).
  • Pennsylvania: municipal police officers need an approved reading test, and the state accepts the NPOST at 70% or higher or the Nelson-Denny test at the 9th-grade level (Pennsylvania page).
  • Federal police: the United States Capitol Police and the Supreme Court of the United States Police give it online.
  • Chiefs’ associations: Oregon, Virginia and Illinois offer it to their member agencies. Stanard calls it the official test of 29 state police chiefs' associations.

Each agency with its pass mark, retake rule and score life: who uses the NPOST. Not sure which test your department gives? Start from departments and states.

Passing score: the agency sets it

There is no single national cut. You get a percent-correct score for each of the four sections, and the hiring agency picks the bar. Iowa, Iowa DPS, West Jordan and the U.S. Capitol Police all require 70% per section, so one weak section fails you there even with a high total. Lexington, Kentucky passes at 65%. More rules and their sources: passing score.

From application to results

  1. Apply to the department. It tells you which test it uses and where to take it: at the hiring agency or a test site it names, such as an academy or a college testing center.
  2. Book and pay at that site. There is no national price; Utah sites listed $40–$60 as of Oct 2026. Every figure we found is on the cost page.
  3. Sit the test, printed or online, depending on the agency. Each section starts and stops on the examiner's call; spare time can only be used to check that section.
  4. Wait for results. They come from the test site in about 2–4 weeks.
  5. Move to the next hiring step. It belongs to the agency, not to the test. At the U.S. Capitol Police, a pass leads to a conditional offer, then psychological, medical and polygraph exams.

More NPOST questions in the app

NPOST practice app

More NPOST practice questions with explanations, in a study app. Not affiliated with Stanard.

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More on this test

Departments and states that use it

  • Pennsylvania Pennsylvania: an approved reading test, NPOST at 70% or Nelson-Denny
  • Utah Utah: no state NPOST rule since 2020, but SLCPD, West Jordan and UHP still use it

National Police Officer Selection Test, quick answers

How hard is the police officer selection test?

The content is basic; the clock and the details make it hard. Grammar allows 15 min for 20 items, no calculator is allowed on the math (scratch paper is provided), and in report writing full credit needs the correct information, a complete sentence, correct grammar and no misspelled words. The practice test shows which section slows you down.

What type of test do police officers take?

It depends on the department. Some use one of a few written tests sold to many agencies: this one, California’s PELLETB, the FrontLine National exam or Florida’s CJBAT. Others write their own. Look your department up on the departments page.

How many questions are on the NPOST?

75: 20 math, 25 reading, 20 grammar, 10 report writing. The whole test takes 75 min, and each section is timed on its own: 20, 25, 15 and 15 minutes.

Is the NPOST the same as the POST test?

Sometimes. Stanard’s own name for this test is the POST, and Utah calls it the N.P.O.S.T. California’s POST test is a different one, the PELLETB. Check that the job posting names Stanard or the NPOST.

Is a calculator allowed?

No. Scratch paper is provided, and the math is plain arithmetic with no algebra or geometry. What the math section asks