How do policy officer training requirements differ across Southern states?
DOWNLOAD
Each state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board or an equivalent accreditation body (see Table 1) governs police officer training and certification requirements for all police agencies, including state troopers, city/county police departments, Sheriff’s Offices, and special police. The minimum number of required training hours can differ significantly by state. In some states, the basic academy can be as short as a few months, but other states opt for more extensive basic training. Louisiana, for example, has a minimum of around 400 hours for its basic police training, while Florida’s basic training minimum is 770 hours, equating to twelve weeks and nineteen weeks, respectively.
The curriculum content also varies and can play a role in why there is such a discrepancy between states’ requirements. Some states place greater emphasis on specific topics. For instance, states with a high incidence of human trafficking may require more training hours on recognizing the signs, whereas a state that does not encounter this as frequently might not be able to justify placing that training within their mandatory basic training and opt to make it part of their continuing education options instead.
In recent years, there has been a push to increase basic training requirements in an attempt to help officers better interpret and effectively respond to the public’s needs. Georgia’s POST Board voted in June of 2024 to double the number of training hours it requires, effective January 2025.⁽ⁱ⁾ Other states have focused their expansion of training requirements on instituting specific risk management training, as opposed to total expansion. During the 2025 regular session, Virginia enacted a law (SB1194) that requires training curricula designed to inform officers how to use discretion during arrests, especially in instances of apparent mental health crises. Similarly, in 2021, Florida passed legislation (HB7051) requiring peace officers to receive training on policies for specified use of force during investigations.
TABLE 1: POST Boards or Equivalent Accreditation Bodies
| State | POST Board or Equivalent Accreditation Body |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Peace Officers Training and Standards Commission |
| Arkansas | Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training |
| Florida | Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission |
| Georgia | Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council |
| Kentucky | Kentucky Law Enforcement Council |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Peace Officer Standards and Training Council |
| Mississippi | Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training |
| Missouri | Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training |
| North Carolina | North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission |
| Oklahoma | Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) |
| South Carolina | Law Enforcement Training Council |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission |
| Texas | Texas Commission On Law Enforcement |
| Virginia | Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission |
| West Virginia | Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee |
Though there are notable benefits to increasing police training requirements, there is also a fiscal component that might deter states from increasing training standard requirements. The average cost to a United States law enforcement agency for training an officer from recruitment to certification is approximately $100,000 (based on national training hour averages).⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ Smaller agencies might not have the means to bear this cost, placing the responsibility on the state.
States can alter their training requirements through their POST boards (or equivalent agencies) or through legislation; the means of updating training standards is dependent on a state’s statutory guidelines. An example of the former comes from Georgia. In 2024, Georgia increased the training minimum from 408 to 810 hours by way of a unanimous vote from the Georgia POST.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ South Carolina acted with the latter method when lawmakers passed HB3050 which created new training standards for police officers.
Below, Table 2 shows the minimum police training hours for police officers to become certified and the continuing education requirements that must be met to maintain certification. The minimum training requirements for each state were determined by reviewing training standards by state POST boards or equivalent accreditation agencies. In instances where only hours or weeks were reported, the alternative was determined based on a 40-hour work week.
TABLE 2: Minimum Police Officer Certification Training and Continuing Education Requirements Across the CSG South Region by State.
| State | Minimum Training Requirement | Continuing Education Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 520 hours (13 weeks) | 12 hours per year |
| Arkansas | 520 hours (13 weeks) | 24 hours per year |
| Florida | 770 hours (about 19 weeks) | 40 hours every four years |
| Georgia | 810 hours (about 20 weeks) | 20 hours per year |
| Kentucky | 800 hours (20 weeks) | 40 hours per year |
| Louisiana | 496 hours (about 12 weeks) | 20 hours per year |
| Mississippi | 480 hours (12 weeks) | 0-2 years of service – 8 hours per year 3-4 years of service – 16 hours per year 5 or more years of service – 4 hours per year |
| Missouri | 600 hours (16 weeks) | 12 hours per year |
| North Carolina | 868 hours (about 22 weeks) | 24 hours per year |
| Oklahoma | 600 hours (over the course of 16 weeks) | 25 hours per year |
| South Carolina | 480 hours (12 weeks) | 40 hours every three years |
| Tennessee | 488 hours (about 12 weeks) | 40 hours per year |
| Texas | 768 hours (about 19 weeks) | 40 hours every two years |
| Virginia | 480 hours (12 weeks) | 40 hours every two years |
| West Virginia | 600 hours (16 weeks) | 16 hours per year |
End Notes
i Harvey, Chris. 2025. Review of Georgia POST Update September 24, 2025. Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council.
ii Lewinski, William, and Michael Albin. 2022. “Professional Police Training – Force Science.” Force Science. May 26, 2022. https://www.forcescience.com/2022/05/professional-police-training/.
iii Mcree, Bryan. 2024. “Updated Georgia Basic Peace Officer Mandate.” LEMS. June 25, 2024. https://lems.online/2024/06/25/updated-georgia-basic-peace-officer-mandate/.
iv “Basic Training – Law Enforcement Agency Tuscaloosa.” 2025. Leat.org. 2025. https://www.leat.org/basic-training.
v “Become a Police Officer.” 2025. Jacksonville AL. 2025. https://www.jacksonville-al.org/police/page/become-police-officer.
vi “FAQs – Arkansas Department of Public Safety.” 2024. Arkansas Department of Public Safety. July 8, 2024. https://dps.arkansas.gov/law-enforcement/clest/standards/faqs/.
vii https://dps.arkansas.gov/law-enforcement/clest/standards/faqs/#:~:text=How%20long%20is%20your%20Basic,Training%20Course%20is%2013%20weeks.
viii “FAQs • Who Mandates How Many Training Hours Officers Have To.” 2022. Miamigardenspolice.org. 2022. https://miamigardenspolice.org/FAQ.aspx?QID=179.
ix “FDLE – Mandatory Retraining Requirements.” 2025. 2025. https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/cjstc/officer-requirements/mandatory-retraining.
x “Basic Law Enforcement Training Program – GPSTC.” 2025. GPSTC. March 31, 2025. https://www.gpstc.org/training-at-gpstc/training-bureau/basic-law-enforcement-training-section/basic-police-officer-training/.
xi “Annual Training Requirements.” n.d. Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council.https://gapost.org/certificationrequirements/annual-training-requirements/.
xii “Basic.” n.d. DOCJT.https://www.docjt.ky.gov/basic.
xiii DOCJT, In-Service. 2019. “DOCJT.” DOCJT. 2019. https://www.docjt.ky.gov/inservice.
xiv Boudreaux, Jody. n.d. “POST.” LCLE.https://lcle.la.gov/programs/post/.
xv Boudreaux, Jody. 2022. “POST Inservice Training Requirements.” LCLE. February 3, 2022. https://lcle.la.gov/programs/post/postinservice-training-requirements/.
xvi “Department of Public Safety.” 2022. Mississippi Department of Public Safety. 2022. https://www.dps.ms.gov/MLEOTA/Basic-Class-268.
xvii MS Code § 45-6-19
xviii “SB38 – Modifies Provisions Relating to Peace Officer Standards.” 2023. Mo.gov. 2023. https://senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=44536.
xix “Department of Public Safety – Continuing Law Enforcement Education Requirements.” n.d. Dps.mo.gov.https://dps.mo.gov/dir/programs/post/edrequirements.php.
xx “Basic Law Enforcement Training.” n.d. NC DOJ.https://ncdoj.gov/law-enforcement-training/criminal-justice/training-certification-programs/basic-law-enforcement-training/.
xxi Review of In-Service. n.d. North Carolina Justice Academy. Accessed September 24, 2025. https://ncja.ncdoj.gov/commissioncourses/in-service/.
xxii Peace Officers & Training. 2024. Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training.https://oklahoma.gov/cleet/peace-officerstraining.html
xxiii “CLEET Training.” 2025. Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training. 2025. https://oklahoma.gov/cleet/training/cleet-training.html.
xxiv “Training and Classes | SCDPS.” n.d. Scdps.sc.gov.https://scdps.sc.gov/careers/scstp/training.
xxv S.C. Code Regs. § 37-010
xxvi TN Comp Rules and Regs 1110-07-.01
xxvii “Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission (P.O.S.T.) – Main.” n.d. Www.tn.gov.https://www.tn.gov/commerce/post.html.
xxviii Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. n.d. “Training Requirements | Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.” Www.tcole.texas.gov.https://www.tcole.texas.gov/content/training-requirements.
xxix 22 TOC §1701.351(a) 6VAC20-20-21
xxx “PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | NVCJA.” 2025. NVCJA. 2025. https://www.nvcja.org/copy-of-professional-development.
xxxi “Join MPD | City of Martinsburg, WV.” 2025. Cityofmartinsburg.org. 2025. https://www.cityofmartinsburg.org/government/city-departments/police-department/about/join-mpd.
xxxiii Wvsheriff.org. 2025. https://www.wvsheriff.org/?page_id=268.