How to start your career as a CHP Officer
Minimum qualifications to apply:
- A candidate must be authorized to work in the United States under federal law at the time of appointment. (Applicants may be in the process of obtaining legal authorization upon application, but will need to show proof of legal authorization to work in the U.S. under federal law before being accepted into the Academy)
- Age 20-35 (Applicants must be 35 on the final filing date of the examination cycle to which they are applying)
1) Create user profile (Register).
You must create a user profile before applying for the exam.
- Where you apply has no bearing on where you may be assigned upon successful completion at the academy.
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If you pass the PAT and the Written Exam, you will be invited via email to create an online profile to begin a thorough background investigation.
5) Complete Background investigation.
If you pass both the PAT and Written exam successfully , you will move on to your background investigation. Upon being cleared by your background investigation, you will need to complete both a Medical and Psychological evaluation.
6) Await Academy Invitation.
After completing the hiring process, then you are ready to attend the California Highway Patrol Academy located in West Sacramento, CA! An Academy invitation is an official offer of employment to be hired as a Cadet. At the Academy, you begin your first steps in the exciting yet challenging journey of becoming a CHP officer.
We strongly advise that both the registration and application be completed through a desktop browser.
Check out our Cadet Applicant Study Guide (PDF) for important insight and information on how to prepare you for the hiring process and the CHP Academy.
Click here to begin your journey to become a CHP officer.