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NYC Police Officer exam 7314: the complete guide

What the job is, when the exam is, the 9 ability areas it tests, and how to prepare for each one. Every fact below traces to the official notice.

Exam 7314 · New York City Police Department

Testing week

Nov 2–7in 14 days

Your own test day is on your admission notice.

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12 questions · no signup · built for exam 7314

Key dates

Filing closed
October 14, 2026
Exam 7314 tests
2 – 7 November 2026
Passing score
70%

Filing for Exam No. 7314 closed 14 October 2026. The notice expects testing to begin 2 November 2026 and run to 7 November 2026. The next number still open to new applicants is Exam No. 7315, filing 2 – 16 November 2026 and testing 1 – 5 December 2026.

All 12 exam numbers on the one notice, filing 1 July 2026 – 14 June 2027. Every row below is read against today’s date — the notice is the authority, and it is linked at the foot of this page.

  • 7311Files 1 – 14 July 2026Tests 3 – 8 August 2026Finished
  • 7312Files 3 – 17 August 2026Tests 1 – 4 September 2026Finished
  • 7313Files 1 – 14 September 2026Tests 5 – 9 October 2026Finished
  • 7314Files 1 – 14 October 2026Tests 2 – 7 November 2026Filing closed
  • 7315Files 2 – 16 November 2026Tests 1 – 5 December 2026Not open yet
  • 7316Files 1 – 14 December 2026Tests 4 – 9 January 2027Not open yet
  • 7317Files 4 – 19 January 2027Tests 1 – 6 February 2027Not open yet
  • 7318Files 1 – 16 February 2027Tests 1 – 6 March 2027Not open yet
  • 7319Files 1 – 15 March 2027Tests 5 – 10 April 2027Not open yet
  • 7320Files 1 – 14 April 2027Tests 3 – 8 May 2027Not open yet
  • 7321Files 3 – 17 May 2027Tests 1 – 5 June 2027Not open yet
  • 7322Files 1 – 14 June 2027Tests 6 – 9 July 2027Not open yet

One notice now covers twelve exam numbers. Exam Nos. 7311 through 7322 share a single Notice of Examination that runs for about a year, and inside it each exam number has its own two-week filing period and its own testing week — the schedule above is that table, printed in full and read against today's date rather than against whichever row happened to be current when this page was written. The application fee is $0.00 for all of them: the notice instructs applicants to select "No Fee" as the payment method, so there is no cost to filing for a number you end up not sitting.

Two things about the shape of that table matter more than any single row in it. A new filing period opens on the first business day of every month, so the twelve numbers are a monthly cadence rather than twelve separate opportunities. And a number's testing week begins two to three weeks after its own filing period closes, which is why the number being tested this month is usually not the number you can still apply for — the row marked "Filing now" is the only one open to a new application, and the row above it may already be sitting its test.

That cadence is the fact worth planning around. Police Officer is not an exam you wait years for — a missed filing period costs four weeks, not a hiring cycle, and a candidate who is not ready this month can aim at the next number without losing anything but time.

Applications for Police Officer exams 7311–7322 are filed in DCAS’s OASys; how payment, fee waivers and Final Submit work there is explained in the reference section, and other city filing windows are on the civil-service exam calendar.

The 9 ability areas, and what each one asks of you

The Police Officer test is multiple choice, taken at a computer terminal, and a score of at least 70% is required to pass. Your score is what sets your position on the eligible list — this is a ranking exam, not a pass/fail certificate. Each area below has a technique lesson and a drill built for this exam — not adapted from another one.

Deductive Reasoning

Take a rule you are given and apply it to a specific case, then judge whether the answer actually follows. The wrong options are usually the ones that break one clause of the rule.

Drill this area

Inductive Reasoning

Work the other direction: combine separate facts into the general conclusion they support, and reject conclusions that outrun the evidence.

Drill this area

Information Ordering

Put steps, numbers, names or procedures into the order a stated rule demands. The rule is always supplied — the work is following it exactly.

Drill this area

Memorization

Hold words, numbers, faces and procedures well enough to answer after the material is taken away. A trainable filing habit, not a talent.

Drill this area

Problem Sensitivity

Notice that something is wrong, or about to go wrong, before it is pointed out — and name both the whole problem and its parts.

Drill this area

Spatial Orientation

Work out where you are relative to something else, and pick the route or direction that follows. Usually a map, a floor plan or a set of turns.

Drill this area

Visualization

Predict how a shape, pattern or object looks once it is rotated, folded or rearranged — mentally, without drawing it.

Drill this area

Written Comprehension

Understand what a sentence or paragraph actually says — policies, regulations, signage — and answer from the text rather than from assumption.

Drill this area

Written Expression

Choose the wording that another person will read the way you meant it. Grammar, clarity and precision in reports, in multiple-choice form.

Drill this area

The nine abilities below are the same nine the School Safety Agent notice tests, construct for construct. What differs is the worked example DCAS attaches to each one: information ordering is illustrated here by storing found, seized or recovered property, and spatial orientation by navigating an assigned precinct on foot or in a vehicle. Anyone filing for both titles is preparing for one set of skills, not two.

Some questions are answered from documents or other material handed to candidates on the day, which is the same mechanic the New York court officer exam uses for its memory and record-keeping material.

Calculators are not permitted, and neither is any other electronic device: phones, smart watches, cameras, e-cigarettes and vape pens are all named. Using one at any time before, during or after the exam event nullifies your score and disqualifies you.

Who can apply

Education
By the date of appointment you must hold a four-year high school diploma or its educational equivalent and one of two things: 24 college semester credits at an accredited college or university with at least a 2.0 cumulative index, or two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service. The diploma is required on both routes. The 24-credit route is a reduction from the 60 credits earlier notices required.
Age
At least 17 by the date you sit the multiple-choice test, and 20 years and 6 months by the date of appointment. There is also a maximum: only persons who are less than 43 years of age on the date they file an application may be appointed, so 42 is the oldest you can be on the day you file. Qualifying military service can be deducted from your age, up to six years, under Civil Service Law section 58 and Administrative Code section 14-109. The ceiling was raised in the edition DCAS posted when 7313 opened for filing; earlier editions said under 35 on the first day of the filing period.
Convictions
Unlike the School Safety Agent notice, this one offers no certificate-of-relief route: the notice states that persons convicted of a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor are not eligible for appointment as a Police Officer. Petit larceny is named among the convictions that would ordinarily disqualify, alongside an arrest or conviction record indicating disrespect for the law and a dishonorable discharge from the Armed Forces.
Driver license
A valid, unrestricted New York State motor vehicle driver license is required on the date of appointment and must be maintained for the duration of employment.
Residency
The New York State Public Officers Law requires an NYPD police officer to live in New York City or in Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Rockland or Putnam county.
Citizenship
United States citizenship is required at the time of appointment.
Screening
Character and background investigation (with an $82.75 fingerprint-screening fee on the current edition, up from $75), medical and psychological assessment, a qualifying physical test, and drug screening. The probationary period is 24 months, and academy recruits must complete a timed 1.5-mile run before graduating.

NYPD candidate assessment: what happens after the exam

As of 2026-08-10, the NYPD Candidate Assessment Division (CAD) is the post-exam screening operation, not another civil-service test. After a passing written score, CAD coordinates the medical exam, character investigation, written and oral psychological assessments, Job Standard Test and drug screening. The NYPD says these phases do not necessarily happen in the order shown below.

A passing score starts the process but does not schedule every appointment at once. CAD first emails successful candidates an invitation to create a Candidate Portal account. When your list number is reached, the portal opens the Personal History Questionnaire and the document-upload instructions that begin your assessment.

Candidate Portal and PHQ
Watch the email address used for your exam, including spam, for the CAD invitation. When your list number is reached, complete the Personal History Questionnaire and prepare the documents listed in the portal; the official candidate-forms page says not to mail its printable forms.
Medical assessment
The published checks include vision and color vision, hearing, blood pressure and pulse, an EKG, a medical questionnaire and an examination by an NYPD doctor or physician assistant. The stated vision floor is 20/30 or better corrected and 20/100 or better uncorrected in each eye; blood pressure must be controlled at no more than 140/90 with a pulse under 100.
Character investigation
An investigator verifies identity, education, employment and the history disclosed in the PHQ, and reviews criminal, driving and other records. Respond to document requests and correct discrepancies rather than guessing what the investigator already has.
Psychological assessments
The written assessment is a full day of autobiographical questionnaires, symptom inventories and objective personality measures. The oral assessment is a one-on-one interview of about one hour covering education, work, medical and psychological history, legal history and relationships.
Job Standard Test
The JST is one continuous six-station event with a 4:28 limit: a 50-foot sprint and six-foot barrier, stair climb, restraint simulation, 600-foot pursuit run, 35-foot drag of a 176-pound mannequin, and trigger pulls with both hands. The hiring process allows additional attempts and tutoring after an initial failure.
Drug screening
Drug and alcohol screening is a separate required part of the hiring process. The NYPD hiring FAQ says prior substance use is considered with the whole background rather than treated as an automatic bar, but a drug screening must be passed before appointment.

Last verified: 2026-10-03.

Scoring, and what happens after you pass

Passing puts your name on an eligible list in final score order with a list number, and the notice says such a list typically stays active for four years. New York Civil Service Law § 56 sets the outer bounds: a list runs for not less than one and not more than four years.

Appointments then come off that list under the rule in New York Civil Service Law § 61 — an appointing authority selects one of the three highest-ranked candidates on the certified list who are willing to accept the job. That is why a few points of score can be the difference between being reachable and never being canvassed.

Two credit schemes can move your number. Ten points are added to the test score of candidates who qualify for New York City Residency Credit, which requires continuous NYC residency from the date of the multiple-choice test through the date the list is established, and must be requested on test day. Veterans' preference and Legacy credits are separate. Both must be claimed before the list is established — neither can be added afterwards.

What a Police Officer list number means, and how certification decides who is called, is explained in the guide to NYC eligible lists; the protest and appeal clocks that start on test day are in the guide to the weeks after a DCAS exam.

Police Officer eligible list trackerEvery active list, the scores behind the list numbers, and every hiring pool — from the city's own data, updated daily.

What the notice says about pay

The notice for Exam Nos. 7311–7322 states a current minimum salary of $55,942 per year, rising through increments to $109,352 at the completion of five and one-half years of employment. On top of that sit an annual uniform allowance, holiday pay, City contributions to the Welfare and Annuity Funds, City-paid health insurance, and a 2.25% differential of base salary for neighborhood policing. The notice says these rates are subject to change.

That ceiling is the highest of any title tracked on this site, and it is reached faster than most: five and a half years, against the two-year traineeship plus increments a New York court officer works through to reach $68,593.

How to prepare

Start with the diagnostic — 12 questions, about 7 minutes, no signup. It tells you which area is costing you rank, so you drill the weak one instead of the comfortable one. Then work the lessons and drills for that area, and sit a timed mock when you want to know where you stand under the clock.

Take the free diagnosticBrowse the drillsSit a timed mock

Questions candidates ask

When is the next NYPD police officer exam?

There are twelve of them, one a month, and the right question is which number you are filing for rather than when the next exam is. Under the single notice covering Exam Nos. 7311–7322, each number has a two-week filing period and a testing week roughly three weeks later: 7313 files 1 – 14 September 2026 and tests 5 – 9 October; 7314 files 1 – 14 October and tests 2 – 7 November; 7315 files 2 – 16 November and tests 1 – 5 December; the pattern runs to 7322, which files 1 – 14 June 2027. Missing one costs four weeks, not a hiring cycle.

Is there a fee for the NYPD police officer exam?

No. The application fee is $0.00 for every exam number from 7311 through 7322, and the notice instructs applicants to select "No Fee" as the payment method.

How many college credits do you need for the NYPD exam?

By the date of appointment you need a four-year high school diploma or its equivalent, plus either 24 college semester credits at an accredited college with at least a 2.0 cumulative index, or two years of honorable full-time U.S. military service. That 24-credit figure is a reduction from the 60 credits required under earlier notices.

What is the age limit for the NYPD police officer exam?

You must be at least 17 to sit the test and have attained 20 years and 6 months to be appointed. At the other end, you must be less than 43 years of age on the date you file your application, which makes 42 the oldest you can be on filing day. Qualifying military service can be deducted from your age, up to six years. The limit used to be under 35; it changed with the notice published for exam 7313 in September 2026.

Is the NYPD exam the same as the School Safety Agent exam?

The ability list is identical — the same nine constructs, with worked examples drawn from different jobs. The exams themselves are separate, with their own numbers, dates and eligible lists, and the entry bar differs: School Safety Agent asks only for a high school diploma, where Police Officer additionally requires 24 college credits or two years of military service.

What score do you need to pass the NYPD exam?

At least 70% on the multiple-choice test. Passing is only the threshold — your actual score determines your list number, and appointments are made from the top of the list down.

Do you have to live in New York City to be an NYPD police officer?

Not strictly in the five boroughs. The New York State Public Officers Law allows residence in New York City or in Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Rockland or Putnam county. Living in NYC does matter for a different reason: it is what qualifies you for the ten-point New York City Residency Credit.

How long does the NYPD eligible list last?

The notice says a list typically remains active for four years, which is the statutory ceiling under New York Civil Service Law § 56. Lists can be exhausted or terminated sooner, and a candidate too young for appointment when the list is terminated has no further opportunity from that list.

What is the NYPD Candidate Assessment Division?

The Candidate Assessment Division runs the screening that follows a passing civil-service exam. It coordinates the Candidate Portal and Personal History Questionnaire, medical assessment, character investigation, written and oral psychological assessments, the 4-minute-28-second Job Standard Test, and drug screening. It is not a second written entrance exam.

The rest of the guide

Police Officer practice test — one question from every ability area

Real questions from the bank, answered in the page, with the technique explanation after each one.

NYPD Police Officer Salary (2026)

Police Officer pay starts at $55,942 and reaches $109,352 at five and a half years, per the notice covering exams 7311–7322.

NYPD Police Officer Requirements (2026)

What the notice for exams 7311–7322 requires: 24 college credits or two years of military service, age 20½ to appoint and under 43 when you file, a felony bar with no certificate-of-relief route, and residency across seven counties..

NYPD Police Officer Test: Format and the 9 Abilities

What is on the NYPD Police Officer test: computer-based multiple choice, 70% to pass, nine named ability areas identical to School Safety Agent, no calculators, and a ten-point residency credit.

NYPD Police Officer Exam Dates: Every Filing Period to June 2027

One notice covers twelve exam numbers, 7311 to 7322, each with its own two-week filing period and testing week running monthly to June 2027.

What Does an NYPD Police Officer Do?

The job as the notice describes it: patrol, crime in progress, aided cases, vouchering property, memo book entries and court appearances — plus the physical activities the notice states and the 24-month probation..

Where these facts come from

We do not publish exam dates ourselves, and you should be skeptical of any site that posts one without a source. Every fact on this page comes from the documents below, each with the date we last opened it. Facts on this page were last checked October 3, 2026 — for the current filing period and test date, the official notice is authoritative.