The Home Office has laid the Police (Amendment) (Recruitment Standards) Regulations 2026 (S.I. 2026/154), which standardise recruitment for constables in England and Wales. Made on 23 February and laid on 24 February, the instrument comes into force on 17 March 2026.
The Regulations amend regulation 10 of the Police Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/527) to require a four-stage national process for first-time candidates: submission of a national application form, a national sift test, an online assessment, and an in-person interview with the force applied to that meets the national standard. Applicants transferring from another police force are not required to complete these stages.
New definitions are inserted into regulation 10. A “national application form” is the complete set of eligibility questions set by the College of Policing. The “national sift test” is an approved online test used to determine whether a candidate meets the national standard. The “online assessment process” denotes online exercises set by the College to assess a candidate’s suitability for policing. The “national standard” is defined as the minimum competencies and values set by the College that candidates must demonstrate for appointment as constable.
The Regulations require candidates to complete each stage within periods of time and to a standard determined by the College of Policing. This places detailed requirements with the College, while forces are responsible for applying the stages consistently across campaigns.
For forces, implementation means adopting the national application form, providing access to the national sift and online assessment, and ensuring interview activity meets the national standard. Recruitment and HR teams should ensure systems and training align ahead of commencement on 17 March 2026.
For applicants, the route becomes uniform. Prospective constables will move through the national form, the sift, the online assessment and a locally conducted, in-person interview that meets the national standard. Candidates transferring between forces are excluded from these requirements.
The Secretary of State made the Regulations under section 50(1), 50(2)(b) and 50(4) of the Police Act 1996. Under section 50(2ZC), the text has been approved by the College of Policing. Sarah Jones, Minister of State at the Home Office, signed the instrument on 23 February 2026.
The Explanatory Note confirms that the instrument adds the recruitment stages for appointment to the rank of constable and provides definitions for each stage. It also states that no full impact assessment has been produced as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.
The Regulations extend to England and Wales only. In practice, this means all police forces in those jurisdictions must align their recruitment processes with the nationally specified stages once the instrument is in force.
As the standards and time limits are set by the College of Policing, operational detail-such as the precise content of the sift and assessment and the interview criteria-will be found in College documentation. Forces and candidates should refer to those materials for the definitive specifications once issued.
Until commencement on 17 March 2026, existing recruitment practices remain in effect. From that date, appointments to the rank of constable must follow the nationally defined stages in regulation 10 of the Police Regulations 2003 as amended.