The route in

Four ways in

Since 1 April 2024 there have been four ways to join a police force in England and Wales as a constable. The College of Policing names them the police constable degree apprenticeship (PCDA), the degree holder entry programme (DHEP), the pre-join degree in professional policing practice (PPD) and the police constable entry programme (PCEP). Each force decides which of the four it offers, and every route follows national standards set by the College. On all of them you are a constable earning a salary from the day you join.

The PCDA is a three-year programme delivered by the force with a university partner. It leads to a BSc (Hons) in professional policing practice and is funded primarily through the apprenticeship levy. The College states a three-year probation period for it. It sits on apprenticeship standard ST0304 (level 6, typical duration 36 months, version 1.2 dated 1 April 2025, funding band £27,000). Apprentices in England complete an evidence-based research project before the gateway to end-point assessment, and need level 2 English and maths before or during the programme.

The DHEP is a two-year programme for people who already hold a degree in any subject. It is fully funded by the force and leads to a graduate diploma in professional policing practice, worth 120 academic credits at level 6, with a two-year probation period. The College describes it as a condensed version of the full curriculum, with off-the-job learning shared between the force and a university partner.

The PPD is a university degree in professional policing that you fund yourself and complete before applying. It is normally three years, though some universities offer an accelerated two-year version, and it is delivered by the university alone with no operational practice. Once you hold it you apply to a force, and some forces run a two-year programme for PPD holders.

The PCEP is a two-year programme that a force can deliver entirely in house, available to forces from April 2024. On the College's route page it carries no qualification by default and a two-year probation period; recruits become substantive constables on completing probation. Forces may choose to accredit it, and the qualification built for that purpose is the SFJ Awards Level 5 Diploma in Professional Policing Practice (Ofqual 610/4784/3), which has an operational start date of 1 October 2024 and was revised on 1 October 2026 to match the updated PCEP curriculum.

Which route suits whom

The PCDA is for people who want to gain a degree while training. The DHEP is for graduates who want to build on study they have already done. The PPD is for people who would rather study and prepare before committing to a force. The PCEP is for people who want to maximise learning and assessment on the job; the guide notes that the more advanced development included in the other routes happens on duty during the first year after the programme ends.

Whatever the route, training opens with a period of off-the-job learning and then becomes mostly practical. The College gives typical milestones: the initial off-the-job phase within five to six months, tutored patrol within ten months, and full operational competence at around two years. The PCDA and DHEP both let you specialise in the final year in response, neighbourhoods, investigation, intelligence or roads policing.

What you need to apply

The national minimum is that you are aged 18 or over to join (you can apply from 17), competent in written and spoken English and in numeracy, and commonly hold a level 2 English qualification such as GCSE grade 9 to 4. Forces may set additional requirements, so check the force website.

The route-specific requirements are a level 3 qualification, such as two A levels, or equivalent experience for the PCDA and the PCEP; a degree for the DHEP; and a degree in professional policing practice for the PPD.

The application itself runs through an eligibility check, an application form, a national sift (a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire), an online assessment process (a competency-based interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise), a force interview, and pre-employment checks covering fitness, medical and vetting. The selection page covers each stage.

Specials and PCSOs

Both roles have their own learning programmes, each built on the first year of the PCDA. The special constable learning programme (SCLP) is set at academic level 4 but is not an accredited programme. It is phased in line with accompanied patrol, directed patrol and qualified special constable status, and focuses on deployment in response, communities, roads, intelligence or investigation. A special who reaches directed patrol status and later joins as a constable can have that learning mapped across to the PCDA. See special constables.

The PCSO learning programme takes 12 months, is set at level 4, and adapts the PCDA first year for community policing. It can run as an apprenticeship or as a standalone qualification and leads to a Level 4 HE Certificate or Diploma in Community Policing Practice. It too can be mapped to the PCDA if a PCSO moves into a constable role. See the PCSO role.

Detectives

All four routes can be tailored for specialist careers, and the College's guide says forces typically offer two detective pathways: the detective degree holder entry programme for graduates, and the detective police constable entry programme, which usually needs no degree. Both carry two-year probation periods and additional learning after the programme ends. The national recruitment site lists, as at 19 October 2026, twelve forces recruiting through Detective Entry: West Midlands, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Northumbria, West Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and the Metropolitan Police. For where detective constables sit in the rank structure see police ranks explained.

What changed in 2024

Home Office Circular 002/2024, published on 26 March 2024, states that "the circular takes effect on 1 April 2024" and that it introduces "a new non-degree entry route, the Police Constable Entry Programme". It also "closes the old Initial Police Learning and Development Programme", the IPLDP, and amends Annex BA made under the Police Regulations 2003. From that date a person applying to be a constable must enter through the PCDA, the DHEP, the pre-join degree or the PCEP. The practical effect is that a degree is no longer the only destination of initial training, while the same core training and the national selection process still apply to everyone.

This page is educational information. Check the force you intend to apply to for which routes it currently runs.