- The National POST has 75 items split into four separately timed sections totaling 75 minutes.
- Reading Comprehension carries the most questions (25) of any domain on the exam.
- Calculators are banned on the 20-question Arithmetic section - mental math only.
- Stanard & Associates sells an official practice test ($17.50) and study guide ($7.50).
What Is A POST? The Basics
The National Police Officer Selection Test, commonly shortened to POST, is a pre-employment exam developed by Stanard & Associates for entry-level law-enforcement hiring. Agencies use it early in the hiring pipeline to screen applicants before background investigations, physical testing, and interviews. If you're wondering "what is a POST" in the context of a job posting for a patrol officer or deputy sheriff position, this is very likely the exam being referenced.
Unlike licensing exams that certify you to practice a profession, this test simply measures a narrow set of job-relevant skills - basic math, reading comprehension, grammar, and report writing - that predict whether a candidate can handle the paperwork and communication demands of police work. For a deeper breakdown of exactly what each section covers, see our POST Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.
Who Uses This Test and Why
Because Stanard & Associates licenses the test to individual police departments, sheriff's offices, and civil service commissions, the exact list of agencies that require it varies by state and jurisdiction. Some departments administer it as a paper-and-pencil test at a designated testing center; others use the online delivery option through a proctored session. Either way, the content and structure of the test itself stay the same regardless of which agency is administering it.
Agencies choose this test because it's standardized, fast to score, and focused on skills that show up daily in police work: reading a statute correctly, writing an incident report that holds up in court, and doing quick math for things like distances, times, or evidence counts. If you're researching whether a specific department requires this exam, our guide on POST Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify walks through common eligibility rules agencies attach to the test.
Key Takeaway
Because agencies - not Stanard - set eligibility rules and passing cutoffs, always confirm the specific requirements for the department you're applying to rather than assuming a universal standard.
Inside the Four Timed Sections
The exam is built from 75 total items divided into four separately timed sections. "Separately timed" matters: you can't borrow extra minutes from one section to finish another, so pacing within each section is its own skill to practice.
Domain 1: Arithmetic
20 questions in 20 minutes. Covers whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, and basic word problems styled after real patrol scenarios - think mileage, time elapsed, or splitting evidence counts.
- No calculators allowed - all math is done by hand or mentally
- One minute per question average, so speed with basic operations matters as much as accuracy
Domain 2: Reading Comprehension
25 questions in 25 minutes - the largest section on the exam by item count. Passages resemble policy excerpts, incident summaries, or short factual narratives, followed by questions testing literal recall and inference.
- Largest single domain, so weak reading skills disproportionately hurt your overall score
- Focuses on identifying stated facts versus reasonable inferences from a passage
Domain 3: Grammar
20 questions in 15 minutes - the tightest time-per-question ratio on the test. Expect items on sentence structure, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and word usage errors common in written reports.
- Fastest pace of any section - roughly 45 seconds per question
- Tests practical writing correctness, not academic grammar theory
Domain 4: Incident Report Writing
10 questions in 15 minutes, built around a short narrative or scenario. You must answer using complete sentences, which means partial phrases or fragments can cost you points even if the underlying fact is correct.
- Complete-sentence requirement is unique to this section
- Tests whether you can translate scattered facts into clear, organized written statements
For a domain-by-domain study breakdown with more depth than we can fit here, check out POST Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas, and if you want a sense of how challenging each section tends to feel to first-time takers, read How Hard Is the POST Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Format, Fees, and Registration Mechanics
Registration and cost mechanics for this exam work differently than many licensing tests. Stanard & Associates builds and sells the test itself, but individual hiring agencies control the candidate experience: they decide the testing fee (if any), where and when it's administered, and what score counts as passing for their department. That means two candidates applying to different agencies in the same state could face different fees or cutoffs despite taking the identical 75-item exam.
What Stanard directly controls is official preparation material: an online practice test priced at $17.50 and a study guide priced at $7.50. These are the only prep products that come straight from the test developer, which makes them a reasonable baseline to compare against third-party resources. Our POST Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown article walks through how these official materials fit into a realistic prep budget.
| Section | Questions | Time Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 20 | 20 minutes |
| Reading Comprehension | 25 | 25 minutes |
| Grammar | 20 | 15 minutes |
| Incident Report Writing | 10 | 15 minutes |
Because passing cutoffs are agency-specific rather than fixed by Stanard, it's worth reading POST Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass before assuming any single number applies to your application. Testing windows also vary by agency hiring cycle, so if you need help figuring out when a specific department opens registration, see POST Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Why It's Not a Renewable Certification
A common point of confusion is treating this exam like a license or certification you renew every few years. It isn't. This is a one-time, pre-employment selection test - you take it, you get a result, and that result feeds into a hiring decision. There's no continuing education requirement, no expiration date, and no governing board issuing credentials afterward.
This distinction matters when you're researching the exam online, because search results mix in unrelated credentials that also use the acronym "POST" - state-level peace officer standards and training commissions that handle licensing for already-hired officers. Those are separate systems with their own rules, fees, and renewal cycles. If your goal is understanding this specific pre-employment written test, keep the focus narrow. Our companion pieces What Is POST?, POST Meaning, and What Does POST Stand For? tackle this naming confusion directly if you want more context.
Building a Section-by-Section Study Plan
Because each section is timed independently, your prep schedule should mirror that structure rather than treating the exam as one undifferentiated block of studying. A simple four-week approach lets you dedicate focused attention to each domain before mixing in full timed practice runs.
Arithmetic Fundamentals
- Drill fractions, decimals, and percentages without a calculator
- Practice word problems under a 1-minute-per-question pace
Reading Comprehension
- Read short factual passages and practice separating stated facts from inferences
- Time yourself at roughly 1 minute per question across a full 25-item set
Grammar and Report Writing
- Review sentence structure, punctuation, and usage errors at the exam's fast 45-second pace
- Practice writing complete-sentence answers from short incident scenarios
Full Timed Simulation
- Run through all four sections back-to-back under real time limits
- Use the official Stanard practice test to check pacing and identify weak sections
This kind of structured schedule works because it matches the exam's actual architecture instead of generic test-prep advice. For a more detailed walkthrough of study strategy - including how to allocate extra time to Reading Comprehension given its larger item count - see POST Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also review must-know facts quickly with our POST Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts, and practice under realistic timed conditions at our practice test platform.
How This POST Differs From Other "POST" Programs
If you've searched broadly, you've probably encountered other things called "POST" in a law enforcement context - most notably state Peace Officer Standards and Training boards that regulate officer licensing after hiring. Those are government bodies with their own statutes, renewal cycles, and training hour requirements. They are not the same as the pre-employment written exam covered in this article.
The National Police Officer Selection Test from Stanard & Associates is a screening tool used before you're hired, not a license you maintain after you're sworn in. Confusing the two can lead candidates to look for the wrong fee schedule, the wrong renewal date, or the wrong governing agency. If clarity on this distinction would help, our related explainers - What Is A POST?, What Does POST Mean?, and What Is POST Certification? - cover the terminology from slightly different angles.
Once you understand the exam correctly, it's easier to evaluate practical questions like whether prep effort pays off relative to the hiring outcome you want. Our Is the POST Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 article and POST Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis look at that bigger-picture context, while POST Jobs and POST Training cover what typically comes after you clear the written exam stage.
Key Takeaway
Treat this exam strictly as a pre-employment screening tool tied to a specific hiring agency's process - not a license, not a renewable credential, and not the same as a state POST board.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a 75-question, four-section written test developed by Stanard & Associates that hiring agencies use to screen entry-level police officer candidates before moving them further in the hiring process.
The 75-item test structure and four timed sections stay the same, but each hiring agency sets its own candidate fees, eligibility rules, and qualifying score cutoffs.
No. Calculators are not permitted on the 20-question Arithmetic section, so candidates need to practice mental math and basic arithmetic by hand.
Reading Comprehension has the largest item count at 25 questions in 25 minutes, more than any of the other three sections.
No. This is a pre-employment selection test, not a renewable certification or license. It's one step in a hiring process that typically includes background checks, interviews, and agency-specific training afterward.