California
California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) has been able to suspend or revoke peace officer certification for serious misconduct since January 1, 2023. Since then the State has adopted the rules that run decertification, banned settlement deals that hide misconduct records, barred revocation based only on a Racial Justice Act finding, and passed a degree requirement that applies only to officers who start after 2030.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) (Penal Code 13500)
- Statute
- Penal Code 13500 et seq.: certification in PC 13510.1; decertification in PC 13510.8, 13510.85, and 13510.9. Hiring standards and disqualification are in Government Code 1029, 1030, 1031, 1031.4, and 1031.5. Rules are POST Commission Regulations in Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations.
- Minimum standards
- At least 18 (Gov. Code 1031(b)), and 21 at appointment for most officers at POST-participating agencies, except people enrolled in an academy or employed as a California peace officer on December 31, 2021 (Gov. Code 1031.4). A high school diploma, its equivalent, or a 2- or 4-year degree (Gov. Code 1031(e)). A fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check (Gov. Code 1030). The Regular Basic Course is at least 680 hours in the standard format and 750 hours in the modular format; the hours are set by POST, not by statute. A degree or certificate requirement begins in 2031 for new entrants only (see AB 992 below).
- Decertification
- POST must revoke the certification of an officer who is or becomes ineligible under Gov. Code 1029, for example after a felony conviction or, for someone previously employed in law enforcement elsewhere, a National Decertification Index listing for a certification revoked for misconduct (PC 13510.8(a)(1)). It may suspend or revoke for serious misconduct, which includes dishonesty, abuse of power, excessive force, sexual assault, demonstrating bias, participation in a law enforcement gang, failure to cooperate with an investigation, and failure to intercede (PC 13510.8(b)). It may cancel a certificate obtained by fraud (PC 13510.8(a)(3)). Regulation 1213 lists 15 factors POST must weigh and caps a suspension at 3 years. Since January 1, 2026, POST may not revoke because of a court finding under the Racial Justice Act, though it may act on the underlying conduct.
- Public decertification list
- Yes. POST must publish the names of officers whose certification is suspended or revoked, and the basis (PC 13510.85). POST posts them on its Peace Officer Certification Actions page.
- National Decertification Index
- Yes, by statute. POST must notify the National Decertification Index of the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) of each suspension or revocation (PC 13510.85). A person listed on the Index for misconduct is disqualified from serving (Gov. Code 1029).
- Continuing training
- At least 24 hours of POST-qualifying Continuing Professional Training every two-year cycle (Commission Regulation 1005(d)(1)). Peace officers below middle management, other than reserves and jail deputies, must complete Perishable Skills training as part of it (existing text of Regulation 1005).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Separation and eligibility reporting rules revised
Regulation 1003 sets how agencies report officer appointments and separations to POST under PC 13510.9. The May 21, 2025 amendment realigned the Affidavit of Separation (POST 2-357) with PC 13510.9(d) and set how POST is notified of convictions that disqualify a person under Gov. Code 1029. The amendment effective October 1, 2026 clarifies who must file the Attestation of Peace Officer Eligibility (POST 2-356) and the Affidavit of Separation.
For officers: What your agency reports on the Affidavit of Separation goes to POST and can start a certification review.
Disciplinary guidelines for certification actions
Incorporates the POST Disciplinary Guidelines (2025), which set the factors for deciding whether serious misconduct warrants suspension or revocation and give administrative law judges a framework for hearings.
For officers: Read the guidelines before any certification hearing; they shape the penalty an administrative law judge recommends.
Biased conduct defined; agencies must make bias findings
PC 13510.6 requires POST to define biased conduct, including online and social media conduct. Agencies investigating a bias-related complaint must decide whether the conduct meets that definition, and in racial profiling complaints whether profiling occurred. POST must also issue guidance on internet and social media screening of applicants. Regulation 1022 adopts the definition.
For officers: Social media posts can now lead to a formal bias finding, which bears on the serious-misconduct ground of demonstrating bias.
Settlement deals that hide misconduct records banned
New PC 13510.9(e) bars agreements with officers that require destroying, removing, or concealing misconduct investigation records, halting an investigation or dictating its findings, or limiting disclosure under PC 832.7, 832.12, 1054.1, 13510.8, or 13510.85. Such provisions are void, and an agreement of this kind becomes a disclosable record under PC 832.7.
For officers: A separation agreement cannot promise a clean record; any such clause is void.
Racial Justice Act findings alone cannot trigger revocation
PC 13510.8 now bars POST from revoking certification because of a court finding under the Racial Justice Act (PC 745). POST may still act on the underlying conduct with full due process. New Gov. Code 3305.6 applies the same rule to punitive action by employers and bars using the finding as evidence in administrative appeals.
For officers: A Racial Justice Act finding is not itself a ground for decertification, but the conduct behind it can be.
Degree or certificate requirement for officers who start after 2030
New Gov. Code 1031.5 requires officers at POST-participating agencies, from January 1, 2031, to earn an associate or higher degree, a 60-unit modern policing degree, or a 16-unit professional policing certificate within 36 months of receiving the basic certificate. The deadline is 48 months for out-of-state officers and military veterans with less than 8 years of service, and those with 8 or more years are exempt. The requirement does not apply to anyone enrolled in a basic academy or employed as a California peace officer on December 31, 2030, or to State Department of State Hospitals officers. Gov. Code 1031 now accepts foreign degrees evaluated by members of NACES or AICE. SB 385, an urgency act effective October 1, 2025, first deleted the old deadline for POST to adopt education criteria in PC 13511.1; AB 992 made the same deletion.
For officers: Current officers are exempt; recruits who enter an academy after 2030 will need the degree or certificate within 36 months.
Civilian oversight boards get officer personnel records
Adds sheriff civilian oversight boards and other oversight bodies created by ordinance to the bodies exempt from personnel record confidentiality in PC 832.7(a). Under Gov. Code 25303.7, board members and inspectors general get access to the personnel records they need for oversight, must keep them confidential, and a sheriff oversight board may review them in closed session.
For officers: Assume a county oversight board can see your personnel file.
Undercover status counts in records redaction
In a suit to compel disclosure under PC 832.7, a court reviewing a safety-based redaction must consider whether the officer currently works undercover and needs anonymity.
For officers: Undercover officers should tell their agency so it can raise this factor before records are released.
Rules for interviewing families after police killings
By January 1, 2027, law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies must have a policy for formal interviews of immediate family members of a person killed or seriously injured by a peace officer (Gov. Code 7287). Before the interview, the officer or prosecutor must give their name and agency, tell the person the status of the family member if known, explain that the interview is part of an investigation, and say the person may have a support person present. Threats and deception are barred. The policy steps do not apply when delay would risk losing evidence or an imminent public safety threat, or when equivalent or Miranda advisements were given.
For officers: Give the four required statements before a formal interview of a family member, and never use deception in it.
Certificate and Proof of Eligibility rules clarified
Clarifies the requirements for the Proof of Eligibility and the Basic Certificate, the reasons POST denies a Notice of Appointment, cancellation of a Proof of Eligibility obtained by fraud, how the public can check certification status, and terms used in serious misconduct hearings.
For officers: Check that your Proof of Eligibility and certificate records are accurate; fraud in obtaining them can lead to cancellation.
Visible identification required during enforcement duties
By January 1, 2026, every law enforcement agency operating in California must post a written policy requiring sworn personnel to display their agency and a name or badge number during enforcement duties, with listed exemptions such as undercover work, protective equipment that prevents display, exigent circumstances, and specific safety threats (Gov. Code 7288). From January 1, 2026, a non-uniformed officer who willfully and knowingly fails to display identification commits a misdemeanor, with further exemptions for SWAT and protective details (PC 13654). PC 13654 does not apply to an agency, or its personnel, that maintains and posts a policy under Gov. Code 7288. Both sections name federal officers; challenges to that coverage were not checked for this page.
For officers: Display your agency and name or badge number during arrests, detentions, and crowd control unless an exemption in your agency’s policy applies.
Fingerprint-based national background check required
Gov. Code 1030 now requires agencies to run a fingerprint-based state and national criminal history check on every peace officer and applicant through the Department of Justice. The prior section required only that fingerprints be furnished to the Department of Justice and the FBI, though Gov. Code 1031(c) already required every peace officer to be fingerprinted for a search of local, state, and national files.
For officers: Expect a national fingerprint check at hiring.
POST gets criminal history data for investigations
PC 13500, 13510.8, and 13510.9 now let POST inspect or copy criminal history, CLETS-derived, and other confidential information that is part of an investigation within its jurisdiction. New PC 13503.1 requires fingerprint-based checks of POST staff who handle that data, and new Gov. Code 15169 covers POST access to CLETS-derived information.
For officers: POST investigators can now see the same criminal history records your agency sees.
Revocation for disqualifying convictions delegated; default revocation
Revocation for a Gov. Code 1029 disqualifying conviction is now handled by the Executive Director instead of the Commission’s consent calendar. If the officer does not respond within 30 days of a notice of intent, the certification is subject to revocation as a matter of law.
For officers: Answer a POST notice of intent within 30 days.
Former employers may disclose termination for cause
PC 832.7 now says an agency that formerly employed an officer may, without a request, publicly disclose that it terminated the officer for cause for a disclosable incident. The statute calls this declaratory of existing law, so it clarifies a power rather than creating one.
For officers: A for-cause termination tied to a disclosable incident can be made public by the former agency.
Temporary suspension and voluntary surrender procedures
Regulation 1208 sets out an officer’s right to respond to an Order of Immediate Temporary Suspension. Regulation 1210 requires the voluntary surrender form (POST 2-358) to state whether the surrender results from a settlement or plea agreement, and to be notarized.
For officers: A surrender made as part of a settlement or plea must say so on the form.
Jail death investigation records opened
New PC 832.10 makes a local detention facility’s records of investigations into in-custody deaths, including discipline imposed on custodial officers, disclosable under the Public Records Act notwithstanding PC 832.7, with set redaction and delay rules.
For officers: Custodial staff should expect investigation and discipline records from an in-custody death to become public.
Criteria for demonstrating bias
Amends the serious misconduct regulation, first adopted effective January 1, 2023, to set the criteria POST uses to decide whether an officer demonstrated bias.
For officers: Bias is a stand-alone ground for suspension or revocation, judged by these criteria.
Background, medical, and psychological standards updated
Updates the background investigation, medical, and psychological evaluation standards for hiring. Conforms Regulation 1950 to SB 960 (2022), which replaced the citizenship requirement. Requires the POST Personal History Statement (POST 2-251) from January 1, 2024.
For officers: Applicants complete the POST 2-251 Personal History Statement.
Decertification reaches lapsed certificates; fraud cancellation
POST’s authority now covers any certificate or proof of eligibility, including invalid, inactive, expired, or canceled ones (PC 13510.1). POST may cancel a certificate obtained by fraud or misrepresentation, and temporary suspension reaches proofs of eligibility (PC 13510.8). Public hearing records may be redacted under PC 832.7(b)(6) and (7) (PC 13510.85). Agencies must keep investigation records for no less than two years, where the law had said up to two years, and POST may withhold information from the officer to protect an investigation or witnesses (PC 13510.9).
For officers: Letting a certificate lapse does not end POST’s jurisdiction over past misconduct.
POST-held officer files exempt from the Public Records Act
Adds POST to the bodies to which PC 832.7(a) confidentiality does not apply. New Gov. Code 7923.601 exempts from the Public Records Act the personnel and background files that agencies gathered under Gov. Code 1031 and POST holds, and related misconduct investigation files; requests go to the agency that sent the record. The exemption does not cover records POST itself creates in its investigations or decisions, or records under PC 13510.85, which stay public. AB 184 moved the repeal date from January 1, 2027 to January 1, 2028.
For officers: Records requests for your agency file go to your agency, but POST’s own decisions about you remain public.
Decertification procedure rules adopted
Adopts the rules for certification actions under SB 2 (2021): disqualification, notices, hearings, temporary suspension, and voluntary surrender. Regulation 1211 governs how the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board runs hearings, and Regulation 1214 sets POST’s annual reporting.
For officers: These rules set the notice and hearing steps in any decertification case.
POST Regulatory Actions Bulletin 2022-13 Regulations 1211 and 1214
Penalty factors and a 3-year cap on suspensions
Lists 15 factors POST must consider in choosing between revocation and suspension, including the severity of the conduct, harm caused, whether it was done under color of authority, prior record, intent, consistency with other penalties, and the likelihood of recurrence. A suspension may not exceed three years, and a suspended officer may not be assigned duties that include peace officer powers.
For officers: Mitigation, cooperation, and rehabilitation are listed factors; document them for any hearing.
Not yet in force and pending
These laws were enacted but were not in force on October 19, 2026. Several name federal agencies or officers; challenges to that coverage were not checked for this page.
- AB 1627 (2026, ch. 739), January 1, 2027: Gov. Code 1029 already disqualified people who, while employed in law enforcement elsewhere, were listed on the National Decertification Index or committed serious misconduct that would have led to revocation in California. AB 1627 adds that this employment includes officers, including federal officers, engaged in immigration enforcement. An alternate version that would have barred anyone who personally engaged in immigration enforcement does not take effect, because the linked bill, AB 1896, was vetoed on September 30, 2026. AB 1627
- AB 2318 (2026, ch. 747), January 1, 2027: new PC 832.11 makes it unlawful for an officer to deny, delay, obstruct, or fail to facilitate medical care for a person under their control, but only when access is safe and reasonable and a medical professional has been requested or is present and willing to give care. It does not apply to people in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. A denial must be documented within 72 hours when a professional was present and willing, to the extent that does not compromise an ongoing investigation or officer safety. Federal officers are covered only to the extent federal law permits. AB 2318
- SB 937 (2026, ch. 754), January 1, 2027: adds flash-bang grenades to the crowd-control limits in PC 13652 and extends to them the existing rule that only trained officers may deploy kinetic projectiles and chemical agents. Only a commanding officer at the scene may authorize flash-bangs, as was already required for tear gas, and flash-bang use for immigration enforcement is barred except in joint task forces or under Gov. Code 7284.6(b) and (c). PC 13652.1’s 60-day public incident summaries will cover flash-bang use. New PC 13652.2 bars explosive breaching charges for immigration enforcement, with the same exceptions. SB 937
- AB 2760 (2026, ch. 749), January 1, 2027: bars law enforcement agencies, including federal agencies, from using wearable electroshock devices within California and from buying them with state funds, and requires use-of-force policies to prohibit them. The section is repealed January 1, 2030. AB 2760
- AB 1806 (2026, ch. 745), January 1, 2027: the Attorney General must investigate shootings by immigration enforcement officers that kill unarmed civilians, post written reports, and prosecute if warranted (Gov. Code 12525.4). AB 1806
- SB 691 (2026, ch. 416), January 1, 2027: by July 1, 2027, agencies with body camera policies must add a way for emergency service personnel to ask that recordings of patients receiving care be redacted before release (PC 832.18). SB 691
- AB 31 (2026, ch. 450), January 1, 2027: turns the tribal police pilot into a permanent Tribal Police Program. It deletes the sunsets in PC 830.83 and 832.55, renames the program’s article (PC 11073 et seq.) from Tribal Police Pilot Program to Tribal Police Program, repeals PC 11073.5, and renumbers 11073.6. Under AB 134 (2025, ch. 10), officers of qualified tribal entities become peace officers who must meet POST certification requirements, but only once the Legislature appropriates funds; AB 31 keeps that condition. Whether an appropriation has been made could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026. AB 31 AB 134 (2025)
- SB 577 (2026, ch. 971), January 1, 2028: adds the Division of the Ombudsperson of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration to the bodies to which PC 832.7 confidentiality does not apply. SB 577
POST had these rule changes pending, not adopted, on its Regulatory Actions page as of October 19, 2026:
- Regulation 1202 and new Regulations 1202.01 to 1202.14: a restructure of peace officer certificates, including the Proof of Eligibility, Basic, and professional certificates. Noticed July 31, 2026 (Bulletin 2026-29). Initial statement of reasons
- Regulation 1210: acknowledgements and signatures on the voluntary surrender form. Noticed April 17, 2026. Bulletin 2026-15
- Regulation 1951: the reading and writing ability assessment used in hiring. Noticed July 31, 2026. Bulletin 2026-27
- Training rules: a restructure of Regulation 1005, the minimum training standards, including Continuing Professional Training (Bulletin 2026-13), and an amendment of basic course certification requirements (Bulletin 2026-28). Regulation 1005 proposed text
The Legislature’s 2025–2026 session has ended, so bills not enacted are dead. The next session convenes in December 2026.
Checked and unchanged
- The age 21 rule in Gov. Code 1031.4 is unchanged since AB 89 (2021). Gov. Code 1029 is unchanged from January 1, 2023 until AB 1627 takes effect; its National Decertification Index ground dates from SB 2 (2021).
- PC 13510.85 is unchanged since SB 449 (2023), and PC 13510 and 13512 since SB 2 (2021). SB 1525 (2024) made only a cross-reference fix to PC 13510.7.
- The deadly force standard in PC 835a and the use-of-force policy and duty to intercede in Gov. Code 7286 changed only by a spelling edit (“deescalation” to “de-escalation”) in SB 857 (2025).
- SB 960 (2022), which replaced the citizenship requirement with work authorization, was enacted before 2023 and is not counted. A change to PC 13511.5 by SB 1518 (2024) could not be compared with the prior text from official sources on October 19, 2026.
- Not counted as certification changes: training curriculum laws (SB 989, AB 2621, AB 449, AB 2541), custody death reporting (AB 3092, 2024), face-covering policies (SB 627, 2025, and SB 1004, 2026), and technical POST rule edits. POST also lists 2026 amendments on background investigations (Bulletin 2026-04, effective July 1, 2026) and psychological evaluations (effective June 2, 2026); their content was not reviewed for this page.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “California officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/california (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.