New York
New York has no officer license. A police officer needs a basic-training certificate under standards set by the Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC) in the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and the certificate can be invalidated when an officer is removed for cause. Since 2023 the State has raised the police hiring age cap to 43, tied certificate validity to mental-health crisis training, barred officers from wearing face coverings while dealing with the public, and created a state-law claim for constitutional violations.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Municipal Police Training Council (MPTC), a 10-member council in the Division of Criminal Justice Services (Exec. Law 839). The MPTC sets basic and in-service training standards. The basic-training certificate is awarded by the MPTC executive director (Gen. Mun. Law 209-q(1)(a)). New York has no separate officer license; the certificate is the credential. DCJS keeps the Central State Registry of Police and Peace Officers (Exec. Law 845).
- Statute
- Executive Law article 35: MPTC powers in Exec. Law 840; the registry and removal-for-cause reporting in Exec. Law 845. Certificate rules in Gen. Mun. Law 209-q. Hiring eligibility in Civil Service Law 58. Regulations in 9 NYCRR Part 6056 (registry and decertification) and the MPTC rules in 9 NYCRR Part 6000 et seq.
- Minimum standards
- At least 20 at appointment and no older than 43 when taking the written exam, with credit for military service and other exceptions; a high school diploma or equivalency; and MPTC height, weight, physical and psychological fitness, and good moral character standards (CSL 58(1)). DCJS says the Basic Course for Police Officers is a “minimum standard of over 700 hours” set by the MPTC, and that municipal recruits must complete it within one year of appointment (DCJS). The hours are set by MPTC rule, not statute.
- Decertification
- No state board decides misconduct cases on its own. A certificate “may be permanently invalidated upon an officer’s removal for cause” under Exec. Law 845, and the officer “may be ineligible for any future certification” (Gen. Mun. Law 209-q(1)(b-1)). Employers must report why an officer left, including removal for cause (Exec. Law 845(2)(b)). The commissioner may correct an inaccurate separation report after notice and a hearing (845(3)(b)). DCJS says that under 9 NYCRR Part 6056 a certificate is immediately invalidated when an officer is removed for cause for misconduct, or resigns or retires in connection with misconduct allegations (DCJS). DCJS posts the Part 6056 text: 9 NYCRR 6056.4(e) says the certificate “shall immediately be deemed invalid” when an officer is removed for cause, which 6056.2(h) defines to include resigning or retiring in connection with misconduct allegations, or is removed during probation for misconduct.
- Public decertification list
- Published by DCJS; no statute requires it. DCJS posts a Police / Peace Officer Decertification List built from employer reports. The page showed an update date of October 15, 2026 (DCJS).
- National Decertification Index
- By agency statement and regulation; no statute. DCJS says it “provides decertification information to the National Decertification Index” and that “All police employers must check the Decertification Index prior to hiring.” No statute names the Index, but 9 NYCRR 6056.8(b) says DCJS “may submit” the name of an officer removed for cause, or removed during probation for misconduct, to the national decertification index.
- Continuing training
- No general statewide annual hour requirement was found. The MPTC’s web page describes its in-service standards as ones employers provide at their discretion. Exec. Law 840(1)(g) lets the council recommend in-service training rules. Exec. Law 840(8), added in 2025, requires mental-health crisis training for current police officers within 36 months, or 24 months in a city of 1 million or more. It covers police officers, not peace officers.
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Officers barred from face coverings; visible ID required
New Civil Rights Law article 10 (sections 100 to 102) bars police officers, peace officers, and federal law enforcement officers from wearing a face covering that conceals their identity while interacting with the public on duty. Items that are not face coverings include clear face shields, medical masks, protective gear against smoke or other hazards, ballistic gear, religious garments, and masks for active undercover operations. Uniformed officers must visibly display their agency’s name and at least one identifier, such as a name, badge number, or shield number. Officers not in uniform must wear a visible agency identifier. The ID rule does not apply to undercover work, covert surveillance, investigations that identification would compromise, some protective details, or medical and emergency protective equipment. A willful violation is a violation for a first offense and a misdemeanor after that. The former article 10 was renumbered article 15. Challenges to the law’s coverage of federal officers were not checked for this page.
For officers: Keep your agency name and an identifier visible, and wear a face covering with the public only if a listed exception applies.
State-law claim for constitutional violations
New Civil Rights Law section 85 lets a person sue anyone who, under color of federal or state law, deprives them of rights secured by the U.S. Constitution. The legislative findings focus on claims against federal officials, but the text covers any person acting under color of law. A court may award compensatory and nominal damages, punitive damages where the violation is malicious, wanton, willful, or in reckless disregard of the plaintiff’s rights, injunctive and declaratory relief, and attorneys’ fees to a prevailing plaintiff. The section reaches back to January 1, 2025; for violations before the effective date, only nominal and compensatory damages are available. Claims against judges for judicial acts are limited.
For officers: State and local officers can now be sued under a state law, alongside federal civil rights suits, for constitutional violations.
Attorney General’s police-death investigations: conflict screens and video confidentiality
Where the Office of Special Investigation’s work conflicts with the Attorney General’s defense of state employees, the Attorney General may designate a deputy or assistant to act instead. The Attorney General must adopt rules that screen the prosecution team from civil-defense files on police and peace officers, and the reverse (Exec. Law 70-b(8)). New County Law 701(6), effective December 19, 2025, lets a court appoint a special district attorney when the Attorney General is disqualified; that prosecutor must issue the public report. The 2026 chapter amendment adds Exec. Law 70-b(3-a): the Attorney General must keep video and audio recordings it receives confidential. Disclosure may be delayed, at the Attorney General’s discretion, only to protect an ongoing investigation or prosecution or at the request of the decedent’s family. Redactions follow the Attorney General’s video release policy, and the subdivision does not limit access a person is otherwise lawfully entitled to.
For officers: In a death investigation, footage sent to the Attorney General is held under these rules, and release can be delayed only on the listed grounds.
S.8415, chapter 707 of 2025 A.9516, chapter 36 of 2026 Exec. Law 70-b
Candidates who fail screening can be removed from eligible lists
New CSL 58(1-a): if the appointing authority finds that a candidate does not meet the MPTC psychological fitness or good moral character standards, it “may request that the local civil service commissioner remove such candidate from the eligible list,” and the commissioner “shall comply forthwith.”
For officers: Failing the psychological or background screening can now take you off the civil service list.
Police hiring age cap raised from 35 to 43
The maximum age at the written exam rises from 35 to 43, and the exhausted-list exception from 39 to 43 (CSL 58(1)(a)). The CSL 58(1) eligibility rules now apply to any appointment, not only provisional or permanent appointments in the competitive class. The act deletes a clause in CSL 58(2) that barred localities from setting a stricter maximum age. It also deletes the rule in 58(4)(a) that let an officer resign and be reappointed within 30 days without meeting the age limits; the one-year reinstatement rule remains. State Police members must now be 21 to 43; the old range was 21 to 29, extendable to 35 (Exec. Law 215(3)).
For officers: Applicants up to 43 can take the police exam; check whether your locality sets a lower cap.
Mental-health crisis training required; certificate validity tied to it
New Exec. Law 840(8) requires the MPTC, with the Office of Mental Health, to develop policies on situations involving people who appear mentally ill and likely to cause serious harm. The policies cover de-escalation “while minimizing the use of force” and alternatives to the criminal justice system. The MPTC must recommend a required training program for all current and new police officers. Current officers must finish it within 36 months, or 24 months in a city of 1 million or more, and DCJS must issue regulations. Gen. Mun. Law 209-q(1)(b)(i) now keeps a certificate valid during continuous service “provided that such police officer received training as set forth under subdivision eight of section eight hundred forty of the executive law, consistent with the rules and regulations promulgated therein.” No DCJS regulation was found in the State Register through October 2026.
For officers: Plan to complete the crisis training once DCJS sets the rules; the statute links it to keeping your certificate valid.
Discovery amendments; impeachment paragraph keeps its scope
Before 2025, the opening of CPL 245.20(1) already limited every disclosure item to material that relates to the subject matter of the case. Part LL removed that limit from the opening and put the same words into paragraph (k), which covers impeachment and exculpatory information, including information known to police. On the text, the scope of (k) is unchanged. Other paragraphs, such as (a), (b), (h), (i), and (u)(i), are now tied to the charges in the case, and (l), (m), and (n) to the instant case or the criminal action. 245.20(2) already excused prosecutors from obtaining by subpoena material the defense could subpoena; the amendment rewords this to say prosecutors need not obtain material at all if the defense can get it by subpoena. The certificate of compliance rules in 245.50 also change.
For officers: Impeachment information about you that police know of is still subject to automatic disclosure when it relates to the subject matter of the case.
Not yet in force and pending
- L. 2025, ch. 632 (S.2295), December 12, 2026: adds a second Exec. Law 840(8). The MPTC must issue rules requiring training on crimes involving sexual assault for all police officers, and new officers get it in the basic curriculum. The Senate’s official law text lists it as effective December 12, 2026. S.2295
- S.4470-C / A.8451 (“DJ’s law”): would require MPTC policies and training on firing at moving vehicles. The Senate passed it in 2025 and passed 4470-A on March 10, 2026. The Assembly substituted it for A.8451-A and put it on the floor calendar on March 16, 2026, and the Senate recalled it from the Assembly on April 7, 2026. It was amended twice, repassed by the Senate on April 27, 2026, and referred to the Assembly Codes Committee. S.4470
- S.1405 / A.6054: would create a public statewide database of police and peace officers terminated for misconduct. In Senate Codes (re-referred January 7, 2026). S.1405
- S.8514 / A.5132: would bar hiring former officers who were dismissed for serious misconduct, or resigned or retired while under investigation for it. In Senate Civil Service and Pensions (January 7, 2026). S.8514
- S.7180: would require the MPTC model use-of-force policy to conform to the UN Basic Principles. In Senate Codes (January 7, 2026). S.7180
No DCJS proposed rule on 9 NYCRR Part 6000 or Part 6056 was found in State Register issues from January 2023 through October 2026. Bills not enacted by the end of the 2025–2026 session on December 31, 2026, die.
Checked and unchanged
- Exec. Law 845 (registry, removal-for-cause reporting, inaccuracy hearings) was last revised in 2021. The invalidation language in Gen. Mun. Law 209-q(1)(b-1) is unchanged since 2021; the only 2023–2026 change to 209-q is the 2025 training proviso.
- Public Officers Law 87(4-a), 87(4-b), and 89(2-b), on law enforcement disciplinary records and redactions, match their 2020 text. Penal Law 35.30 (use of force in arrest) shows no revision after 2014.
- The duty to intervene guidelines in the model use-of-force policy (Exec. Law 840(4)(d)) date from L. 2019, ch. 55; no 2023–2026 amendment was found.
- No amendment to 9 NYCRR Part 6056 was noticed in the State Register from 2023 to 2026.
- Not counted as certification changes: MPTC death-notification training rules (9 NYCRR 6020.3 and 6025.3, 2024); the State Police retirement and correction officer residency changes in L. 2025, ch. 55, Part C; and the other subparts of L. 2026, ch. 55, Part LL on immigration enforcement, which were not reviewed for this page.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “New York officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/new-york (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.