Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania certifies municipal and most other local police through the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC), which the State Police administers. Sheriffs and deputies answer to a separate board. Since 2023 the State has put fingerprint checks into statute, capped the statutory 2-year certification term at “not more than” 2 years, written fitness and reading standards into the law, and required State System campus police to hold MPOETC certification.
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC). It has 20 members, the State Police Commissioner chairs it, and the Pennsylvania State Police administers its program (53 Pa.C.S. 2161(a), 2163(a)). It certifies the police listed in 2162, including municipal, campus (including the State System of Higher Education), railroad, Capitol, airport, housing-authority, and county park police, and deputy sheriffs in second-class counties. Other sheriffs and deputies answer to the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff Education and Training Board, which is “continued as a board within” the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (44 Pa.C.S. 7423). State Police troopers are outside MPOETC.
- Statute
- 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 21, Subchapter D (2161 to 2172): MPOETC, training, and certification. 44 Pa.C.S. Chapter 73 (Act 57 of 2020): background investigations, separation records, and the hiring report. 44 Pa.C.S. Chapter 72 (Act 59 of 2020): mental-health evaluations. 44 Pa.C.S. Chapter 74 (Act 134 of 2020): sheriffs and deputies. Rules are in 37 Pa. Code Chapter 203. Temporary rules for Act 57 and Act 59 are in 37 Pa. Code Chapters 241 and 261 (see the 2023 entry below).
- Minimum standards
- By rule: at least 18; a high school diploma or GED; U.S. citizen; no disqualifying conviction; reading at the ninth-grade level on the Nelson-Denny test; a physician’s exam; a psychologist’s exam that includes the MMPI; fitness at the 30th Cooper percentile; and a background investigation. The background check covers a fingerprint check against state and FBI records, credit history, at least 3 references, 5 years of employers, and driving record (37 Pa. Code 203.11(a)). People certified within the past 2 years, and State Police members honorably discharged within the past 2 years, are exempt (203.11(b)). By statute, anyone convicted of a felony or “serious misdemeanor” is ineligible (53 Pa.C.S. 2164(7)). A 2024 MPOETC notice also approves the NPOST reading section at 70 percent. For Philadelphia academies, the statute lets recruits enroll at the 15th Cooper percentile until about December 14, 2028; the 30th is still required for employment.
- Decertification
- MPOETC has power “to revoke” certification for failing training requirements, for a criminal conviction, or when an officer is physically or mentally unfit. It may suspend or revoke for any violation of 37 Pa. Code Chapter 203 (53 Pa.C.S. 2164(1), (3.1)). A revoked officer may seek reinstatement after 1 year. The rule says MPOETC “maintains the right to revoke” after notice and hearing on 9 listed grounds, among them a disqualifying conviction, false documents, cheating, and failing to stay employed or meet in-service, first-aid, or firearms requirements (203.14). MPOETC has no general misconduct ground. Deputy sheriffs differ: their board “shall revoke” certification for a felony or first- or second-degree misdemeanor conviction, dismissal for cause, unfitness, or misconduct that makes the person unfit (44 Pa.C.S. 7429(a)).
- Public decertification list
- No statutory list found. The Act 57 separation-records database is open only to law enforcement agencies and is exempt from the Right-to-Know Law. Hiring reports, which explain the hire of an officer whose record shows listed misconduct, are subject to the Right-to-Know Law (44 Pa.C.S. 7309(a)(3), (c); 7311(c)).
- National Decertification Index
- None found. No Pennsylvania statute or rule found names the Index or requires reporting to it.
- Continuing training
- Certification lasts no more than 2 years and is renewed after mandatory in-service training. The statute already set a 2-year certification period; Act 10 of 2023 changed it to “not more than two years.” The rules also set a 2-year term (37 Pa. Code 203.13). Academic in-service is at least 12 hours a year, with topics set yearly by MPOETC; firearms and other requirements come on top of that (203.52). The statute requires annual in-service on use of force, de-escalation, and harm reduction, and training every 2 years on community and cultural awareness, implicit bias, procedural justice, and reconciliation (53 Pa.C.S. 2164(6)).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
State System campus police must hold MPOETC certification
The Public School Code definition of State System of Higher Education “campus police” changes. It used to cover personnel who had completed an approved campus police course of training. It now covers personnel who “are certified as police officers under 53 Pa.C.S. Ch. 21 Subch. D.” Title 53 already counted State System campus police as police officers (2162, since Act 121 of 2022), and the old School Code text already referred to training approved under Subchapter D. The act repeals the councils of trustees’ power to authorize campus police firearms and voids existing trustee resolutions that did so. New 53 Pa.C.S. 2168(f) lets Fort Indiantown Gap installation police keep their certification. They must have completed basic and in-service training, and either hold active certification or have had it lapse within 2 years while continuously employed there.
For officers: State System campus police now need MPOETC certification, not only a completed training course.
MPOETC approves two reading-comprehension tests
Acting under Act 37 of 2023 (53 Pa.C.S. 2164(8)(iii)), MPOETC approved two tests: the Nelson-Denny at the ninth-grade level or above, and the reading section of the National Police Officer Selection Test at 70 percent or higher. The notice says the tests “may be used immediately.” The rule, 37 Pa. Code 203.11(a)(5), still names only the Nelson-Denny.
For officers: Applicants can meet the reading standard with either approved test.
Fitness and reading standards written into statute; lower enrollment floor for Philadelphia academies
Before Act 37, 53 Pa.C.S. 2164(8) said only that MPOETC requires minimum standards for physical fitness, psychological evaluation, and education. The act adds subparagraphs (i) to (iv). Under (i), at a school in a city of the first class (Philadelphia), an applicant must reach the 30th Cooper percentile to be eligible for employment, and a school “may not enroll” a recruit below the 15th percentile. The 30th percentile repeats the existing rule (37 Pa. Code 203.11(a)(8)). Under (ii), subparagraph (i) expires 5 years after it took effect, about December 14, 2028. Under (iii), the education standard must include a reading-comprehension test approved by MPOETC, and MPOETC had to approve two tests right away. Subparagraph (iv), a Joint State Government Commission study, expired December 10, 2024.
For officers: Philadelphia academies can enroll recruits between the 15th and 30th percentile, but the 30th is still required to be hired.
Fingerprint checks put in statute; certification term capped at no more than 2 years; school directors brought under discipline
New 53 Pa.C.S. 2164(7.1) gives MPOETC power “to require” fingerprints from people applying to attend basic training, for police certification, or for instructor or school director approval. The State Police checks its own records and sends the prints to the FBI. Results “may be considered only” as they bear on suitability. The rules already required State Police and FBI fingerprint cards in the certification application (37 Pa. Code 203.15(b)(2)), and the House fiscal note says MPOETC was already running these checks under a temporary FBI waiver. The act gives that practice a basis in statute. The definition of “certification” already said “Certification is for a period of two years”; the act inserted “not more than.” The rules also set a 2-year term (37 Pa. Code 203.13). Sections 2164(3) and (3.1) now let MPOETC approve, suspend, or revoke the approval of school directors, and a revoked director may seek reinstatement after 1 year. The act also adds definitions of “approval,” “instructor,” and “school director.”
For officers: The fingerprint check works as before but now rests on statute; certification lasts no more than 2 years.
Act 57 and Act 59 temporary rules reached their stated end date
MPOETC’s temporary rules on background investigations under Act 57 (Chapter 241, 51 Pa.B. 1136) and on mental-health evaluations under Act 59 (Chapter 261, 51 Pa.B. 1512) took effect July 14, 2021. Each chapter’s source note says the rules “expire in 2 years,” so on their face they lapsed in 2023. The Pennsylvania Code, current through August 8, 2026, still prints both chapters, and no permanent replacement was found. Whether these rules are in force could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026. The statutes they carry out, 44 Pa.C.S. Chapters 72 and 73, remain in force.
For officers: Ask your agency or MPOETC which background and mental-health evaluation rules it applies today.
Not yet in force and pending
- SB 1071 (Cappelletti): would amend Titles 18 and 53 so that, with exceptions, an officer who wears a mask or other garment that hides identity while performing official duties and interacting with the public commits “criminal concealment,” and would add identification duties. Referred to Senate Judiciary on October 21, 2025; no later action shown. SB 1071
- HB 1880 (Friel): would provide that a federal immigration official “may not” conceal their face with a mask while on duty, with exemptions. Referred to House Judiciary on September 26, 2025; no later action shown. HB 1880
Checked and unchanged
- 44 Pa.C.S. Chapter 73 (Act 57 background checks, separation records, database, and hiring report) and Chapter 72 (Act 59 mental-health evaluations) show no amendment since their 2020 enactment.
- 53 Pa.C.S. 2164(6), the annual use-of-force and de-escalation in-service requirement, is unchanged since Act 59 of 2020. 18 Pa.C.S. 508 (use of force in law enforcement) was last amended in 2007; no statutory duty to intervene was found.
- 37 Pa. Code Chapter 203 section histories show no amendment after 2007. The rule still names only the Nelson-Denny reading test and sets the 30th fitness percentile statewide, while the statute and the 2024 notice allow more.
- Not counted as certification changes: MPOETC’s canine standards in 37 Pa. Code Chapter 281 (amended effective April 26, 2025, 55 Pa.B. 2993), and Act 18 of 2026 (HB 1344) on canine standards under 53 Pa.C.S. 2172, which takes effect 180 days after June 29, 2026.
- No Pennsylvania statute or rule on Brady or Giglio lists, officer masks, or officer identification was adopted from 2023 to 2026.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Pennsylvania officer certification: Officer Certification Tracker,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/pennsylvania (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.