MO POST

Anyone who will exercise peace officer authority in Missouri. POST frames the license as the regulatory gate: it licenses peace officers, tracks their continuing education, and investigates them for discipline. Basic training centers, basic training instructors and continuing education providers are licensed separately through the same program, so a training credential is not an officer license.

POST lists six: be 21 years of age, be a United States citizen, hold a valid high school diploma or its equivalent, be a graduate of a Basic Law Enforcement Training Center, have passed the Missouri Peace Officer License Exam, and have no criminal history as outlined in sections 590.080.1 and 590.100.1, RSMo. All six apply together, not as alternatives.

Expect the exam to follow the basic training curriculum: criminal law and procedure, patrol operations and community relations, investigations and evidence, traffic enforcement and crash investigation, use of force and defensive tactics, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, report writing, ethics, and first aid and officer wellness. Use your training center's learning objectives as the outline of what is testable.

We cannot state those figures, because the POST pages we reviewed do not publish a question count, time limit, or passing score for the Missouri Peace Officer License Exam. Treat any specific number you see elsewhere as unverified. Confirm the current test blueprint and cut score directly with POST or your basic training center before you plan your timing.

No fee, registration portal, or scheduling process appears on the POST licensing or program pages we reviewed, so we do not publish a number. Candidates normally get exam scheduling instructions through their licensed Basic Law Enforcement Training Center. For authoritative answers, contact the POST Program in Jefferson City at (573) 751-3409 or [email protected].

Not necessarily. POST directs out-of-state applicants, federal and military applicants, and officers whose Missouri license has expired to apply through the Veteran Peace Officer Application, which is posted in the POST Forms section. Work through that form first; POST decides what training or testing you still need rather than assuming a full academy repeat.

Yes. POST is responsible for ensuring compliance with continuing law enforcement education (CLEE) requirements, and the program publishes annual CLEE training and reporting requirements plus a POST CLEE Tracking System for officers. Failing to complete and report CLEE exposure is a licensing risk, so track your hours in the state system rather than relying on local records.

Start with the legal block, because criminal law and procedure questions reward precise element-by-element recall and punish vague familiarity. Then drill report writing and traffic crash investigation, which reward structured, sequential thinking. Leave firearms and defensive tactics terminology for last but do not skip them; they are vocabulary-heavy and easy to secure with short review sessions.

POST runs a defined disciplinary process and publishes a complaint form, a quarterly update of revoked and surrendered licenses, and investigator contacts. A lapsed license is handled through the Veteran Peace Officer Application rather than a fresh application. If a complaint is filed, respond through the POST disciplinary process and keep your own documentation.