Below are some of the questions that GPSTC students and customers most frequently ask the staff of the Georgia Police Academy. If you find that you still need assistance, you may contact the Georgia Police Academy by phone at (478) 993-4467.

In Georgia, the peace officer certification process is regulated by the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST). Candidates interested in becoming a peace officer in Georgia must complete an application with POST prior to enrolling in GPSTC’s Basic Police Officer Training Program.

Candidates pursuing Basic Training at GPSTC must meet the following minimum requirements: be at least 18 years old, be a citizen of the United States, have a high school diploma or its equivalent, not have been convicted of a crime for which the punishment could have been imprisonment, undergo a background investigation, be fingerprinted, undergo a physical examination, complete an entrance exam, and be interviewed by the manager of the GPSTC Regional Academy where the student will attend training.

Upon meeting or completing the above requirements, candidates may enroll in GPSTC’s Basic Law Enforcement Training Program. The training is a rigorous program that takes 11 weeks to complete. After a candidate has completed the program, they are eligible for POST certification and for employment as an entry-level law enforcement officer.

The Basic Law Enforcement Training Program is taught by the GPSTC staff at the main campus in Forsyth or at one of eight satellite training facilities located throughout the state. If you are interested in becoming a Peace Officer, please call the regional academy that you are interested in attending.

If you are certified in another state or were a federal peace officer and have not had more than a three (3) year break in service, you may be eligible to exempt portions of the Georgia Basic Law Enforcement Training Course. If you feel that you meet this requirement,  you may request an equivalency rating from the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST). In your written request, you must include:

  1. Your basic course completion certificate
  2. A copy of your state-issued certification, and
  3. Law enforcement history (resume)

For more information contact the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council.

If the class you took was an independent online course, please allow 48 hours for the credit to show on your POST records. Classroom-based courses and online courses that are blended or instructor led are not uploaded until the instructor or course coordinator delivers a completed roster to the Registrar’s Office, which can take up to seven days. If your classroom-based course hours are not reflected after 14 days, or your online course hours are not reflected after 48 hours, you should contact the Registrar’s Office at [contentblock id=23 img=gcb.png].

GPSTC makes every effort to accommodate your requests to attend training. If the class you’d like to take appears full, we encourage you to register for it anyway so that you can be placed on the waiting list. Often the instructor can add additional students from the waiting list.

If you have not received confirmation of acceptance into the course at least 48 hours prior to the course beginning and you decide to try to walk on, we cannot guarantee that you will be placed in the class.

The Georgia Public Safety Training Center maintains records of every class you’ve taken at GPSTC. Additionally, all course-related materials that you need for upcoming classes that you are currently registered for are available as well. Simply sign into the GPSTC Access login page. If you have not yet set up your online account, choose “Setup Account.”

Keep in mind that GPSTC only keeps records of classes taken at GPSTC. If you have taken GA POST-certified training courses at any other training facility, they should appear on your GA POST record. Please contact the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council  for questions regarding your GA POST record.

Many certificates for courses that you have completed will be located in your GPSTC Access page. Simply log on with your user ID and password to see which certificates you can access. If you do not see the certificate you are looking for, please contact the Office of the Registrar at [contentblock id=23
img=gcb.png] for reprints. There is a fee for re-printing and mailing certificates.

The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has the statutory authority for issuing all certifications involving peace officers in Georgia. An excellent description of the requirements for any GA POST certification is available on the GA POST website along with the relevant applications including Intermediate and Advanced applications.

The statutory mission of GPSTC is to provide training, including the training that qualifies law enforcement officers for Intermediate and Advanced Certification. We regularly offer the courses that qualify law enforcement officers for the Intermediate Certification and Advanced Certification, which are as follows:

Intermediate (158 course hours)
Interpersonal Communications
Criminal Procedure
Health & Wellness
Emergency Medical Responder
Officer Survival

Advanced (152 course hours)
Advanced Report Writing
Advanced Traffic Law
Advanced Firearms
Crime Scene Processing
Interviews & Interrogations
Search Warrants & Affidavits
Specialized Patrol Techniques

Everything that you need to bring with you to the class you have registered for is listed in the course description. If anything else is needed, the course coordinator or instructor will email you before the first day of class.

If your course has a manual or materials that need to be printed, they will be located in your Student Access page. Simply log into your page, click on the course you are registered for, and then select the manuals or materials you would like to print.

The physical standards vary based on the requirements of the agency that employs you. Although the minimum requirements for Peace Officer Certification are set forth in the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Act (O.C.G.A. 35-8), these represent only the minimum state physical requirements. Individual peace officer agencies routinely require more than the state minimums. You may find more information at the POST website at: http://www.gapost.org.

As far as the physical requirements for GPSTC, there are no across-the-board physical requirements past the state minimums with the exception of special courses and basic mandate courses offered by one of our resident agencies (e.g. Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Department of Natural Resources). Those limited occurrence special courses, which include several physical fitness programs, give the requirements for each course in the course description listed in our calendar. You may learn more about these courses by browsing our course catalog.

The Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST) is the agency that certifies all peace officer training in the state of Georgia. Peace Officers are required to obtain 20 hours of POST-certified training each year.

Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council
5000 Austell-Powder Springs Road
Suite 261
Austell, Georgia 30106
Phone: (770) 732-5974
FAX (770) 732-5952
Website: http://www.gapost.org/