Check if you’re eligible
- To join us, you will need to be at least 18 years old when you start your new role.
- As a prison officer, it is vital that you are able to cope with both the emotional and physical demands of the job:
- You will be need to deal with stressful, traumatic and at times emotional issues.
- As this is a physically active job, you will need to pass a medical and fitness assessment as part of the application process. This will include a hearing test and an eyesight test.
- A physical and mental health issue will not necessarily prevent you from doing the job: where appropriate, relevant adjustments will be recommended.
- It is vital that you declare any pre-existing physical and/or mental health conditions, so that we can suitably assess your ability to perform the full range of duties you will need to do as a prison officer. Your information will be considered by the Occupational Health team in a confidential manner.
Read about the fitness and medical assessments on the prison officer online application centre (opens in a new tab).
- Tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, as long as they are not deemed as offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating in any way. Facial tattoos are generally not acceptable, except those that are for cultural, religious or medical reasons.
Right to work in the UK
You must have the right to work in the UK and Civil Service (GOV.UK, opens in a new tab).
Skilled Worker visa changes from 4 April 2024
From 4 April 2024, the Government increased the salary threshold for Skilled Worker visas. The change means that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) cannot guarantee sponsorship for people seeking sponsorship via the Skilled Worker visa route.
If you are applying to be a prison officer and do not meet the new eligibility criteria for sponsorship, you will need to consider your options for obtaining and/or maintaining your right to work in the UK.
HMPPS will continue to comply with UK Immigration Rules applied in the UK and Civil Service.
You can read more about Skilled Worker visas and the eligibility criteria here.
Applying to work in a high security prison
To work in a high security prison (category A) you must have been resident in the UK for the last 3 years. This must be the period immediately before you submit your application, and not any other three-year period, or any other accumulation of time spent in the UK. Please read the pre-employment checks and ‘High security prisons’ information on our prison officer online portal for more details (opens in new tab).
Think about how you will get to the prison
Many prisons are in rural locations, with limited public transport links. Before you apply to a particular prison, find out where it is and how easy it is to get to from where you live. If you don’t drive, and rely on public transport, check that: local services run at the times you will need to travel, and that they will get you to the prison in plenty of time for your shift. Be mindful that you might start or finish a shift around 7am.
You will need to pay any travel costs to and from work yourself.
If you choose to relocate to work at a prison, you will need to do so at your own expense and find yourself somewhere to live before you start your job. You can apply for a tenancy loan agreement if you want help with a rental deposit, but you will not be able to access this before your start date.
The application process
The application process takes 6 to 7 months on average from starting your application to your first day on the job.
How long it takes depends on how quickly we can arrange an assessment date, how long your background pre-employment checks take, and if there’s a role available immediately at the prison you applied to.
Start by finding a suitable vacancy.
If there are no current vacancies at the prison you’re interested in, you can register your interest (opens in a new tab) and we’ll let you know when positions become available.
You will need your National Insurance number to apply. The application is very quick and should only take you about 10 minutes.
You will be asked some eligibility questions, such as your nationality and your right to work in the UK, then you’ll need to enter some personal details and you’re ready to submit your application.
When applying, you can choose if you want to be considered for an operational support grade (OSG) role at the same time (in case you’re not successful in becoming a prison officer right now). Learn more about our ‘Aspire programme‘ (opens in a new tab).
Our reasonable adjustments scheme supports individuals who may face disadvantages in the job assessment process when applying for one of our jobs due to a diagnosed or undiagnosed disability, long-term condition, or short-term need arising from an illness or injury. If you think you might need a reasonable adjustment, simply select the ‘yes’ option in the application form when asked.
There are up to 2 online tests as part of the prison officer application process.
Stage 1 test
You will be invited to complete a scenario-based test (SBT), presenting you with different behavioural and numerical scenarios you might face as a prison officer. This will take around 25 to 40 minutes to complete.
We use the SBT to check you have the basic numeracy skills and behaviours expected of a prison officer.
Before you take the SBT, and to give you an idea of what to expect, we encourage you to do a practice one. We won’t see your results, the practice test is simply an opportunity to help you prepare.
You can take a practice test here (opens in new window).
If you pass the stage 1 online test, you may be invited to complete the stage 2 online test. The job advert you are applying to will confirm if this is the case.
Stage 2 test
This is a task-based assessment to see if you are able to demonstrate the behaviours and qualities you need to become a prison
officer.
Rather than questions, this assessment is a series of engaging tasks designed to assess your unique behaviour. There is no right or wrong way to approach the assessment – simply follow the instructions and react to the scenarios you will be presented with.
The test will take around 35 to 40 minutes to complete, but there is no time limit.
Before you take the task-based assessment, you will have an opportunity to practise.
Read this guide to get an insight into what to expect and to help you prepare for the stage 2 test (opens in new window).
If you pass the stage 2 online test, we will invite you to the online assessment centre to complete the last stage of the prison officer selection process.
The online assessment centre takes about 2 hours 30 minutes. You’ll need a laptop with a webcam to take part.
Our friendly assessors will meet you and test you to see if you have the abilities, behaviours and strengths to be a prison officer.
There will be 3 parts: an interview, a role play, and a written test. Find out more in our blog (opens in a new tab).
If you apply for a women’s prison, there’s an additional written assessment where you need to answer 3 behaviour-based questions. This will explore your understanding of working as a prison officer in a women’s prison.
You’ll get your online assessment centre results within 3 working days.
If you pass, the next steps depend on if you applied to a ‘pass’ or a ‘merit’ vacancy (this will be stated in the job description). See the pre-employment checks section below for more information.
We’ll only carry out pre-employment checks once there’s a prison officer position available for you.
Checks include security, identity, past employment and health checks. The checks can take 8 to 10 weeks to complete.
If you are going to be working in a high security prison, you will need to complete HMPPS Enhanced Level 2 vetting, plus a Counter-terrorism check (CTC).
You can read more about what to expect during the pre-employment check stage of your application, plus some top tips, on the prison officer online application centre (opens in new tab).
If you applied for a ‘Pass’ vacancy: you’ll be allocated to the next available vacancy and we’ll start your pre-employment checks straight away. If there are no vacancies, you will go on a merit list until a position becomes available. Your successful pass from the online assessment centre will be valid for 12 months and you can use it to apply for vacancies at other prisons.
If you applied for a ‘Merit’ vacancy: you’ll be allocated to a vacancy in order of merit, based on the online assessment centre performance of all candidates. The prison will then make job offers to the people who performed best at the online assessment centre as vacancies become available. Your pre-employment checks will begin once you’re allocated to an available position. You can stay on the merit list for 12 months. After this time, you’ll need to apply again.
If you get a provisional offer, you will be invited to book and attend a medical and fitness test at your nearest testing centre. You can claim back your travel expenses up to £100, for costs incurred on UK travel only.
First, you will have a medical assessment, carried out by a trained occupational health professional to check that you can safely take part in the fitness test. The assessment will involve an eye test, hearing test, and basic health screening (including blood pressure check).
Find out more about the medical assessment and fitness test on the application information centre (opens in a new tab).
If you pass your medical assessment, you’ll then be tested on endurance and strength. We test your endurance and agility using a bleep test with a shuttle run between 2 points, and we test your upper body strength to see if you can hold a 7kg riot shield and grip a piece of equipment.
Once you’ve received your provisional offer, and passed your pre-employment checks, and medical and fitness test, we will email you to invite you to a call with a member of our recruitment team to discuss starting as a prison officer and arranging your training dates.
Find your prison officer job
Want to be part of a diverse team, making an impact? Our prison officers are people just like you.
Can’t find a vacancy in a prison near you?
Simply register your interest and we’ll let you know when new prison officer vacancies become available.