Qualifications of Police Officers

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Prevention and Detection of Crime
  4. Employment and Training of Police Officers
  5. General Provisions
  6. Qualifications of Police Officers

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Any person employed as a full-time police officer, and any person employed or utilized as a part-time, temporary, reserve or auxiliary police officer or as a special deputy, shall:

  1. Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;
  2. Be a citizen of the United States, or a permanent legal resident of the United States who is an honorably discharged veteran of the United States armed forces pursuant to § 38-8-105(d);
  3. Be a high school graduate or possess its equivalent, which shall include a general educational development (GED(R)) certificate;
  4. Not have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any felony charge or to any violation of any federal or state laws or city ordinances relating to force, violence, theft, dishonesty, gambling, liquor, controlled substances or controlled substance analogues;
  5. Not have been released or discharged under any other than honorable discharge from any of the armed forces of the United States;
  6. Have the person's fingerprints on file with the Tennessee bureau of investigation;
  7. Have passed a physical examination by a licensed physician or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, so long as the task is expressly included in the written protocol developed jointly by the supervising physician and the nurse practitioner or physician assistant, whichever is applicable, setting forth the range of services that may be performed by the nurse practitioner or physician assistant;
  8. Have a good moral character as determined by a thorough investigation conducted by the employing agency; and
  9. Have been certified by a Tennessee licensed health care provider qualified in the psychiatric or psychological field as being free from any impairment, as set forth in the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association at the time of the examination, that would, in the professional judgment of the examiner, affect the applicant's ability to perform an essential function of the job, with or without a reasonable accommodation.


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