Entry requirements

You must be 18 years of age or over at the time of applying. There is no upper age limit for applying to join the MDP.

You must hold a full UK manual car driving licence with no more than six penalty points at the point of application. You will be required to provide a copy of your photo card licence with any application, which should be in date and reflect your current home address as this is a legal requirement. Expired licences or those which have not been updated can not be accepted and will lead to rejection.

All applicants, excluding applicants from Northern Ireland, must provide a summary of their driving record. To obtain this visit the Your driving licence information page and enter the following information:

• Driving Licence number
• National Insurance number
• Postcode

A) Select ‘View now’, then print (3 tabs): Your details; Vehicles you can drive and Penalties and Disqualification pages

OR

B) Select ‘Share your licence information’. Select ‘View, Print or save your licence information’ – this will produce a licence summary which can be saved and submitted with your application form.

For applicants from Northern Ireland: send a copy of your paper counterpart licence with your application form.

If you’re joining as a new recruit, you must have a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths. Examples of this include:

• GCSE Grade C/Level 4 or above
• Functional Skills Level 2 in Numeracy/Literacy
• Scottish Qualifications accepted: SCQF Level 5, Intermediate 2 at level 5 or Standard Grade (with credit) – achieved at the correct grading

Copies of relevant qualification certificates must be enclosed with the application form. Qualifications in other subjects are not accepted, irrespective of the level of qualification held.

For more information on the specific qualifications and evidence we can accept visit FAQs – Qualification requirements for MDP New Recruits.

There is currently no requirement for new entrants to have previously attained the Certificate of Knowledge in Policing.

To meet national security vetting requirements, you must have resided continuously in the UK for a minimum five-year period immediately prior to your application to join MDP (with any absence from the UK being no more than six months during that time).

For postings to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites and any other sites where Developed Vetting (DV) clearance is required, you must have resided continuously in the UK for a minimum 10-year period immediately prior to your application to join MDP (with any absence from the UK being no more than six months during that time).

If you have resided abroad due to serving in the British Armed Forces or on UK Government service, you are considered to have been resident in the UK. This criterion is not flexible and is strictly applied.

Learn more about what the police and national vetting processes will involve.

You must be a sole British National and hold a British Passport. This means that if you are a foreign national or hold dual nationality rights with any other country, we will not be able to accept an application from you.

To be employed, all applicants will be required to achieve full security clearance without restrictions.

You should not have a criminal record – this includes convictions, cautions, penalty notices and court orders. If you have a conviction as an adult or juvenile it is unlikely that you will be suitable, but some minor offences and cautions may not exclude you. We will judge each case on its merits.

You must disclose all adult and juvenile convictions and cautions, regardless of their level of seriousness or how long ago they occurred. You must also disclose any criminal offences dealt with ‘out of court’ (including Penalty Notices). Harassment Warnings, Court Orders of a similar nature or Anti-Social Behaviour Orders must be disclosed. Failure to disclose any relevant police matter will lead to rejection in most cases.

The following lists provide an indication of whether you may meet our criteria in relation to criminal offences:

TYPE A) Involvement in a very serious offence will always result in rejection:

• Offences involving death or serious injury
• Treason, espionage, kidnapping/abduction/torture
• Very serious sexual offences
• Firearms or explosives offences
• Hate crime (offences involving discrimination)

TYPE B) Involvement in the following offences will almost certainly lead to rejection

• Any offence (adult or juvenile) resulting in a prison sentence (served or suspended)
• Serious assaults/offences involving unsolicited violence
• Most sexual offences
• Offences involving vulnerable persons
• Most public order offences
• Offences involving dishonesty, fraud or burglary etc.
• Serious or repeated lower level drugs offences
• Reckless/Dangerous driving (last 10 years)
• Motoring offences involving drink or drugs (driving or ‘in charge’ of a motor vehicle)
• Other serious motoring offences (e.g. failure to stop/disqualified driving/no insurance) and repeated minor traffic offences
• Most convictions or cautions (for other than very minor offences) within the last 5 years
• Recent or repeated drunkenness offences.

If you’re unsure whether you meet our criteria, please contact mdp-recruitmentenquiries@mod.gov.uk

We apply a tattoo and piercings policy, as part of the recruitment process. All tattoos are assessed individually.

You should not have tattoos which could be considered discriminatory, racist, sexist, are overly sexualised, sectarian, homophobic, violent, intimidating or offensive. Tattoos on the head; throat/neck, forward of the ear/jawline; and any on the face that are non-medical or not as a result of cosmetic surgery will result in automatic rejection.

You will be required to provide photographs of all (non- intimate) tattoos, with a visible measure for scale. A verifiable translation must accompany any tattoos containing non-English words, characters or representation and an explanation of the tattoos’ meaning or significance must also be provided.

Any tattoos which appear to be discriminatory, offensive or provocative will not be accepted. Facial piercings are not permitted because they are considered to undermine the dignity and authority of a police officer. There are also implications for an officer’s safety.

Flesh tunnels or ear plugs that leave a hole greater than 4mm, once removed, provide a significant health and safety risk and would therefore result in automatic rejection.

If you think you may not be eligible to apply to join us because of your tattoos or piercings, contact mdp-recruitmentenquiries@mod.gov.uk for advice. You must also let the Recruitment Team know if at any stage during the recruitment process you acquire any further tattoos, piercings or any other body art, or are considering doing so, as this may affect your suitability.

You must not be registered bankrupt with outstanding debts. If you have previously been registered bankrupt, at least 3 years must have passed from the date the debt was discharged and you must be able to evidence this. You must also not have outstanding County Court Judgments against you.

If you are subject to a current Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or Debt Management Plans, you may apply but will be required to provide evidence that you are managing your debt and able to make repayments. This criterion applies for equivalencies in Scotland too.

You will need to be physically fit and you will be required to pass a Job-Related Fitness Test (JRFT) relevant to the role you are applying for. For all New Recruits this will the MDP Physical Employment Standards Job-Related Fitness Test (PES-JRFT). Find out what’s involved.

If you receive a conditional offer of employment or are placed into a pool of successful candidates, to whom it is intended a conditional offer will be made when a position arises, you will be required to complete a medical assessment.

Further information: Medical Standards.

The MDP and the police service as a whole has a policy of prohibiting any of its officers, or staff or volunteers from becoming members of the British National Party (BNP), Combat 18, the National Front or similar organisations.

If you have been unsuccessful in your application to join another Police Force you can still apply to join the MDP when a campaign is live, irrespective of when you were unsuccessful. You may also apply to the MDP even if you have an active application with another Force, but please ensure you keep the recruitment team updated should you decide that you do not wish to continue with the MDP process.

Whilst the MDP does not currently use the College of Policing Online Assessment model, we will accept candidates who have passed the assessment with another force, provided you can supply written evidence that the assessment was completed within the 12 months preceding your application.

You will still be required to undertake and pass a suitability interview once you have passed the initial eligibility stage. There will, however, be no need for you to complete a further competency interview and you will progress to the medical, fitness test and vetting stages.

Assessments completed with Forces who do not use the College of Policing process will not be honoured. You should be aware that we are currently reviewing our assessment process and this policy may change in future.