If you are planning an application, the first question is usually simple: when does the next group of recruits actually start? Police Scotland runs its probationer intakes on a fixed rhythm through the year, and knowing those months lets you work backwards from a realistic target date.
This guide sets out the 2026 intake months, the probationer numbers Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) have published, what happens once an intake begins, and how far ahead you need to apply. Every figure is attributed, and where something has not been published, that is stated plainly rather than guessed at.
Police Scotland 2026 intake dates at a glance
Police Scotland states on its police officer recruitment page that new probationers start every two months. For 2026 that means six intake months: January, March, May, July, September and November. Five of those six intakes have published sizes. Police Scotland and SPA material lists the following planned figures for 2026.
| Month | Intake Size |
|---|---|
| January | 161 |
| March | 71 |
| May | 175 |
| July | 169 |
| September | 183 |
| November | Not published |
Those five published figures add up to 759 probationers. That is a subtotal for the first five intakes, not a full-year total, because the November 2026 figure had not been published as of 13 October 2026.
One practical point on dates. Police Scotland publishes the intake by month, and only confirms an exact day in its own announcements. The July 2026 cohort, for example, took the oath of office at Tulliallan on Thursday 16 July 2026, with T/Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Houston addressing the new recruits before warrant cards were issued. Treat the month as the stable planning anchor and the exact day as something confirmed later.
What is confirmed about November 2026
The honest answer is: the month, not the number. November sits in the two-monthly cycle alongside the other five intakes, but Police Scotland had not published its size as of 13 October 2026. No official figure means no reliable estimate, and dividing or extrapolating from the other intakes would produce a number nobody has endorsed.
You may see a 2026 total of 818 circulating online. That figure appears on a third-party careers site and does not match the official breakdown of 161, 71, 175, 169 and 183. Stick with 759 as the published first-five subtotal until Police Scotland confirms November.
It also helps to separate three different moments in a recruit’s journey, because announcements cover all three and they are easy to confuse. There is the intake itself, marked by an oath ceremony. There is the end of initial training, marked by a parade. And there is deployment to communities, which comes afterwards. On 1 May 2026, a cohort of 160 officers completed their first stage of training at Tulliallan and prepared to report for duty across Scotland in the following days. Eight of them had previous military service, and several spoke additional languages including Bengali and Afrikaans. Three weeks later, on Thursday 21 May 2026, a separate group of 175 probationers swore the oath of constable at the same site.
“The responsibilities of a police officer are considerable and our latest cohort of probationers are now accountable under Scottish policing law. I thank them for stepping forward to serve our communities with integrity, fairness and respect, and for the benefit they will bring to the wellbeing of the country.”
— Chief Constable Jo Farrell, Police Scotland, May 2026
How 2026 compares with 2024 and 2025
Recent recruitment volumes give useful context for how competitive a given intake might be.
| Year | Intake Size |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 952 (largest annual intake in history) |
| 2025 | 717 (total across 6 intakes) |
| 2026 (first 5 intakes) | 759 (January, March, May, July, September — November size not published) |
Two notes on that table. The 2024 figure of 952 is described by Police Scotland and SPA reporting as the largest annual intake in the organisation’s history. The 2025 total of 717 came from six intakes of 124, 123, 68, 100, 137 and 165, which shows how much individual intake sizes can swing within a single year. For 2026, use the published breakdown of 161, 71, 175, 169 and 183, which totals 759 across the first five intakes.
Behind these numbers sits a change in approach. SPA material describes a move away from traditional quarterly recruitment towards a more frequent, flexible and demand-led model from March 2024. That is why intakes now land every two months rather than four times a year.
Departures matter too. SPA reporting estimated average officer departures at around 80 per month in 2024/25, up from an earlier projection of 63 per month, with the vast majority retiring from police service. It attributes much of the increase to the McCloud Remedy introduced in 2022, which gave officers the option to retire at 50 with 25 years of service. Recruitment volumes are shaped by that outflow as much as by any growth ambition for the officer establishment.
What happens when an intake starts
Each intake opens with the oath of office. Police Scotland announcements show cohorts being sworn in at formal ceremonies, sometimes at Tulliallan and sometimes at regional centres closer to where officers will serve. In November 2024, 253 new officers took their oath at regional training centres in the communities they would later deploy to.
“Taking the oath of office today is a significant moment for our latest recruits. They are signing up to a hugely rewarding and demanding job where people will turn to them for help, often in the most critical and vulnerable circumstances. Taking on the responsibilities and duties of a police officer is a deeply considered decision and I thank every one of them for stepping forward to help safeguard Scotland’s communities.”
— Chief Constable Jo Farrell, Police Scotland, November 2024
Warrant cards are issued at that ceremony, which is the point at which legal policing powers apply. From there, probationers move into initial training before deployment.
Training, probation, pay and working life
Police Scotland’s careers page states that the overall initial training period has been extended to 18 weeks. That breaks down into one week at a regional training centre, 15 weeks at either the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan or the Training and Recruitment Centre at East Kilbride, then a further two weeks back at a regional training centre.
The probationary period lasts two years. Police Scotland says you will spend most of that time working in response policing, facing varied challenges and learning quickly. It also makes clear that policing is a 24/7 public service with varied shift patterns, and that the probationary period demands full focus on training and operational duties. Worth thinking about honestly before you apply.
On pay, Police Scotland lists a starting salary of £34,001, with yearly increments rising to £54,597. The same page confirms automatic entry into the contributory police pension scheme, which starts at age 60 and can be deferred if you work longer, plus 28 days of annual leave alongside adoption, maternity, paternity, shared parental, special and parental leave, and the option of a career break of up to five years.
Apply early enough for your target intake
Police Scotland’s application route is straightforward on paper: create an account and register on its job portal, then complete the application form. The work sits in what comes afterwards.
The selection sequence runs from the online application through the Police Scotland Entrance Test (PSET), the fitness test, the assessment day and interview, then medical assessment and vetting. None of the official pages publish a guaranteed end-to-end recruitment duration, and no stage comes with a promised start month attached. Use the published intake schedule as a planning target rather than treating it as an offer date.
That matters most for the application form itself. It should be your priority to show that you match the competencies and values relevant to the role, because weak evidence at this stage ends the process before the PSET.
Police Scotland also runs recruitment events, both drop-in and online, where recruitment specialists talk applicants through the job and the application process. At a drop-in event at Jackton Recruitment and Training Centre in May 2026, candidates could try a mock fitness bleep test, experience a day in the life of an officer through a virtual reality headset, meet the vetting team and speak to serving probationers. If you are unsure about timing or eligibility, that is the most direct way to ask.
Check eligibility before applying
Eligibility is where applications most often fall at the first hurdle, so read this before you plan around an intake month. Police Scotland states that you can apply if you:
- are 18 or over
- are physically fit
- have lived in the UK for at least three years
- meet the right to work requirements
- hold a manual driving licence
- meet the national eyesight standard
Two of these catch people out. You must have lived in the UK for at least three years, and the licence condition is specifically a manual driving licence, not an automatic-only one. Both are stated on the Police Scotland careers page.
Right to work is governed under the Police Service of Scotland Regulations 2013. Applicants who are not UK or EEA nationals must hold indefinite leave to remain or equivalent status at the point of application. Time-limited visas do not meet that legal requirement, even where current right to work exists.
Formal qualifications are not required. Police Scotland says what matters most is the relevant skills you already have, whether from your job, your community or your family life, along with the values you hold and how you treat others. It also names resilience as a major trait it looks for, because the role tests candidates mentally and physically.
Prepare for the PSET and the selection stages
The PSET is the first test after your application form and pre-screening checks. It evaluates three areas: Language, Numbers and Information Handling. Police Scotland publishes official mock questions and answers for all three elements without stating a fixed question count or time limit on its recruitment process page, so check the candidate instructions sent to you before your sitting and practise with realistic PSET past papers and mock tests.
Fitness preparation is the part applicants most often leave too late. The bleep test is a standard feature of Police Scotland fitness preparation, and candidates at recruitment events are given the chance to try a mock version before committing. Building that endurance takes weeks, not days, which is another argument for working backwards from your target intake month.
At the assessment centre you take part in several exercises designed to test your suitability for the role, including an icebreaker exercise, a group exercise and a formal interview. Prepare examples that map to the competency and values framework rather than generic interview answers, because the assessors are scoring against defined behaviours.
The final stages involve a medical assessment (including the national eyesight standard and DVLA group 2 medical standard) and substance misuse testing. References are contacted, and vetting is the last gate before a formal offer. Vetting is thorough and takes time, so answer every question on disclosure fully and accurately from the start. Anything inconsistent is harder to fix later than to declare up front.
Preparation that reflects Scottish law and Police Scotland’s own standards will serve you better here than generic UK-wide material, particularly for the interview and for PSET practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are police in Scotland recruiting just now?
Yes. Police Scotland states that it is recruiting officers and runs both drop-in and online recruitment events through the year. Recruitment details change, so check the official careers page for the live application route and current event listings before you plan anything around a specific date.
How long does the Police Scotland recruitment process take?
There is no single published end-to-end duration. The process runs from application through the PSET, fitness test, assessment centre and interview, then medical assessment and vetting. Because Police Scotland schedules probationer starts every two months, the sensible approach is to plan around the next published intake rather than assume a fixed turnaround.
Do you get paid during police training in Scotland?
Police Scotland lists a starting salary of £34,001 and an 18-week initial training period. Its careers page does not break down payment at each training stage separately, so confirm current employment terms directly with Police Scotland rather than relying on assumption.
Can I join Police Scotland with just GCSEs?
Yes, in the sense that Police Scotland does not require formal qualifications. It looks for relevant real-life skills, the values you hold and how you treat others. You still need to meet every other eligibility requirement, including having lived in the UK for at least three years, holding a manual driving licence, meeting the right-to-work rules and meeting the national eyesight standard.
Is 50 too old to join Police Scotland?
Police Scotland’s eligibility criteria state that applicants must be 18 or over, and no upper age limit appears in that criteria. Check the live Police Scotland eligibility page before applying, since it is the controlling source on current requirements.
Are police in Scotland struggling to recruit?
Police Scotland is actively recruiting and has moved towards a more frequent, demand-led model. SPA reporting projected around 80 officer departures per month in 2024/25, mainly through retirement, which shapes how many recruits are needed. No official rating of whether recruitment is “struggling” is published, so treat that framing with caution.
Is Police Scotland hard to get into?
It is a multi-stage process: application, PSET, fitness test, assessment centre and interview, then medical assessment and vetting. Each stage removes candidates. No official pass or failure rate is published, so be sceptical of any site quoting a precise percentage.
How can I contact Police Scotland about joining?
Use the official Police Scotland job portal for recruitment matters, or attend one of the listed recruitment events where recruitment specialists can talk you through the job and the application process. The careers page does not list a general recruitment phone number.
Your next step
The 2026 intake months are fixed: January, March, May, July, September and November. Five sizes are published and total 759 probationers, with November still outstanding as of 13 October 2026. Pick the intake you are aiming for, check your eligibility against the six criteria above, then work backwards through vetting, assessment centre, fitness and PSET to see how much time you actually have.
Start with the test that comes first. Take the free PSET practice paper at https://www.jointhecops.co.uk/free-pset/ to see where you stand on Language, Numbers and Information Handling before you commit to an intake date. This is independent preparation, not an official Police Scotland service.
Sources
A free practice paper in language, numeracy and information handling, with worked answers.
Apply for Police Scotland: Eligibility, PSET and Process
Police Scotland Language Test: PSET Reading & Verbal Guide
