Florida Police Certification for Out-of-State Officers

Who can use Equivalency of Training

FDLE says former Florida-certified officers and out-of-state, federal or military police officers may request an exemption from basic recruit training. Its FAQ lists the exam candidates who come this way as:

• Out-of-state, federal and military officers with an approved exemption from basic recruit training.
• Former Florida officers who qualify for reinstatement of their certification after demonstrating proficiency. FDLE's FAQ says an officer whose certificate expired after a four-year break in service comes back through the same EOT process; the law allows that only if the break is no more than eight years (s. 943.131(2)(a), F.S.).

The law behind the exemption is s. 943.131(2), F.S., and it sets the basic conditions itself: comparable basic recruit training plus at least one year as a full-time sworn officer in another state or for the federal government, which includes the armed forces, with no more than an 8-year break since that service. A former Florida officer may also return this way if the break is no more than 8 years. Five years in special operations forces, with no more than a 4-year break, is a separate route. The employing agency, training center or criminal justice selection center must verify and document your prior training and service, and the Commission may add criteria and require extra training by rule (s. 943.131(3)). Your own eligibility is decided in that process, so start it with the agency or training center you are working with. FDLE's Records section is at (850) 410-8600.

The steps, in order

• 1. Exemption. Your EOT is approved and you are notified.
• 2. Any additional training the Commission requires for your background (s. 943.131(3)-(4)).
• 3. Proficiency demonstration in the high-liability areas.
• 4. The State Officer Certification Exam for your discipline, booked through Pearson VUE (see cost and scheduling).

The one-year deadline

All of this has to be done within one year of receiving the exemption (s. 943.131(4); Rule 11B-30.0062(1), F.A.C.). FDLE's FAQ counts the year from your Equivalency of Training notification date. If you miss it, the statute says you must seek a new exemption. Recruits who go through the academy get four years from their class start date; you get one.

Three attempts, then the academy

Under s. 943.1397(2), no one may take the exam more than three times without re-enrolling in and completing basic recruit training. For an experienced officer, that means a third failure sends you through the full Florida academy you were exempted from. The three-attempts rule page has the detail.

The exam you will take

FDLE lists the same Law Enforcement exam for basic recruits and EOT candidates: 200 questions in three hours, 190 scored, with 152 correct needed to pass. It covers 19 sections, listed on our Law Enforcement exam topics page. FDLE says the questions are taken from Florida's basic recruit curriculum, so they are written around Florida law and procedure, not the law where you served.

Florida law an outside officer most needs to learn

Use of force: chapter 776

• Deadly force is justified only when a person reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm or an imminent forcible felony; a person who meets that test, is not engaged in criminal activity and is in a place they have a right to be has no duty to retreat (s. 776.012(2)).
• A person who uses force under s. 776.012 or 776.013 is immune from prosecution, and "prosecution" includes arrest. An agency may not arrest them unless it finds probable cause that the force was unlawful (s. 776.032(1)-(2)).
• An officer need not retreat from a lawful arrest because of resistance (s. 776.05). A person may not use force to resist an officer acting in good faith, even if the arrest later proves unlawful (s. 776.051).

Arrest and detention: chapter 901

• Misdemeanor arrests without a warrant generally need the offense to occur in the officer's presence, but s. 901.15 lists exceptions where probable cause is enough, including battery, criminal mischief and domestic violence. A domestic violence arrest does not need the victim's consent (s. 901.15(7)).
• The Florida Stop and Frisk Law, s. 901.151, uses its own wording: a pat-down for weapons requires "probable cause to believe" the person is armed, and evidence from a search outside its terms is not admissible.

Traffic and DUI: chapter 316

• DUI means impaired normal faculties or a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or more (s. 316.193).
• A breath test under implied consent must follow a lawful arrest (s. 316.1932). Refusal brings a one-year suspension, 18 months for a repeat, and refusing after the required warnings is itself a misdemeanor (s. 316.1939).
• At a crash scene, an officer may arrest a driver based on personal investigation without having seen the offense (s. 316.645).

Drugs: chapter 893

• Knowing the illegal nature of a drug is not an element of the offense; lack of knowledge is an affirmative defense (s. 893.101).
• Possession of 20 grams or less of cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 893.13(6)(b)). Trafficking starts at fixed weights, such as more than 25 pounds of cannabis or 28 grams or more of cocaine (s. 893.135(1)).

Weapons: chapter 790

• A person who meets the eligibility criteria for a concealed weapon license may carry concealed without holding one (s. 790.01(1)(b)). To charge unlicensed concealed carry, the state must prove the person was both unlicensed and ineligible (s. 790.01(4)).
• Nonresidents 21 or older may carry concealed if they meet those criteria or hold a valid license from their home state (s. 790.015).
• Once certified, you may carry a concealed firearm off duty at your superior officers' discretion (s. 790.052).