The fee is $100 per attempt, and test sites may add their own fees. Florida law caps it at $150 and says it is not refunded if you do not show up or do not pass (s. 943.1397(3), F.S.). Book with Pearson VUE at pearsonvue.com/fdle or (877) 242-1697. Your result is recorded electronically in FDLE's ATMS; FDLE cannot provide official score reports.
What the fee is, and what the law says about it
FDLE lists the State Officer Certification Exam fee as $100, paid by credit or debit card when you register online, and notes that individual test sites may charge additional fees. The figure itself is set by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, not written into the statute. What the statute does fix is the ceiling and the terms. Under s. 943.1397(3), F.S.:
- The fee may not exceed $150. So the $100 can change, but only within that limit.
- One fee buys one scheduled attempt. It is not a package price for the exam and its retakes.
- It is not refundable if you do not appear for the exam or do not achieve an acceptable score.
- Fees collected under the statute go into the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Trust Fund.
The no-refund rule is the one that bites. Booking a date "to see how it goes" and then not turning up costs the same $100 as sitting it, and the attempt-limit rules below make every attempt worth protecting.
What three attempts can cost
Section 943.1397(2) allows an applicant to take the exam no more than three times unless they re-enroll in and complete the basic recruit training program. At today's fee that is $300 in exam fees across three attempts, before any test-site charges. The real cost of a third failure is not the money, though: FDLE's FAQ says that after three failures no further exams are allowed until the full Commission-approved basic recruit program is completed again at a certified school. The three-attempts rule page covers that in detail.
Who can book
FDLE's FAQ lists three routes to eligibility:
- You completed a Commission-approved law enforcement, corrections or correctional probation basic recruit program within the last four years.
- You qualify for reinstatement of a Florida certification after demonstrating proficiency.
- You hold an approved exemption from basic recruit training as an out-of-state, federal or military officer (the Equivalency of Training route).
You sit the exam for the discipline you trained in or were exempted for (Rule 11B-30.0062(1), F.A.C.), so a corrections graduate books the Corrections exam, not the Law Enforcement one.
Your deadline decides your booking window
Basic recruit graduates must pass within four years of the start date of their basic recruit class. Reinstating, out-of-state, federal and military candidates must pass within one year of their Equivalency of Training notification. If an agency hired you under a Temporary Employment Authorization, the window is tighter still: s. 943.131(1)(a) gives you 180 consecutive days after completing basic recruit training to meet the exam requirement. Count back from whichever date applies to you before you pick a test day.
How booking works
The exam is administered on demand by Pearson VUE at authorized test sites throughout Florida. On demand means you pick a site and an available time rather than waiting for a set exam date. Two ways to book:
- Online at pearsonvue.com/fdle, paying the $100 by credit or debit card.
- By phone through the Pearson VUE call center at (877) 242-1697.
On the day you face 200 multiple-choice questions in three hours, 190 of them scored and 10 unscored field-test items you cannot tell apart from the rest. The question-count page explains the format, and the passing score page covers the 152-of-190 line.
Where your result appears
FDLE states that the only result of record is the electronic one in its ATMS system, and that it cannot provide official score reports. So there is no official FDLE score report to request after the exam; the ATMS entry is what counts.
If you do not pass: review and challenge
A failed attempt is not the end of the money you have spent if you use it. Under FDLE's Exam Review & Challenge Process:
- You may see which items you missed and the correct answers, and write challenges against items that do not accurately represent the curriculum.
- Reviews are held at Pearson VUE test centers and are scheduled only through the call center at (877) 242-1697.
- Each session covers one exam and allows 90 minutes.
- You have 120 days from the failed exam to review and challenge. After 120 days you may review but no longer challenge.
Subject-matter experts review each challenge and award credit when it is warranted. Book the review early: it shows you exactly which areas cost you, which is the best use of the time before your next attempt.
Getting your $100's worth
Because the fee is per attempt and non-refundable, the cheapest preparation is the kind that lets you find weak sections before you pay. Our full practice exam matches the real length and clock, 200 questions in three hours with the same 80 % line, and a quick mode gives you 50 questions in 45 minutes when you only have a short block of time. One difference to keep in mind: all 200 of our questions are scored, while on test day 10 of the 200 are unscored field items. Our bank holds about 737 questions across law enforcement and corrections.