National Sift
Reasonable Adjustments
The national sift is untimed, so the support works differently from the timed stages later on. What the College of Policing lets every candidate use without asking, what needs a request through your force, how breaks and pauses work and what to do if you disagree with a decision.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 21 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
There is no extra time because both exercises are untimed. Without asking permission you can use text-to-speech (the College recommends NVDA on Firefox), zoom to 300%, keyboard navigation, colour changes or an overlay and breaks, pausing up to ten times in your seven-day window. For anything else, tell your force, which supplies a request form.
For candidates in England and Wales with a disability, a health condition, pregnancy, an injury or a neurodiverse condition who are preparing for the College of Policing national sift. This page summarises the College's reasonable adjustments guide (updated 25 August 2026) and sift guidance. Your force makes decisions on requests.
The short version
- No extra time, because the sift is untimed. Take the time you need within the seven-day window.
- Accommodations you apply yourself: text-to-speech, zoom up to 300%, keyboard navigation, colour and font changes, coloured overlays or lenses and breaks.
- Pausing: up to ten times in the window. The home screen times out after 20 minutes of inactivity.
- Anything else: tell your force, ideally in your application. It provides a request form.
- Decide before, not after: you cannot appeal a result on the grounds of the adjustments offered.
Reasonable adjustments and accommodations: the difference
| Reasonable adjustment | Accommodation | |
|---|---|---|
| For | Disabled people, or those with physical or mental health conditions, so they are not disadvantaged. | Conditions not defined as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, such as a back injury or pregnancy. |
| Approval | Agreed through your force, usually with supporting information. | Most can be applied by you without approval. |
| Limit | Only adjustments that can be replicated in the role of police constable. | As listed for each assessment. |
If you are not sure whether your condition counts as a disability, the College says to contact your recruiting force. You do not need to know exactly which adjustment you need: the College says the focus is on how your situation affects you in an online assessment.
Why there is no extra time for the sift
The College's sift guidance and its adjustments guide both say that, because the two sift exercises are untimed, extra time is not offered. The guide gives approximate times (about 20 minutes for the situational judgement test and 30 minutes for the behavioural styles questionnaire, about 50 minutes overall), while the sift guidance itself suggests about 45 minutes and 20 minutes. Neither is a limit.
You can read each scenario as many times as you need, listen to it with text-to-speech, take breaks and come back. The limits are the seven-day window, the 20-minute inactivity time-out on the home screen and ten pauses.
The online assessment process that follows is timed and there extra time adjustments of 15% to 50% are available. See OAC technical requirements and reasonable adjustments.
What you can use on the sift without asking
The College lists these accommodations for the national sift. You manage them yourself:
| Option | Detail |
|---|---|
| Text-to-speech | The College recommends NVDA (free; works best on Firefox). Your own text-to-speech software is fine without permission. |
| Zoom | Up to 300%. |
| Keyboard navigation | Most of the site can be navigated using just a keyboard. |
| Colours and overlays | Change screen and text colours, or use your own coloured overlay. |
| Breaks | Self-facilitated breaks between questions and exercises. |
If you want to use software you do not already have, the College says to contact your force; depending on the circumstances that may be treated as a reasonable adjustment request.
Visual stress
For the sift, the College suggests candidates with visual stress may find it helpful to:
- change the colours, contrast levels and fonts of the text on screen;
- use a coloured overlay over the screen (bring your own, so the colour suits you);
- use coloured lenses or glasses (again, your own).
Try these on a practice scenario first so you know what works before your window opens.
Breaks, pauses and the time-out
The College's guide says you can take self-facilitated breaks between the questions and the exercises and gives two limits:
- Time-out: the home screen times out after 20 minutes of inactivity.
- Pauses: you may pause and come back up to ten times during the seven-day window.
Its example scenarios link breaks to anxiety or conditions affecting concentration and to physical conditions that make sitting for long difficult. If your connection drops, the sift guidance says you can get back in through the link in your invitation email.
Try your set-up on a sample scenario
Test your screen reader, zoom level or overlay on a scenario in the sift's format before your window. This is an original PolicePay scenario, not a College question; the ratings are our own.
Free sample scenario
The man at the front counter
A man at the station front counter is shouting that nobody has called him back about his stolen van. He keeps interrupting you. Other people in the queue are watching.
Rate each action on its own, from 1 (Counterproductive) to 5 (Very effective). You can give the same rating to more than one action.
Rate all four actions to check your answers.
If anything in our sample is hard to use with your assistive technology, email andrew@policepay.co.uk so we can fix it. Our site is not the College's platform, so test the real interface on the sift's practice questions too.
Sift and recruitment alerts
Know when the sift or the application windows change
Forces open and close recruitment windows without much notice, and the national sift can change. Leave your email and we will tell you when forces open applications and when the sift or the entry rules change. Occasional emails, written by hand. Unsubscribe any time.
Sent by a person when there is news, not on a schedule. Unsubscribe any time. See our privacy policy.
How to ask for a reasonable adjustment
- Tell your force. The College says to inform your chosen force in your application if you may be disadvantaged because of a disability, pregnancy or condition.
- Complete the request form. The force provides a reasonable adjustment and accommodation request form to fill in and return.
- Provide supporting information where asked (see below).
- Agree the outcome. If you accept what is offered, you complete a candidate agreement form. If you decide not to proceed with the adjustments offered, you complete a disclaimer form.
- The force records it. It updates the College's assessment information system (AIMS); you do not need to do anything else.
The College says forces may seek advice from its assessment specialists and your supporting information may be shared internally for that purpose; the request form explains this. You can also contact recruit@college.police.uk for guidance.
Supporting information
The College says supporting information shows the substantial and long-term adverse effect of an impairment on normal day-to-day activities. The most effective is an assessment by a professional specialist using appropriate and valid tests, with clear recommendations: in most cases, a report setting out a formal assessment.
If you do not have supporting information, the College's reasonable adjustments policy explains what to do. Many sift accommodations need none, because you apply them yourself.
If a request is not agreed
- The College says requests are usually not approved at first because of a lack of supporting information. Share anything further that helps.
- If you believe the policy was not applied correctly, you can request a review by contacting your force before your assessment.
- You cannot appeal on the grounds of the adjustments or accommodations offered if you are unsuccessful.
If something serious is affecting you before the sift (an illness or injury, for example), the sift guidance says you can ask your force for a later assessment or an extension instead of sitting it.
Later stages are different
The College considers adjustments for each assessment separately, because each has a different format. The online assessment process is timed, so it offers extra time from 15% to 50%, the Recite Me toolbar for everyone and tested software including Dragon for dictation in the written exercise. The in-force interview has its own arrangements through the force.
If you pass the sift, check with your force whether you need a new request for the online assessment. Practise the next stage with the free interview in our full timed OAC mock.
Examples from the College's guide
The College gives these illustrations of how support may be applied:
- A condition affecting reading speed, processing or working memory may lead to extra time where an assessment is timed.
- Anxiety or a condition affecting concentration may be supported through breaks.
- For the sift specifically: pausing and returning up to ten times in the seven-day window.
- A physical condition such as back pain may be supported through breaks to move or stretch.
The College stresses that support is tailored to individual circumstances.
Support by need: a quick reference
A summary of what the College's guides make available for the sift, grouped by need. Your force decides on any request; this is a starting point for the conversation.
| If you... | Available without asking | Talk to your force about |
|---|---|---|
| read slowly or have dyslexia | Untimed exercises; text-to-speech (NVDA on Firefox recommended); breaks | Software you do not already have |
| experience visual stress | Colour, contrast and font changes; your own overlay or lenses | Anything the system does not support |
| have low vision | Zoom up to 300%; screen reader; keyboard navigation | Alternative formats if the platform does not work for you |
| have anxiety or difficulty concentrating | Breaks; pausing up to ten times in the window | Whether anything else would help |
| have a physical condition or are pregnant | Breaks to move or stretch; your own equipment and set-up | An accommodation for later stages such as fitness |
A worked example: planning the sift with dyslexia
An invented example of using the options the College lists, without needing a formal request:
- Before the window: installs NVDA, tests it with Firefox on a sample scenario, sets a cream background and larger text.
- Day 1: does the practice questions with text-to-speech, then stops.
- Day 2: does the SJT in two sittings with a break in between, returning before the 20-minute time-out or re-opening the link.
- Day 3: does the BSQ in one sitting, reading each statement twice.
- Throughout: counts pauses so as not to go beyond ten.
If, during testing, something does not work with the candidate's software, they contact the force well before the window rather than during it.
Checklist for a reasonable adjustment request
- Tell the force in your application, or as soon as you know.
- Describe how your condition affects you in an online assessment, not only the diagnosis.
- Attach the best supporting information you have; a specialist report with recommendations is the most useful.
- Say what has helped in exams or at work before.
- Ask the force how long requests take and when you will hear.
- Keep copies of the request form, agreement form and emails.
- Ask whether the adjustment covers later stages or needs a new request.
Mistakes to avoid
- Waiting until after a disappointing result. You cannot appeal on the grounds of adjustments offered.
- Assuming extra time will be offered. Not for the sift, because it is untimed.
- Testing software on the day. Try it on a practice scenario first.
- Forgetting the time-out. The home screen times out after 20 minutes of inactivity.
Myths
"Dyslexia gets 25% extra time on the sift." No extra time is given for the sift because it is untimed.
"You need permission to use a screen reader." Not for the sift accommodations the College lists.
"You can appeal later if the adjustment did not help." Not on the grounds of adjustments offered; ask for a review before the assessment.
"An adjustment for one stage covers them all." Each assessment is considered separately.
What we could not verify
- How long forces take to process requests. Allow plenty of time before your window.
- Whether pausing and an inactivity time-out are counted the same way towards the ten pauses.
- Which screen readers other than NVDA the College has tested with the sift platform specifically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get extra time on the national sift?
No. The College of Policing says both national sift exercises are untimed, so extra time is not offered as a reasonable adjustment. You can take as long as you need within your seven-day window, with breaks.
Can I use a screen reader for the national sift?
Yes, without asking permission. The College's adjustments guide recommends NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), which is free and works best on Firefox. If you have your own text-to-speech software you can use it too.
What accommodations can I use on the national sift without permission?
The College lists text-to-speech software, changing screen and text colours or using a coloured overlay, zooming in up to 300%, navigating most of the site by keyboard and taking self-facilitated breaks between questions and exercises. You manage these yourself.
I have dyslexia. What support is there for the national sift?
Because the sift is untimed, extra time is not offered, but you can take your time, use text-to-speech, change colours and fonts, use a coloured overlay and take breaks. If you think you need something else, contact your force, which can advise and provide a request form.
How do I request a reasonable adjustment for the sift?
Tell the force you are applying to, ideally in your application. It can advise and gives you a reasonable adjustment and accommodation request form to complete and return, with supporting information where needed.
Can I pause the national sift?
Yes. The College's adjustments guide says you can pause and come back up to ten times during your seven-day window and you can take breaks between questions and exercises. The home screen times out after 20 minutes of inactivity.
What evidence do I need for a reasonable adjustment?
The College says the most effective supporting information is an assessment by a professional specialist using valid tests with clear recommendations, usually a formal report. Many accommodations need no evidence because you apply them yourself.
Can I appeal my sift result because of adjustments?
No. The College says candidates may not appeal on the grounds of reasonable adjustments or accommodations offered if they are unsuccessful. If you think your request was handled wrongly, ask your force for a review before your assessment.
Does an adjustment for the sift carry over to the online assessment?
Not automatically. The College considers adjustments for each assessment separately and the online assessment process is timed, so extra time can apply there in a way it cannot for the sift. Ask your force about each stage.
Do adjustments apply to specials, PCSOs and DHEP candidates?
Yes. The College's guide covers police constable, special constable, PCSO and detective constable degree holder entry programme candidates for the national sift, the online assessment process and the in-force interview.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 21 October 2026. Rules and figures change, so check the source for the date you are reading this. Where we could not confirm something from an official or independent source, the page says so rather than guessing. Spotted something out of date? See our corrections policy.
- College of Policing: Reasonable adjustments and accommodations guide for online assessments candidates (updated 25 August 2026) : who it covers; adjustments vs accommodations; request route and form; supporting information; review before the assessment; no appeal on adjustments; AIMS; sift untimed so no extra time; NVDA on Firefox; zoom 300%; keyboard; breaks; 20-minute time-out; visual stress; pause up to ten times; example scenarios; contacts (accessed 21 October 2026)
- College of Policing: National sift candidate guidance (May 2026 PDF; page updated 1 June 2026) : accommodations supported by the system and managed by you; no extra time; contact your force (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Equality Act 2010, section 6 (disability) : the definition of disability the College's guide refers to (accessed 21 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with the College of Policing, the Home Office or any police force and it does not recruit, vet or assess applicants. Recruitment standards, assessment formats and vetting decisions are set by the College of Policing and each force and change from time to time: check the force you are applying to before relying on anything here. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 21 October 2026.