Your Police OAC
Preparation Plan
How long to prepare for the police online assessment centre, and what to do each day. Two practical plans, a short version for when time is tight, and checklists for the week before and the day itself, all built on the format the College of Policing currently publishes.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 1 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
There is no official preparation period: the College of Policing does not set one, and your force sets the assessment window and the 11.59pm deadline. PolicePay suggests two to four weeks of short, regular practice: learn the format, choose honest examples, rehearse aloud to the real timings and check your equipment. Prepared notes or scripts are banned, and no plan guarantees a result.
These plans were written on 1 October 2026 for the format in the College of Policing's online assessment process candidate guide, updated 21 July 2026. They are PolicePay's suggested plans. They are not a College of Policing requirement, they are not endorsed by the College or any force, and following them does not guarantee a result. If the College changes the format, the guide you receive from your force wins.
How long should you prepare for the police OAC?
The College of Policing does not say how long to prepare. Its candidate guide asks you to read the guidance, remind yourself of the competencies and values each exercise assesses, check the technical guidance and make sure you are ready before you start. What it does fix is the format, which is what this plan trains for.
What limits your preparation in practice is the calendar, and you do not control it:
- The online assessments are taken within a timeframe agreed between the College and the force you applied to. The College does not publish a standard window length.
- Your invitation email with a personal link arrives on the first day of your window. The deadline is 11.59pm on the date in the email from your force.
- Once you click "start assessment" on an exercise, it counts as your attempt. You cannot restart it.
- You cannot sit the online assessments with more than one force at a time, and if you are unsuccessful you can resit from three months after the start date of your window, no more than twice in 12 months.
So the practical answer is to start preparing when you apply or when you pass the sift, not when the invitation arrives. Our suggestion is two to four weeks of short sessions, 30 to 60 minutes on most days. Four weeks suits you if you are starting from scratch, have not had a competency-based interview before, or are fitting this around shifts or childcare. Two weeks suits you if you already know STAR and have examples in mind. If you have less, use the few-days version.
Since 17 March 2026, regulation 10(1)(eb) of the Police Regulations 2003 requires every candidate for constable in England and Wales (except transferees) to pass the national sift, the online assessment process and an in-person interview with the force, to the standard set by the College. Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland run separate recruitment processes. See the OAC explained and assessment process by entry route.
Start with a baseline, end with a re-check
A plan works better when you know where you are starting from. Before day 1, spend two minutes on an honest self-check: do you have real examples ready, can you explain the values in your own words, have you practised speaking to a timer, and do you know what each exercise involves? Repeat the same check at the end, so you can see what moved and what did not.
Take the free OAC readiness check on day 1 and again on your last day. It takes about two minutes and points to preparation gaps (examples, timed practice, the written and briefing exercises). It is a self-check for your own planning, not an official assessment, and it cannot predict your result.
Rules your preparation has to respect
Several College rules change how you should prepare. A plan that ignores them can do more harm than good.
- No prepared notes or scripts, in any exercise. Evidence that notes, digital or physical, were prepared before the assessment may result in an automatic fail, and an automatic fail cannot be appealed. So the plan builds recall and structure in your head, not a script on paper.
- Notes you make during an exercise are allowed. After receiving each interview question; in the written answer box (delete them before you submit, because everything submitted is assessed); and during briefing preparation and after each briefing question. Practise jotting a few words quickly.
- Destroy your notes afterwards. The candidate declaration requires notes to be securely destroyed and not shared with anyone, including other candidates. Sharing is treated as a breach of integrity.
- No second device. Phones, tablets, other laptops, second monitors, smart speakers and smartwatches must not be within sight, within reach or active. Practise in the same set-up so it feels normal.
- Work alone. You must complete each exercise on your own with no additional support. A helper is fine for practice, never during the real thing.
- Use only the information given. The written and briefing exercises tell you not to add or invent information. Practise answering from the material in front of you.
- No copy and paste in the written exercise. Pasting from another application is not accepted and may result in an automatic fail. Practise typing straight into a plain box.
What to practise for each exercise
The three exercises test different things in different ways. This table is a summary to plan from; the detail is in each exercise guide. Timings are the College's standard timings and may differ if you have a timing-related reasonable adjustment.
| Exercise | Format and timing | Assessed against | What to practise | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competency-based interview (CBI) | 5 questions on video. 60 seconds thinking (not recorded), then up to 300 seconds to record each answer. About 40 minutes. | Courage; public service; respect and empathy; we take ownership; we are innovative and open-minded | Recalling a real example fast, structuring it (STAR is suggested), saying what you did and why, and finishing inside 5 minutes. Questions can be about past situations or how you would deal with something in future. | OAC interview explained |
| Written exercise | Urgent written task for a line manager using four items of information. About 10 minutes to read instructions, about 40 minutes to write, 120-minute hard limit. | Respect and empathy; we analyse critically; we support and inspire; we collaborate | Reading four sources quickly, using only what they say, organising a clear response, and typing it straight into a plain box. Spelling and grammar are not assessed. | Written exercise explained |
| Briefing exercise | About 10 minutes of untimed, unassessed preparation reading, then about 50 minutes: 12 questions in three parts of four. Up to 60 seconds thinking, then 180 seconds to answer each. New information in parts two and three. | Public service; we are emotionally aware; we take ownership; we are innovative and open-minded | Answering a spoken question in 3 minutes, adapting when new information arrives, considering the people affected and how the police can build positive relationships, using only the information given. | Briefing exercise explained |
All three are assessed at CVF level 1, the practitioner level used for initial recruitment. You can take them in any order before the deadline, with breaks between exercises, but not within one. You do not need any prior knowledge of policing or the police role. How assessors use the framework is covered in how the police OAC is marked.
The 2-week OAC preparation plan
Use this if your window opens in about two weeks, or if you already know STAR and have examples in mind. Allow 30 to 60 minutes a day. Move days around your shifts; keep the order roughly the same, because each block builds on the last.
| Day | Focus | Task | Guide or tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Baseline | Read the College candidate guide in full. Take the free readiness check and note your two weakest areas. | Readiness check |
| Day 2 | Format and values | Read the CVF values and the six competencies at level 1. Write, in your own words, one line on what each means in everyday behaviour. | CVF explained |
| Day 3 | Example bank | List 10 to 12 real situations from work, study, volunteering or home. Tag each with the values and competencies it genuinely shows. | Choosing examples |
| Day 4 | Pick and draft | Choose your six to eight strongest. Draft each in STAR form on paper, then reduce it to a five-line recall cue. | STAR answer checker |
| Day 5 | Structure check | Run each draft through the STAR checker. Fix thin Action sections and vague results. Redo cue cards. | STAR answer checker |
| Day 6 | First timed answers | Two practice questions aloud: 60 seconds to think, up to 5 minutes to answer, using cue cards only during thinking time. Record and play back. | Mock interview (free practice) |
| Day 7 | Rest and review | Light day. Re-read your cue cards without speaking. Note which examples felt weak. | None |
| Day 8 | Written exercise | One timed written practice: 10 minutes reading, then aim to finish in about 40 minutes typed into a plain text box. | Written exercise guide |
| Day 9 | Briefing exercise | Ask someone to read you a short made-up scenario and four questions; answer each in 3 minutes, with new information after question four. | Briefing exercise guide |
| Day 10 | CBI without cards | Three CBI-style questions with no cue cards, only 60 seconds of jotting after hearing each question. | Mock interview (free practice) |
| Day 11 | Tech check | Update your device and browser (Chrome, Edge or Safari), test webcam and microphone, check connection, choose your room, add the two College and Tazio email addresses to safe senders. | Tech and adjustments |
| Day 12 | Weak spots | Repeat whichever exercise went worst, to time. Swap out any example you struggled to tell honestly. | None |
| Day 13 | Full run | One timed CBI question, one written practice and four briefing questions in a single sitting, with breaks between them. | Mock interview (free practice) |
| Day 14 | Re-check and rest | Retake the readiness check and compare with day 1. Go through the week-before checklist. Destroy or put away all notes before the window opens. | Readiness check |
By the end of week one you should have a bank of real examples you can recall without notes. Week two is about doing each exercise type to time at least once and getting your equipment right. If one day slips, drop day 7 or day 12 rather than the tech check or the full run.
The 4-week OAC preparation plan
Use this if you are starting from scratch, have never done a competency-based interview, or need to fit preparation around work or caring responsibilities. It covers the same ground as the 2-week plan with more repetition and rest, which tends to make recall more reliable under time pressure.
| Week and days | Focus | Task | Guide or tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1, days 1 to 2 | Baseline and format | Read the College candidate guide and this page. Take the readiness check. Write down your window dates if your force has given them. | Readiness check |
| Week 1, days 3 to 5 | Values and competencies | Read the CVF at level 1. For each value and competency, note one thing you have actually done that shows it, however small. | CVF explained |
| Week 1, days 6 to 7 | Example bank | Build a list of 10 to 15 real situations and tag each one. Ask someone who knows you to remind you of situations you have forgotten. | Choosing examples |
| Week 2, days 8 to 10 | Draft in STAR | Draft your best eight in STAR form, then check each one's structure. | STAR answer checker |
| Week 2, days 11 to 12 | Cue cards | Turn each draft into a five-line recall cue. Practise telling each example from the cue in 2, 3 and 5 minutes. | None |
| Week 2, days 13 to 14 | First timed CBI | Two or three questions aloud at 60 seconds thinking and 5 minutes answering. Record, watch back, note one fix per answer. | Mock interview (free practice) |
| Week 3, days 15 to 17 | Written exercise | Two timed written practices, typed into a plain box, using only the information in your practice items. Review against the four competencies assessed. | Written exercise guide |
| Week 3, days 18 to 20 | Briefing exercise | Two practice briefings with a helper: 10 minutes preparation reading, then four questions per part, 3 minutes per answer, new information between parts. | Briefing exercise guide |
| Week 3, day 21 | Rest | No practice. Read through what you have learnt. | None |
| Week 4, days 22 to 23 | Tech and adjustments | Full tech check on the device you will use. If you have an adjustment agreed, make sure you know how it applies. Test Recite Me if you plan to use it. | Tech and adjustments |
| Week 4, days 24 to 26 | Mixed timed practice | Daily: two CBI-style questions without cue cards, plus either a written practice or a four-question briefing part. | Mock interview (free practice) |
| Week 4, day 27 | Full run | All three exercise types once, timed, with breaks between them, to learn how your concentration holds up. | None |
| Week 4, day 28 | Re-check and rest | Retake the readiness check. Work through the week-before checklist. Put away or destroy every note before the window opens. | Readiness check |
The sift and online assessment process are the same for PCDA, DHEP and PCEP applicants. What differs is the force interview and any additional approved assessment, such as the detective constable DHEP assessment process. Route-specific interview preparation is in PCDA, DHEP and PCEP interview preparation.
If you only have a few days
Forces set the window and deadline, so some candidates find out late. If you have three to five days, cut the plan down to what makes the most difference:
- Read the College candidate guide once, properly, in a quiet place. It is the only official description of what you will face.
- Learn the competencies and values for each exercise from the table above, so you know what each one is looking for.
- Pick five or six real examples and reduce each to a short recall cue (situation, what you did, why, result).
- Do at least two timed spoken answers (60 seconds thinking, up to 5 minutes speaking) and one 3-minute briefing-style answer.
- Do one timed written practice typed into a plain box.
- Check your equipment on the day before, not the day of.
The College says lack of preparation or a heavy workload before the assessment are not extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances are serious events such as illness, accident, injury, or the death or serious illness of a family member. If one of those happens before your assessment, you can ask to complete it later, and if your window is about to expire, tell your force and request an extension. It is your decision whether to continue or withdraw and sit later; these circumstances are not grounds for appeal afterwards.
Choosing and preparing honest CVF examples
The competency-based interview asks how you have dealt with situations in the past, or how you might deal with them in future. You can use examples from work or personal life. The College suggests STAR (situation, task, action, result) and says it may be beneficial to give one example per question and describe it in detail, rather than several.
How to build an example bank that holds up under time pressure:
- Start broad. List every situation you can remember where you dealt with an upset person, stood up for what was right, took responsibility for a problem, changed how something was done, worked with others to sort something out, or made a call with limited information. Work, study, volunteering, sport, caring and family all count.
- Keep only what really happened. Assessors can only mark what you tell them, and policing depends on honesty. Do not invent, exaggerate or borrow someone else's story. A modest, true example told clearly is easier to recall and adapt than a dramatic one you have to reconstruct.
- Tag honestly. Mark each example against the values (courage; respect and empathy; public service) and competencies it actually shows. Most good examples show more than one. Use the CVF level 1 behaviours as prompts, not a checklist; the College says they are examples, not a comprehensive list.
- Pick six to eight. Five questions, so you need at least five. A few spares stop you forcing an example onto a question it does not fit. This number is our suggestion.
- Draft once in STAR, then let the draft go. Writing it out helps you spot gaps: a long situation, a thin action, no result. Then reduce it to a few cue words and practise from those, never from the full text.
- Say "I". Make clear what you personally did, what you said, and why you chose that approach. Where others helped, say so, but keep your own part central.
- Include what you learnt. The College's description of the result step includes what the outcome was and what you learnt.
Illustrative example, not a real assessment question or answer
Practice prompt written by PolicePay: "Tell us about a time you made sure someone who was upset felt listened to."
A recall cue (what you would carry in your head, not on paper):
- S: Saturday shift, shop customer desk; older customer distressed, refund refused at the till.
- T: calm things down, find out what had really happened, fair outcome within store policy.
- A: moved somewhere quieter; let him finish without interrupting; repeated back what I had heard; explained the policy plainly; called the duty manager myself rather than sending him away; kept him updated while we waited.
- R: exchange agreed; he thanked the manager by name; I suggested a sign by the till about receipts.
- Learnt: people calm down faster when they feel heard before they hear "no".
Five lines you can expand to 2, 3 or 5 minutes depending on the question. Your own example will be different and should be. Do not reuse this one.
While you are drafting, enter each example in the free STAR answer checker to see whether the situation, task, action and result are all there and in proportion. It checks structure only: it cannot judge whether your content meets the standard or predict a score. Use it for drafts, then practise from cue words, not from the checked text.
More on building answers is in police STAR interview answers and CVF interview questions and answers. Interview technique in general (delivery, follow-ups, the in-person stage) is in how to pass the police interview, which this page does not repeat.
Timed speaking practice
Both spoken exercises use the same pattern: the question is read by a pre-recorded assessor and shown on screen, then you get up to 60 seconds of thinking time, then your answer is recorded. The difference is the answer length.
How to rehearse (our suggested method):
- Use a timer for both phases. Count down 60 seconds of thinking, then start speaking at once.
- Jot, do not write. In the thinking time, write three or four words: which example, the key action, the result. That mirrors the notes you are allowed to make in the real exercise.
- Record yourself on camera. The real exercise records you on video. Watch back once for clarity and once for timing; ignore how you look.
- Pace the CBI. As a rough guide, keep situation and task short, give most of the time to what you did and why, and leave time for the result and what you learnt. This split is our suggestion, not a College rule.
- Answer the briefing question first. Three minutes goes quickly. Say what you would do, then why, who it affects, and how you would keep people informed, using only the scenario information.
- Vary the questions. Ask a friend to set questions you have not seen, including "how would you deal with" questions, so you practise adapting rather than reciting.
The mock interview free practice mode gives you example questions, an OAC or in-person mode, CVF value selection, a 3-minute practice timer and the STAR structure. The 3-minute timer matches the briefing answer time; for CBI answers, keep going to 5 minutes on a separate timer. Personal feedback on your own answers is a paid option; the free mode is enough to follow these plans.
On the real platform, both spoken exercises include a short practice question (with a 1-minute answer) after the camera and microphone set-up, and the dashboard has a "top tips" video. Use them.
Practising the written exercise
The written exercise puts you in the role of a police constable completing an urgent written task for your line manager, using four items of information. It is assessed against respect and empathy, we analyse critically, we support and inspire, and we collaborate. You have a 120-minute limit, but the College expects about 10 minutes of instruction reading and about 40 minutes of writing, so practise to roughly that pace.
For ready-made practice, our written exercise examples and briefing exercise examples give you original practice scenarios. They are our own invented material, not College material, and they will not match what you are given.
- Make your own practice items. Ask someone to write you four short documents on an everyday workplace problem: an email, a note of a phone call, a short policy extract, a complaint. Do not use material claiming to be the real exercise.
- Read all four before writing. Note what each item adds, where they conflict and who is affected.
- Type into a plain box. No copy and paste, no other application. If you plan inside the box, practise deleting your planning before you finish.
- Stay inside the information. Do not invent facts or rely on legal knowledge you think you have.
- Do not worry about spelling. It is not assessed. Write in short, clear sentences so the reader can follow your reasoning.
- Use the right device. The College recommends a desktop, laptop or tablet where possible, especially for this exercise.
When time runs out, whatever is in the box is submitted, and once you press continue you cannot return. The structure and what assessors look for are in the written exercise guide.
Week-before and day-of checklist
- Confirm the window start date and the deadline with your force.
- Add support@tazio.co.uk and police.assessments@notifications.service.gov.uk to your safe senders.
- Install operating system and browser updates; use the latest Chrome, Edge or Safari.
- Test webcam, microphone and speakers on the device you will use (laptop, desktop or tablet recommended).
- Check your connection; use an Ethernet cable if your Wi-Fi is weak.
- Choose a quiet room and tell your household when you need it.
- If you have an agreed adjustment, check you know how it applies; if you plan to use your own assistive software, test it.
- Re-read the College candidate guide.
- Put away or destroy all practice notes and cue cards.
- Allow the full first day for the invite email. Not arrived by 5pm? Check junk, then contact your force or recruit@college.police.uk.
- Open the link on one device only; do not open several exercise links at once or across devices.
- Read the candidate and adjustment guidance on the dashboard and watch the top tips video.
- Device on do not disturb, charged or plugged in; no other devices in sight, in reach or active.
- Have plain paper and a pen for notes during the exercises; destroy them afterwards.
- Only click "start assessment" when you are ready to finish that exercise.
- Do not close, refresh or press back during an exercise.
- Take breaks between exercises if you need them; once an exercise has started you must complete it within the time allowed.
- Check each exercise shows 100% on your dashboard and look for the confirmation emails.
Technical problem: do not finish the exercise; click "technical support" at the bottom of the screen (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, response expected within 15 minutes; a chatbot outside those hours), and email recruit@college.police.uk with your force and full name. You may be offered a retake. Because live support runs on weekday daytime hours, our suggestion is to sit your exercises in those hours if you can. Interrupted? Take a moment and carry on; if it heavily affects you, contact recruit@college.police.uk. A written appeal about extenuating circumstances or a procedural concern must reach your force within 24 hours of taking the assessment. More in OAC technical requirements and adjustments.
Want feedback on your own answers?
The plans above work with the free practice mode. If you want written feedback on your own recorded answers, a 90-day pass (or 6 months in one payment) covers OAC video mode, in-person panel mode and the written exercise trainer. Try the free mode first; the pass is optional.
What not to spend time on
Some preparation material on sale still teaches an older version of police recruitment. Check anything you buy or download against the College's current guide before you spend time on it.
| Topic | Our view | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Police law, powers and procedures | Skip | The College says you do not need to know about the law or procedures relating to police work for the online assessment process. |
| Verbal or numerical reasoning tests | Skip, unless your force names one | Neither the national sift nor the online assessment process includes one in the College's current guidance. Reg 10 requires English and numeracy competence; ask your force how it checks that. |
| Memorised scripts or model answers | Skip | Prepared notes or scripts are banned and evidence of them may result in an automatic fail. Recall cues in your head are the alternative. |
| Lists of "real" OAC questions | Skip | The College does not publish its assessment questions, and notes must not be shared. Anything sold as the real questions is unverified at best. |
| Spelling and grammar drills | Low priority | Spelling and grammar are not assessed in the written exercise. Clarity still matters, so write in plain sentences. |
| The 2016 CVF values (integrity, impartiality, transparency) | Skip | The 2024 CVF replaced them. The values now are courage, respect and empathy, and public service. |
| The CVF at levels 2 and 3 | Skip | Initial recruitment is assessed at level 1 (practitioner). |
The College's 2022 candidate FAQs, for example, describe a different assessment platform and a situational judgement test within the online assessment process. Today the situational judgement test sits in the national sift. Out-of-date material is not dishonest by itself, but preparing for the wrong format wastes time you do not have.
What people get wrong about OAC preparation
Myth
"Learn a perfect answer for each value and recite it."
What the College says
Prepared notes or scripts are not allowed in any exercise, and evidence of them may result in an automatic fail. Questions are not published in advance, so recall and adaptation matter more than wording.
Myth
"You need to know police law and procedures to do well."
What the College says
You do not need prior knowledge of policing, or of the law or procedures relating to police work. Use only the information in the exercise.
Myth
"The written exercise is a spelling test, so I should drill grammar."
What the College says
Spelling and grammar are not assessed in the written exercise.
Myth
"I'll open each exercise to have a look, then come back to it."
What the College says
Once you select "start assessment", the exercise begins and cannot be restarted; it is recorded as your attempt. Only open an exercise when you are ready to complete it.
Myth
"If I'm not ready, I can ask for more time."
What the College says
Lack of preparation or a heavy workload are not extenuating circumstances. Serious events such as illness or bereavement are, and you can ask your force about sitting later or an extension before the assessment.
Myth
"More examples, packed into each answer, show more competencies."
What the College says
It may be beneficial to give one example per question and describe it in detail, rather than using different examples.
For mistakes made during the assessment itself, see common police OAC mistakes.
Reasonable adjustments: ask the force early
If you have a condition, temporary or otherwise, that could disadvantage you (for example pregnancy, injury or disability, including neurodivergent conditions such as dyslexia or autism), you may be entitled to a reasonable adjustment or an accommodation. Build the request into your plan from day 1, because it involves forms and evidence.
- Tell the force in your application. It will advise you and give you a request form.
- Gather supporting information. The College says the most reliable evidence is an assessment by a professional specialist using valid tests, with clear recommendations. If you do not have it, the College's adjustments policy explains what to do.
- Agree the outcome. You complete an agreement form, or a disclaimer form if you decide not to use the adjustment offered.
- Ask for a review before the assessment if you think the policy was not applied correctly. You cannot appeal on the grounds of the adjustments offered after an unsuccessful result.
- Practise with your adjustment. Extra time adjustments add to the thinking time in the interview and briefing exercises (for example, 50% extra gives 90 seconds instead of 60); answer times stay at 300 and 180 seconds, and the written limit stays at 120 minutes. Rehearse to your own timings.
Some support does not need approval: the Recite Me toolbar (text-to-speech, fonts, colours, reading ruler, magnifier), your own approved assistive software, blurring your own video view, coloured overlays and breaks between exercises. Test anything you plan to use before the day.
What to ask, and who to contact
- When does my assessment window open, and what is the deadline?
- When should I expect my results?
- How do I request a reasonable adjustment, and by when?
- Do you assess English or numeracy separately, and how?
- What happens if I need to withdraw or ask to sit later?
- What is the format of your in-person interview?
- Invite email missing by 5pm on day one, or questions your force cannot answer: recruit@college.police.uk (state your force).
- Technical problems during an exercise: the "technical support" button on the platform.
- Already sat the assessments with another force: tell recruit@college.police.uk straight away.
- Results arrive from police.assessments@notifications.service.gov.uk, an unmonitored inbox; do not reply to it.
What happens once you submit is in what happens after the police OAC, and if it does not go your way, what happens if you fail the OAC. To plan the wider timeline from application to start date, try the recruitment timeline planner.
What we could not verify
- How long the online assessment window lasts. The College says it is agreed between the College and your force and does not publish a standard length. Your force will tell you.
- Any official or evidence-based figure for how long candidates should prepare. We found none. The two-week and four-week plans, the session lengths and the number of examples are PolicePay's suggestions.
- The pass mark for each exercise. The current College guide does not publish one, and we could not confirm whether forces can set a higher standard than the College's. Ask your force.
- Which English and numeracy assessments the Secretary of State has approved under regulation 10(1)(f) of the Police Regulations 2003, and how each force checks this. Ask your force.
- The College's current candidate guide still says you complete either an in-force sift or the national sift, while regulation 10 now requires the national sift test. This does not change how you prepare for the online assessment, but check your sift with your force.
- We have not reviewed every paid preparation product, so "outdated material" above is a general warning, not a claim about any named provider.
This page summarises College of Policing guidance read on 1 October 2026 and offers a suggested plan. It is not endorsed by the College or any force. Formats and processes vary by force and change over time; follow the guidance your force and the College send you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I prepare for the police online assessment centre?
The College of Policing does not set a preparation period, and your force decides when your assessment window opens and closes. PolicePay suggests two to four weeks of short, regular practice: learn the format, choose honest examples, rehearse aloud to the real timings and check your equipment. That is our suggestion, not a College requirement, and no plan guarantees a result.
How do I prepare for the police online assessment?
Read the College's online assessment process candidate guide first. Then learn which competencies and values each exercise assesses, choose real examples from your work and personal life, practise answering aloud to 60 seconds of thinking time and 300 or 180 seconds of answer time, practise a timed written response, and check your device, browser and connection before the window opens.
Can I prepare for the police OAC in a week or a few days?
You can make useful progress in a few days if you focus on the format, the competencies and values for each exercise, two or three timed rehearsals and a tech check. If something serious such as illness affects you before the assessment, you can ask your force about sitting later. The College says lack of preparation or a heavy workload is not an extenuating circumstance.
Can I use notes in the police online assessment?
Not prepared ones. The College says you cannot bring prepared notes or scripts into any exercise, and evidence of notes prepared before the assessment may result in an automatic fail. You can make notes during the exercises: after each interview question, in the written answer box (delete them before submitting), and during the briefing preparation and after each briefing question.
Do I need to learn police law or procedures for the OAC?
No. The College's candidate guide says you do not need any prior knowledge of policing or the police role, and you do not need to know about the law or procedures relating to police work. Use only the information the exercise gives you. Preparation time is better spent on the competencies and values and on timed practice.
Are there verbal or numerical reasoning tests in the police assessment?
Not in the College's current process. The national sift is a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire, and the online assessment process is a competency-based interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise. Police Regulations 2003 separately require English and numeracy competence, and forces check this in their own way, so ask your force if it mentions any extra test.
How many examples should I prepare for the OAC interview?
There are five questions, and the College suggests it may be beneficial to give one example per question and describe it in detail. PolicePay suggests building a bank of six to eight real situations you can recall well, so you are not forced to stretch one example to fit a question it does not suit. That number is our suggestion, not a College rule.
Should I memorise my OAC answers?
No. Prepared scripts are banned and you will not know the questions in advance. Learn your examples as short recall cues (the situation, what you did, why, and the result) and practise telling them in different orders and lengths, so you can adapt them to whatever question appears in the 60 seconds of thinking time.
What order should I do the OAC exercises in?
The College says you can complete the three exercises in any order before your deadline, but once you click start assessment on an exercise you cannot restart it and must finish it. You can take breaks between exercises, not within them. There is no recommended order; pick one that suits how you work.
Does spelling matter in the OAC written exercise?
The College says spelling and grammar are not assessed in the written exercise, because candidates use different devices with and without spell-check. Spend your practice time on using all four items of information, structure and clarity instead. Do not copy and paste from another application: that is not accepted and may result in an automatic fail.
When is the OAC deadline?
11.59pm on the date in the email from the force you applied to. Your invitation email with a personal link arrives on the first day of your window; allow the full day. If it has not arrived by 5pm, contact your force or recruit@college.police.uk, and check your junk folder.
How do I get reasonable adjustments for the police OAC?
Tell the force in your application. It gives you a request form and asks for supporting information, ideally a report from a professional specialist with clear recommendations. Approved timing adjustments add extra thinking time in the interview and briefing exercises. If you disagree with the outcome, ask the force for a review before your assessment.
Is this the same as police interview preparation for the force interview?
Partly. Both are based on the Competency and Values Framework, but the in-person interview with your force is a separate, later stage with a format the force sets. Your OAC examples are a good base; check the force's own guidance for the in-person interview.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 1 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: Online assessment process candidate guide (first published 11 April 2023, updated 21 July 2026) — exercise formats and timings, competencies and values per exercise, prepared-notes rule, automatic fail policy, no policing or legal knowledge needed, spelling not assessed, no copy-paste, technical guidance, invite and 11.59pm deadline, extenuating circumstances, resits (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Sift and online assessment process (updated 21 July 2026), including the online assessment process video transcript — exercises in any order, cannot restart, practice question, top tips video on the dashboard, submitting early, briefing preparation materials (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Reasonable adjustments and accommodations guide for online assessments candidates (updated 25 August 2026) — how to request adjustments, supporting information, review before the assessment, breaks between exercises, Recite Me and approved software (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Reasonable adjustments and accommodations policy — policy behind the guide; what to do without supporting information (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Competency and values framework (CVF 2024) and PDF — three values, six competencies, level 1 for initial recruitment, behaviours are examples not a checklist (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: National sift candidate guidance (updated 1 June 2026) — the sift is an SJT and a behavioural styles questionnaire; no prior policing knowledge needed (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Police Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/527), regulation 10, latest text — reg 10(1)(eb): sift, online assessment process and in-person interview to the College's standard (from 17 March 2026); reg 10(1)(f): English and numeracy (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing news: Police constable recruitment regulations change (17 March 2026) — four-stage process now required in every force in England and Wales (accessed 1 October 2026)
- Join the Police (national recruitment site): Get ready to apply — stages of the process; online assessment exercises described consistently with the College guide (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Becoming a police constable, guide to joining the police service (ebook, April 2026) — national minimum requirements, including competence in English and numeracy; forces may set extra requirements (accessed 1 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Online assessment process candidate FAQs v2.2 (2022, historical only) — shows how the process used to look (different platform, an SJT within the online assessment); cited only to explain why some older preparation material is out of date (accessed 1 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 1 October 2026.