Police Scotland
Tattoos and Appearance

Police Scotland does not publish a list of acceptable and unacceptable tattoos on its recruitment pages. What it does publish is a process. You declare your tattoos, you show them and someone at Police Scotland decides, case by case, whether they fit its appearance policy.

Two things follow. First, a tattoo is rarely a reason not to apply: most people with tattoos will simply declare and photograph them. Second, because the detailed rules sit in an internal document we have not read, nobody outside Police Scotland can promise you that a particular tattoo will pass. If you have one you are worried about, ask the recruitment team before you put months into preparation.

Tattoos come up twice in Police Scotland's application, which is published in full on its candidate portal.

Part 1: the eligibility assessment

The first part of the form is a set of screening questions: age, driving licence, residency, right to work, tattoos, previous applications and previous police service. You answer whether you have tattoos here. It is a screening question, so answer it accurately even if your tattoos are small or always covered.

Part 2: the main form

The main application has a tattoo section. You give a description of each tattoo, including where it is on your body. You also upload photos of every tattoo. Police Scotland's recruitment page puts tattoos alongside criminal convictions as things you must declare and says each case will be considered on its own merits.

Common tattoo situations, answered only from what Police Scotland publishes. Where it does not say, we tell you and suggest what to do.

Police Scotland described its review process in an answer to a freedom of information request in September 2024 (reference 24-2094). In summary:

1. A Recruitment Officer reviews the description and photos you supplied.
2. If needed, it goes further: to a supervisor and to a candidate case review.
3. If a tattoo is not in line with policy, you may be asked to have it altered before an offer of appointment.
4. There is no specific appeal against a tattoo decision. You can reapply.

This tells you two useful things. A borderline tattoo is not decided by one glance: there is a route for a more senior look and a case review. And a tattoo that does not fit the policy is not necessarily the end of the application, because alteration before an offer is a recognised outcome.

What the response does not tell you is the test the reviewers apply. That is in the appearance SOP.

The tattoo declaration is early, but the process carries on around it. This is Police Scotland's published order of stages with where tattoos come in:

Police Scotland does not publish at which point in this sequence the tattoo review itself happens, so ask if the timing matters to you.

Police Scotland's freedom of information response gave the number of applicants rejected for tattoos:

That is 60 rejections across two full years and most of a third. Two cautions in reading these numbers:

• They are counts, not rates. The response does not say how many applicants declared tattoos, so we cannot say what share of people with tattoos were turned down.
• 2024 is a part year. The 2024 figure runs only to 28 August.

For scale, Police Scotland's separate freedom of information answer on fitness tests recorded 2,532 police officer applicants taking the recruitment fitness test in 2024. That is a different stage and a different group of people, so it is not a denominator for the tattoo figures, but it shows the tattoo numbers are small next to the numbers moving through the process each year.

Police Scotland's response says that if a tattoo is not in line with policy, the candidate may be asked to have it altered before an offer of appointment. It does not publish:

• what kind of alteration is acceptable;
• how long you have to do it;
• whether your application pauses while you do it;
• how the altered tattoo is checked.

If you are asked, get the request in writing, ask exactly what would make the tattoo acceptable and ask how to show it has been done. Then think about timing. Police Scotland's fitness test must have been completed within 6 months of being given a start date, otherwise you sit another one before any formal offer. A long delay for a tattoo alteration could bring that rule into play, so keep training.

Police Scotland's process runs through several stages before an offer. It does not publish how long the whole process takes. If you get a new tattoo after you submit the form, your tattoo declaration is no longer complete. Police Scotland asks applicants to email the recruitment team if information needs correcting and says it is all confirmed at the vetting stage.

The sensible order is to wait until you are in post and have checked the appearance rules that apply to serving officers. If you do get one during the process, tell the recruitment team and supply a description and photos in the same way as the others.

Tattoos are one of several things Police Scotland asks you to declare. They are all handled the same way in principle: you declare, Police Scotland considers your case and the information is confirmed at vetting.

The common thread is accuracy. Police Scotland says it is all confirmed at the vetting stage and asks you to email the recruitment team if something needs correcting.

Applicants often ask about piercings, hair colour, beards and nails. Police Scotland's recruitment pages we checked do not set out rules on any of these for applicants. Officers' appearance is covered by the same Uniform and Appearance Standards SOP that we did not read, so we do not state any rule.

What is published and does affect your body and appearance, is the medical:

• There is no minimum height. Height and weight are measured at the medical.
• The medical includes a BMI check. Police Scotland's rejoiner page gives a BMI range of 18 to 30; the new-officer pages state a BMI check without giving the range.
• The eyesight standard applies to everyone and allows glasses and contact lenses.

Our Police Scotland medical guide covers these in detail.

On the assessment day

The assessment day is assessed against Police Scotland's Competency and Values Framework, not against appearance. Dress smartly and comfortably for an interview held face to face on Police Scotland premises. That is common sense, not a published rule.

Police Scotland's response says there is no specific appeal against a tattoo decision but you can reapply. If you reapply, the eligibility form asks about previous applications and the main form asks previous applicants to explain, in up to 200 words, what they have done to prepare for the new application and how they used the feedback provided.

For a tattoo outcome, a strong answer explains what you were told, what you did about it (for example an alteration) and what else you have done to prepare for the tested stages. Our reapplying guide has an example 200-word answer.

Four invented applicants and how Police Scotland's published process applies to each. None of them is a prediction of an outcome: the review is case by case and the detailed rules are in the SOP we did not read.

Ellie: a small covered tattoo

Ellie has one small tattoo on her ankle that is covered by trousers and boots. She is tempted to tick "no" in the screening question because nobody will see it. She should not. The form asks for photos of every tattoo and Police Scotland says everything you supply is confirmed at the vetting stage. She declares it, uploads a close-up and a wider photo and writes a one-line description.

Jamie: a full sleeve

Jamie has a full sleeve on one arm that would be visible in a short-sleeved shirt. Police Scotland publishes no rule that a sleeve is unacceptable and no rule that it is acceptable. Jamie declares it with several clear photos and a description of each element of the design. Because a large visible tattoo is the kind most likely to get a closer look, Jamie also asks the recruitment team in advance whether anything about it is likely to need review.

Priya: text in another language

Priya has a line of text in a language other than English on her forearm. A reviewer cannot judge what they cannot read. Her description gives the translation and what it means to her, so the reviewer does not have to guess.

Dan: asked to alter a tattoo

Dan was told one of his tattoos was not in line with policy and that he may be asked to have it altered before an offer. He asks for the request in writing, asks what change would make it acceptable and how he should show it has been done. He keeps up his fitness training while he waits, because the fitness test must have been completed within 6 months of being given a start date.

If you have a tattoo you are unsure about, ask before you apply. Clear questions get clear answers:

1. "I have a tattoo on my [location], about [size], showing [content]. Is there anything in the appearance standards that would mean it needs review?"
2. "Can I see the current Uniform and Appearance Standards (Police Officers) SOP, or the part of it that covers tattoos?"
3. "If I am asked to alter a tattoo, how long would I have and how would I show it has been done?"
4. "Does my application continue to the PSET while a tattoo is being reviewed?"
5. "What is the best format for the tattoo photos?"

Police Scotland's recruitment events are another place to ask, in person, with the tattoo in front of a recruitment specialist. Keep any written replies with your application records.