Police Starting
Salary 2026
What a new police constable in England and Wales is paid from 1 September 2026: the national figure on pay point 1 and pay point 2, what you take home each month, what London and South East forces add, how quickly it rises and what is not included.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 21 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
From 1 September 2026 a new police constable in England and Wales starts on pay point 1, £32,255 a year on our calculation, or £33,609 where the force starts recruits on pay point 2. You are paid from your first day of training on every route. The Met adds London weighting and London allowance, which takes its starting pay above £43,000 and eight South East forces can add up to £3,105.
This page covers police constables in the 43 forces of England and Wales, for people thinking about applying. Figures are from 1 September 2026: the official 2025/26 pay points in the Home Office determination plus the confirmed 3.5% award, rounded to the nearest pound. If you are already a student officer, our student officer pay guide goes deeper into increments and probation.
The headline: what a new constable earns from 1 September 2026
Police officer pay in England and Wales is set nationally by the Home Office, in Annex F to the Police Regulations 2003. It says a member appointed to the rank of constable begins on pay point 1 and from 1 April 2025 lets a chief officer start all new constables on pay point 2 instead. The government confirmed a 3.5% award for officers of all ranks from September 2026. That gives these starting figures:
| Where you start | 1 Sept 2025 to 31 Aug 2026 (official) | From 1 Sept 2026 (our calculation) | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay point 1 (national default) | £31,164 | £32,255 | About £1,952 |
| Pay point 2 (where the chief officer has chosen it) | £32,472 | £33,609 | About £2,021 |
| Met Police (point 2 + London weighting + London allowance) | Not shown | £43,688 | About £2,598 |
Take-home assumes England and Wales income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27, the 2015 pension scheme contribution, no student loan and no Police Federation subscription. The full workings are in the take-home section.
To see what that means for you, the free calculator below puts your current take-home pay next to a new constable's from 1 September 2026, on point 1 or point 2 and with or without London or South East allowances and shows the monthly difference and what the recruitment wait could cost.
Free calculator: nothing saved
Can I afford to join the police?
Your pay now against a new constable’s take-home from 1 September 2026, the monthly gap and how quickly it closes.
Open it on its own page: can I afford to join the police?
Point 1 or point 2: which one you start on
The rule is in the notes to the constable pay table in Annex F (Home Office Circular 011/2026):
- The default. With effect from 1 September 2024, a member appointed to the rank of constable begins on pay point 1.
- The exception. With effect from 1 April 2025, a chief officer who decides it is necessary to meet local recruitment needs may, after consulting the local policing body, assign all constables appointed on or after that date to pay point 2.
- Existing recruits move too. Constables on point 1 when the decision takes effect move straight to point 2 and that date becomes their new increment date.
Three things follow. First, it is a force decision, not a negotiation: you cannot ask to start on point 2 in a force that uses point 1 and your previous career or degree does not change it. Second, it applies equally to every route, so a PCDA apprentice and a DHEP graduate in the same force start on the same point. Third, on our 2026/27 figures it is worth £1,354 a year and because you start one step up, you also reach the top of the scale a year sooner.
We found no national list of forces that use point 2. The salary in the force's advert, or a question to its recruitment team, is the reliable answer. The Met's stated starting salary implies point 2 (see the Met section).
Paid from day one and no tuition fees
"Do you get paid during police training?" is one of the most common questions from applicants. The College of Policing's 2026 guide to joining answers it directly: on all routes you are a police constable earning a salary from the day you join. That includes the initial off-the-job learning phase, which the College says is typically completed within five to six months. Thames Valley Police, as one force's example, says its starting salary is paid to new recruits from their first day of training.
| Route | Pay while training | Fees | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police constable degree apprenticeship (PCDA), 3 years | Constable scale from day one | None: the College calls it a fully funded degree | BSc (Hons) in professional policing |
| Degree holder entry programme (DHEP), 2 years | Constable scale from day one | None in the partnerships we checked (Anglia Ruskin for Essex and Kent says no tuition fees) | Graduate diploma in professional policing practice |
| Police constable entry programme (PCEP), 2 years | Constable scale from day one | No university element; can be delivered entirely by the force | Forces may accredit it at level 5 |
| Detective entry routes | Constable scale from day one, as a detective constable | Set by the route the force uses | Depends on the route |
| Pre-join degree (PPD) | Not paid: you study before applying | Self-funded through UCAS | Degree in professional policing practice |
So the only route where you pay is the one you take before joining. Once you are appointed, the route changes your training and qualification, not your salary. Our PCDA vs DHEP guide compares the two degree routes and the routes hub covers all of them.
How starting pay rises: the scale to point 7
Everyone appointed as a constable since 1 April 2013 is on a seven-point scale. Annex F says you move up one point on the anniversary of your appointment. While you are on probation (two years, or three on the PCDA) you do not need to meet the pay progression standard to move up; after that, progression depends on it.
| Pay point | From 1 Sept 2026 | Rise from the point below | If you start on point 1 | If you start on point 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point 1 | £32,255 | Start | On appointment | Not used |
| Point 2 | £33,609 | +£1,354 | After 1 year | On appointment |
| Point 3 | £34,972 | +£1,363 | After 2 years | After 1 year |
| Point 4 | £36,335 | +£1,363 | After 3 years | After 2 years |
| Point 5 | £39,058 | +£2,723 | After 4 years | After 3 years |
| Point 6 | £44,544 | +£5,486 | After 5 years | After 4 years |
| Point 7 | £52,015 | +£7,471 | After 6 years | After 5 years |
The early steps are small and the late ones are large: most of the rise from £32,255 to £52,015 comes from point 5 onwards. The figures above are today's scale; when a pay award is made (usually from 1 September) every point rises, so the cash you actually reach in later years should be higher. Our police pay scales 2026 guide has every rank and the early career earnings explorer maps your first years year by year.
Take-home pay at point 1 and point 2
Gross salary is not what reaches your account. Here is what a new constable takes home in four common situations, worked out with the same engine as our salary calculator.
| A year | Point 1, no allowance | Point 2, no allowance | Point 1 + £3,105 South East | Met: point 2 + London weighting + London allowance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | £32,255 | £33,609 | £35,360 | £43,688 |
| Pensionable pay | £32,255 | £33,609 | £32,255 | £36,869 |
| Pension contribution | £4,154 (12.88%) | £4,329 (12.88%) | £4,154 (12.88%) | £4,749 (12.88%) |
| Income tax | £3,106 | £3,342 | £3,727 | £5,274 |
| National Insurance | £1,575 | £1,683 | £1,823 | £2,489 |
| Take-home a year | £23,420 | £24,255 | £25,655 | £31,176 |
| Take-home a month | £1,952 | £2,021 | £2,138 | £2,598 |
England and Wales income tax and National Insurance for 2026/27 with the standard personal allowance. Police Pension Scheme 2015 member contributions at the rate for your pensionable pay. London weighting counts as pensionable pay; the London allowance and the South East allowance do not, so no contribution is taken from them. No student loan, no overtime, no unsocial hours pay and no Police Federation subscription. With the Federation subscription of £26.31 a month, point 1 take-home falls to about £1,925 a month and in most forces you can claim tax relief on it from HMRC.
Your own figure depends on your tax code, any student loan, whether you join the Federation and how much overtime and unsocial hours you work. The police salary calculator takes all of these and take-home pay by rank shows how it changes as you progress.
Starting pay by the month, week and hour
Adverts quote annual salaries, but it often helps to see the same pay by the month, week and hour, for example to compare with an hourly paid job. The hourly figure uses the Police Regulations hourly rate of pay, which is annual pay multiplied by 6/12520; it is the rate the unsocial hours allowance is based on.
| Starting position | A year (gross) | A month (gross) | A week (gross) | Hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point 1 | £32,255 | £2,688 | £620 | £15.46 |
| Point 2 | £33,609 | £2,801 | £646 | £16.11 |
| Point 1 + £3,105 South East | £35,360 | £2,947 | £680 | £16.95 |
| Met (point 2 + London pay) | £43,688 | £3,641 | £840 | £20.94 |
Gross figures, before tax, National Insurance and pension. Weekly is the annual figure divided by 52. The hourly rate formula is the one in the Police Regulations determinations; the allowances are included in the hourly figure here only to show the total and your force's payroll may calculate allowance hours separately.
Student loans: how much comes off a starting salary
Many applicants, especially graduates joining through the DHEP, are still repaying a student loan. Repayments are taken through payroll as a percentage of pay above your plan's threshold, so they reduce take-home pay from the first month. At pay point 1 (£32,255) with no allowance:
| Loan | Yearly threshold 2026/27 | Repayment a month | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| No loan | Not applicable | £0 | £1,952 |
| Plan 1 | £26,900 | £40 | £1,912 |
| Plan 2 | £29,385 | £21 | £1,931 |
| Plan 5 | £25,000 | £54 | £1,898 |
| Plan 2 plus a Postgraduate Loan | Postgraduate £21,000 | £77 | £1,875 |
Repayments are 9% of pay above the threshold for Plans 1, 2 and 5. A Postgraduate Loan takes 6% of pay above its own threshold. Both are worked out each pay period, as payroll does. Location allowances, overtime and unsocial hours pay all count as pay for student loan purposes, so a Met or South East recruit repays more. Your plan type depends on where and when you started university. The salary calculator includes every plan.
Met Police starting salary
On 12 October 2026 the Metropolitan Police launched a recruitment campaign saying new constables get a starting salary of more than £43,000. The Met's figure is made up of three parts:
| Part | From 1 Sept 2026 | Counts for pension? |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pay, pay point 2 | £33,609 | Yes |
| London weighting | £3,260 | Yes: Annex F treats it as an increase to annual pay |
| London allowance (maximum) | £6,819 | No |
| Total | £43,688 | £36,869 pensionable |
Why point 2? On point 1 the same three parts add up to £42,334, which is below £43,000. The Met's "more than £43,000" therefore only works with basic pay on point 2 or above, which is consistent with the Met using the chief officer's power to start recruits on point 2. The Met release itself does not break the figure down, so treat this as our reading of it.
On our assumptions a Met recruit takes home about £2,598 a month. London weighting is the same for every Met and City of London officer; the London allowance is set by the Commissioner up to the maximum. The Met release says the PCEP takes two years at a Met training centre with on-the-job learning and the PCDA takes three years with a fully funded degree.
City of London Police officers also receive London weighting and a London allowance, but we did not find a current starting salary on the City's own pages. For the Met's entry rules see Met Police recruitment requirements and for how the London additions work see the London weighting guide.
South East allowance: Kent, Essex, Surrey, Thames Valley and more
Annex U to the Police Regulations 2003 provides a South East England allowance for officers appointed on or after 1 September 1994 in eight forces. The chief constable sets the rate, after considering evidence of local recruitment and retention difficulties and an affordability assessment, up to a maximum for the force's band.
| Band | Forces | Maximum before 1 Sept 2026 | Maximum from 1 Sept 2026 (our calculation) | Point 1 + maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higher | Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, Thames Valley | £3,000 | £3,105 | £35,360 |
| Lower | Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Sussex | £2,000 | £2,070 | £34,325 |
Surrey Police Federation reports that the 16 July 2026 announcement allowed forces to raise their London or South East allowance by up to 3.5% in line with the pay award and that Surrey applied the full 3.5% from 1 September. Thames Valley Police says its starting salary includes a £3,105 South East allowance. Because each force chooses its own rate, a force can pay less than the maximum or change it; check the advert.
The South East allowance is not pensionable, so no pension contribution is taken from it, but it is taxed and counts for National Insurance. On point 1 with the higher maximum, a new constable takes home about £2,138 a month on our assumptions.
Starting salary force by force
We only quote a force's starting salary where the force itself has published it and we date it. Everywhere else we show what the national rules allow, which is a ceiling rather than a promise.
| Force | What the force says | What the national rules allow from 1 Sept 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Metropolitan Police | "More than £43,000" (press release, 12 October 2026) | Point 1 or 2, plus £3,260 London weighting and up to £6,819 London allowance |
| Thames Valley Police | £35,359 for constables and detective constables, including a £3,105 South East allowance, from the first day of training (careers site, 1 September 2026 pay update) | Point 1 or 2, plus up to £3,105 |
| Surrey Police | We could not read a current figure on the force's own site. The Surrey Police Federation reports the force raised its South East allowance by the full 3.5% | Point 1 or 2, plus up to £3,105 |
| Kent Police | We could not read a current figure on the force's own site | Point 1 or 2, plus a South East allowance set by the force up to £3,105 |
| Essex Police | We could not read a current figure on the force's own site | Point 1 or 2, plus up to £3,105 |
| Hertfordshire Constabulary | Not checked for this page | Point 1 or 2, plus up to £3,105 |
| Bedfordshire, Hampshire, Sussex | Not checked for this page | Point 1 or 2, plus up to £2,070 |
| West Midlands Police | We could not read a current figure on the force's own site | Point 1 or 2; no location allowance |
| All other forces in England and Wales | Check the force's advert | Point 1 (£32,255) or point 2 (£33,609); no location allowance |
Thames Valley's £35,359 is a pound below our point 1 plus allowance (£35,360), because the Police Federation and some forces round the new pay points down rather than to the nearest pound. Small differences like this are normal until the Home Office publishes the official 2026/27 table.
Our police jobs tracker shows which forces are recruiting and the force finder helps you compare forces near you.
What starting salary does not include: overtime and allowances
Advertised starting salaries are basic pay plus any London or South East addition. Several payments come on top when they apply:
| Payment | How it works | Worth at point 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Unsocial hours allowance | 10% of your hourly rate for each full hour worked between 8pm and 6am (Annex U), for constables to chief inspectors | About £1.55 for each qualifying hour |
| On-call allowance | A flat amount for each day with any time on call | £35 a day |
| Overtime | Paid under the Police Regulations determinations, or taken as time off; the rate depends on the circumstances | Varies: see our overtime rates guide |
None of these is guaranteed, none counts for pension and how much you get depends on your shifts and your force. Do not build them into a budget for your first year. The College of Policing tells recruits they will join a shift pattern with day and night shifts and weekends, so anyone on a rota that includes nights can expect some unsocial hours pay. See police overtime rates explained and police allowances explained.
Pension: what you pay and what the force pays
New constables join the Police Pension Scheme 2015, a career average scheme with a normal pension age of 60. Member contributions from 1 April 2026 are set by band of pensionable pay:
| Pensionable pay | Member rate | Who this covers among new constables |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £37,035 | 12.88% | Points 1 and 2 outside London (and the South East allowance does not count) |
| Over £37,035 to under £79,588 | 13.88% | Later pay points; in London, depends on basic pay plus London weighting |
| £79,588 or more | 14.22% | Senior ranks only |
At point 1 the contribution is about £346 a month, taken before income tax. The force pays 35.3% of pensionable pay on top, a scheme-wide rate set by the Government Actuary's valuation that also pays for past service. On point 1 that is about £11,386 a year paid into the scheme for you. The pension itself builds at 1/55.3 of each year's pensionable pay; our career change guide shows what that adds up to if you join later in life. Before considering opting out, read should I opt out of the police pension?
Your first year: when your pay changes
- Day one. You are appointed as a constable and paid from that day on point 1, or point 2 if your force uses it.
- First payday. Pay dates and the first payment are set by each force. Ask when your first salary will be paid, because it may not be a full month.
- Each September. When a pay award is made it usually applies from 1 September to every point. The 2026 award was 3.5%.
- First anniversary. You move up one point. On probation you do not need to meet the pay progression standard for this.
- End of probation. Two years after appointment, or three on the PCDA. From then on your yearly increment depends on meeting the pay progression standard.
Priya joins a force that uses point 1, outside London and the South East. She starts on £32,255 and takes home about £1,952 a month on our assumptions. On her first anniversary she moves to £33,609 on today's scale and on her second to £34,972. Any pay award made in the meantime would add to those figures. Her colleague Tom joins a force that uses point 2 and starts on £33,609, a year ahead of Priya on the scale.
Our student officer pay guide covers increments, probation and what happens if probation is extended and the first 12 months survival guide covers money and wellbeing in your first year.
Constable, PCSO or special constable: how the pay differs
People searching for police starting pay are sometimes weighing up other ways into policing. The three roles are paid in very different ways:
| Role | How pay is set | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Police constable | National constable scale in the Home Office determination; police officer pension scheme | £32,255 or £33,609 plus any location allowance |
| PCSO | Police staff pay, not the officer scale, so it varies by force | Thames Valley Police quotes £34,092 to £35,512 depending on shift pattern and location (from 1 September 2026) |
| Special constable | A volunteer role; not salaried | Ask the force about expenses and allowances it pays |
PCSO pay varies a lot between forces and a PCSO in one force can earn more than a new constable in another, particularly where shift allowances are included. Over a few years, though, the constable scale rises to £52,015. See police officer vs PCSO vs special constable for the roles side by side and special constables explained for the volunteer route.
How to read the salary in a police job advert
Force adverts and careers pages present starting pay in different ways and some are not updated straight after a pay award. A quick checklist:
- Check the date. Anything showing £31,164 or £32,472 for a new constable is a 2025/26 figure. Anything lower is older still.
- Is it point 1 or point 2? Compare the basic figure with £32,255 and £33,609.
- Does it include an allowance? South East and London figures usually include the allowance in the headline. Thames Valley, for example, states that its figure includes the South East allowance.
- Is "up to" doing the work? "Rising to over £50,000" refers to the top of the scale after several years, not your first year.
- Is overtime included? It should not be. If a figure looks high, ask whether it includes shift or overtime pay.
- Is it a PCSO or staff advert? Staff roles are paid on different scales, so do not compare them directly with the constable figure.
If anything is unclear, ask the recruitment team for the basic pay point and each allowance separately. Our 2026/27 pay rise guide explains the September 2026 award.
Recruitment alerts
Get told when forces open applications
Recruitment windows open and close without much notice, and the entry rules change from time to time. Leave your email and we will tell you when forces open applications and when 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.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are different
Everything above applies to the 43 forces in England and Wales. Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland are separate services with their own pay arrangements and recruitment processes, so their starting salaries are not the figures on this page.
- Police Scotland: see Police Scotland pay scales and Scotland vs England pay. Recruitment uses its own entrance test rather than the National Sift; see joining Police Scotland.
- PSNI: see how to join the PSNI for its student officer recruitment.
Myths about police starting pay
- "The starting salary is £31,164." That was the official point 1 from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026. From 1 September 2026 it is £32,255 on our calculation.
- "Police officers start on about £24,000." When we read it on 21 October 2026, the national recruitment site's common questions still gave starting salaries for new constables of between £23,556 and £26,862. Those are older figures; the Home Office determination is the authority.
- "Student officers are paid a trainee rate." There is no trainee rate in the determination. You are a constable on the constable scale from day one.
- "You get a higher salary if you have a degree." The route does not change the pay point. A graduate on the DHEP and an apprentice on the PCDA in the same force start on the same point.
- "You have to pay back the degree if you leave." We found nothing in the national material we read about repaying course costs. Ask your force whether its contract has any repayment terms.
- "The advertised salary is what you take home." Tax, National Insurance and a 12.88% pension contribution come off. On point 1 that leaves about £1,952 a month.
- "Every South East force pays the same allowance." Each chief constable sets the rate up to the band maximum, so it can differ between neighbouring forces.
What to ask the force and who to ask
Before you apply or accept an offer, ask the force recruitment team:
- Do you start new constables on pay point 1 or pay point 2?
- What London or South East allowance do you pay new constables and when did you last change it?
- Is your advertised starting salary updated for the 1 September 2026 award?
- When is the first payday after my start date?
- Are there any repayment terms if I leave during training?
- Do you pay any other local payments to new constables?
Who else can help:
- The Police Federation branch for your force, once you join, on pay and allowances.
- HMRC for your tax code and tax relief on the Federation subscription.
- The scheme administrator for your force on pension contributions and transfers.
What we could not verify
- The official 2026/27 pay table. We did not find the Home Office determination for the September 2026 award. Our figures add 3.5% to the official 2025/26 points and round to the nearest pound; the Police Federation's published table and Thames Valley's figure are a pound lower at point 1.
- The 2026/27 allowance figures. London weighting of £3,260, a London allowance maximum of £6,819 and South East maximums of £3,105 and £2,070 are the official 2025/26 figures plus 3.5%. Thames Valley confirms £3,105; the others are our calculation.
- Which forces use point 2. We found no national list. The Met's figure implies point 2; for other forces, check the advert.
- Kent's South East allowance. A trade press report says Kent planned to reduce its allowance from September 2026. We could not read Kent's own pages, so we do not state Kent's rate.
- Starting salaries for Kent, Essex, Surrey and West Midlands. Their careers pages block automated reading and recruitment adverts we saw elsewhere predated the 2026 award, so we have not quoted them.
- DHEP fees nationally. We confirmed no tuition fees for one partnership (Essex and Kent with Anglia Ruskin). We did not check every force's DHEP.
- Repayment terms. We found no national rule on repaying training or degree costs if you leave, but forces may have their own terms.
This page is general information. Your force's offer letter, the Home Office pay determinations and the regulations on legislation.gov.uk take priority.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the starting salary for a police officer in 2026?
From 1 September 2026 a new constable in England and Wales starts on pay point 1, which we calculate at £32,255 after the 3.5% award. Where the chief officer has assigned new constables to pay point 2 the start is £33,609. London forces add London weighting and London allowance. Some South East forces add a South East allowance.
Do you get paid during police training in the UK?
Yes. The College of Policing says that on all routes you are a police constable earning a salary from the day you join, including the initial off-the-job learning. There is no separate trainee rate in the Home Office pay determination: student officers are paid on the constable scale and move up it each year.
What is the Met Police starting salary?
The Met said on 12 October 2026 that new recruits get a starting salary of more than £43,000. On our 2026/27 figures that matches pay point 2 (£33,609) plus London weighting (£3,260) plus the maximum London allowance (£6,819), a total of £43,688. About £2,598 a month reaches your bank on our assumptions.
Can police forces start new constables on pay point 2?
Yes. Since 1 April 2025 the Home Office pay determination lets a chief officer, after consulting the local policing body, assign all constables appointed on or after that date to pay point 2 if it is necessary to meet local recruitment needs. It applies to every new constable in that force, not to individuals.
How much does a new police officer take home a month?
On pay point 1 with no allowance, about £1,952 a month after income tax, National Insurance and the 12.88% pension contribution. On point 2 it is about £2,021. That assumes no student loan and no Police Federation subscription; both would reduce it.
Do you pay tuition fees on the police degree apprenticeship?
No. The College of Policing describes the police constable degree apprenticeship as a fully funded degree and the Met says the same. University partners for the degree holder entry programme, such as Anglia Ruskin for Essex and Kent, say there are no tuition fees. Only the pre-join degree, taken before you apply, is self-funded.
What is the South East allowance for police officers?
An allowance paid in eight South East forces. From 1 September 2026 the maximum is £3,105 a year in Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley. In Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Sussex it is £2,070, on our calculation. Each chief constable sets the actual rate up to that maximum. It does not count for pension.
How quickly does police pay go up?
You move up one pay point on each anniversary of your appointment. Starting on point 1, you reach the top of the constable scale, £52,015, after six years. Starting on point 2 it takes five. On probation you do not need to meet the pay progression standard to move up. The whole scale also rises when a pay award is made.
Is overtime included in the police starting salary?
No. Starting salary figures are basic pay plus any location allowance. Overtime, the unsocial hours allowance (10% of your hourly rate for each full hour between 8pm and 6am) and the on-call allowance (£35 for each day with any time on call) are paid on top when they apply.
Why do some websites say the police starting salary is £31,164?
£31,164 was the official pay point 1 from 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026. The 3.5% award from 1 September 2026 takes it to £32,255 on our calculation. Older figures still appear on some recruitment pages, so check the date on anything you read.
Is police starting pay the same in Scotland and Northern Ireland?
No. Police Scotland and the Police Service of Northern Ireland have their own pay arrangements and scales, set separately from England and Wales. This page covers the 43 forces in England and Wales. See our Police Scotland pay guide and our guide to joining the PSNI for those services.
How much do new police officers pay into their pension?
From 1 April 2026 the 2015 scheme contribution is 12.88% on pensionable pay up to £37,035, which covers a new constable outside London. That is about £346 a month on point 1, before tax relief. The force pays a further 35.3% of pensionable pay into the scheme.
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.
- Home Office Circular 011/2026: Annex F (pay), Police Regulations 2003 : official constable scale from 1 September 2025 (point 1 £31,164, point 2 £32,472); note (b) new constables begin on point 1; note (c) chief officer may assign all new constables to point 2 from 1 April 2025; increments on the anniversary of appointment; probationers need not meet the pay progression standard; London weighting (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Home Office Circular 011/2026: Annex U (allowances) : London allowance up to a maximum set by the Commissioner; South East England allowance bands by force, set by the chief constable; unsocial hours allowance of 10% of the hourly rate between 8pm and 6am (accessed 21 October 2026)
- NPCC: Government confirms police pay award (July 2026) : 3.5% award for officers of all ranks from September 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Surrey Police Federation: Force agrees to increase in South East Allowance (2026) : forces allowed to raise London Allowance or South East Allowance by up to 3.5%; Surrey applied the full 3.5% from 1 September (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Police Federation (Norfolk branch): Rank pay scales : the Federation's constable scale from 1 September 2026, a pound below our rounded figures at some points (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Home Office evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body, 2026 to 2027 : chief officers' discretion to start new constables at pay point 1 or pay point 2 from 1 April 2025 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Metropolitan Police Service press release, 12 October 2026 : starting salary of more than £43,000; PCEP two years; PCDA three years with a fully funded degree (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Thames Valley Police careers: Updated pay scales effective 1 September 2026 : starting salary for constables and detective constables of £35,359 including a £3,105 South East allowance, paid from the first day of training (accessed 21 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Becoming a police constable, a guide to joining the police service (April 2026, PDF) : salary from the day you join on all routes; PCDA fully funded degree; pre-join degree self-funded; training milestones; day and night shifts and weekends (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Anglia Ruskin University: Degree Holder Entry Programme (Essex and Kent Police) : one partnership's example: graduate diploma with no tuition fees (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Joining the Police (national recruitment site): Common questions : still quotes older starting salaries for new constables when read on 21 October 2026; around 4 to 6 months to join (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Police Pensions Regulations 2015 contribution rates from 1 April 2026 (SI 2026/267) : member contributions of 12.88%, 13.88% or 14.22% by band of pensionable pay (accessed 21 October 2026)
- GAD: Police Pension Scheme (England and Wales) valuation as at 31 March 2020 : employer contribution rate of 35.3% of pensionable pay from 1 April 2024 (accessed 21 October 2026)
- Police Federation of England and Wales: Join the Fed : membership subscription of £26.31 a month from 1 January 2026 (accessed 21 October 2026)
On this topic elsewhere
More in this guide series
Free tools for applicants
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.