Police Starting Salary by Force 2026

The rule, in the regulations

Constable pay is set by Annex F to the Police Regulations 2003, which the Home Office updates by circular. The notes to the constable scale in Circular 003/2025 set out three steps.

1. Point 0 removed (1 September 2023). The old bottom point was removed from the post-2013 scale. Anyone on it moved to point 1.
2. Everyone starts on point 1 (1 September 2024). "A member appointed to the rank of constable shall begin on pay point 1", subject to the next note.
3. The point 2 option (1 April 2025). A chief officer, "on determining that it is necessary to do so in order to meet local recruitment needs may, after consultation with the local policing body, assign all constables appointed on or after that date to pay point 2". When a force does this, constables already on point 1 move to point 2 straight away and that date becomes their new increment date.

Two things follow. First, the choice is all or nothing: a force that uses point 2 starts every new constable there, not just some. Second, it is a chief officer's decision, so it can change. If a force announces point 2 after you join, you move up too.

Source: Home Office Circular 003/2025, Annex F (amendment): pay, read 21 October 2026.

Location pay on top

Ten of the 43 forces add a location payment to basic pay. Only London Weighting is paid at a fixed rate and counts towards your pension. The London Allowance and the South East Allowance are maximum rates set locally and are not pensionable.

The PRRB's 2026 report (para 4.146) recorded evidence that Kent and Essex no longer pay the full South East Allowance, so their real starting figure is likely to be lower than the maximum shown. More detail: London Weighting and the South East Allowance explained.

BTP, CNC, MOD Police, PSNI and Police Scotland

• British Transport Police uses the national scale and starts recruits on point 2. The Inner London figure includes its £5,783.75 London Allowance and £3,261 London Weighting; other stations pay different allowances or none.
• The CNC pays probationers £32,256, rising to £52,014 at point 7. Some sites add a location allowance.
• MOD Police has its own scale from £30,643. The £38,394 assumes a London posting; South East and priority postings pay different allowances.
• The PSNI starts student officers on £31,163 plus a £4,283 Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance. These are 2025/26 figures; no 2026/27 PSNI award had been published on 21 October 2026.
• Police Scotland starts constables on £34,001 from 1 April 2026, rising over eleven years to £54,597. See Police Scotland pay scales.

For a ranked view of all 48 forces at the start and at the top of the scale, read which UK police force pays the most.

How starting pay has moved

Pay point 1 over the last three pay awards in England and Wales. Each award lifts every point on the scale, so a constable gets the award and their annual increment in the same year.

Over two awards, point 1 has risen by £2,348. The 2027/28 award is not known yet; see police pay rise 2027/28 for where the process has got to.

What a new constable takes home

On point 1 with no location pay, a new constable takes home about £1,952 a month. The estimate takes off, in order:

• Pension: 12.88% of pensionable pay at this level (Police Pension Scheme 2015, rates from 1 April 2026). It comes off before tax.
• Income tax: 2026/27 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the standard personal allowance.
• National Insurance: charged on full gross pay.

Not included: student loan repayments (if you have a loan), Federation subscriptions and any salary sacrifice. Overtime, rest day working and unsocial hours payments (10% of basic hourly pay for hours between 8pm and 6am) add to pay once you are on shifts. For your own figure use the police salary calculator.

In London the picture changes: a Met recruit takes home about £2,598 a month because of London pay and Thames Valley recruits about £2,138 with the South East Allowance at its maximum.

Reading a pay advert

• "Starting salary of £X" often includes an allowance. Thames Valley's £35,359, for example, is point 1 plus a £3,105 South East allowance. Subtract the allowance to compare forces like for like.
• "Rising to £52,014" is the top of the constable scale, point 7. It takes six years from point 1 or five from point 2, with a pay point each year.
• £1 differences are rounding. The Home Office works in £3 steps, so adverts show £32,256 or £52,014 where our data, rounded to the pound, shows £32,255 and £52,015.
• Pay year matters. An advert written before 1 September 2026 may still quote 2025/26 rates (point 1 was £31,164). The pay award applies from 1 September whatever the advert says.
• Allowances are maxima. "Up to £3,105" is the national ceiling. A force may pay less, as the PRRB noted for Kent and Essex.

What to check before you apply

1. The start point. Point 1 or point 2? National pay announcements often give the starting salary as a range covering both points, so the force's own answer is the one that counts.
2. What the headline includes. A South East or London figure usually includes an allowance at its maximum. Ask what the force actually pays.
3. Whether it is recruiting on your route. Check the force's page on police jobs for the routes open now.
4. The cost of living. A higher salary in an expensive area can leave you with less. Use the regional affordability comparator.
5. The first hurdle. In every force in England and Wales the first stage after the application is the National Sift, so pay only matters once you are through it.