Police pay, pensions and careers: the key dates from now to the end of January 2027
Exam results, the NIE, the next sergeants' exam registration window, a tax deadline for pension savers and the next official officer numbers all fall between now and the end of January. Here are the key confirmed dates in one place.
What it means for you
- If you sat the inspectors' exam this week (3 to 5 November), the College of Policing says results come by Thursday 26 November 2026.
- If you plan to sit the sergeants' exam in March 2027, registration opens on Monday 18 January 2027 and closes at 6pm on Thursday 18 February 2027. Check with your force examinations officer now, because forces can set an earlier closing date than 18 February.
- If you owe an annual allowance tax charge for 2025/26, HMRC says you must still report it on a Self Assessment return, even if the pension scheme pays it. The online deadline is 11:59pm on 31 January 2027.
- Police staff covered by the Police Staff Council in England and Wales still have no 2026/27 pay offer. No date for one has been published.
This is a planned look ahead rather than breaking news. We checked the official calendars on 5 November 2026 and list only dates that a primary source has published: the College of Policing's 2026 and 2027 exam handbooks, the Home Office statistics release calendar, HMRC, GOV.UK and Oscar Kilo. Where something has no date yet, we say so.
November and December 2026
The Investigator Wellbeing Week of Action runs as online webinars from 9 to 13 November 2026, run by the National Police Chiefs' Council investigator wellbeing portfolio and supported by Oscar Kilo. Our earlier report has the day-by-day programme.
The National Investigators' Exam (NIE) sits on Tuesday 17 November 2026, between 8am and 8pm. The NIE candidate handbook says candidates can expect results by Tuesday 8 December 2026. Our NIE exam dates guide explains the sittings and resit rules. The free NIE mock is there for last-minute practice.
The inspectors' legal exam runs from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 November 2026, between 8am and 8pm each day, so the last sessions close at 8pm today. The College of Policing's 2026 candidate handbook gives Thursday 26 November 2026 as the date results are expected by. A pass is valid for five years less one day from the date you sat.
November and December 2026
- 9 to 13 November Expected Investigator Wellbeing Week of Action Online webinars, supported by Oscar Kilo.
- 17 November Expected NIE sitting Between 8am and 8pm.
- 26 November Expected Inspectors' exam results For the exam sat 3 to 5 November.
- 8 December Expected NIE results For the 17 November sitting.
Key dates in November and December 2026: Investigator Wellbeing Week of Action 9 to 13 November; NIE sitting 17 November between 8am and 8pm; inspectors' exam results by 26 November for the exam sat 3 to 5 November; NIE results by 8 December.
January 2027
The police accountability review's call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 15 January 2027. Anyone with experience of the system can respond, including serving and former officers and staff. Our report on the call for evidence explains what it covers.
Registration for the March 2027 sergeants' exam opens on Monday 18 January 2027 and closes at 6pm on Thursday 18 February 2027. The handbook says forces can set an earlier closing date, so check with your force examinations officer. The exam runs from Tuesday 16 to Thursday 18 March 2027 and the 2027 handbook says results come by Thursday 8 April 2027. Our guide on how to pass the sergeants' exam sets out a study plan that fits those dates.
The Home Office will publish Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2026 at 9:30am on 27 January 2027. The release calendar lists the date as confirmed. It covers police workforce numbers, including officers, in the 43 forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police. Our guide to how many police officers there are will be updated with the new figures.
The Self Assessment deadline for the 2025/26 tax year is 11:59pm on 31 January 2027, for both online returns and paying what you owe. It matters to officers who went over the pension annual allowance in 2025/26. HMRC says you fill in the "Pension savings tax charges" section of a return even if your pension provider pays all or part of the charge. Our police pension annual allowance guide explains how the charge is worked out.
January 2027
- 15 January Expected Accountability review evidence closes At 11:59pm.
- 18 January Expected Sergeants' exam registration opens Closes at 6pm on 18 February for the March 2027 exam.
- 27 January Expected Police workforce statistics Officer numbers at 30 September 2026, 9:30am.
- 31 January Expected Self Assessment deadline Report any 2025/26 annual allowance charge by 11:59pm.
Key dates in January 2027: police accountability review call for evidence closes at 11:59pm on 15 January; March 2027 sergeants' exam registration opens 18 January and closes at 6pm on 18 February; Home Office police workforce statistics for 30 September 2026 published at 9:30am on 27 January; Self Assessment deadline for 2025/26, including any annual allowance charge, 11:59pm on 31 January.
What has no date yet
- Police staff pay 2026/27. There is no offer for staff covered by the Police Staff Council in England and Wales. The latest union update we found, from the UNISON West Midlands Police branch on 29 October 2026, said negotiations had resumed in the week of 26 October with no substantive update. Our police staff pay rise tracker logs every dated step.
- The April 2027 pension increase. Police pensions that began before April 2026 are expected to rise 3.5% in April 2027 (pensions that started more recently get a part-year rise), because the Consumer Prices Index rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026. The rise becomes final when the Treasury makes its Pensions Increase (Review) Order; the April 2026 order set a 3.8% rise. Use the police pension increase calculator to see it in pounds.
We will report each of these when it happens. Dates can move: always check the College of Policing, your force or HMRC before you rely on one.
Sources
- College of Policing, NPPF Step Two legal examinations candidate handbook 2026. Inspectors' exam Tuesday 3 November to Thursday 5 November 2026, between 8am and 8pm each day; results for the November inspectors' examination by Thursday 26 November 2026. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- College of Policing, NPPF Step Two legal examinations candidate handbook 2027. March 2027 sergeants' exam Tuesday 16 March to Thursday 18 March 2027; registration opens Monday 18 January 2027 and closes at 6pm on Thursday 18 February 2027; results by Thursday 8 April 2027; forces can set an earlier closing date; a pass is valid for five years less one day from the date of taking the exam. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- College of Policing, National Investigators' Exam candidate handbook 2026. November sitting Tuesday 17 November 2026 between 8am and 8pm; results expected by Tuesday 8 December 2026. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Home Office statistics release calendar, Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2026. Release 27 January 2027 9:30am (confirmed); police workforce numbers in the 43 police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- GOV.UK, Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines (HMRC). Online return and payment for the tax year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 by 11:59pm on 31 January 2027. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- GOV.UK, Tax on your private pension contributions: annual allowance (HMRC). Fill in the 'Pension savings tax charges' section of a Self Assessment tax return, even if your pension provider pays all or part of the charge. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- GOV.UK, Police accountability: call for evidence (Home Office and Ministry of Justice, 4 November 2026). Closes 11:59pm on 15 January 2027; police officers and staff are among those it wants to hear from. The linked questions file (Police-accountability-review-questions.odt) lists serving and former officers and staff as respondent types. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- Oscar Kilo, National investigator wellbeing week of action returns this November (22 October 2026). Online webinars 9 to 13 November 2026; run by the NPCC Recruitment, Retention and Wellbeing of Investigators Portfolio and supported by Oscar Kilo. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- UNISON West Midlands Police branch, Police Staff Pay Talks (29 October 2026). Negotiations resumed in the week commencing 26 October; no substantive update. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- ONS, Consumer price inflation, UK: September 2026. CPI rose 3.5% in the 12 months to September 2026, the figure public service pension increases in April 2027 are expected to follow. Accessed 5 November 2026.
- The Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2026 (SI 2026/256). Public service pensions in payment rose 3.8% in April 2026; pensions that began after the previous April got a part-year rise. Accessed 5 November 2026.
Corrections
No corrections to this article.
If we get something wrong, we fix it, add a dated correction here, update the time above and record it in our public corrections log. To report an error, email andrew@policepay.co.uk or use the contact page with the figure and your source. This article is general information, not financial or legal advice.
About this article
Written by Andrew Thomas, Founder, PolicePay. Before publishing, every figure and claim was checked against the primary sources above in a separate, independent check. Articles are not published until that check passes. Read About Police Pay News for how we choose stories, check facts, use AI tools and stay independent. Our news standards set the rules.
