Misconduct &
Police Promotion
Can a police officer be promoted with a misconduct record? Understand live cases, written warnings, final warnings and promotion board implications.
Executive Summary
It depends on the stage of the case, severity, sanction, and force policy.
The misconduct regulations themselves set no promotion bar, but the College of Policing's National Police Promotion Framework does: Step One requires that you have no live written warning, final written warning or extended final written warning. For a live investigation, eligibility is set by force policy.
1. Promotion With Live Investigation
The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 do not say what happens to a promotion application while you are under investigation, so it is a matter of force policy. Depending on the force, you may be prevented from applying, allowed to apply with the panel informed, or deferred pending the outcome. Home Office guidance (paragraph 5.31) says an existing temporary promotion should not be rescinded solely because you are under investigation or in reflective practice.
2. Written Warning Impact
A Written Warning stays in force for 18 months under regulation 42(9) of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020. Whether you can be promoted during that period depends on force policy. For example, Surrey Police's published promotion policy says officers subject to substantiated misconduct proceedings are not eligible until the sanction is spent; other forces may differ.
It is worth checking which route your case actually went through. Lower-level concerns are increasingly dealt with through Reflective Practice Review Process (RPRP) rather than a formal written warning. RPRP is not a disciplinary sanction, and regulation 66(3) says an officer must not be prevented from applying for or obtaining promotion because they took part in it.
3. Final Written Warning
A Final Written Warning stays in force for 2 years, and a misconduct hearing can extend it to up to 5 years (regulation 42(9) and (10)). If a new allegation is assessed while it is live, that case must go to a misconduct hearing, where reduction in rank or dismissal become available even for misconduct (regulations 23(10)(b) and 42(5)). While it is live you are not eligible to enter the National Police Promotion Framework: Step One requires no live written warning, final written warning or extended final written warning, and the criteria should stay met throughout (College of Policing operating manual, July 2024 edition).
4. After Warning Expires
Once expired, it no longer forms an active sanction. However, promotion boards may consider your overall record and pattern of behaviour.
5. Gross Misconduct
Since 28 May 2025, a gross misconduct finding means dismissal unless the panel finds exceptional circumstances justifying a final written warning or reduction in rank (regulation 42(3)(b)). After a reduction in rank, Home Office guidance (paragraph 11.143) says any promotion board must take it into account for 2 years, with a rebuttable presumption against re-appointment to the rank you lost. From 13 July 2026, if you were subject to a misconduct meeting or hearing and not dismissed, the vetting authority must reassess your clearance (Police (Vetting) Regulations 2025, regulation 5A(3)).
6. Promotion Board Considerations
7. Can You Be Barred?
Only if you are dismissed (or found that you would have been). The force must then report you and the College must list you (Police Act 1996, sections 88A and 88B). While you are listed, no law enforcement employer may employ or appoint you (Crime and Policing Act 2026, section 205). A listing is not always permanent: you can apply for removal after 5 years (3 for gross incompetence), and you must be removed if the dismissal is overturned.
Read Barred List Guide →Common Questions
Can I sit the exam during misconduct?
It depends on your force's promotion policy and the National Police Promotion Framework process it runs. The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020 do not set a rule, but the College of Policing's National Police Promotion Framework operating manual (July 2024 edition) says Step One confirms that candidates have no live written warning, final written warning or extended final written warning under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020, and that the eligibility criteria should stay met throughout the process. So a live warning stops you entering. Home Office guidance (paragraph 5.31) says a temporary promotion should not be rescinded solely because you are under investigation, and whether a live investigation that has not produced a warning stops you from applying is a matter for force policy. Ask your force or Federation representative.
Does expired warning matter?
Less so than active ones, but a pattern of behaviour may still be considered by the board.
Is misconduct automatic disqualification?
Not under the regulations. The only national rule we found is that taking part in reflective practice cannot be used to stop a promotion (regulation 66(3)), and Home Office guidance (paragraph 11.143) sets a 2 year rebuttable presumption against re-appointment to a rank you lost through reduction in rank. The College of Policing's National Police Promotion Framework adds a national rule: a live written warning, final written warning or extended final written warning means you are not eligible at Step One, and the criteria should stay met throughout (operating manual, July 2024 edition). Other situations, such as a live investigation, depend on force policy.