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NIE Revision Timetable and Countdown

A free week-by-week plan to your National Investigators' Exam: pick your sitting, your hours and your shift pattern. Part 1 gets the most time because it carries the most marks, the last weeks are timed mocks, and you can print it or add the exam day to your calendar.

The College of Policing has not yet published the 2027 sitting dates. Use "Another date" only for a date your force has confirmed.

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Countdown to Tuesday, 17 November 2026

to 8am UK time, when the window opens

36 days and 10 hours until the exam window opens at 8am on Tuesday, 17 November 2026.

Registration closes at 6pm on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. If you have not registered, speak to your force or organisation's NIE liaison contact now: registration goes through them on AIMS, and your force may set an earlier deadline than the College's.

Results are due on Tuesday, 8 December 2026, the College's published date for this sitting.

The calendar file holds the exam window, the results date and, while it is still ahead, the registration deadline. Dates as published in the College's NIE candidate handbook 2026: confirm yours with your force.

Your timetable at a glance

Weeks
5
Total hours
36
Starts
11 Oct 2026
Exam
17 Nov 2026
About 5 weeks to go. The College's candidate handbook recommends at least 14 weeks of independent study. With less, this timetable squeezes the learning weeks and keeps the timed mock and final weeks, so put your hours where the marks are: Part 1 first, then the points you keep getting wrong.

Learning hours by part

  • Part 1 · Powers and procedures6 h

    43% of the scored questions in the latest published breakdown

  • Part 2 · Serious crime4 h

    27% of the scored questions in the latest published breakdown

  • Part 3 · Property offences2 h

    16% of the scored questions in the latest published breakdown

  • Part 4 · Sexual offences2 h

    14% of the scored questions in the latest published breakdown

Rotating earlies, lates and nights: Do the reading on rest days and in the afternoon of early shifts. On nights, keep to short question sets and reviewing what you got wrong: new law does not stick on no sleep.

Week by week

Section numbers are those in Appendix A of the College's candidate handbook. Read the matching chapters of the Manual, which is the syllabus.

  1. Week 1: Learn and practise

    11 Oct to 17 Oct · 8 h
    • 1.1 to 1.12 General principles, police powers and procedures6 h
    • 2.1 to 2.5 Serious crime and other offences2 h
    • Read the Manual for each section listed, then answer practice questions on it straight away.
    • Look up every wrong answer in its source and keep a list of the points you missed.
    • Part 1 finished: do a mixed set of questions on the whole of Part 1 before you move on.

  2. Week 2: Learn and practise

    18 Oct to 24 Oct · 8 h
    • 2.6 to 2.14 Serious crime and other offences2 h
    • 3.1 to 3.9 Property offences2.5 h
    • 4.1 to 4.8 Sexual offences2 h
    • Review of earlier missed questions1.5 h
    • Read the Manual for each section listed, then answer practice questions on it straight away.
    • Look up every wrong answer in its source and keep a list of the points you missed.
    • Spend about 1.5 hours on questions you got wrong in earlier weeks.
    • Part 2 finished: do a mixed set of questions on the whole of Part 2 before you move on.
    • Part 3 finished: do a mixed set of questions on the whole of Part 3 before you move on.
    • Part 4 finished: do a mixed set of questions on the whole of Part 4 before you move on.

  3. Week 3: Mixed practice and review

    25 Oct to 31 Oct · 8 h

    Question time by part: Part 1 3.5 h, Part 2 2 h, Part 3 1.5 h, Part 4 1 h.

    • Mixed questions across all four parts, Part 1 heaviest, at about 90 seconds a question.
    • Redo every question on your missed list without looking at the answer first.
    • Re-read the Manual sections behind the two parts where your scores are lowest.

  4. Week 4: Timed mock week

    1 Nov to 7 Nov · 8 h

    Question time by part: Part 1 2.5 h, Part 2 1.5 h, Part 3 1 h, Part 4 1 h.

    • One full 80-question paper in 2 hours under exam conditions: no notes, no phone, no pausing the clock.
    • Mark it and work out your percentage. The real pass mark is 55.7% (39 of 70 scored questions).
    • Spend the rest of the week on the parts the paper showed weakest, back in the Manual.

  5. Week 5: Final week

    8 Nov to 16 Nov · 4 h
    • Light review only: your missed-question list and your notes on Part 1 powers and procedures.
    • No new reading in the last two days. Sleep matters more.
    • On the day the exam is open 8am to 8pm. It lasts 2 hours and must be completed in one sitting, so pick a start time with enough of the window left.
    • Run the system check on your device and do the familiarisation exercise the College emails about a week before (it opens once only). Sort out a quiet place: there is no national requirement to sit at a test centre.
    • No notes, help or AI tools: the handbook treats using AI in the exam as cheating.

How it is built: learning hours follow the College's published split of scored questions by part, and within a part each handbook section gets time in line with how many sub-headings the handbook lists for it. That is a rough guide to volume, not a prediction of what will be asked. Shift time towards whatever your practice scores show is weakest.

FreeFree NIE mini mock20 timed questions split by part like the real paper, with a result PDF. One free attempt: best in week 1, to find your weakest part.Our paid toolkitFull timed mocks for the mock weeksTimed 80-question mocks weighted like the real paper and the full practice bank. Original questions, not endorsed by the College, no pass promised.

Optional

NIE dates and changes, by email

Occasional emails we write and send ourselves: NIE dates as the College publishes them (including 2027), results days, changes to the exam, and new free practice questions. Nothing is sent automatically, so this is not a timed reminder service.

We keep your email on our mailing list with the page you signed up on, and never sell it. It is not linked to your answers, score or timetable, which stay on this device. Privacy policy.

How the timetable is built

The planner counts the weeks from your start date to the day before the exam. The last week is a light final week. Before it come timed mock weeks (one to three, depending on how long you have) and mixed review weeks. Everything earlier is learning, working through the four parts in Manual order.

Learning hours are split between the parts in the same proportions as the College's own subject area breakdown for the September 2026 sitting: 30, 19, 11 and 10 of the 70 scored questions came from Parts 1 to 4. Within each part, every syllabus section in Appendix A of the candidate handbook gets time in line with how many sub-headings the handbook lists under it, so detention and treatment (section 1.7, the longest list) gets more than robbery (3.2). That is a rough measure of volume, not a forecast of what will be asked.

From the second learning week, about a fifth of each week goes on questions you got wrong earlier. Coming back to a point a few days later, and answering questions from memory rather than rereading, are well-established ways to make law stick. With little time left, the timetable shows each week by part rather than section and keeps the mock weeks.

The 2026 sittings

NIE 2026 sittings, registration and results dates
Exam (8am to 8pm)RegistrationResults
Wednesday, 4 March 2026 8 Jan to 6pm 4 Feb 25 Mar 2026
Tuesday, 2 June 2026 1 Apr to 6pm 6 May 23 Jun 2026
Tuesday, 8 September 2026 15 Jul to 6pm 12 Aug 29 Sept 2026
Tuesday, 17 November 2026 16 Sept to 6pm 21 Oct 8 Dec 2026

Source: the College of Policing's NIE candidate handbook 2026. Registration goes through your force or organisation's NIE liaison contact, and forces may set earlier deadlines. The 2027 dates have not been published yet. More in our guide to NIE exam dates.

Making the hours happen on shifts

  • Read when you are fresh, test when you are tired. New law (a PACE Code, the elements of an offence) needs a clear head. A short question set on a break or after nights still works.
  • Keep a missed-question list. One line per mistake: the point and where it is in the Manual. It becomes your final-week revision.
  • Fix the slots. Put study sessions in your diary when your rota comes out, the same way you would a court warning.
  • Use your force's support. The handbook says candidates can join the College's Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on the Knowledge Hub, which has practice questions, exam tips, study timetables and a revision technique guide.

For a full method see how to pass the NIE and our 4, 8 and 12 week revision plans. Test where you are now with the free 20-question mini mock.

Questions

How long should I revise for the NIE?

The College of Policing's NIE candidate handbook 2026 recommends a minimum of 14 weeks of independent study, using the Blackstone's Police Investigators' Manual. The timetable shows how your own weekly hours add up over the weeks you have, and warns you if you have fewer than 14.

When is the next NIE?

Tuesday, 17 November 2026, any time between 8am and 8pm. Registration for it closes at 6pm on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 and results are due on Tuesday, 8 December 2026, according to the College's 2026 handbook. Your force may set an earlier registration deadline.

What are the NIE dates for 2027?

Not yet published. The College published the 2026 dates in its candidate handbook in November 2025. Until 2027 dates are out, the timetable lets you enter a date your force has confirmed, but do not plan around a guessed date.

Why does Part 1 get the most time?

Because it carries the most marks. In the College's own subject area breakdown for the September 2026 sitting, 30 of the 70 scored questions came from Part 1 (general principles, police powers and procedures), 19 from Part 2, 11 from Part 3 and 10 from Part 4. The timetable splits your learning hours in the same proportions. One sitting's split does not predict the next, so adjust to your own practice scores.

How does the shift pattern change the plan?

It changes how the plan suggests you fit the hours in, not the hours themselves: for example reading on rest days and keeping night shifts to short question sets. Weekly hours are what you set on the slider.

What are the mock weeks for?

Sitting a full 80-question paper in 2 hours tells you whether your knowledge holds up at the real pace of 90 seconds a question, and shows which part to go back to. The plan puts them in the last weeks before a light final week.

What does the calendar file contain?

The exam window (8am to 8pm UK time on the day) with a reminder the day before, the College's results date for the sitting, and the registration deadline if it is still ahead. Open it in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar.

Is anything stored or sent?

Your choices are saved in your own browser only so the timetable remembers them next time. Nothing is sent to us unless you choose to sign up for emails.

Can I print the timetable?

Yes. Use the print button: the print view is a plain black-on-white table with a column to tick off each week, and most browsers can save it as a PDF instead of printing.

Related

NIE guide hub Free NIE mini mock Free practice questions NIE syllabus Exam day rules

Independent guidance, not affiliated with, endorsed by or produced by the College of Policing or Oxford University Press. Sittings (4 March, 2 June, 8 September, 17 November 2026), the 14-week recommendation and the syllabus sections are from the College's NIE candidate handbook 2026; the split by part is from its subject area breakdown. Read on 11 October 2026. Confirm your date and deadline with your force.