Free Sergeant and
Inspector Exam Resources
The best free sergeants' and inspectors' exam resource is the College of Policing's own: practice questions, exam tips and a revision technique guide in its Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on Knowledge Hub. Add the 30% College Learn discount on the Blackstone's Police Manuals, borrowed copies, Federation offers and the free samples some providers give away, and you can prepare for very little. This guide lists what each free option actually contains, how to get it, and where free stops being enough. Every price and offer was checked on 4 October 2026.
Independent information, not advice · Sources checked 4 October 2026 · England and Wales unless stated
Free: the College's Knowledge Hub practice pack (a small sample of questions with explanations, tips and a revision guide), the familiarisation exercise, the College's results reports and subject breakdowns, borrowed Manuals if your force or a library has the right edition, a free 12-month Police Oracle subscription if your force still has codes, occasional Federation kick-start courses, and free samples from providers such as Police Pass and Police Inspire. Not free: the Manuals themselves (£89 for the 2027 set at Wildy, about £62 with the 30% code) and any large question bank. No one can legally give you real or past exam questions.
Every free and cheap option at a glance
The exam is the NPPF step two legal knowledge exam: 150 multiple-choice questions in 3 hours, of which 10 are removed after the sitting, so you are scored on 140. The pass mark is 55% for sergeants and 65% for inspectors, though the debrief panel can alter it in exceptional circumstances. The College says examination questions are "drawn solely" from the Blackstone's Police Manuals. That last fact shapes everything below: free resources help you learn and test the Manuals, but nothing replaces them. For the full format, see the step 2 exam explained.
| Resource | From | Cost | Access needed | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| College practice questions, exam tips, revision technique guide | College of Policing, Knowledge Hub group | Free | Work email login to Knowledge Hub | A small sample in the real style, with answers and explanations |
| Familiarisation exercise | College of Policing | Free | Emailed about a week before your exam | Practice with the exam software, not the law |
| Results reports and subject area breakdowns | College of Policing, NPPF step two page | Free | None | Pass rates and the subject of each scored question, per sitting |
| Blackstone's Police Manuals (the syllabus) | Oxford University Press | £89 for the 2027 set at Wildy; 30% off via College Learn | College Learn login for the code | The only material the questions are drawn from |
| Borrowed Manuals | Force L&D, force library, some universities | Free | Varies | Same content, if it is the right edition |
| Free 12-month Police Oracle subscription | Police Digital Service arrangement | Free (500 per force) | Force code, usually via Federation or force | News, CPD webinars including exam preparation, 50% off Police Revision packages |
| Federation branch courses and codes | Your local branch | Free or discounted | Membership, sometimes | Occasional kick-start sessions and discounts; not national |
| Free provider samples | Police Inspire, Police Pass and others | Free | Account or email, sometimes | A few questions, study packs, timetables, sample chapters |
| Our free samples and mini mock | PolicePay (us) | Free | None | 12 sergeant and 12 inspector questions; a 20-question timed mini mock |
The autumn 2026 sittings are the sergeants' exam on 6 to 8 October 2026 and the inspectors' exam on 3 to 5 November 2026, with inspectors' registration having closed at 6pm on Monday 5 October 2026. Both of those sittings use the 2026 Manuals. The next sergeants' sitting is 16 to 18 March 2027 (registration 18 January to 18 February 2027), and every 2027 sitting uses the 2027 Manuals. If you are planning for 2027, do not collect free material tied to the 2026 edition without checking it. See NPPF exam dates 2027 and which Blackstone's edition.
What the College of Policing gives you for free
The College is the exam setter, so its free material is the only material written with sight of how the real exam works. There is less of it than most candidates expect, but each piece earns its place.
1. The Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on Knowledge Hub
The 2027 candidate handbook (updated 10 September 2026) invites every prospective candidate to join this group "to access further materials in relation to the exam, such as practice questions, exam tips, a learning style and revision technique guide and more", and says candidates can download the files. The College's online exams candidate guide (updated 5 August 2026) gives more detail on what is in the group.
| Item | In the group? | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Practice questions | Yes, with answers and full explanations | A small sample, not a full exam (candidate guide) |
| Exam tips | Yes | General technique, not content |
| Learning style and revision technique guide | Yes | Useful early, before you plan |
| Exam preparation checklists, revision timetables, study plans | Yes (candidate guide) | Compare with your own plan |
| Exam environment video | Yes (candidate guide) | Shows the online testing interface |
| Familiarisation exercise video | Yes (candidate guide) | How to navigate and answer |
| Reasonable adjustment guidance and videos | Yes (candidate guide) | Check how your adjustment will work |
| Past papers | No | The College does not publish them and reuses questions |
Be realistic about the practice questions. The candidate guide calls them "a small sample" and says they are not a full practice exam: they show the structure and style of questions. That is still valuable, because they are the only questions you can see that were written by the people who write the real ones. Use them to calibrate how questions are worded, how distractors are built and how long a question takes you, not as a measure of readiness.
2. The familiarisation exercise
About a week before your exam, the College emails you a link to a familiarisation exercise, available until 7pm on your exam day, which you can access once (candidate guide). It lets you practise navigating and answering in the real exam software. Adjustments are not added to it automatically: the candidate guide says to ask your force exams contact early if you want to check how an agreed adjustment will work. The handbook strongly advises completing it even if you have sat a College exam before. It is free, it is not optional in any practical sense, and it is not a test of law.
3. Results reports and subject area breakdowns
After each sitting the College publishes, free and without a login, a results and analysis overview and a subject area breakdown. The March 2026 sergeants' overview shows 1,882 successful candidates out of 3,215 (58.5%); the May 2026 inspectors' overview shows 644 successful out of 1,739 (37.0%). The subject breakdown lists the subject of each scored question by area (Crime, Evidence and procedure, General police duties), which is as close as anyone legitimately gets to seeing how a paper was weighted. Past weighting does not predict a future paper, so use it to prioritise, not to skip chapters. We explain how in what comes up in the exam.
4. The handbook itself and free syllabus updates
The handbook's appendices list the general areas tested for each rank and are, in the College's words, intended primarily to help candidates plan their study. Some areas differ by rank, so check yours. The handbook also says syllabus updates are only made in exceptional circumstances and that, where possible, any additional study materials would be provided free of charge. If the College issues an update, you do not need to buy anything to get it.
Join the Knowledge Hub group and download the pack. Read the handbook's syllabus appendix for your rank. Download the latest subject area breakdown for your rank. Together they take an evening and they come from the exam setter.
How to get into the Knowledge Hub group, step by step
Knowledge Hub is a separate platform from the College's website. Both the handbook and the candidate guide say you need to log in. Here is what we could verify about access on 4 October 2026:
- Register on Knowledge Hub. Its sign-up page asks for at least your name and your work email address. Knowledge Hub says access is restricted to UK policing, government departments, emergency services and approved partners.
- Use your force email. Knowledge Hub's whitelisting policy says people from whitelisted organisations can register without approval by a system administrator. Its sign-up page says applications from outside policing and its public sector partners are considered individually, and it may contact you for more information.
- Find the group. Search for "Candidate Online Examination Guidance" (the College's link points to the group address candidate-online-exam-guidance) and join it. The College links to it from the handbook's "Candidate support and guidance" section.
- Download the files. The handbook says candidates can download them. Save them somewhere you can reach on a day off, since you may not want to log in on a work device to revise.
- If it does not work, ask your force examinations officer, whom the handbook names as the contact for further information. Knowledge Hub also has its own support route.
The handbook's 30% Manuals discount is stated to be for police officers and staff in England and Wales. Whether you can sit the exam is a separate eligibility question covered in the registration checklist.
Getting the Blackstone's Manuals for less, or for nothing
The College "only endorses the Blackstone's Police Manuals for the examinations" and states that other products, including the Blackstone's Q&As, are not affiliated with it. The Manuals are the syllabus. Every route to a cheaper or free copy is worth exploring before you spend money on anything else.
| Route | Cost to you | Upside | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy the 2027 set at full price | £89.00 (Wildy, seen 4 October 2026) | Yours to annotate; correct edition | Most expensive route |
| Buy with the College Learn 30% code | About £62.30 on an £89 price, if the code applies to the set | Same books for less | Needs a College Learn login; check the code at checkout |
| Borrow from force L&D or a force library | Free | No outlay | Waiting lists near sittings; you may not be able to write in it; check the year on the cover |
| University library access (some PCDA or DHEP partners) | Free while you are enrolled or employed | Online access in some cases (for example Staffordshire University) | Ends when your enrolment ends; only some universities subscribe |
| Force subscription to Blackstone's online | Free to you if your force subscribes | Online Manuals and, depending on the package, questions | Not every force subscribes; OUP invites you to recommend it to your training department |
| Second-hand copy | Varies | Cheap | Easy to end up with the wrong year; no use for a 2027 sitting unless it is the 2027 edition |
The 30% College Learn discount
The handbook says: a 30% discount for the NPPF Manuals is available to all police officers and staff in England and Wales, and you find out how to get the discount code by logging in to College Learn. College Learn is the College's learning platform (it replaced the MLE, formerly NCALT) for officers, staff and volunteers. The handbook's link points to a page on the secure police network address, so you may need a force device or your College Learn web login to reach it.
On the 2027 three-volume pack's £89.00 price (Wildy, seen 4 October 2026, published August 2026), 30% off works out at about £62.30, a saving of about £26.70. We could not see the code or the checkout terms, so confirm the final price before paying. If a retailer is already discounting the set, compare that price with the code.
Force learning and development, and force libraries
We found no national rule requiring forces to lend the Manuals, and practice varies. Ask your force examinations officer or learning and development team whether they hold sets to lend, whether there is a study room copy, and whether the force subscribes to Blackstone's online. Oxford University Press's own subscribe page says that if your institution or police force does not subscribe, "you can recommend a subscription to your librarian or training department". It also offers institutions a 30 day free trial.
University libraries
Some universities that teach policing subscribe to the Manuals online. Staffordshire University's library guide, for example, lists the Blackstone's Police Manuals database (including the Sergeants' and Inspectors' Manuals), with access through the university's sign-in. If you are still enrolled on a degree-holder or apprenticeship programme with a university partner, check its library. Access normally ends with your enrolment.
Public libraries and second-hand copies
We could not verify that public libraries routinely stock the current edition, so treat it as a maybe and check your library catalogue for the exact year. Second-hand copies are cheap for a reason: the handbook examines the law "only as it appears" in the edition for your sitting and advises candidates not to rely on previous editions.
A free 2026 set is the right book for the October and November 2026 sittings and the wrong book for any 2027 sitting. The law changes between editions and the exam follows the edition, not the statute book. If you are sitting in 2027, borrow or buy the 2027 edition.
Federation branches, Police Oracle and force offers
There is no national free course for the step 2 exam that we could find. What exists is local and time-limited, so the reliable advice is: ask your Federation branch and your force before you buy. Here is what we could verify, with dates, so you know what to ask about.
Free Police Oracle subscriptions through the Police Digital Service
- What it is. West Mercia Police Federation's notice of 20 January 2026 says the Police Digital Service is working with Police Oracle to provide 500 full subscriptions per force; Surrey's branch published its force code on 19 January 2026. Police Oracle's registration page describes a free 12-month subscription activated with a code.
- What it includes for exam candidates. Police Oracle lists 200+ CPD webinars a year covering exam preparation and promotion support. Its crammer page says Police Oracle subscribers get 50% off full e-learning packages from Police Revision. On Police Revision's current £149 sergeants' package, half price would be £74.50, if the offer is still running when you buy.
- The launch bonus has gone. At launch Police Oracle released 1,350 Police Revision course credits, capped at 30 per qualifying organisation, with codes released on 19 January 2026 (Police Oracle, 15 January 2026). By 9 February 2026 Police Oracle reported 85% of forces had used their allocation. Do not expect free Police Revision packages now.
- How to get a code. Codes are force-specific. Some branches have published theirs; others share them internally. Ask your branch or force, and expect a limit of 500 per force.
Free webinars
Police Oracle has run live sessions delivered by Police Revision, free to its full subscribers (which a PDS code gives you). Its event listing for 12 February 2026 described a free 90-minute live session working through 20 exam-style questions, with 90 seconds per question and a tutor explaining each answer, for NIE, sergeants' and inspectors' candidates. In January 2025 it advertised a series of free online crammer sessions for Police Oracle subscribers and Police Revision users. These come and go; check Police Oracle's event calendar in the months before your sitting.
Federation-funded courses and discount codes
- West Midlands, 2025. West Midlands Police Federation announced on 21 October 2025 a free three-hour Police Pass kick-start session on 24 November 2025 for officers preparing for the spring 2026 exams, covering the process, key syllabus topics, study tips, free content locations and on-the-day discounts.
- Older examples. Humberside (2020) and Dorset (2019) Federation pages describe free Police Pass courses and member discount codes. They show the kind of thing branches arrange; they are not current offers.
- Police Pass's own free kick-starts. Separately from any branch, Police Pass's shop links to free virtual kick-start courses (registration via Zoom) and free face to face kick-start courses (via a booking form). When we checked, the Zoom page listed a virtual NPPF kick-start on Friday 9 October 2026 at 10am, and the booking form listed morning sessions at several forces from 20 to 30 November 2026.
"Is the branch or force funding any NPPF step 2 courses or discounts this year? Does the force still have Police Oracle PDS codes? Does L&D lend the current Manuals, or subscribe to Blackstone's online?" Three questions, one email, and the answer may save you more than any discount code online.
Free samples from commercial providers, checked one by one
We visited each provider's site on 4 October 2026 and recorded what was free and what it costs to go further. We list what each does well. Prices are as displayed; where a site did not say whether VAT was included, we have not assumed either way. Prices change, so check before buying. None of these providers is affiliated with the College, and the College endorses only the Manuals.
| Provider | What is free | Paid from | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police Inspire | 5 free questions per exam (sergeants and inspectors), account needed; app is a free download with in-app purchases | From £24.99 a month; £59 for 3 months; £82 for 6; £89 for 12; '2300+' questions | Short taster only |
| Police Pass | Free NPPF study pack, sergeants' and inspectors' timetables, module rewards analysis, e-learning sample, textbook sample chapter, MCQ example; free virtual and face to face kick-start courses | MCQ package £115; textbooks £89.99; blended e-learning £330; 5-day virtual crammer £225 | The most generous free tier we found |
| Police Law Prep | Free trial of all three exams, no payment card (the home page said 7 days, the trial page 14 days); the no-sign-up free course is NIE only | £15 a month including VAT, all three exams; 911 sergeants' questions claimed | Low monthly cost; cancel any time |
| Police Revision | No free NPPF sample on its site when we checked; free webinars for Police Oracle subscribers have run | Sergeants' or inspectors' complete package £149 for 6 months; mock packs £49 | Police Oracle subscribers offered 50% off full packages |
| Police Learn | Free account and free guides; no free questions found | £19.95 per 150-question mock with 6 months' access | Cheapest one-off full-length mock we found |
| How2Become | Not free: £1 + VAT for 7 days | Then £27 + VAT a month | Set a reminder if you only want the trial week |
| Checkmate Training | No free NPPF sample found; only NIE crammers listed (£125) when we checked | Sergeant and inspector course categories exist, but no upcoming dates were listed | Links to a separate audio guide |
| Blackstone's online (OUP) | No free personal trial found; 30-day trial for institutions; a discounted upgrade offer for buyers of selected print editions | Personal subscriptions on several timed periods (see the publisher) | Over 2,000 questions, tests and mocks |
The ones worth your time for free
- Police Pass free study packs. The most substantial free tier we found: an NPPF study pack, separate sergeants' and inspectors' revision timetables, a "module rewards" summary built from the College's published subject breakdowns, and samples of its e-learning, textbook and multiple-choice products. It says the material is open to anyone, customer or not. The module analysis is its own reading of past breakdowns, so treat it as a guide to emphasis.
- Police Inspire free questions. Five free questions each for the sergeants' and inspectors' exams, on the same platform as its paid bank, so you can judge the explanations and interface. You need to sign up to start. Its paid plans run from £24.99 rolling monthly to £89 for 12 months, with "2300+" questions.
- Audio samples. Checkmate Training's site links to Julianna Mitchell Training's Sergeants' and Inspectors' audio guide (2027 edition, £85 including VAT on USB), which offers two free sample tracks to listen to before buying.
Where "free" really means "trial"
How2Become's course is £1 plus VAT for 7 days, then £27 plus VAT a month (£32.40 a month including VAT at 20%). That is a cheap week, not a free resource; diarise the renewal date if you only want the trial. Police Law Prep offers a free trial of its sergeants', inspectors' and NIE workspaces with no payment card; its home page said 7 days and its trial page 14 days when we checked, so check the length when you claim it. Blackstone's online has no personal free trial that we could find; the 30 day trial is for institutions, and buyers of selected print editions are offered a discounted upgrade (details are inside the book covers).
For a full side-by-side of the paid options, see revision resources compared and are Blackstone's Q&A and Mock worth it.
Our own free practice material
PolicePay is independent and not affiliated with the College of Policing or Oxford University Press. We publish some free practice material and sell a paid toolkit. So you can weigh it fairly, here is exactly what is free, and what it is not.
- 12 sergeant sample questions with full explanations: sergeant exam questions and answers.
- 12 inspector sample questions, a different set: inspector exam questions and answers.
- A free timed mini mock: 20 questions in 24 minutes (the real exam's pace of 72 seconds a question), drawn from a fixed free pool of 30, weighted across the three areas by your rank's paper with at least 6 per area, and scored against your rank's pass mark (55% sergeant, 65% inspector). No sign-in, and one free attempt per browser. At the end you see your weakest topics with what to read for each, and can download your result as a PDF: free sergeant and inspector exam mini mock.
- A free study planner that turns your sitting date into a week-by-week plan: exam study planner.
These are original practice questions written from legislation, the PACE Codes and published guidance. They are not real, past or leaked exam questions, they are not endorsed by the College, and they are not a substitute for the Manuals. The mini mock is one free attempt per browser from a fixed pool of 30 questions. Our paid exam prep toolkit (hundreds of checked questions, a timed 150-question sitting, spaced review and progress tracking, £69.99 for 6 months as a one-off payment) is one option among several in the budget stacks below, not the only sensible one.
Podcasts, audio and YouTube: what we could verify
Free audio and video is where quality varies most. We only list what we could confirm exists and is on topic, and we have not reviewed the teaching content of any of it, so we do not endorse it.
- Inside Policing (College of Policing podcast). The College's own podcast. Its 27 February 2022 episode includes a segment on the sergeants' NPPF step two exam. The latest episode we found is from August 2023, so treat anything about rules or dates as historical and check it against the 2027 handbook.
- Rank Success: Police Promotion and Leadership Podcast. Free episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music, with subscriber-only episodes at £4.99 a month. It focuses on promotion boards, the Competency and Values Framework and leadership, not the legal exam. Useful later, for step 3; see common board mistakes.
- Audio revision samples. The Julianna Mitchell Training sample tracks mentioned above are free to listen to; the full 2027 guide is paid.
- YouTube. We did not find a channel we could confirm as current, focused on the NPPF legal exam and tied to the 2026 or 2027 Manuals. Videos exist, but we have not checked them, so we do not list any.
Check three things: the date and which edition of the Manuals it follows; whether it points you back to the Manuals for the detail; and whether it claims to know what "always comes up" or offers "real" questions. The first two are good signs. The third is a reason to switch off: the College reuses questions, keeps them confidential and changes papers.
Study groups and forums: free, useful, and a real risk if done wrong
Revising with colleagues costs nothing and works well for application-style questions: you explain a power or offence out loud, someone tests the edge cases, you remember it. Forums and social media groups are also free. The danger is not studying together. It is talking about the exam itself.
The handbook says questions remain the College's intellectual property and may be reused, and that you must not discuss examination content with anyone after the exam, including in comments or pictures on social media. It lists as rule breaches, among others: copying any part of a question; sharing questions, any part of a question, "including topic areas", with someone else in any format; adding a question to an AI application or search tool; discussing questions or topic areas in the exam with someone else, including on social media; and taking a screenshot. It says discussing the content of questions "presents a huge personal risk" to the candidate's career.
| Activity | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quizzing each other on the Manuals, chapter by chapter | Fine | This is just revision |
| Sharing your own notes, flashcards and timetable | Fine | Keep them from the Manuals, not from the exam |
| Sharing a provider's paid questions with the group | Avoid | Usually breaches that provider's terms; not a College rule, but not fair either |
| After your sitting, saying the exam 'had loads of X' | Breach | Sharing topic areas from your exam is listed as a rule breach |
| Posting or asking for 'questions that came up' | Breach | Sharing questions, or any part of them, in any format |
| Screenshotting, photographing or typing out a question | Breach | Copying in any form, including smart glasses or software |
| Pasting an exam question into an AI tool or search | Breach | Listed expressly in the handbook |
| Joining a group that trades 'leaked' or 'real' questions | Do not | Risk of disqualification, a bar of two or more years and referral to professional standards |
The consequences are set out in the handbook. The reports and disqualifications panel can fail the candidate, disqualify them from the current attempt and bar them from further attempts for two or more years, and refer them to their chief officer and professional standards department. The handbook also says the College treats improper disclosure as a serious breach of confidentiality and will investigate reported cases under the police complaints procedure. For an officer, a professional standards referral can lead to a misconduct process, which in turn affects promotion eligibility; see misconduct vs gross misconduct.
The exam runs over three days with candidates sitting in a 12-hour window each day. A comment on day one that "there was a lot on stop and search" is exactly the kind of topic-area disclosure the handbook lists. Agree in your group before the window opens: no exam talk at all until results are out, and not then either.
More on the exam-day rules, including the AI ban, in NPPF online exam rules and exam day.
What free resources cannot give you
Free material is good at the start (understanding the exam, planning, learning how questions are written) and at the very end (the familiarisation exercise). It is weakest in the middle, where most of your marks are won: hundreds of practice questions across every chapter, and full papers under time pressure.
| Need | Free options | What paid products add |
|---|---|---|
| Volume of questions | A small College sample plus a handful from each provider | Hundreds or thousands of questions across the whole syllabus |
| Full timed paper | Our 20-question mini mock is a short sample, under a seventh of a paper; Police Oracle webinars are occasional; a free trial (Police Law Prep) lasts days, not months | Repeated full 150-question, 3-hour sittings |
| Coverage of every syllabus area | Patchy: samples cluster around popular topics | Every chapter tested |
| Progress tracking and spaced review | None, or manual | Built in |
| Up to date with the right edition | Check each item's year | Paid products usually state the edition they follow |
| The Manuals themselves | Free only if borrowed | Bought, often at 30% off |
Why it matters: the scored paper has 140 questions across Crime, Evidence and procedure, and General police duties. In March 2026 the sergeants' split was 60, 31 and 49 scored questions. At the 55% pass mark you need 77 right; at 65% for inspectors you need 91. A 3-hour paper of 150 questions is 72 seconds a question. Those two facts, breadth and pace, are what free samples cannot rehearse. If you are sitting the inspectors' exam, where the May 2026 success rate was 37.0%, the case for at least one full-length timed paper is stronger. See the pass mark explained and the inspector revision plan.
There is also a cost to failing. There is no national limit on resits, but you wait for the next sitting of your rank, which is roughly six months for sergeants and inspectors in 2027 (March and October; May and November). On our reading of the 1 September 2026 pay scales, top of the constable scale to top of the sergeant scale is about £6,160 a year more. Against that, the difference between a £0 and a £120 preparation budget is small, if the money buys practice you would not otherwise do.
Three budget stacks: £0, under £50, under £150
These are combinations, not recommendations of any one product. Prices are as displayed on 4 October 2026; the Manuals figure assumes the College Learn 30% code applies to the £89 Wildy price. Pick one question source rather than three: more products do not mean more learning if you do not finish any of them.
| Budget | What is in it | Cost | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free (£0) | Borrowed Manuals of the right edition; College Knowledge Hub pack; results and subject breakdown PDFs; Police Pass study pack and timetable; Police Inspire's 5 free questions; our 24 sample questions and mini mock; Police Oracle via your force code if available | £0 | Thin on questions and no full mock under exam conditions |
| Under £50 (Manuals borrowed) | Everything in the free stack, plus Police Law Prep for 2 months (£30) and one Police Learn full mock (£19.95) | £49.95 | Two months is short for most sergeant candidates; start the subscription when the Manuals are read |
| Under £50, alternative | Free stack plus Police Inspire for 1 month (£24.99) and one Police Learn mock (£19.95) | £44.94 | A rolling monthly plan; cancel when done |
| Under £150 (buying the Manuals) | 2027 Manuals with the 30% code (about £62.30) plus Police Inspire for 3 months (£59) | About £121.30 | Covers the syllabus and a large bank for one sitting |
| Under £150, alternative | Manuals with the code (about £62.30), Police Law Prep for 3 months (£45) and one Police Learn mock (£19.95) | About £127.25 | Monthly flexibility plus a separate full-length mock |
| Under £150, alternative | Manuals with the code (about £62.30) plus our toolkit's 6-month one-off plan (£69.99) | About £132.29 | Ours: disclosed below |
How to read the stacks
- The £0 stack only works if you can borrow the right Manuals. There is no free way to buy them. If you cannot borrow, the Manuals with the code (about £62.30) are your first purchase, before any question product.
- Under £50 assumes borrowed Manuals. With the set at about £62.30 even after the discount, you cannot buy the Manuals and stay under £50.
- Monthly plans reward a fixed start date. Read the Manuals first, then start the subscription so its months line up with your question-heavy weeks. Our sergeant revision plan shows where those weeks fall.
- Blackstone's own extras. The publisher's 2027 Q&A three-volume pack is £89.99 (Wildy, seen 4 October 2026). It is not affiliated with the College; its volumes carry the same three subject titles as the Manuals. It fits an under-£150 stack only if you already have the Manuals.
- Check Police Oracle first. If your force still has a PDS code, a free subscription plus 50% off a Police Revision package (£74.50 on the £149 package, if the offer applies) could replace a line in any stack.
- Our own option. The last under-£150 line includes our toolkit. It is ours, so weigh it against the others; it does not replace the Manuals.
Using free resources in the right order
Free material is most useful when each piece does one job. A sensible sequence for a sergeant candidate with 12 weeks, adjusted to your own plan:
- Week 0: set up. Join Knowledge Hub, download the pack, read the handbook (especially the rules and your rank's syllabus appendix), download the latest subject breakdown. Ask your Federation branch and L&D about Manuals, courses and Police Oracle codes. Get the correct edition.
- Week 1: calibrate. Try the College's practice questions cold, then our 12 sample questions and Police Inspire's five. You are not testing knowledge yet; you are learning how questions are worded and where the traps sit.
- Weeks 1 to 8: read and test the Manuals. Read a chapter, then test it straight away with whatever questions you have, or by writing your own recall questions. A study group helps here. Use Police Pass's free timetable or our free planner to keep pace.
- Weeks 6 to 11: volume. This is where free runs out. If you are spending money, spend it here, on one question bank.
- Weeks 9 to 11: timed practice. Our 20-question mini mock at 72 seconds a question, then at least one full-length paper if you have one.
- Final week: the familiarisation exercise, plus revision of weak areas. Revisit the College's practice questions; you will read them differently now.
Inspectors have the same paper structure with a higher pass mark. See how to pass the inspector exam and how to pass the sergeants' exam.
Worked scenarios
Illustrative examples, not real people, showing how the options combine. Prices as seen on 4 October 2026.
Common myths about free exam resources
Free resources checklist
- Confirm your sitting and the Manuals edition it uses.
- Register on Knowledge Hub with your work email and join the Candidate Online Examination Guidance group.
- Download the practice questions, tips, revision technique guide and timetables.
- Read the current candidate handbook, especially the rules and your rank's syllabus appendix.
- Download the latest results overview and subject area breakdown for your rank.
- Ask L&D and your force examinations officer about lending sets and a Blackstone's online subscription.
- Ask your Federation branch about funded courses, discount codes and Police Oracle PDS codes.
- If buying the Manuals, log in to College Learn for the 30% code first.
- Collect free samples (College, Police Pass, Police Inspire, ours) only to choose a question source.
- Agree "no exam talk" rules with any study group before the sitting window.
- Diarise renewal dates for any trial or monthly plan.
- Complete the familiarisation exercise when it arrives, about a week before the exam.
For the wider process (eligibility, boards and what happens after you pass), start at the promotion hub.
What we could not verify
- Inside the Knowledge Hub group. We describe its contents from the College's handbook and candidate guide. We did not log in, so we cannot say how many practice questions there are or which edition they follow.
- The College Learn discount code. The page is behind a police login. We could not confirm which retailer it works with, whether it applies to the three-volume pack price, or any expiry.
- Knowledge Hub cost and eligibility details. We saw no charge mentioned for police users, and we could not read the current list of whitelisted email domains.
- Force lending and subscriptions. We found no national data on which forces lend Manuals or subscribe to Blackstone's online.
- Public library stock. We could not confirm that public libraries routinely hold the current edition.
- Police Oracle codes now. We could not confirm how many PDS codes remain in any force, or whether the 50% Police Revision offer applies to every package. The published contract notice for the scheme (Find a Tender, 6 November 2025) gives contract dates of 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026, so we cannot say whether codes will still be issued after October 2026.
- Blackstone's online personal prices. The publisher's catalogue page did not load for us, so we have not quoted personal subscription prices here; see the publisher or our Blackstone's Q&A guide.
- VAT on some prices. Police Law Prep (including VAT), How2Become (plus VAT) and Julianna Mitchell Training (including VAT) state it. Police Inspire, Police Pass, Police Revision and Police Learn did not say on the pages we read.
- Free kick-start course eligibility. We saw dates on Police Pass's Zoom and booking pages, but not whether places are limited or open to every force's officers.
- YouTube. We did not verify any channel as current and on topic, so we list none.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the College of Policing give free practice questions for the sergeants' exam?
Yes, but only a small sample. The NPPF step two candidate handbook (updated 10 September 2026) says practice questions, exam tips and a learning style and revision technique guide are in the Candidate Online Examination Guidance group on Knowledge Hub, which needs a login. The College's online exams candidate guide (updated 5 August 2026) describes them as a small sample that shows the structure and style of questions, not a full practice exam.
How do I get access to the College's Knowledge Hub group?
Register on Knowledge Hub (knowledgehub.group) with your work email address, then join the Candidate Online Examination Guidance group. Knowledge Hub says access is restricted to UK policing, government, emergency services and approved partners, and people from whitelisted organisations can register without manual approval. For further information, the handbook points you to your force examinations officer.
Are past sergeants' or inspectors' exam papers available for free?
No. The College does not publish past papers. Its handbook says the questions remain College intellectual property and may be reused, and copying, sharing or discussing questions or even the topic areas in your exam is a breach of the rules. Anything sold or shared as 'real' or 'past' exam questions should be treated as a red flag, not a shortcut.
How do I get the 30% discount on the Blackstone's Police Manuals?
The handbook says a 30% discount on the NPPF Manuals is available to all police officers and staff in England and Wales, and that you get the discount code by logging in to College Learn. College Learn is the College's learning platform for people who work in policing. On the 2027 three-volume set's £89 price at Wildy, 30% off would be about £62.30, if the code applies to the set at the price you see (checked 4 October 2026).
Can I revise from free resources alone and pass?
You can keep your spending close to zero if you can borrow the correct edition of the Manuals, because the exam is drawn solely from them and they are free to read if your force or a library holds them. What free resources cannot give you, beyond a short free trial, is a large bank of questions or repeated full timed 150-question papers. One way to fill that gap is a single low-cost question product rather than several.
Which edition of the Manuals do I need?
The October 2026 sergeants' and November 2026 inspectors' sittings use the 2026 Blackstone's Police Manuals. All 2027 sittings use the 2027 edition, which the 2027 handbook calls the definitive reference source, and it warns candidates not to rely on previous editions. A free older copy is a false economy for a 2027 sitting.
Does the Police Federation pay for promotion exam courses?
Some branches do, some of the time. West Midlands Police Federation arranged a free three-hour Police Pass kick-start session in November 2025 for spring 2026 candidates, and other branches have published member discount codes in the past. There is no national scheme we could find, so ask your own branch what is on offer before you buy.
Is there a free mock exam for the sergeants' exam?
The College does not offer one. Free mock-style options we found were Police Oracle's occasional live webinars (a 90-minute, 20-question session in February 2026 delivered by Police Revision, free to Police Oracle full subscribers), the full-length mocks inside Police Law Prep's free trial, and our own free 20-question timed mini mock. The College's familiarisation exercise lets you practise the exam software but is not a practice paper.
What free samples do the commercial providers give?
When we checked on 4 October 2026: Police Inspire has five free questions per exam (you need an account); Police Pass has free study packs, revision timetables, a sample textbook chapter and an example question, plus free kick-start courses; Police Law Prep offers a free trial of all three exams with no payment card (its free no-sign-up course covers the NIE only). We found no free NPPF question sample on Police Revision, Police Learn or Checkmate's own site.
Can I use ChatGPT or other AI tools to revise?
The College's rule is about the exam: using AI tools such as ChatGPT during the exam is strictly prohibited, and adding any part of an exam question to an AI application is listed as a rule breach. For revision before the exam, AI output is not checked against the Manuals and can be confidently wrong, so verify anything it tells you against the correct edition.
Is it safe to join a sergeants' exam study group?
Yes, if the group studies the Manuals and never discusses the exam itself. The handbook lists sharing questions or topic areas from your exam, and discussing them with someone else including on social media, as rule breaches. The disqualification panel can fail a candidate, bar them for two or more years and refer them to their chief officer and professional standards department.
Does my force have to provide the Manuals?
We found no national rule that requires it. Some forces and universities hold copies or institutional access to Blackstone's online, and Oxford University Press invites candidates to recommend a subscription to their force training department. Ask your force examinations officer or learning and development team what is available before you buy.
Are the College's results reports and subject breakdowns free?
Yes. The College publishes a results and analysis overview and a subject area breakdown for each sitting as PDFs on its NPPF step two page, with no login. The March 2026 sergeants' breakdown lists the subject of every scored question; use it to understand weighting, not to predict a future paper.
Sources and how we checked them
Every factual claim on this page was written from the sources below, read on 4 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.
- College of Policing: NPPF step two legal examinations candidate handbook (updated 10 September 2026) — syllabus 'drawn solely' from the 2027 Manuals; Knowledge Hub group contents; 30% discount via College Learn; only the Manuals are endorsed and the Blackstone's Q&As are not affiliated; free syllabus updates where possible; question copying and sharing rules including topic areas; AI ban; disqualification panel powers; no national resit limit. The College's main site blocked our reader, so we read the same page on the College's production mirror (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: NPPF step two legal exams hub page — 2026 sitting and registration dates; links to the results and analysis overviews and subject area breakdowns for March 2026 (sergeants) and May 2026 (inspectors) (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: online exams candidate guide (updated 5 August 2026) — what the Knowledge Hub group holds (practice questions with answers and explanations, checklists, timetables, exam environment and familiarisation videos); practice questions described as 'a small sample'; the familiarisation exercise link arrives about a week before the exam (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: NPPF sergeants' results and analysis overview, March 2026 (PDF) — 1,882 successful and 1,333 unsuccessful candidates (58.5% success); 55% cut score applied (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: NPPF inspectors' results and analysis overview, May 2026 (PDF) — 644 successful and 1,095 unsuccessful candidates (37.0% success); 65% cut score applied (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: NPPF sergeants' subject area breakdown, March 2026 (PDF) — the subject of each scored question, by area; free and no login (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Introducing College Learn for everyone across policing (27 July 2021) — College Learn replaced the MLE (NCALT) and is for officers, staff and volunteers; web and secure network addresses (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Knowledge Hub: sign-up page and whitelisting policy — access restricted to UK policing, government, emergency services and approved partners; register with your work email; whitelisted organisations register without approval (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Wildy & Sons: Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027 three volume pack and Blackstone's Police Q&A three volume pack 2027 (product pages) — Manuals 2027 pack £89.00, published August 2026; Q&A 2027 pack £89.99; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Blackstone's Police (Oxford University Press): NPPF online service and subscribe page — over 2,000 questions, revision, tests and quarter, half and full mocks for 2026 and 2027; 30 day free trial for eligible institutions; recommend a subscription to your librarian or training department; library card and institutional sign-in (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Staffordshire University library guide: Blackstone's Police Manuals database — an example of a university giving its students and staff online access to the Sergeants' and Inspectors' Manuals (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Inspire: Sergeants' exam subscription page and free questions — £24.99 rolling monthly, £59 for 3 months, £82 for 6 months, £89 for 12 months; '2300+' questions; free question set of 5 needs sign-in; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Pass: FREE Study Packs page and shop — free NPPF study pack, sergeants' and inspectors' timetables, module rewards analysis, blended e-learning sample, textbook sample chapter, MCQ example; links to free virtual and face to face kick-start courses; paid NPPF products £89.99 to £330 and £225 crammer courses; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Law Prep: home page and NPPF sergeants' revision page — £15 a month including VAT for all three exams; free trial of all three exams with no payment card (7 days on the home page, 14 days on the trial page); free no-sign-up course is NIE only; 911 sergeants' practice questions claimed; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Revision: home page — Sergeants' and Inspectors' complete e-learning packages £149 each for 6 months; standalone mock packs £49; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Learn: home page — sergeants' and inspectors' 150-question mock exams £19.95 each with 6 months' access; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- How2Become: Police Sergeant and Inspector Exam online course — £1 + VAT for 7 days, then £27 + VAT a month; seen 4 October 2026 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Checkmate Training: courses calendar, and Julianna Mitchell Training audio guide page — only NIE crammer courses listed when we checked (£125); the Sgt and Insp audio guide (jmitchelltraining.co.uk) is £85 including VAT with two free sample tracks (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Oracle: PDS subscription page, and 'More than 6,500 officers and staff have access' (9 February 2026) — free 12-month subscription with a force code under the Police Digital Service arrangement; 1,350 Police Revision course credits released at launch; mock exam webinars (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Police Oracle: free e-learning package through PDS subscription (15 January 2026), mock exam webinar (12 February 2026) and crammer sessions page — credits capped at 30 per qualifying organisation; 90-minute live 20-question webinar, free for full subscribers; Police Oracle subscribers offered 50% off full Police Revision e-learning packages (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Surrey and West Mercia Police Federation news (19 and 20 January 2026) — West Mercia: Police Digital Service working with Police Oracle to provide 500 full subscriptions per force, codes first come, first served; Surrey: complimentary subscription with a force code (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Find a Tender: Police Oracle Subscription contract notice, Police Digital Service (published 6 November 2025) — purchase of 500 subscriptions for Police Digital Service member forces; supplier Red Snapper Media Limited; contract dates 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026; further purchases allowed (accessed 4 October 2026)
- West Midlands Police Federation: Federation secures free course for officers seeking promotion (21 October 2025) — free three-hour Police Pass kick-start session, 24 November 2025, for spring 2026 candidates (accessed 4 October 2026)
- College of Policing: Inside Policing podcast (Apple Podcasts listing) — February 2022 episode with a segment on the sergeants' NPPF step two exam; latest episode August 2023 (accessed 4 October 2026)
- Rank Success: Police Promotion and Leadership Podcast — free episodes on promotion boards, the CVF and leadership; subscriber episodes £4.99 a month; not a legal exam resource (accessed 4 October 2026)
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Disclaimer
PolicePay.co.uk is an independent guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or produced by the College of Policing or Oxford University Press (Blackstone's). Exam rules, dates, syllabus editions and prices change, so check the College of Policing's current candidate handbook and exam pages before you register or buy. Practice material on this site is original and is not real exam content. Details apply to England and Wales unless stated. Details are as checked on 4 October 2026.