Metropolitan Police Jobs

We checked Metropolitan Police's own recruitment site on 1 October 2026. The Met's apply page listed both PCEP and PCDA as open for applications, and its detective constable page said the detective entry pathway (DCEP) was open for new applications. On 1 October 2026 the national joining the police website listed Metropolitan Police as recruiting police constables through PCDA, PCEP, DHEP and Detective entry. Our own tracker, which reads the force's job board twice a day, reported: This force's recruitment system blocks automated checks, so we can't read it directly. Police staff, PCSO and special constable roles are advertised separately on the force's careers site, so a force can be closed to new constables and still have other vacancies open.

Apply directly to Metropolitan Police through its own careers site. For police constable roles the national stages are an application form, the national sift (a situational judgement test and a behavioural styles questionnaire) and the College of Policing online assessment (a competency-based interview, a written exercise and a briefing exercise), followed by fitness, medical and vetting checks. Since 17 March 2026 the Police Regulations 2003 (regulation 10(1)(eb)) also require constable candidates, other than transferees, to pass an in-person interview with the force they apply to. Metropolitan Police's own site described its stage when we checked it on 1 October 2026. After the online assessment, candidates are invited to the Met's recruitment centre in south London for an interview focused on the Met's values; those who pass go on to the medical and the job-related fitness test.

Yes. The Police Regulations 2003 (regulation 10(1)(eb)) require constable candidates, other than transferees, to pass an in-person interview with the force. Its own recruitment pages, checked on 1 October 2026, say the following. After the online assessment, candidates are invited to the Met's recruitment centre in south London for an interview focused on the Met's values; those who pass go on to the medical and the job-related fitness test. This is separate from the competency-based interview inside the College of Policing online assessment. Our mock interview tool lets you practise answering competency questions out loud.

We checked Metropolitan Police's recruitment pages on 1 October 2026. Applicants need three years' continuous UK residence (service abroad in the British Armed Forces is excepted). Applicants from outside the UK also need indefinite leave to remain. If you have lived or travelled abroad in that period, ask the force's recruitment team before applying rather than guessing.

On Metropolitan Police's own careers and vacancies pages, which is the only place an application can be made. Constable entry routes also appear on the national joining the police website's "which forces are recruiting" list. Job boards sometimes repost police staff adverts, but the force's own advert is the one with the current closing date.

New constables start on £42,334 a year (£32,255 national pay point 1 plus £10,079 of allowances), rising to £62,094 at the top of the constable scale, on rates from 1 September 2026. After income tax, National Insurance and the 12.88% pension contribution, the starting figure is roughly £2,528 a month. Increments move you up the scale each year, subject to satisfactory performance.

We checked Metropolitan Police's own pages on 1 October 2026. There are two routes for new constables: PCEP (two years, training at the Met Training Centre and on the job) and PCDA (three years, with a funded degree). The detective constable entry pathway needs a degree. The Met also partners with London colleges on an access route for people without the qualifications. On 1 October 2026 the national site listed PCDA, PCEP, DHEP and Detective entry as open at Metropolitan Police. Routes open and close separately, so a route missing from that list may simply be between intakes.

Nationally, yes: the PCDA and PCEP are open to people without a degree. The Home Office list in Annex BA lets a chief officer accept a level 3 qualification (such as two A levels), or equivalent experience, including service as a special constable or PCSO. Whether Metropolitan Police is running either route at the moment is a matter for the force; on 1 October 2026 the national site listed PCDA and PCEP as open there.

31,495 full-time equivalent officers (31,972 people) at 31 March 2026, according to the Home Office police workforce statistics published on 22 July 2026. In the year to 31 March 2026 the force took on 670 officers (FTE, excluding transfers) and 43 transferred in from other forces.

We checked Metropolitan Police's own pages on 1 October 2026. The Met says the whole process takes around six months, that assessment results come within four to eight weeks and pre-employment and vetting checks typically take around two months. That is the force's own estimate; individual cases vary with intake dates and how quickly vetting and medical checks clear. Our recruitment timeline planner lays out the stages so you can see where the waits usually fall.

Metropolitan Police covers Greater London, excluding the City of London, with headquarters at London. The main population centres include Westminster, Croydon, Ealing. New officers are usually posted where the force needs them rather than to a station of their choosing, so it is worth being realistic about travelling across the whole force area.

Transfers between forces are decided by both chief officers and advertised by the receiving force when it has vacancies, so check Metropolitan Police's careers site. Our guide to transferring between forces explains what happens to your pay point, pension and probation.