What a new constable is paid in every UK force: the 43 forces in England and Wales, British Transport Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, MOD Police, the PSNI and Police Scotland. Basic salary, allowances at their real status ("up to" where they are maxima), estimated take-home and the top of the scale.
The short answer
The Met pays new constables the most: up to £43,688 a year (pay point 2 plus London pay). 33 of the 43 forces in England and Wales pay the national £32,255 with nothing added. Police Scotland starts higher on basic pay (£34,001) and the PSNI adds a transitional allowance to reach £35,446.
England and Wales figures are 2026/27, from 1 September 2026. Police Scotland is from 1 April 2026. The PSNI figures are 2025/26 (no 2026/27 award published by 21 October 2026).
Pick up to 4 forces
4 of 4 chosen
Metropolitan Police
England and Wales
Starting pay, up to
£43,688
Basic salary
£33,609
Take-home a month
about £2,598
Start point
Point 2confirmed
Top of scale
£52,015after about 5 years
Allowances included
London Weighting£3,260
London Allowanceup to £6,819
The Met's 12 October 2026 release gives a starting salary of more than £43,000. Only pay point 2 plus London pay reaches that.
Location payments shown at their national maximum.
Pay year: 2026/27, from 1 September 2026. Pension in the take-home: Police Pension Scheme 2015 (England and Wales), 12.88% to 14.22% by pensionable pay. Source: Met Police release (12 October 2026) plus the national scale, checked 21 October 2026.
Point 1 is the national default for a new recruit. A chief officer can choose point 2; we have not seen this force say it does.
Location payments shown at their national maximum.
Pay year: 2026/27, from 1 September 2026. Pension in the take-home: Police Pension Scheme 2015 (England and Wales), 12.88% to 14.22% by pensionable pay. Source: Thames Valley Police careers: pay from 1 September 2026, checked 21 October 2026.
Forces with the same figure share a rank. "Up to" means the total includes a London or South East allowance at its national maximum, or a figure that depends on where you are posted. Take-home is an estimate for 2026/27 after income tax, National Insurance and the member pension contribution, with no student loan or other deductions. Scotland uses Scottish income tax.
The starting pay tiers at a glance
Most of the 48 forces fall into a handful of bands. Each band below is the full starting figure, with any allowance at its maximum.
Starting pay bands across UK police forces
Starting pay
Forces
£43,688
Metropolitan Police
£42,653.75
British Transport Police
£42,334
City of London Police
£38,394
Ministry of Defence Police
£35,446
Police Service of Northern Ireland
£35,360
Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Surrey Police and Thames Valley Police
£34,325
Bedfordshire Police, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Sussex Police
£34,001
Police Scotland
£32,256
Civil Nuclear Constabulary
£32,255
33 forces in England and Wales on the national scale with no location payment
Why the Met and BTP start on pay point 2
The constable scale for anyone appointed since 1 April 2013 has seven points, from £32,255 at point 1 to £52,015 at point 7. A new recruit normally starts on point 1. Since 1 April 2025, Annex F to the Police Regulations has let a chief officer, after consulting the local policing body, "assign all constables appointed on or after that date to pay point 2" where that is needed to meet local recruitment needs (Home Office Circular 003/2025).
The Met. Its release of 12 October 2026 offers new recruits "a starting salary of more than £43,000". Point 1 plus London Weighting and the maximum London Allowance is £42,334, below that. Point 2 gives £43,688, so the tool shows the Met on point 2.
British Transport Police. BTP's Inner London advert gives £33,609 rising to £52,014 after five years. £33,609 is point 2 of the national scale. BTP is not a Home Office force, but it uses the same constable scale.
City of London Police. Not confirmed. We show point 1 (£42,334 with London pay) and mark it as assumed.
Every other force. Shown on point 1, marked "assumed" in the tool. If a force tells you in writing that it starts recruits on point 2, add £1,354 to the figure shown.
Only London Weighting (£3,260 in the Met and City of London) is paid at a fixed national rate. The London Allowance (up to £6,819) and the South East Allowance are maximum rates and the force sets what it actually pays.
Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Thames Valley can pay up to £3,105.
Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Sussex can pay up to £2,070.
The PRRB's 2026 report (para 4.146) recorded evidence that Kent and Essex no longer pay the full South East Allowance. Check the current rate on the advert or ask the force.
Only London Weighting is pensionable. The London Allowance and South East Allowance are not, so no pension contribution comes off them and they do not count towards your pension either.
Scotland, Northern Ireland and the national forces
Police Scotland
Its own scale, agreed through the Police Negotiating Board for Scotland: £34,001 on appointment from 1 April 2026, rising over eleven years to £54,597. Higher than England and Wales at both ends, but Scottish income tax and a flat 13.7% pension mean take-home of about £2,026 a month at the start. See Police Scotland pay scales and how to join Police Scotland.
PSNI
Student officers start on £31,163 plus the Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance of £4,283, about £35,446. These are 2025/26 figures, as no 2026/27 PSNI award had been published on 21 October 2026. Read how to join the PSNI.
British Transport Police
The national constable scale from point 2, plus allowances that vary by station. Inner London adds £5,783.75 London Allowance and £3,261 London Weighting, for up to £42,653.75. Some South East stations pay a £3,105 South East allowance instead. See how to join BTP.
CNC and MOD Police
The CNC pays probationers £32,256, up to £52,014 at the top. MOD Police has its own scale from £30,643 to £49,413, with London, South East and priority posting allowances by site; the £38,394 in the tool assumes a London posting. Guides: CNC and MOD Police.
How take-home is worked out
Take-home is a 2026/27 estimate: gross pay, minus the member pension contribution (taken before tax), minus income tax and National Insurance. It assumes no student loan, no Federation subscription and no other deductions, so your payslip will be lower if you have any of those.
England and Wales forces: Police Pension Scheme 2015 member rates from 1 April 2026 (12.88% at starting pay), charged on basic pay plus London Weighting. A national-scale recruit takes home about £1,952 a month; a Met recruit about £2,598.
Police Scotland: the flat 13.7% Scottish police pension rate and Scottish income tax bands.
MOD Police: Civil Service alpha at 4.6% for pay at this level.
CNC: the UKAEA Combined Pension Scheme at 8.2% (the rate CNC adverts quote). The scheme is due to move to Civil Service alpha; the date has been delayed.
PSNI: the Police Pension Scheme (NI) 2015 at 13.66% (under £60,000), charged on basic pay only because the Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance is taxable but not pensionable.
BTP: officers are in the CARE section of the BTP Force Superannuation Fund, which does not publish its member rate, so we use the England and Wales police rates as a stand-in and the row says "assumed". BTP also pays every four weeks (13 pay days a year), so its figure is a monthly equivalent, not a payslip.
Pay is one reason to pick a force, not the only one
A London or South East allowance exists because living there costs more. A recruit in a national-scale force with cheaper rent can end up with more left over each month than a recruit on a higher headline salary. The regional affordability comparator puts rent and commuting next to pay and the force finder helps you shortlist forces on other things that matter.
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Frequently asked questions
Which police force has the highest starting salary in the UK?
The Metropolitan Police. It starts new constables on pay point 2 (£33,609) and adds London Weighting and a London Allowance of up to £6,819, for up to £43,688 in 2026/27. British Transport Police in Inner London comes next at up to £42,653.75, then City of London Police at up to £42,334.
What is the starting salary for a police officer in England and Wales?
From 1 September 2026 a new constable on pay point 1 earns £32,255 basic. 33 of the 43 forces pay exactly that with no location payment. The other 10 add London or South East allowances, which are maximum rates set locally.
Do police start on pay point 1 or pay point 2?
Most start on point 1 (£32,255). Since 1 April 2025 a chief officer can assign all new constables to point 2 (£33,609) to meet local recruitment needs, after consulting the local policing body. The Met's 12 October 2026 figure of "more than £43,000" means it uses point 2 and British Transport Police advertises point 2. We have not seen other forces confirm point 2.
Is the South East Allowance always paid in full?
No. £3,105 and £2,070 are the national maximum rates and the chief constable sets the actual rate up to them. The PRRB's 2026 report recorded evidence that Kent and Essex no longer pay the full allowance. That is why the tool labels these totals "up to".
How much does a Police Scotland constable start on?
£34,001 from 1 April 2026, rising over eleven years to £54,597. That is £1,746 more than point 1 in England and Wales, but Scottish income tax and a flat 13.7% pension contribution bring take-home to about £2,026 a month.
How much does a PSNI student officer earn?
£31,163 on point 1 plus the Northern Ireland Transitional Allowance of £4,283, about £35,446 in total. These are the 2025/26 figures: no 2026/27 PSNI award had been published when we checked on 21 October 2026.
Is British Transport Police pay the same as the Met?
The basic scale is the same national constable scale and BTP also starts recruits on point 2 (£33,609). The London payments differ: BTP's Inner London advert gives a London Allowance of £5,783.75 and London Weighting of £3,261, against the Met's maximum London Allowance of £6,819 and London Weighting of £3,260.
Why is take-home pay lower in Police Scotland than in a South East force?
Gross pay is not the whole story. A Police Scotland constable starts on £34,001, less than the £35,360 a Thames Valley recruit can get with the South East Allowance and pays Scottish income tax plus a flat 13.7% pension. The estimate is about £2,026 a month in Scotland and £2,138 in Thames Valley.
Why do CNC and MOD Police recruits take home more than a county force recruit on similar pay?
Mostly the pension. Home Office police officers pay 12.88% of pensionable pay at this level; MOD Police officers are in the Civil Service alpha scheme at 4.6%. CNC officers pay 8.2% into the UKAEA scheme, which is due to move to alpha at a date not yet confirmed. Lower contributions mean more take-home now and a smaller pension later.
Can I share a comparison?
Yes. The forces you pick are saved in the page address (for example ?forces=metropolitan-police,kent). Use the Copy link button and send it on.
Sources
All read on or before 21 October 2026. Each force in the tool also shows its own source and date.
England and Wales 2026/27 points are the official 2025/26 figures plus the 3.5% award, rounded to the pound, so some force adverts differ by £1 (for example £32,256 for point 1). PolicePay.co.uk is independent and not connected to any police force. Confirm pay with the force before you rely on it.