When Is the Denton Fire Written Test, and Is There a Study Guide?

30-second answer. The next date is not posted. Denton's last entrance exam was Saturday, January 10, 2026, and the two most recent cycles ran the same way: notice in the fall, registration closing in late December, exam on a January Saturday. The city's careers FAQ says study guides are available on the test vendor's website, Fire and Police Selection, Inc., which sells its CEB Candidate Orientation Guide as a PDF. There is no other book to buy, and the free practice set on this site shows the skill areas before you spend anything.

When the test is

Two documents fix the pattern.

The notice for the January 11, 2025 exam set a registration deadline of December 29, 2024, a 10:00 a.m. start with no admittance after that time, and online registration through the department's website. The Texas Commission on Fire Protection's job board carried that notice in a file dated October 4, 2024, so the window ran from early October to late December.

The city's NEOGOV Fire Fighter-Recruit bulletin for the following cycle (job 26-0000000306, open January 5 to June 5, 2026) told applicants they "must be registered for and take the Fire Entrance Exam scheduled for January 10, 2026, before submitting an application." That exam has been held.

The careers FAQ, read September 8, 2026, still carries the sentence written before it: "The next Fire Civil Service Exam will take place in 2026 at a time and place which has yet to be determined." Read that as a page that has not been updated, not as a second 2026 exam. Nothing posted says when the next notice comes. If the department keeps its calendar, expect a notice in the fall and a January test; if the calendar changes, the notice governs.

The city's own instruction is to sign its Waiting List for notice. The recruiting list on this site's Denton page sends the same date the day it posts, along with the reading path for the weeks in between.

What to study

The FAQ's answer to "How can I study for the civil service test?" is one line: "Study guides are available on the Fire and Police Selection, Inc. website." FPSI is the vendor, and the FAQ links its CEB Candidate Orientation Guide. FPSI sells the guide as a PDF delivered by email after purchase, and its own page tells candidates to confirm which test their department uses before ordering. Denton's FAQ names the CEB guide, which settles that.

FPSI describes its entry-level materials as covering reading comprehension, mathematical reasoning, mechanical aptitude and situational judgment, with no firefighting experience assumed. That matches what the Chapter 143 entrance exam is: general aptitude, not fire knowledge. The exam guide on this site covers scoring, the 70 minimum, and how the list is built.

Before you buy anything, take the free 25-question practice set on this site. It is not a city exam and it is not the vendor's material; it shows the skill areas so you know where your weeks go.

What the notice will tell you

The 2025 notice is the best preview of the next one. It listed valid photo identification to enter the test room; no personal items, including watches, calculators and phones; no admittance for anyone who has reached their 36th birthday on exam day; a passing grade of 70 for the commission list, subject to tiebreakers; five points on a passing grade for applicants who uploaded a DD-214 with the NEOGOV application before the exam, showing at least 180 days of active duty and an honorable discharge; and accommodation requests under the ADA to the Civil Service Director by the registration deadline, with a professional's letter.

The city's Meet and Confer agreement with the firefighters' association adds one point for a Denton resident and one point for a graduate of the Denton ISD high school fire or EMT program who holds the matching state certification. The department's extra-points submission page collects the proof for all three.