Denton Fire Department
Recruiting Outreach
Firefighter hiring, career resources
Be on the list when Denton Fire's next exam date posts.
No certification needed to sign up or to test. Sign up from anywhere in the country. Hire eligibility is on the department listing.
Sign up for recruiting updates- Last exam
- Saturday, January 10, 2026. Next date not posted.
- Schedule
- 48 hours on, 96 off, since January 2026.
- Certified start
- $86,028.80 at Step A, FY 2025-2026 pay plan.
Be first to know when applications open
Sign up and receive monthly updates about the Denton Fire Department along with notifications when our registration opens up for our next Civil Service Examination.
- What happens next, 1Your details go to the Denton Fire Department's recruiting list. No Ready to Serve account is created.
- 2Six quick questions build a reading plan for where you are right now, not a list of everything.
- 3The department's monthly updates follow, and the notice when registration opens for the next exam.
What you should know before you join
Hiring runs through one exam
The civil service exam is free, and you can sit it without a certification. Age is at least 18 and not yet 36 on exam day. The last exam was Saturday, January 10, 2026, and the next date is not posted. The list gets the notice by email.
Two doors decide what you need
To be hired you need TCFP Basic Firefighter plus DSHS EMT-Basic, or a DSHS paramedic licence. You pay for firefighter and EMT school. If you are hired as a paramedic without fire certification, the department pays for fire school.
What it pays
Certified firefighter pay on the FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Fire Pay Plan, effective January 3, 2026, starts at $86,028.80 at Step A and reaches $108,014.40 at Step F.
What the schedule is
Operations moved from 24/48 to 48 hours on and 96 hours off in January 2026: five two-day tours in a typical month, about twenty days away from the station.
Testing happens yearly.
The ones who get hired are the ones who saw it coming.
Straight answers to the five most common questions
Each one opens a guide written for that question, built from Denton's published documents. Site-hosted guides, not department publications.
- Is Denton Fire hiring right now, or soon?
Hiring runs through the entrance exam. The last one was January 10, 2026; the next date is not posted, and the list gets the notice the day it posts.
- How old is too old?
At least 18 and not yet 36 on exam day, under Section 143.023 of the Local Government Code.
- Do I need a college degree?
No. A high school diploma or GED and a Texas driver's licence. Certifications, not credit hours, decide whether you can be hired.
- Do you have EMS-only positions?
No. Every operations position is a firefighter first. A paramedic hired without fire certification goes through fire academy after hire, at the department's cost.
- What does it pay to start?
Every step from the city's pay plan, Step A through Step F, with the certification and specialty lines in their own guide.
The rest of the questions candidates send, and every Denton guide on this site grouped by where you are, are on the Denton Fire Department listing.
Eligibility requirements
Hire eligibility: To be hired, a candidate must possess either a Basic Structure Fire Suppression Certification from the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) plus a current EMT certification or higher from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), or a current Paramedic certification from the Texas DSHS.
Age eligibility: Under Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code, an applicant for a beginning firefighter position must be at least 18 years of age and not yet 36 (ages 18 through 35) as of the date of the entrance exam. Read the statute: Texas Local Government Code, Chapter 143.