How to Become a Police Officer in Cedar Hill, Texas

A prior NEOGOV 5061095 Job 310054-08-2025 bulletin is still reachable. Opening date 08/28/2025. It reprints Academy / Non-Certified Starting Salary $72,100/year and the 6-year cell $100,482, then adds a year table Join Our Team does not print: Year 1 $78,550 (after graduation from the academy), Year 2 $80,807, Year 3 $83,334, Year 4 $85,834, Year 5 $88,409. That bulletin's laterals begin at up to $88,409/year. That bulletin's Hiring Incentive is $10k for non-Certified / $20K for Certified. The first Recruit academy cell on this page is $72,100. Year 1 $78,550 is the post-academy cell on 5061095, not the academy start. Live laterals on Join Our Team are $88,490; 5061095 prints $88,409. Those two lateral lines differ.

The Cedar Hill PD department listing showed no officer dollar this retrieval. The Cedar Hill Fire Department listing still carries 74 sworn / 4 stations. A fire pay table on file lists cadet $68,340 / certified $75,411 / top $94,781 from DocumentCenter 45099. Those fire figures are not Cedar Hill PD pay.

Cedar Hill Fire hires on a separate schedule. Cedar Hill ISD Police is a different agency. This page covers Cedar Hill PD.

The license is TCOLE's. The job is Cedar Hill PD's. Those are two gates. The Texas sequence is in How to Become a Police Officer in Texas. The license rules are in TCOLE peace officer license requirements. This page is drawn from Join Our Team, prior bulletin 5061095, Police, Personnel and Training, the City NEOGOV board, TCOLE Statewide Vacancies, and the department listing.

Department listing: Cedar Hill Police Department. Pay comparison: Texas police salary by department. That salary page still keeps N=12. Cedar Hill's printed Recruit cell is sourced here and is not yet a row in that table. City hiring guides in this series: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Denton, Houston, Lubbock, Amarillo, Brownsville, McAllen, Waco, Killeen, Pasadena, Texas City, Pearland, League City, Sugar Land, Carrollton, Lewisville, Richardson, Allen, Flower Mound, Rockwall, Lancaster, DeSoto.

What Cedar Hill PD actually is

The live department hub is cedarhilltx.com/96/Police. That hub prints 71 sworn police officers and 23 civilian employees. Police station: 285 Uptown Boulevard Building 200, Cedar Hill, Texas 75104. Police phone (972) 291-5181. City Hall 285 Uptown Boulevard, Cedar Hill, Texas 75104, (972) 291-5100. Apply on the City NEOGOV board. Jobs index is cedarhilltx.com/1117/Jobs. Personnel and Training is cedarhilltx.com/607/Personnel-Training. TCOLE training-provider contact this retrieval: James Porter, james.porter@cedarhilltx.com, 972-291-5181.

Sworn count is 71 from that hub. Station count, call volume, and founding year are unpublished on the officer sources.

The live apply door

Apply on the City of Cedar Hill NEOGOV board. Retrieval is 2026-08-22. A keyword search for police returned no jobs. Join Our Team prints Recruitment Closed: "The application period has ended, but we encourage you to visit this page for updates on upcoming openings." The same page still carries the older sentence "The online application is open until a sufficient number of qualified candidates apply. This position may close at any time, without notice." Those two lines disagree. The Recruitment Closed banner is the controlling line.

A prior 5061095 Job 310054-08-2025 bulletin is still reachable and still says the City is now accepting applications. That bulletin opened 08/28/2025. It is not an open posting. Do not apply from that bulletin while Recruitment Closed is on Join Our Team.

TCOLE Statewide Vacancies printed no Cedar Hill string this retrieval. tcole.texas.gov/node/2418 is a training-provider contact for James Porter, not a sworn vacancy.

The department listing on this site printed "No open posting recorded" and showed no officer starting pay.

Minimum requirements

Join Our Team:

• TCOLE certification is not required to apply though preference may be given to candidates with a current TCOLE license
• Must be 21 years of age at the time of taking the state licensing exam
• High school / GED required. College credit is not required to apply. Candidates with less than 30 college credit hours will attend the Law Enforcement Academy for college credit, meeting all necessary college admission requirements and requirements for continued enrollment during the academy
• Candidates with prior military or law enforcement experience must have been honorably discharged (DD214 Member 4 / F5 or equivalent). Applicants with a dishonorable discharge or a "bad conduct" discharge are not eligible for a TCOLE license
• Must not have illegally possessed or used marijuana within the last year
• Must not have illegally possessed or used any controlled substance other than marijuana in the last 5 years
• Good moral character and stable employment history
• Valid Texas driver's license with a good driving record
• No conviction or placed on community supervision for a family violence offense
• No deferred adjudication or probation for Driving While Intoxicated in the last 5 years
• No convictions for a Class B misdemeanor within the last ten years
• No convictions for a felony or Class A misdemeanor, for any reason, ever
• Must not currently be under indictment or have criminal charges pending for any offense
• Must be able to obtain U.S. Citizenship by the time of conditional job offer
• Must be able to pass a physical exam and drug screen administered by the City's designated physician

Prior bulletin 5061095 reprints the same minimums. Where they split, both lines are published below.

21 at the state licensing exam is Cedar Hill PD's hiring line. TCOLE's own floor is 21, or 18 with an associate's degree, 60 semester hours, or an honorable discharge after two years of active service (37 TAC 217.1(b)(1)(A)). Those are not the same measuring point. Read TCOLE peace officer license requirements.

City citizenship is "able to obtain U.S. Citizenship by the time of conditional job offer." TCOLE's matching rule is 37 TAC 217.1(b)(17): U.S. citizen, or a legal permanent resident who is an honorably discharged veteran with two years of service and has applied for citizenship.

A valid Texas driver's license is Join Our Team's line. TCOLE does not require a Texas license. TCOLE's floor is not prohibited from operating a motor vehicle, 37 TAC 217.1(b)(8). Prior bulletin 5061095 Q11 asks whether you are currently prohibited by state or federal law from operating a motor vehicle.

City Class A is conviction-only: no convictions for a felony or Class A misdemeanor, for any reason, ever. Prior bulletin 5061095 Q7 asks about court-ordered community supervision or probation for any criminal offense above the grade of Class B, or a Class B within the last ten years from the date of the court order. TCOLE's Class A bar is conviction or court-ordered community supervision, lifetime (37 TAC 217.1(b)(4), (b)(6)). Only Class B carries the ten-year lookback. City family violence already names conviction or community supervision. TCOLE bars conviction or community supervision for family violence, 217.1(b)(7). The city line and the TCOLE floor are both published; a candidate has to clear both.

The test, PAT as printed

Join Our Team and prior bulletin 5061095: one-day testing process. Written Test (standardized). Rowing Test 2000m. Preliminary interview. Electronic Personal History Statement set-up (10-day completion deadline). Then background, typically 3-4 weeks. Then oral board, polygraph, psychological examination, fingerprint submission, medical screening, interview with the Chief, final job offer. Pass the 2000m row. Not CPAT. Not Cedar Hill Fire's PAT.

Whether prior bulletin 5061095 still feeds a standing list is unpublished. Recruitment Closed controls.

Academy length

The city has not published a named recruit academy hour count. Join Our Team: TCOLE certification is not required to apply. Recruit Police Officer in the police academy is $72,100. Prior bulletin 5061095: upon graduation from the academy, Year 1 is $78,550. There is no cadet door at hire: you attend a TCOLE academy. This guide does not print a week count.

See What to expect at a Texas police academy.

Laterals

Join Our Team: at least one year of full-time, paid peace officer experience beyond that agency's field training program, within the past 24 months of being hired by this department for a Police Officer position (includes hospital, college/university, and ISD police). No pending disciplinary actions or investigations for misconduct or criminal activity. Out-of-state officers must be TCOLE certified by the time of job acceptance. The Chief of Police or designee makes the final eligibility determination. Lateral appointments start at up to $88,490 based on experience (Effective 10-1-25). Prior bulletin 5061095 reprints the same experience door and prints up to $88,409. Both lateral figures are published. The live sworn officer bulletin is closed. This guide does not print a year-for-year table beyond that sentence.

Pay and benefits

Printed Recruit and 6-yr cells, Join Our Team dual-checked against prior bulletin 5061095:

• Recruit / Academy / Non-Certified $72,100
• Year 1 $78,550 after academy (5061095 only)
• Year 2 $80,807 (5061095 only)
• Year 3 $83,334 (5061095 only)
• Year 4 $85,834 (5061095 only)
• Year 5 $88,409 on 5061095 / live laterals $88,490 on Join Our Team
• 6 yr step $100,482

The Recruit academy figure on this page is $72,100. Prior bulletin 5061095 reprints $72,100 and $100,482 and adds Years 1-5. The department listing showed no officer dollar. Fire figures from DocumentCenter 45099 (cadet $68,340 / certified $75,411 / top $94,781) are fire pay, not Cedar Hill PD.

Join Our Team: specialty pay up to $2,400 annually. Proficiency certifications $600 Intermediate / $900 Advanced. College education $600-$1,200 per year. Relocation assistance $1,500 for qualified, certified police officers. Prior bulletin 5061095 reprints specialty up to $2,400, education up to $1,200, relocation up to $1,500, and adds Master certificate pay $1,200. The Hiring Incentive $10k non-Certified / $20K Certified lives only on 5061095.

Join Our Team and prior bulletin 5061095: TMRS 7 percent employee, City matches 2:1, plus Social Security. Vest 5 years. 20-year retirement, any age. Optional 457 MissionSquare and Nationwide. 12 holidays. 12 days sick. Vacation 12 days year 1, 15 days until the 10-year anniversary, 20 days thereafter. Paid military leave. Uniforms, duty weapon, and leather gear provided. Promotional ranks named: Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Assistant Police Chief. Tattoos, beards, and load-bearing vests allowed, some restrictions apply.

Sources, used 2026-08-22

• Join Our Team (Recruit $72,100; 6 yr step $100,482; laterals $88,490; Effective October 1, 2025 / 10-1-25; Recruitment Closed; 21 at state licensing exam; 2000m row; TMRS 7 percent / 2:1; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• NEOGOV 5061095 (Job 310054-08-2025; opened 08/28/2025; Year 1 $78,550 through Year 5 $88,409; $10k/$20k; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Police (71 sworn; 23 civilian; 285 Uptown Boulevard Building 200; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Personnel and Training (hiring and training of sworn and civilian employees; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• NEOGOV board (keyword police: no jobs; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• TCOLE Statewide Vacancies (no Cedar Hill string; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• TCOLE node/2418 (training-provider contact James Porter; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Adopted 37 TAC §217.1, effective June 1, 2026 (TCOLE license floor; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• cedar-hill-pd (no officer dollar); cedar-hill-fire-department (74/4)
• DocumentCenter 45099 was live this retrieval (fire flyer); 43948 was not found; 47409 returned a PDF