How to Become a Police Officer in Denton, Texas

Those two dollars also sit on the FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Police Pay Plan, in the city's Laserfiche Pay Plans folder, effective January 3, 2026: Police Recruit pay grade HA09 Annual $80,790.00, and Police Officer HA0010 Step A (*1 Year) $84,724.00. The Fiscal Year 2024 to 2025 Civil Service Police Pay Plan, effective January 4, 2025, prints the same recruit and officer cells. The September 2026 POA reprints the hiring title.

The NEOGOV class specification for Police Officer Recruit, class code HA0009, revised April 15, 2025, still lists $36.29-$36.80 hourly. That is not the POA cell and it is not the plan cell. $36.29 times 2,080 hours is not $80,790. The FY 2025-2026 plan prints Recruit hourly $38.84, which is the $80,790 annual. The class spec is an older hourly band.

Denton is a Chapter 143 department. The Rules and Regulations of the Civil Service Commission for the City of Denton say the civil service system was established pursuant to Chapter 143 of the Texas Local Government Code. That is the door for Police Recruit. Laterals are a different door.

The license is TCOLE's. The job is Denton'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 Denton's own documents.

Department listing: Denton Police Department. Pay comparison: Texas police salary by department. Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite, and Grand Prairie have their own hiring guides: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite, Grand Prairie. Houston hiring from hpdcareer.com and NEOGOV 5328764 is How to Become a Police Officer in Houston. Lubbock hiring from Recruiting, the 2025-26 pay scale, NEOGOV 5405047, and lateral 5097636 is How to Become a Police Officer in Lubbock. Amarillo hiring from Benefits/Salaries and Workday JR2397 is How to Become a Police Officer in Amarillo. Brownsville hiring from the June 13, 2025 civil service notice, Employment & Benefits, and the stay-tuned exam page is How to Become a Police Officer in Brownsville. McAllen hiring from the August 21, 2026 civil service notice, Staff Services, and the October 13, 2026 exam packet is How to Become a Police Officer in McAllen. Waco hiring from the FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Police Salary Schedule, NEOGOV 5344313, Employment, Training, and Employment Fitness Test is How to Become a Police Officer in Waco. Texas DPS hiring from Training Operations is How to Become a Texas State Trooper.

What Denton actually is

Recruiting lives on Join Denton Police. City path cityofdenton.com/576/Police-Careers redirected to that site on 2026-08-21. Register for this exam at Register for the Civil Service Exam. The POA also names dentonpolice.com and the department phone, 940-349-7832, for people without internet. Recruiting email, from the Email Us link on every Join Denton Police page: PDrecruiting@cityofdenton.com. Physical address on Join Denton Police: 601 E. Hickory St, Denton, TX 76205. The exam site is 719 E. Hickory Street, the Public Safety Training Center.

The FAQ prints: "The Denton Police Department currently has 220 authorized sworn positions. We average about 10 openings at any given time." Authorized is not a roster.

VIEW OUR OPENINGS on the Resources page is the city's NEOGOV police filter. That is not the Police Recruit exam door. Recruits register on Join Denton Police.

The FAQ also prints a two-year minimum of assignment as a patrol officer before application for criminal investigator, sergeant, or reassignment. Patrol works 12-hour shifts on an 80-hour, 2-week cycle, averaging about 15 days a month. Those clocks are not academy length.

Minimum requirements

Basic Requirements is the recruiting floor. The September 2026 POA reprints the exam-day floor. The HA0009 class spec reprints a third floor. Where they differ, the split is below.

Citizenship. Basic Requirements: Must be a U.S. Citizen. That is Denton's hiring gate. TCOLE's own rule, 37 TAC 217.1(b)(17), also licenses a legal permanent resident who is an honorably discharged veteran with at least two years of service who has applied for citizenship.

Age. Three live sentences:

1. Basic Requirements: Applicants must be at least 21 years of age on or before the day they graduate the academy.
2. POA, first bullet: Except as provided in the second bullet, applicants must be at least 21 years of age on the date the written civil service examination is administered to take the examination; however, to be a Police Officer, applicants must be at least 21 years of age at the time of TCOLE certification.
3. POA, second bullet: Applicants who are not 21 at the written exam may still sit it if they meet Denton Police Department General Orders minimums, attend the next regularly scheduled academy class unless granted an exemption under Article 4, Section 11, of the 2022-2026 Meet and Confer Agreement, turn 21 on or before the day they graduate from the Academy, and meet TCOLE future-licensing minimums. There is no maximum hiring age.

The HA0009 class spec matches Basic Requirements: must turn 21 on or before the day of Academy graduation and meet TCOLE licensing minimums. Lateral Transfers measures laterals at 21 years old at the time of application.

If you are 20, Denton's academy-graduation rule is 21. 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 before you spend the application.

Education. Two live doors:

1. Basic Requirements and the POA: high school diploma or GED.
2. HA0009 class spec: High School Diploma or equivalent, OR any combination of related education, experience, certifications, and licenses that will result in a candidate successfully performing the essential functions of the job.

Sixty-plus college hours as a required gate is not on Basic Requirements, the POA, or the class spec.

Driver's license. POA: possess or be able to obtain a valid Texas driver's license prior to appointment. Class spec: valid Class C before employment; Texas Class C and minimum liability insurance within 90 days of hire per state law. That Texas license is Denton's hiring requirement. TCOLE does not require a Texas license; 37 TAC 217.1(b)(8) is that you are not prohibited from operating a motor vehicle.

Vision. Basic Requirements and the class spec: correctable to 20/20 in both eyes, and must not be color blind. POA: vision in both eyes must be correctable to 20/20 with normal color vision.

Criminal record, from Basic Requirements (class spec matches the same bars). Not on probation for any criminal offense above Class C. No Class B misdemeanor conviction within the last ten years. No Class A or felony conviction. No family-violence conviction. No DWI in the past 10 years. Cannot be on suspension for a breath-test refusal. Not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition. Not prohibited from operating a motor vehicle within the past 24 months. Not currently under indictment for any criminal offense. No convictions for crimes involving moral turpitude.

TCOLE bars. TCOLE makes a Class A conviction a lifetime bar and puts the ten-year lookback on Class B only (37 TAC 217.1(b)(4), (b)(6)). Family violence bars on community supervision as well as conviction (217.1(b)(7)). Those bars are TCOLE's. Basic Requirements prints family-violence conviction, not community supervision.

TCOLE. Recruits are not required to hold a TCOLE peace officer license on day one. Begin Your Career: placed on payroll and must successfully complete the Police Academy at the Department's expense, then pass the State Licensing Exam. POA: must meet Texas State Peace Officer licensing requirements within one calendar year of the date of employment. Class spec: must obtain and maintain licensed Texas Peace Officer certification.

Tattoos. Not printed on Basic Requirements, the POA, or the class spec opened for this guide.

Step-by-step hiring process

1. Register for September 12. On 2026-08-21 the live recruit door is the September 2026 POA and Register for the Civil Service Exam. Registration deadline Monday, September 7, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Exam Saturday, September 12, 2026. Test begins at 9:00 a.m. No admittance after 9:00 a.m. Location: Denton Public Safety Training Center, 719 E. Hickory Street, Denton, Texas 76205. Only candidates who have pre-registered are eligible. The POA: the eligibility list is in effect for a minimum of six (6) months from the test date, or until exhausted, whichever occurs first. THE ELIGIBILITY LIST WILL NOT BE PROCESSED UNTIL THE CURRENT LIST IS EXPIRED, IF THAT LIST IS LESS THAN 180 DAYS OLD.

Resources still links Civil Service Examination Police Recruit Final Scores, June 6, 2025. That is a prior list. It is not apply-now.

If you miss September 7, watch Join Denton Police and the Resources page. Civil service exams are administered multiple times a year.

2. Preliminary Background Questionnaire due at check-in. POA and Begin Your Career: the Preliminary Background Questionnaire (PDF) is required and due at check-in the day of the exam. Persons who do not submit it at check-in will not be considered. You may also pick up a copy at 601 E. Hickory St., Suite E. Bring a valid picture ID. Personal items are not allowed in the testing room.

Military points: five (5) points added to a passing score for a non-returnable DD-214 showing at least 180 days of active duty with "Honorable" printed in Character of Service, submitted prior to taking the exam. Those points may not be added to achieve a passing score. Current non-sworn Denton Police employees (detention officers and civilian staff) and Denton firefighters who meet General Orders and TCOLE future-licensing minimums receive one (1) point for each year of full service with Police or Fire, maximum five (5) points, on a passing score.

3. Written exam. Saturday, September 12, 2026, 9:00 a.m. Optional study guide named on Begin Your Career and the register page: Fire and Police Selection, Inc. PACT orientation guide. The FAQ: knowledge of police procedure is not necessary. The exam measures working with the public, reading comprehension, writing, reasoning, mathematical reasoning, and human-relations skills.

4. After a passing score, the process on Begin Your Career is: interpersonal skills assessment; a background investigator emails an eSOPH link; pre-polygraph interview; polygraph; psychological evaluation; background investigation; oral interview board; Chief's interview; health assessment and drug screen; placed on payroll and academy at the Department's expense; State Licensing Exam.

The FAQ: from the time the department contacts you until hire usually takes a month but typically no longer than three months. After the final list is posted, they start with the first name and work down. If they have five openings, they work five applications.

ADA accommodations: request by the registration deadline to the Civil Service Director at 601 E. Hickory Street, Suite A, Denton, TX 76205, or civilservice@cityofdenton.com, with the letter and description the POA lists.

Physical agility

The FAQ, under "Is there a physical agility test?": The PT test is conducted while in the academy. The Denton Police Department does not currently have a physical agility test such as an obstacle course or a Cooper test. Much later in the process, candidates are sent to a physician for a physical exam and stress test. Candidates will be subjected to physical activity in which their heart will be monitored. The doctor will make a determination on whether or not the candidate is fit for police work.

There is no 2,000-meter row for this department.

Academy and field training

Two clocks, plus a patrol-assignment clock.

FAQ: The Denton Police Department currently hosts two academies annually, generally starting in January and in July, and all new recruits who are not already licensed by TCOLE will attend one of these academies. The curriculum now consists of over 800 hours of training and takes approximately five months to complete. Begin Your Career: academy at the Department's expense. Occupations Code §1701.2551 sets the basic peace officer course at no less than 720 hours. That is the state floor. Denton's FAQ clock is over 800 hours / approximately five months. TCOLE's current basic course is Basic Peace Officer Course 736, 736 hours, revised August 29, 2025.

FAQ field training: approximately six months but can be shorter for advanced recruits. Constant supervision, daily performance evaluation. Upon completion, officers go directly to Patrol, assigned to a car by themselves. Generally the department does not work two-officer patrol unless directed by supervisors.

FAQ laterals: Licensed Texas peace officers may be required to attend a Denton Police Department Basic Police Academy, assessed on prior training and experience. Certified officers will attend an orientation program of at least two weeks and then enter the Field Training Program. Licensed police officers from other states who apply as Lateral Police Officer will not have to attend an academy if they have already become certified in Texas through TCOLE (Out of State Federal Initial Application, 120-hour Texas Supplemental Peace Officer Course #1018, and the State of Texas Licensing Exam).

FAQ: two-year minimum of assignment as a patrol officer before applying for criminal investigator, sergeant, or reassignment.

You are paid the Recruit cell, $80,790, because that is the hiring title on the POA. After one year the plan's Officer Step A is $84,724. Daily academy life is in Texas Police Academy: What to Expect.

Pay and benefits

Base, from the September 2026 POA and the FY 2025-2026 plan. Recruits begin at HA0009. Officers begin at HA0010 Step A after one year. HA0011 Police Officer Recruit entry $81,176.50 / step 1 $81,563.00 is on both the FY 2024-2025 book and the FY 2025-2026 Laserfiche book. It is not the September 2026 hiring title. The POA uses $80,790.

Police Recruit (Non-Civil Service) HA0009:

• Annual $80,790.00
• Monthly $6,732.50

Police Officer HA0010, pay grade HA10, FY 2025-2026 plan:

• Step A *1 Year $84,724.00
• Step B *2 Years $90,750.75
• Step C *3 Years $96,777.50
• Step D *5 Years $102,804.25
• Step E *7 Years $108,831.00

The FY 2024-2025 book also listed K9 Police Officer HA0012 on the same HA10 rate block. The FY 2025-2026 Laserfiche text of document 76176 prints Police Officer HA0010 at those five cells.

Lateral recruiting rounds Step C to $96,777 and Step D to $102,804 and labels that table "Lateral Transfer Pay for 2024 to 2025." The plan cents sit on the officer steps. The recruiting rounds sit on the lateral table. Those are two printings of the same cells.

HA0009 class spec hourly $36.29-$36.80, revised April 15, 2025, does not match the POA.

Salary and Benefits still links "Current Police Pay Plan" to DocumentCenter 8436 with the filename Fiscal-Year-2023-to-2024-Police-Pay-Plan-PDF. That URL 302'd on 2026-08-21 to Fiscal-Year-2024-to-2025-Police-Pay-Plan-PDF. The Laserfiche Pay Plans folder now also holds the FY 2025-2026 book, effective January 3, 2026, and the 2026 POA reprints the same recruit and year-1 dollars. Cite the POA for the hiring title.

Join Denton Police benefits, as printed, not a second pay plan. Vacation: fifteen days per year, earned at 10 hours per month, plus bonus vacation of one-half day (four hours) extra for each year worked past the fifth year; paid-out cap 320 hours on separation. Sick: fifteen days per year, earned at 10 hours per month; paid-out cap 720 hours. Overtime: 1.5 times for hours beyond the scheduled shift. Holidays: 13 paid holidays per year, including two personal floating holidays; officers who work holidays are paid 1.5 times. Longevity: after one year, $4 per month for each year of service ($48 per year), no maximum. Life insurance: one year's salary, double for accidental death. TMRS: employees contribute 7% of gross pay (tax deferred); the city matches on a 2:1 basis at retirement; retire after 20 years at any age or with five years at age 60. Tuition: 100% reimbursement for occupation-related courses toward a degree or a job-related course, HR approval required, two years of work after completion or repay. Take-home squads for Operations Bureau patrol, issued on seniority, insurance/gas/maintenance furnished.

The Benefits Summary PDF linked from Salary and from Resources is DocumentCenter 2432, titled 2021-Benefits-Summary-PDF. That is a 2021 filename. It is not the 2026 wage table.

Denton Fire pay is a separate schedule. This page covers Denton police.

Lateral officers

Already licensed? FAQ: all prospective police officer candidates, other than candidates for police chief or lateral applicants, must take the civil service exam first. Laterals skip that exam door. They still fill out the Preliminary Background Questionnaire and return it by email or in person at the Public Safety Training Center, 719 E. Hickory St. After review, recruiting emails an eSOPH link.

At the time of application, each Lateral Entry Officer applicant must:

1. Be actively employed as a full-time paid police officer with a municipal, county, or state law enforcement agency, or honorably discharged from such a position within the previous 24 months, provided the applicant currently holds an active Texas Peace Officer License, and
2. Have a total of 3 years of active service for one or more municipal, county, or state law enforcement agencies that has at least 50 sworn police officers and handles a full array of urban police work. Applicants from agencies with fewer than 50 sworn officers are evaluated case by case.
3. Be at least 21 years old.
4. Have a high school diploma or GED.

Out-of-state applicants are eligible to be licensed in Texas. Call a recruiter at 940-349-7832.

Lateral Transfer Pay for 2024 to 2025, as the lateral page prints it: 3 Years (Step C) $96,777; 5 Years (Step D) $102,804. The plan cells are $96,777.50 and $102,804.25. See the Police Pay Plan (PDF) and the FY 2025-2026 Laserfiche book.

How to prepare this month

1. Open Register for the Civil Service Exam. If you can sit September 12, the deadline is Monday, September 7, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Download the Preliminary Background Questionnaire now. The June 6, 2025 score list is a prior list. The HA0009 class-spec hourly band is not the POA cell.
2. There is no 2,000-meter row for this department. Train for academy PT and for a physician-administered stress test later.
3. If you are 20, read the POA's second age bullet against the next January or July academy, then read TCOLE's age rule. They are two measuring points.
4. Denton Fire's entrance exam is a different credential. Fire pay and the fire PAT live on the fire pages.

What to do this week

Open Join Denton Police. Call 940-349-7832 or email PDrecruiting@cityofdenton.com. Ask whether your name is on the September 12 list, because registration closes September 7 at 5:00 p.m. Then print the Preliminary Background Questionnaire.

Sources

• Notice of Civil Service Examination, Police Recruit, September 2026 (register by Sept 7, 2026, 5:00 p.m.; exam Saturday Sept 12, 2026, 9:00 a.m.; Recruit $80,790; after one year $84,724; JCN HA0009; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Police Pay Plan (Laserfiche Pay Plans folder; effective January 3, 2026; Recruit HA09 $80,790; HA0011 entry $81,176.50 / step 1 $81,563.00; Officer HA0010 Step A $84,724 through Step E $108,831.00; retrieved 2026-08-22)
• Fiscal Year 2024 to 2025 Civil Service Police Pay Plan (effective January 4, 2025; same recruit and officer cells; HA0010 and K9 HA0012 share HA10 on this book; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Join Denton Police (city /576/Police-Careers redirects here; Email Us mailto:PDrecruiting@cityofdenton.com; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Begin Your Career (exam list; PBQ; FPSI PACT; hiring process; academy at department expense; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Basic Requirements (U.S. citizen; 21 by academy graduation; no maximum; HS/GED; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Register for the Civil Service Exam (Sept 12, 2026; register by Sept 7; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• FAQ (220 authorized sworn; no obstacle-course PAT; academy over 800 hours / ~5 months, January and July; FTO ~6 months; laterals skip the exam; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Lateral Transfers (3 years / 50 sworn; 24-month break; Step C $96,777; Step D $102,804; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Salary and Benefits (TMRS 7% / 2:1; longevity $4/month; 13 holidays; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Resources (June 6, 2025 scores are a prior list; Wix-hosted FY 2024-2025 plan PDF; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Rules and Regulations of the Civil Service Commission (Chapter 143; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Preliminary Background Questionnaire (retrieved 2026-08-21)
• NEOGOV class spec 1720524 (HA0009 hourly $36.29-$36.80, not the POA cell; revised April 15, 2025; retrieved 2026-08-21)
• FPSI PACT orientation guide (retrieved 2026-08-21)
• Adopted 37 TAC §217.1, effective June 1, 2026 (TCOLE license floor; retrieved 2026-08-21)