How to Become a Police Officer in Pasadena, Texas

Cadets who meet eligibility get a $10,000 hiring incentive/sign-on bonus, or increased entry pay for qualified laterals instead of that bonus.

Pasadena Fire, Pasadena ISD PD, and Telecommunicator/Detention Officer hire on separate schedules. This page covers Pasadena PD.

The license is TCOLE's. The job is Pasadena 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 Benefits, Requirements, Employment Opportunities, ApplicantPro, Contact Us, Academy, and About.

Department listing: Pasadena Police Department. Pay comparison: Texas police salary by department. That salary page still keeps Pasadena out of the N=12 table because that collection is DFW municipal departments plus Texas DPS. City hiring guides in this series: Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite, Grand Prairie, Denton. Texas DPS hiring from Training Operations is How to Become a Texas State Trooper. Houston hiring from hpdcareer.com and NEOGOV 5328764 is How to Become a Police Officer in Houston. Lubbock hiring from Recruiting and the 2025-26 pay scale is How to Become a Police Officer in Lubbock. Amarillo hiring from Benefits/Salaries is How to Become a Police Officer in Amarillo. Brownsville hiring from the June 13, 2025 civil service notice is How to Become a Police Officer in Brownsville. McAllen hiring from the August 21, 2026 civil service notice is How to Become a Police Officer in McAllen. Waco hiring from the FY 2025-2026 Civil Service Police Salary Schedule and NEOGOV 5344313 is How to Become a Police Officer in Waco. Killeen hiring from the Police Pay Plan FY 26, Employment, Hiring Process PDF, Minimum Requirements, and Academy Training is How to Become a Police Officer in Killeen.

What Pasadena PD actually is

Recruiting lives under Employment Opportunities, which is a nav index to Chief's Welcome, Requirements, Benefits, Contact Us, Personal History Statement, the civil service eligibility list, and out-of-state information. Personnel and Training, Sergeant Matthew Bruegger, (713) 475-4860, is the first name on Contact Us. Police Academy: 6052 Genoa Red Bluff, Pasadena, TX 77507, (713) 475-4824, fax (713) 475-5589.

The Police Department hub is news and calendar. About prints the mission and this growth line: from four officers to approximately 301 officers and 78 civilians, and an 80,000-plus square foot police station. Approximately 301 is About prose, not a roster integer. Directory sworn stays 0. Directory stations stays 0. Directory calls stays 0. Directory established stays 0. About names a new chief in 1939 and 14 chiefs since; that is not a founding year. Chief's Welcome and Administration did not print the sitting chief's name this retrieval.

Academy is Cadet Watch, not a week count.

The live apply door

There is no live Police Cadet or Police Officer card on ApplicantPro this retrieval. Number of Jobs: 0. The board's own sentence: no current job openings at this time. Requirements still says to sign up for the Civil Service Exam at www.ppdcareer.com under Employment Opportunities, on any current job posting. www.ppdcareer.com 301s to Chief's Welcome, not the job board. The working jobs host is ppdcareer.applicantpro.com. City civilian Employment and coptx.applicantpro.com are not the cadet door. No 2026 exam date is printed on Requirements, Employment Opportunities, or ApplicantPro this retrieval.

The Civil Service Eligibility List linked from the police nav is titled 6-22-24 Civil Service Results. That is an older dated list, not an open 2026 register.

The Pasadena PD listing on this site says "No open posting recorded" and no dollar. That blank listing matches today's empty ApplicantPro list; it is not a live cadet door.

Watch ppdcareer.applicantpro.com/jobs for the next posting. TCOLE Statewide Vacancies did not reprint Pasadena PD this retrieval.

Minimum requirements

Requirements, Eligibility Requirements for Police Cadets:

• Must be 21 years of age at the time of State Licensing (approximately six months into the Basic Police Academy)
• Must be a U.S. citizen (by birth or naturalized). Texas Occupations Code 1701.3095 allows qualified legal permanent residents honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces with at least two years of service who have applied for United States citizenship
• High school diploma or Certificate of High School Equivalency (GED). If GED, 12 or more hours of college credit from an accredited college or university with a 2.0 cumulative grade average or better
• Valid driver's license and proof of vehicle insurance
• Read, write, and speak the English language fluently
• Must be able to meet all state licensing eligibility requirements per TCOLE Rules, Title 37, Part 7, Chapter 217, Rule 217.1, at the completion of the Basic Police Academy

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)). The Requirements measuring point, 21 at State Licensing about six months into the Basic Police Academy, is not the same as TCOLE's 18-with-waiver floor. Read TCOLE peace officer license requirements. Recruits reach the Texas Basic Peace Officer exam after the academy, not at apply. TCOLE Basic is not required at apply.

Must be a U.S. citizen (by birth or naturalized) on Requirements is Pasadena PD's hiring line. The same page already names Texas Occupations Code 1701.3095 for qualified legal permanent residents honorably discharged with at least two years of service who have applied for United States citizenship. TCOLE's matching rule is 37 TAC 217.1(b)(17).

A valid driver's license and proof of vehicle insurance on Requirements is Pasadena PD's hiring rule, not a TCOLE minimum. TCOLE's floor is that you are not prohibited from operating a motor vehicle (37 TAC 217.1(b)(8)).

Requirements does not reprint a Class A / Class B table this retrieval. 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)). That TCOLE floor is the license gate even if the city pages name no Class A line.

Process after signup: Personal History Statement, notarized, with an Experian credit report dated within the last 30 days; PHS review; background investigation and in-person preliminary interview; polygraph (about two hours); oral board of officers from Officer to Lieutenant (about 45 minutes, business formal); conditional offer with department-paid psychological exam, medical exam including visual acuity, drug test, and fingerprinting; formal offer letter from the Chief of Police naming cadet orientation, academy start date, and salary upon entry.

The test, PAT as printed

Written exam first. Bring a printed event ticket and a government photo ID. Leave phone, smartwatch, food, and drinks in the vehicle.

The Physical Agility Test is two events at the Pasadena Police Training Complex: a timed 1.5-mile run, then a minimum 20 minutes recovery, then a 500-meter row sprint on a Concept 2 Model D. The scores are averaged. The average must be at the 40th percentile or above in the applicant's age and gender class. Charts:

• 500 Meter Row Time Chart
• Female 1.5 Mile Run
• Male 1.5 Mile Run

Submit the Physical Agility Test Consent Form before the PAT. No single pass time is printed. Charts 8724, 8725, and 8726 set the 40th-percentile cuts by age and gender. Not CPAT. Not the Pasadena Fire volunteer agility.

Academy length

Academy week count is unpublished as a hiring-page figure. Academy is Cadet Watch plus an in-service shop. The Pasadena Police Academy is certified for full-time VA education benefits during the Basic Peace Officer Course. Cadet Watch and the in-service calendar are not a BPOC week claim.

See What to expect at a Texas police academy.

Laterals

Requirements Police Lateral Entry Program: at least three years continuous paid full-time certified peace officer service with a comparable agency, including out-of-state as approved by the Chief; authority to enforce laws, investigate, arrest, respond, carry a firearm, and use discretion; not more than a three-year break from the TCOLE F-5 date to application. Experience credit up to a maximum of six years, and the size of the prior agency, at the Chief's discretion. Lateral pay is for pay purposes only. Departmental seniority starts on the Civil Service hire date. Applicants who qualify for lateral pay will not receive the hiring bonus.

Benefits prints a different measuring stick for the dollar: lateral starting salary depending on completed years of service, minimum of three years ($88,846.38) maximum of five years ($92,643.45) as recognized by the Chief of Police. Those two measuring sticks sit together. They are not a third number.

Officers Licensed Out of State Information: confirm with TCOLE that you are eligible for the Supplemental Peace Officer course before you apply for the Pasadena Police Modified Academy. Requirements: certified out-of-state applicants must have successfully challenged TCOLE prior to the Civil Service examination.

No live lateral requisition sat on ApplicantPro this retrieval. TCOLE Statewide Vacancies did not reprint Pasadena PD.

Pay and benefits

Dated cadet/officer Step 1, chart effective December 22, 2025: $78,671.25 a year, $37.82 an hour, $3,025.82 biweekly. $10,000 cadet hiring incentive. Officer top $109,817.10 at 12 years.

TCOLE Certificate Pay monthly: Intermediate $200, Advanced $300, Master $400. Education Pay monthly: Associate's $100, Bachelor's $200, Master's $300. 15 days vacation through year 10, then 20 / 25 / 30 by service bands. 15 days sick leave. 12 paid holidays. Take-home car incentive. Spanish compensation. City medical clinic for eligible employees and dependents. TMRS 2:1 match, 7 percent contribution, 5-year vesting, 20-year retirement option.

Sources, used 2026-08-22

• Benefits (cadet $78,671.25; chart effective December 22, 2025; $10,000 bonus; lateral $88,846.38-$92,643.45; TMRS; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Requirements (21 at State Licensing; 200-question exam; PAT 1.5-mile plus 500 m row 40th percentile; lateral six-year cap; TCOLE at academy completion; no Class A table; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Employment Opportunities (nav index; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Contact Us (Sgt Bruegger 713-475-4860; academy 6052 Genoa Red Bluff; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Academy (Cadet Watch; week unpublished; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• About (approximately 301 officers / 78 civilians; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Chief's Welcome (retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Officers Licensed Out of State (retrieved 2026-08-22)

• 500 m row chart, female 1.5-mile, male 1.5-mile, PAT consent (retrieved 2026-08-22)

• 6-22-24 Civil Service Results (older dated list; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• TCOLE Statewide Vacancies (no Pasadena PD card this retrieval; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Adopted 37 TAC §217.1, effective June 1, 2026 (TCOLE license floor; retrieved 2026-08-22)

• Pasadena Police Department listing on this site