NPPF Step 2 and the Four Steps to Promotion

NPPF step 2 is the exam stage of the National Police Promotion Framework (NPPF), the process every constable and sergeant in England and Wales goes through to reach the next rank. This page sets out the whole promotion path in order: step 1 eligibility, step 2 legal exam, step 3 selection and step 4 temporary promotion and work-based assessment. It also covers how long each stage takes, the SIPP trials, and what the promotion is worth. Facts were checked on 30 October 2026 against the College of Policing's NPPF step two page and candidate handbook.

This site is an independent revision aid, not affiliated with the College of Policing.

NPPF step 2 within the National Police Promotion Framework

Step	What it is	Who runs it	What you need
1	Competence in current rank and eligibility	Your force	A satisfactory PDR, no live warnings, eligibility form signed off
2	Legal knowledge exam	College of Policing	A pass: 55% (sergeants) or 65% (inspectors)
3	Assessment against rank competencies; matching to vacancies	Your force	Success in the local selection process, inside your pass validity
4	Temporary promotion and work-based assessment	Your force	Completing the assessment in the new rank

The framework is underpinned by the Police (Promotion) Regulations 1996, which govern promotion in the police service in England and Wales.

Step 1: eligibility

Step 1 confirms you are competent in your current rank and allowed to sit the exam. Your force signs it off before you can register. Under recent handbooks, step 1 requires:

1. demonstrated competence in your current rank, through your PDR, student officer portfolio or an equivalent;
2. no live written improvement notice under the Police (Performance) Regulations 2020, and no reduction in rank under them in the previous 12 months;
3. no live written warning, final written warning or extended final written warning under the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2020;
4. compliance with your force's attendance management policy;
5. the specific criteria for the exam you are entering.

Specific criteria for the sergeants' exam

You must be a regular constable who, by the exam date, has completed two years' service and your probation, and who doesn't already hold a recognised promotion exam pass. You must be substantive in rank by the exam date; a result from an ineligible candidate is voided.

Specific criteria for the inspectors' exam

Only officers holding the rank of sergeant can sit the inspectors' exam. An NPPF-qualified sergeant becomes eligible once substantive, which means after completing step 4. Your force examinations officer will confirm the detail.

Key fact: Step 1 is a gate, not a formality. Your line manager must confirm eligibility before your force examinations officer verifies your registration.

NPPF step 2: the legal knowledge exam

NPPF step 2 tests your knowledge of the law and procedure a sergeant or inspector needs. It is the same format for both ranks; only the pass marks differ.

Feature	Sergeants' exam	Inspectors' exam
Questions	150 multiple-choice (140 scored)	150 multiple-choice (140 scored)
Time	3 hours, online	3 hours, online
Pass mark	55% (77 of 140)	65% (91 of 140)
Exceptional pass	75% or more	85% or more
2027 sittings	16–18 March; 5–7 October	11–13 May; 2–4 November
2027 registration	18 Jan–18 Feb; 3 Aug–9 Sep	15 Mar–15 Apr; 6 Sep–4 Oct
Syllabus	Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027	Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027

Dates checked on 30 October 2026; check them on college.police.uk before you plan. The syllabus is the three 2027 manuals: Crime, Evidence and Procedure, and General Police Duties, with road policing included in General Police Duties. Our Blackstone's Police Manuals 2027 guide explains what each covers.

The full detail for each exam, including the online exam rules, is in our sergeants' exam guide and inspectors' exam guide.

Results, resits and validity at step 2

• Results: recent handbooks say feedback reports reach candidates within about three weeks, with scores broken down by subject area.
• Resits: there is no national limit; your force may set one.
• Validity: a pass has been valid for five years less one day from the exam date. Your step 3 process must fall inside that window. If it doesn't, you go back to step 1.
• Resitting with a valid pass: you forfeit the rest of the old pass's validity from the day you sit again, whatever the new result.

Exam tip: Start your NPPF step 2 revision with a baseline. The free sergeants' diagnostic gives you a score by area in 24 minutes.

Step 3: selection

Step 3 is where your force decides who gets promoted. The College describes it as assessment against rank-specific competencies and matching to vacancies. Each force designs its own process, so formats and timing vary. Common elements include:

1. an application or evidence form setting out examples against the competency and values framework for the rank;
2. a line manager's or senior officer's support;
3. an interview, presentation or assessment centre exercise;
4. a ranked list, from which successful candidates are matched to vacancies.

Timing step 3 against your pass

Forces don't run step 3 on a national timetable, and some go long periods without a process. This is why validity matters. If your five-year window is nearly over, recent handbooks have allowed you to register for the exam again without losing the remaining validity, so long as you withdraw at the earliest opportunity if you then succeed at step 3. Check the current handbook and talk to your force examinations officer.

Extensions to validity

Extensions have been considered for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave, career breaks for caring, and long-term sickness. Applications go through your force examinations officer with dates and reasons confirmed by your force. Part-time working or restricted duties are not, on their own, treated as preventing you from applying for step 3.

Key fact: A step 2 pass does not lead to promotion by itself. It gives you a five-year window in which to succeed at step 3.

Step 4: temporary promotion and the work-based assessment

At step 4 you work in the new rank on temporary promotion while you are assessed. The College's handbook describes the sergeants' step 4 as a mandatory 12 months that cannot be reduced in any circumstances. You gather evidence that you meet the standard for the rank, and your force assesses it in a work-based assessment (WBA).

When you complete the WBA successfully, you are made substantive in the rank. The Police (Promotion) Regulations 1996 provide that the usual probationary period on promotion to sergeant does not apply to someone who has completed the work-based assessment (regulation 5).

Practical points for step 4

• Agree your evidence plan with your assessor early.
• Keep a running log of decisions you make as a sergeant: custody, deployments, supervision, welfare and performance issues.
• If your step 4 is interrupted by a move or a long absence, raise it with your force immediately.
• Your step 4 must be finished, and you must be substantive, before you can sit the inspectors' exam as an NPPF-qualified sergeant.

SIPP: the Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression trials

The College of Policing has tested a new process, the Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression process (SIPP), in a small number of forces alongside the NPPF. Announced in 2024, its test phase was set to run to March 2026, with evaluation before any decision on wider use. SIPP is organised around three stages, development, selection and promotion, and keeps a legal knowledge exam.

If your force is a SIPP test force, its process will differ from the four steps above; ask your force's promotion team. Forces not taking part continue to use the NPPF. For the latest position, read the College's article on promotion and progression for sergeants and inspectors.

Preparing for step 3 while you revise for step 2

Many officers pass the exam and then find a step 3 process announced at short notice, with an evidence form due in a few weeks. You can reduce that pressure by starting early.

Build your evidence as you go

Step 3 processes usually ask for examples of how you already work at, or towards, the next rank. While you revise, keep a simple log of jobs where you:

• took charge of a scene or coordinated other officers;
• made or recommended a decision a sergeant would normally make, such as a custody or safeguarding decision;
• supported or developed a colleague, including tutoring a student officer;
• dealt with a complaint, a welfare issue or a performance problem;
• improved a process on your team.

Write each one down within a day or two, with the date, what you did, why, and the outcome. Six months later you won't remember the detail.

Ask for acting opportunities

If your force allows it, acting up as a sergeant under supervision gives you the best evidence for step 3 and a head start on step 4. Talk to your line manager and inspector about it at your PDR.

Know the framework you will be assessed against

Forces typically assess step 3 against the national competency and values framework for the rank. Read it before you write anything. Ask your force's promotion team for past guidance notes on what a strong application looked like.

Exam tip: Don't let step 3 preparation eat into revision in the final five weeks before the exam. Ten minutes a week updating your evidence log is enough until you have passed.

How long the police promotion process takes

The full journey from constable to substantive sergeant is longer than most officers expect. Here is a realistic timeline for someone sitting the March 2027 sergeants' exam.

Stage	Typical time	Example dates
Revision	3–4 months	December 2026 – March 2027
Step 2 exam and results	About 3 weeks after the sitting	March – April 2027
Wait for a step 3 process	Varies by force: weeks to years	Within the five-year window
Step 3 selection	Usually weeks to a few months	Depends on your force
Step 4 temporary promotion and WBA	12 months for sergeants	From your temporary promotion date
Substantive sergeant	After a successful WBA	At least 12 months after step 4 begins

The police ranks guide shows where sergeant and inspector sit in the rank structure, and how promotion beyond inspector works without a national exam.

What sergeant promotion is worth

Promotion moves you onto the sergeants' pay scale. Pay for all ranks in England and Wales is set each year by the government after recommendations from the Police Remuneration Review Body. Our police sergeant pay guide compares the sergeant pay points with the top of the constable scale. For detailed take-home calculations, use a dedicated pay calculator; we don't build one.

Your revision plan

1. Confirm your step 1 eligibility with your line manager and force examinations officer.
2. Take the free sergeants' diagnostic to find your weakest area.
3. Follow the 14-week sergeants' exam revision plan, testing each chapter with a topic quiz such as police powers.
4. Sit the free full mock 1 in the last five weeks, and use the mock exam guide to review it.
5. Register for your sitting as soon as the window opens, and start thinking about your step 3 evidence while you revise.

Preparing for the inspectors' exam instead? Start with the inspectors' diagnostic.