• At least 21 years of age by the hire date
• A valid South Carolina Driver's License or a valid Driver's License from your current State
• U.S. Citizen
• High School Diploma or GED
• 20/20 vision OR no more than 20/200 corrected to 20/100 or below
• NO CRIMINAL RECORD
• Driving record should be clear of any suspension for the last 5 years as a result of alcoholic beverage or dangerous drug violation, or leaving the scene of an accident. The overall driving record will be evaluated placing emphasis on the severity, date and age, time span, and number of violations accumulated.

Please read the following information carefully before applying. The list below includes the automatic disqualifiers. If you meet any of these, you are disqualified from employment.

• Under 21 years of age by the hire date
• Not a United States Citizen
• No High School Diploma or G.E.D.
• Dishonorable Discharge from the military
• Convicted of any crime punishable by imprisonment in a federal or a state prison
• Convicted of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs within the past 5 years
• Driving record should be clear of any suspension for the last 5 years as a result of alcoholic beverage or dangerous drug violation, or leaving the scene of an accident. The overall driving record will be evaluated placing emphasis on the severity, date and age, time span, and number of violations accumulated.
• Any conviction of Criminal Domestic Violence
• Cannot meet minimum vision standards: (20/20 vision OR no more than 20/200, corrected to 20/100 or below)
• Any felony conviction (whether convicted as a juvenile or an adult)

Body piercings which are visible anytime while on duty and/or in uniform are prohibited. This does not apply to piercing of the ear lobes on female troopers/officers.

The display of any offensive image, phrase, or other expression contained within a Visible Tattoo/Body Art shall be prohibited. Offensive images, phrases, or other expressions shall include but not be limited to:

• Depictions of nudity, violence, or criminal activity;
• Sexually explicit/vulgar art, words, or profane language;
• Symbols likely to incite a strong negative reaction in any group; or
• Initials, symbolism, or acronyms that represent criminal or historically oppressive organizations, gangs, or activities.

Visible Tattoos/Body Art may not contain any unapproved reference to SCDPS or any of its divisions or any political affiliation or message.

Tattoo Location:

• Tattoos/Body Art are not permitted on the neck, face, head, or the area of the chest that would be visible while an SCDPS officer is wearing official attire or in uniform wearing a properly-fitting crew neck t-shirt.
• Tattoos/Body Art are not permitted on the hands with the exception of a single band tattoo on one finger of either the right or left hand that cannot exceed 3/8 of an inch in width.

Appearance While in Uniform:

• Except as specified in Section (IV)(B)(2)(b), under no circumstances shall a Tattoo/Body Art be seen by another while the officer is in any SCDPS uniform or off duty in a position to be recognized as an SCDPS officer (i.e., working special assignments or off duty assignments while considered to be representing the department in uniform or approved civilian attire).

Officers with approved and previously-defined Visible Tattoos have the following options to cover the Tattoo(s)/Body Art:

• The Tattoo(s)/Body Art shall be covered by a Tattoo/Body Art cover-up sleeve without any design or logo that most closely matches the skin tone of the officer and completely covers the Tattoo(s)/Body Art. Cover-up sleeves shall be approved by the appropriate Division Director or his/her designee and provided by the officer. The officer shall ensure the cover-up sleeve remains clean, in good working condition, and professionally presentable to the public at all times.

The credit history and financial conditions of the applicant will be reviewed. Credit history will not be a sole basis for disqualification. Below is a list of minimal credit standards. (If any of these apply to you, your application will become inactive until they are resolved.)

• An unsatisfied judgment
• An unpaid State or Federal tax lien
• A student loan in default

Applicants who are given the opportunity to review their credit reports may submit documentation which indicates that they have taken responsibility for the accounts in question. (For example, paid in full receipts/letters, payment plan letters.)

As you take part in this hiring process, please understand the following:

• You must make several different trips to Columbia, SC to complete this hiring process. These trips are at the expense of the applicant.
• You cannot do multiple steps on one visit.
• All applicants must undergo a thorough state agency background investigation.
• You will need to establish South Carolina Residency and acquire a South Carolina Driver’s License before your hire date.
• Out of State Law Enforcement Certifications are not recognized. You must complete the SC Criminal Justice Academy Special Basic Training program.

You will need to obtain each document listed, however, if you are unable to have them before your testing date, please let us know and we can work with you or reschedule you for a later date to give you more time.

All Bureau of Protective Services officers undergo a minimum of 12 weeks of intensive training at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy before beginning their law enforcement careers.

If your application passes the minimum requirements, look for an e-mail or phone call within the next week or so with more information from the BPS Employment Office. Be sure to check your spam and junk e-mail box as well.

All BPS Assignments are located in Richland County and BPS officers must live within 45 minutes of the Richland County line.

Yes. Certified out-of-state law enforcement officers will receive credit for LE service time. The out-of-state LE service time must be as a certified law enforcement officer who has completed a basic training course/class equivalent to SC LE Class 1 with provided documentation. Applicants will be required to complete a Special Basic course at the SC Criminal Justice Academy to transfer their LE Certification. The applicant may be eligible for up to 15 years of law enforcement service time to determine a starting salary. Learn more on BPS’ salary and benefits breakdown on this webpage.

The Bureau of Protective Services does not have an age restriction so long as the recruit can complete all physical testing requirements.

Hiring cycles generally coincide with the next available SC Criminal Justice Academy (CJA) classes.

If you are not selected you may generally be able to re-apply within one year of your rejection letter, unless your rejection was based on one of the following factors:

1. ANY falsification of application discovered during process: Applicants will be ineligible to re-apply for 2 years from date on rejection letter.
2. Two (2) Physical Agility Test (PAT) failures within a twelve (12) month period: Applicants will be ineligible to re-apply for 1 year from date on rejection letter.
3. Two (2) Written Examination test failures within a twelve (12) month period: Applicants will be ineligible to re-apply for 1 year from date on rejection letter.
4. Non-selection by the Oral Interview Board: Applicants who fail to get the minimum required score during their interview will be ineligible to re-apply for 1 year from date on rejection letter.

Yes, all recruits will stay at the academy from Sunday evenings to Friday afternoons. Trainees are required to leave during the weekends due to the academy being closed.

Yes, officer trainees will receive pay and benefits from the date of hire.

You can find out more about the PAT here.

Dress as you would to work out or exercise, including proper athletic footwear.

Please be very thorough and take your time filling out every single question on the application. Pay very close attention to detail. If your state application is missing dates, phone numbers, full addresses for references, or if it has unexplained gaps/dates in employment periods it will not move forward in the process.

Adding a resume does not take the place of a complete application. An incomplete state application with a detailed resume attached is not satisfactory. YES: You must list ALL Employment History.

An application riddled with misspellings and grammar errors may not move forward in the employment process.

Proofread your application before submitting!

If you fail to disclose a past employer and one is discovered during your background investigation or polygraph, or if you have been terminated or forced to resign from any position in lieu of a termination at any time and you do not disclose this, it is considered a falsification of your application. This will lead to your application not moving forward in the process.

Be 100% honest while filling out the Application. List ALL of your education history starting with your High School/GED information (Dates, Name…..etc.) and ALL Employment History.

If you have been terminated from any employment, at any time, be honest and list it. A prior employment termination DOES NOT exclude you from employment with the BPS, but not being honest about it does!

Please fully familiarize yourself with our minimum requirements for employment. Answer all drug questions and all criminal history questions honestly. Falsifications discovered on any of these questions will lead to the termination of your employment process. Be 100% honest while filling out the application.

We are discovering that more and more of our e-mails to applicants that include applications, appointments, forms…etc. are ending up in these “Junk/Spam" folders and applicants are missing important information from BPS.

Check your e-mail to include your “Junk/Spam” to ensure you don’t miss anything.