The PSNI Initial Selection Test: what is in it and how it is marked

The Initial Selection Test (IST) is the first hurdle after you submit a PSNI student officer application. It has two online assessments from the provider SHL: a timed deductive reasoning test and an untimed questionnaire about how you behave. Together they take under an hour, you sit them at home, and you get one attempt per recruitment campaign.

What the two tests are

Verify Interactive Deductive Reasoning measures how well you draw valid conclusions from information on screen. The PSNI describes the content as scheduling puzzles, with themes such as team schedules, team rooms, rankings and calendars, and says the tests are deliberately not set in a policing environment. You work through 12 pieces of source material in 18 minutes. Candidates with reasonable adjustments may get a different time limit, and Deloitte, which runs the process for the PSNI, will tell you.

The Global Skills Assessment (GSA) is a forced-choice questionnaire with no time limit. It is mapped to the College of Policing Competency and Values Framework, so it asks about the kind of behaviour policing expects. The PSNI tells candidates to answer as themselves, to go with their first reaction, and to use examples from school, volunteering or a previous job if they have no career yet.

How the reasoning test adapts

The reasoning test is computer adaptive. A correct answer makes the next question harder, and a wrong one makes the next a bit easier. The PSNI warns that most candidates find it difficult for that reason and tells you to keep going until the time runs out. You need a pen or pencil and paper to hand.

The PSNI also says you must complete the whole reasoning test to avoid a score reduction. Running out of time does not mean automatic rejection, but you do have to attempt both tests.

How it is marked

Scores from both tests are added into one overall IST score, and the pass mark is set against that combined figure. The PSNI does not publish the pass mark. The decision is final. Results come by email, and for the October 2026 campaign the PSNI points to January 2027. You do not get an automatic confirmation email when you finish. The platform shows your progress at 100%, and the PSNI suggests taking a screenshot for your own records.

If you pass, you move on to uploading evidence of your education and right to work. You can also be asked to retake the IST at the assessment centre for validation. See the PSNI assessment centre for what comes next.

Dates in the October 2026 campaign

The PSNI’s indicative timeline for this campaign has applications open from 12 October 2026 and closing at 3pm on 30 November 2026. Your 17th birthday must fall on or before 30 November 2026 and your 58th birthday after it. The IST is planned for December 2026, the evidence uploader for late January 2027, assessment centres for spring to summer 2027 and the merit list for summer 2027. The PSNI marks all of these as subject to change, so check the Recruitment News section on the Join PSNI site.

The IST window is open for a set period, probably around mid-December, and the PSNI says the deadline will not be moved. Sit it early, because out-of-hours technical support may not be available close to the deadline.

Rules you agree to

Before you start, you confirm that you are doing the test unassisted and that you will not copy or share its content. Posting about it on Facebook, X or any forum is prohibited, and copying or sharing material leads to exclusion. You can use only one device at a time, and the system records your IP address. Accessibility tools and the language options in the SHL system are allowed.

A student officer application and a police staff application are separate processes with separate tests. For the police staff side, see how PSNI police staff interviews are scored.

Preparing and what to check

Practice is optional. SHL offers some free practice questions for the reasoning test on its own website, listed under Deductive Reasoning Test (Mobile-Enabled, Interactive). The PSNI points out that these are simplified and may not match the real difficulty. There is no practice material for the GSA, only a familiarisation screen on the platform just before you start.

Before test day, check these:

• the email address on your application works, and [email protected] is on your safe senders list
• you have a stable connection and a quiet spot, ideally a laptop or PC (phones and tablets are allowed if they meet the SHL specification)
• you have written down the password you create when you first sign in, because you will need it if you drop out
• any reasonable adjustment evidence went in by the application deadline, 5pm on 30 November 2026 for this campaign

Asking for reasonable adjustments in recruitment covers the adjustments process. For all eight stages, see the PSNI recruitment process step by step.