How to become a prison officer

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), part of the Ministry of Justice, employs prison officers in England and Wales. You apply for a specific prison through the Civil Service Jobs website, sit an online assessment and an interview, clear security and background checks, then complete initial training before you work on a wing. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own prison services with separate recruitment.

What the job involves

Officers look after people held in custody. In practice that means supervising a wing or unit, running the daily routine, searching cells and people, escorting prisoners to healthcare, education or visits, and writing up what happened. A lot of it is talking. Officers are expected to build working relationships with the prisoners in their care, and to notice early when someone is struggling, being bullied or planning something.

There is risk too. Violence, self-harm and drug use are part of ordinary working life, and emergencies are handled as a team. Shifts cover days, evenings, weekends and bank holidays, depending on the prison’s regime. The shift pattern varies between sites, so read the advert closely before you apply.

Who can apply

Prison officer posts are Civil Service jobs, so the Civil Service nationality rules apply. UK nationals, including dual nationals, can apply for any post. About 75% of Civil Service posts are also open to Commonwealth citizens and EEA nationals, while reserved posts are for UK nationals only. The HMPPS advert says which applies, and the full rules are on gov.uk.

You also need the right to work in the UK, which the employer checks before you start. Right to work checks describes how that process runs.

How the application works

Applications go through Civil Service Jobs at civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk, where you pick a named prison or a group of prisons. Recruitment follows the Success Profiles framework, which has five elements: Behaviours, Strengths, Ability, Experience and Technical. For an entry-level officer post the weight usually sits on behaviours, strengths and ability, and prior experience counts for little. If the format is new to you, read Civil Service Success Profiles explained and how to write behaviour examples.

The usual stages are an online application, online tests, an assessment day or video assessment, and an interview. Steps differ between campaigns, so follow the advert and ignore a friend’s account of how it went last year. The STAR method is the standard way to structure answers about past situations.

Checks before you start

Any offer is conditional on pre-employment checks: identity and right to work, references, security vetting and, for prison work, a criminal record check. The employer arranges the vetting and tells you which level applies. The DBS Enhanced fee is £41.00 from 5 October 2026. A conviction does not automatically rule you out, but prison employers look hard at the type, the date and what has happened since. If that applies to you, read applying for public sector jobs with a criminal record before you apply. There is also a medical and fitness element, which the advert describes.

Pre-employment checks sets out the usual sequence and why the process can take weeks.

Training

New officers complete a training course set by HMPPS before they work unsupervised, then spend time in the prison with support from experienced staff. The course covers control and restraint, security procedures, safeguarding and working with prisoners who have mental health needs. Length and format have changed over the years, so use the current campaign information and ignore older guides. You are paid while you train.

Pay and pensions

HMPPS sets pay by grade and location, and the advert gives the figure. The national pay scale for prison officers is not in the sources behind this page, so there is no salary here. Civil Service pay awards for 2026/27 follow the pay remit guidance, which set a maximum headline increase of 3.5% across a department’s paybill. That tells you nothing certain about what an individual officer receives.

Officers join the Civil Service pension scheme (alpha). In 2026/27 member contributions are 4.6% on pay up to £36,199, 5.45% from £36,200 to £56,000, and higher above that.

Where the career goes

Experienced officers can become senior officers and custodial managers, specialise in areas such as security or offender management, or move into other HMPPS work. The probation service is a separate route with different entry requirements, covered in how to become a probation officer.