Careers
We are looking for qualified men and women to join our team and help build a safer Austin. If you have a desire to protect and a heart to serve the Austin community, you’re in the right place. As an Austin police officer you’ll be working in a large, diverse city with a growing population and many career opportunities.
The Austin Police Department is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and will employ positive business and personnel practices designed to ensure equal employment opportunities to all applicants. The Austin Police Department is committed to being a reflection of the community in which we live and work. We acknowledge racism and challenge discrimination and oppression. We are committed to anti-racism principles in all areas of our work. We believe change is possible, and that our organization and the Austin community will grow stronger as discrimination, oppression and racism are eliminated. At APD, anti-racism is not just a policy, it is a set of principles we measure every aspect of our work against. Diversity, equity and inclusion is everyone's responsibility within the APD family. If you share these values and are committed to furthering the same principles, we encourage you to join our agency.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying for a sworn position, you’ll find the Apply Now button at the top of each page of our website. Be sure you’ve read through the Hiring Process page for information on minimum requirements and how the application process works. If you're interested in becoming a member of our civilian support staff, please see below.
IMPORTANT: We contact all applicants via email throughout the hiring process. It is recommended that you add iCIMS to your approved/safe sender list to ensure that our emails are properly delivered to your inbox and not marked as spam. Not taking this step may result in you missing important updates regarding your application.
Follow us on social media @JoinAPD for class announcements.
Regular Police Academy
- Application Status: Open (Apply now!)
- Deadline: February 15, 2027
- Academy Start Date: June 14, 2027
The Physical Fitness Test will be administered on a separate day during Phase 1 (date will be provided by the applicant's Background Investigator).
Pay
- During academy - $67,000/year rate
- Upon graduation - Pay & Benefits | Police Recruiting | AustinTexas.gov
Duration
- 8-month academy
- 14-week Field Training Program
Lateral Police Academy
(Apply only if you have active law enforcement experience)
- Application Status: Open (Apply now!)
- Deadline: November 23rd, 2026
- Academy Start Date: April 5th, 2027
Requirements
- Actively employed with at least three (3) years of active service as a licensed police officer for a municipal, county, and/or state law enforcement agency that handles a full array of urban police work. (School/university, Federal, and Military police experience does not qualify for the Lateral Officer Program.)
- Three (3) or more years of experience working patrol (Time spent working traffic enforcement, investigations, or other patrol-support type units may qualify. Please contact us with questions.)
- Actively employed by an agency serving a population of 25,000 or more with a patrol division. Applicants working adjacent to a major metropolitan area, working a large county population, or with a population not representative of the workload will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
- Hold a current peace officer license from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Out of State applicants without a TCOLE license must complete required TCOLE coursework prior to the academy. (Please contact us before beginning any TCOLE coursework; there is a timeline that must be adhered to, and no courses should be taken before 2/1/27.)
- A passing score on the PT exam will consist of completing each exercise above the 20% mark, a minimum average of 60% for all three exercises, and a minimum average of 80% for your top two exercises. A chart for your 60% marks can be found here: APD Recruiting - Hiring Process | Police Recruiting | AustinTexas.gov
Pay
- During academy - $97,385 / year rate
- Upon graduation - Pay matches your prior years of service, up to and capped at the 6-year pay step ($97,385 - $104,202)
Progress through the pay steps normally
- Example: If you graduate the academy and are at the 6-year pay step, in four years, you’ll be at the 10 year pay step ($121,754/year).
Duration
- 12-week academy
- 1-week orientation and 8-week Field Training Program
Promotion and career advancement
- Eligible to test to promote four (4) years after graduation from the academy
- Eligible to apply for specialized unit two (2) years after graduation from the academy
- Eligible to apply to attend SWAT school upon successful completion of Field Training. After completion of SWAT school, officers are immediately eligible to apply for the SWAT Gold Team.
For applicants needing Americans with Disabilities Act Accommodations, please complete this form and email it to City of Austin Human Resources Specialist Lee Nguyen with the ADA Program Office at lee.nguyen@austintexas.gov.
The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Hiring Process
It only takes three minutes to submit your initial application with the Austin Police Department. We have a seven-step process with each step being contingent on having successfully completed the previous step. Our department hires in cycles, which means that each application is only available and eligible for one academy class.
Missed the hiring window? Click the link below to receive email updates on upcoming hiring cycles. Visit the Hiring Process page for more information about the entire process.
Pay and Benefits
The Austin Police Department offers a competitive salary and retirement structure, great health benefits, paid training, and a number of other incentives such as paid time off and department-issued uniforms and equipment.
Read about all of our benefits.
Career Paths
After graduating the police academy, your opportunities for career advancement are limitless.
We offer assignments in over 50 specialized units as well as opportunities to promote up the chain of command. Visit our Career Paths page to read about available career opportunities and to learn more about our rank structure.
Civilian Support Staff
Working for the Austin Police Department does not always require wearing a badge. We have more than 500 civilians in a variety of support roles in our organization. You can answer 911 calls, dispatch police officers, work as a fingerprint or property crimes technician or even as a crime scene unit. We also have a number of administrative and technical roles throughout the department. Be part of a civilian team that supports the hard work of Austin Police officers in a rewarding career where what you do every day, behind the scene, helps make a difference for the citizens of Austin. You can find a list of current openings here.