37 Tex. Admin. Code § 219.2 - Reciprocity for Out-of-State Peace Officers, Federal Criminal Investigators, and Military Police
(a) To be
eligible to take a state licensing examination, an out of state, federal
criminal investigator, or military police must comply with all provisions of
§
219.1 of this chapter and this
section.
(b) A prospective
out-of-state peace officer, federal criminal investigator, or military police
applicant for peace officer licensing in Texas must:
(1) meet all statutory licensing requirements
of the state of Texas and the rules of the commission;
(2) successfully complete a supplementary
peace officer training course, the curriculum of which is developed by the
commission, any other courses, as required by the commission; and
(3) successfully pass the Texas Peace Officer
Licensing Examination as provided in §
219.1 of this
chapter.
(c) Requirements
(Peace Officers): Applicants who are peace officers from other U.S. states must
meet the following requirements:
(1) provide
proof of successful completion of a state POST-approved (or state licensing
authority) basic police officer training academy;
(2) have honorably served (employed, benefits
eligible) as a sworn full time paid peace officer for 2 continuous years.
Service time applied to this section must have been obtained following
completion of a state POST-approved basic training course;
(3) be subject to continued employment or
eligible for re-hire (excluding retirement); and
(4) the applicant's license or certificate
must never have been, nor currently be in the process of being, surrendered,
suspended, or revoked.
(d) Requirements (Federal): Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure Article 2A.002 recognizes certain named criminal
investigators of the United States as having the authority to enforce selected
state laws by virtue of their authority. These individuals are deemed to have
the equivalent training for licensure consideration. The Executive Director may
identify other federal criminal investigators not listed in Texas Code of
Criminal Procedure Article 2A.002 whose training and work experience are deemed
to be appropriate for licensure consideration.
(e) Qualifying Federal Officers must:
(1) have successfully completed an approved
federal agency law enforcement training course (equivalent course topics and
hours) at the time of initial certification or appointment;
(2) have honorably served (employed, benefits
eligible) in one of the aforementioned federal full time paid capacities for 2
continuous years. Service time applied to this section must have been obtained
following completion of a federal agency law enforcement approved basic
training course; and
(3) be subject
to continued employment or eligible for re-hire (excluding
retirement).
(f)
Requirements (Military): Must have a military police military occupation
specialty (MOS) or air force specialty code (AFSC) classification approved by
the commission.
(g) Qualifying
military personnel must provide proof of:
(1)
successfully completed basic military police course for branch of military
served; and
(2) active duty service
for 2 continuous years. Service time applied to this section must have been
obtained following completion of an approved basic military police
course.
(h) The applicant
must make application and submit any required fee(s) in the format currently
prescribed by the commission to take the peace officer licensing exam. The
applicant must comply with the provisions of §
219.1 of this chapter when
attempting the licensing exam.
(i)
Required documents must accompany the application:
(1) a certified or notarized copy of the
basic training certificate for a peace officer, a certified or notarized copy
of a federal agent's license or credentials, or a certified or notarized copy
of the peace officer license or certificate issued by the state POST or proof
of military training;
(2) a
notarized statement from the state POST, current employing agency or federal
employing agency revealing any disciplinary action(s) that may have been taken
against any license or certificate issued by that agency or any pending
action;
(3) a notarized statement
from each applicant's employing agency confirming time in service as a peace
officer or federal officer or agent;
(4) a certified or notarized copy of the
applicant's valid state-issued driver's license;
(5) a certified copy of the applicant's
military discharge (DD-214), if applicable; and
(6) for applicants without a valid Texas
drivers license, a passport-sized color photograph (frontal, shoulders and
face), signed with the applicant's full signature on the back of the
photograph.
(j) The
commission may request that applicants submit a copy of the basic and advanced
training curricula for equivalency evaluation and final approval.
(k) All out-of-state, federal, and military
applicants will be subject to a search of the National Decertification Database
(NDD), NCIC/TCIC, and National Criminal History Databases to establish
eligibility.
(l) Any applicant may
be denied because of disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation,
or misconduct in another jurisdiction.
(m) All documents must bear original
certification seals or stamps.
(n)
The effective date of this section is May 1, 2025.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(a) To be eligible to take a state licensing examination, an out of state, federal criminal investigator, or military police must comply with all provisions of § 219.1 of this chapter and this section.
(b) A prospective out-of-state peace officer , federal criminal investigator, or military police applicant for peace officer licensing in Texas must:
(1) meet all statutory licensing requirements of the state of Texas and the rules of the commission ;
(2) successfully complete a supplementary peace officer training course, the curriculum of which is developed by the commission , any other courses, as required by the commission ; and
(3) successfully pass the Texas Peace Officer Licensing Examination as provided in § 219.1 of this chapter.
(c) Requirements (Peace Officers): Applicants who are peace officers from other U.S. states must meet the following requirements:
(1) provide proof of successful completion of a state POST -approved (or state licensing authority) basic police officer training academy;
(2) have honorably served (employed, benefits eligible) as a sworn full time paid peace officer for 2 continuous years. Service time applied to this section must have been obtained following completion of a state POST approved basic training course;
(3) be subject to continued employment or eligible for re-hire (excluding retirement); and
(4) the applicant's license or certificate must never have been, nor currently be in the process of being, surrendered, suspended, or revoked.
(d) Requirements (Federal): The Texas Code of Criminal Procedures Section 2.122 recognizes certain named criminal investigators of the United States as having the authority to enforce selected state laws by virtue of their authority. These individuals are deemed to have the equivalent training for licensure consideration.
(e) Qualifying Federal Officers must:
(1) have successfully completed an approved federal agency law enforcement training course (equivalent course topics and hours) at the time of initial certification or appointment;
(2) have honorably served (employed, benefits eligible) in one of the aforementioned federal full time paid capacities for 2 continuous years. Service time applied to this section must have been obtained following completion of a federal agency law enforcement approved basic training course; and
(3) be subject to continued employment or eligible for re-hire (excluding retirement).
(f) Requirements (Military): Must have a military police military occupation specialty (MOS) or air force specialty code (AFSC) classification approved by the commission .
(g) Qualifying military personnel must provide proof of:
(1) successfully completed basic military police course for branch of military served; and
(2) active duty service for 2 continuous years. Service time applied to this section must have been obtained following completion of an approved basic military police course.
(h) The applicant must make application and submit any required fee(s) in the format currently prescribed by the commission to take the peace officer licensing exam. The applicant must comply with the provisions of § 219.1 of this chapter when attempting the licensing exam.
(i) Required documents must accompany the application:
(1) a certified or notarized copy of the basic training certificate for a peace officer , a certified or notarized copy of a federal agent's license or credentials, or a certified or notarized copy of the peace officer license or certificate issued by the state POST or proof of military training;
(2) a notarized statement from the state POST , current employing agency or federal employing agency revealing any disciplinary action(s) that may have been taken against any license or certificate issued by that agency or any pending action;
(3) a notarized statement from each applicant's employing agency confirming time in service as a peace officer or federal officer or agent;
(4) a certified or notarized copy of the applicant's valid state-issued driver's license ;
(5) a certified copy of the applicant's military discharge (DD-214), if applicable; and
(6) for applicants without a valid Texas drivers license , a passport-sized color photograph (frontal, shoulders and face), signed with the applicant's full signature on the back of the photograph.
(j) The commission may request that applicants submit a copy of the basic and advanced training curricula for equivalency evaluation and final approval.
(k) All out-of-state, federal, and military applicants will be subject to a search of the National Decertification Database (NDD), NCIC/TCIC, and National Criminal History Databases to establish eligibility.
(l) Any applicant may be denied because of disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation, or misconduct in another jurisdiction.
(m) All documents must bear original certification seals or stamps.
(n) The effective date of this section is February 1, 2020.