Gendarmerie

Overview

The Gendarmerie nationale recruits non-commissioned personnel (sous-officiers de gendarmerie, SOG), officers, and gendarmes adjoints volontaires through its own recruitment process, run by the Ministère de l'Intérieur. The sous-officier route is the main entry point for career gendarmes and runs both an external concours (for candidates from outside the institution) and an internal concours (for serving gendarmerie personnel).

Who can apply

For the external SOG concours, candidates must hold French nationality, be between 17 and 35 years old on 1 January of the exam year, hold a baccalauréat or an equivalent level-4 qualification, have completed the Journée Défense et Citoyenneté (JDC), and have a background compatible with gendarmerie duties (no disqualifying criminal record).

Exam pattern

The process has a written admissibility stage followed by oral and physical admission tests for candidates who clear it. For the 2026 September session, written admissibility exams were held on 23 September 2026, with oral and practical admission tests running from 30 November 2026 to 19 February 2027 for the external concours, and from 2 to 27 November 2026 for the internal concours.

Important dates

For the September 2026 session, external-concours registration ran until 28 June 2026.

How to apply

Registration is online at lagendarmerierecrute.fr, where candidates choose the concours route (external or internal) and session, then complete the application within the published registration window.

After the exam

Candidates who pass all stages attend initial gendarme training at a gendarmerie school before being posted to a unit as a sous-officier de gendarmerie.

Preparation tips

Since the written admissibility stage is the first filter before physical and oral testing, prioritising written preparation first and building up physical fitness in the months leading to the admission stage (which comes later, after results) avoids peaking too early physically.