Special Examination for General Police Officers (Taiwan)一般警察特考

Overview

The Special Examination for General Police Officers recruits police and fire service officers for the Ministry of the Interior and the Ocean Affairs Council in Taiwan. It is held under rules issued by the Examination Yuan, and the law database shows the current version was amended on 30 January 2026. This page summarises those rules. Each year's dates, fees, categories and vacancies come from the Ministry of Examination and are not covered here.

Who can apply

• You must be a citizen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) with no legal bar to national examinations, and hold at least one qualification from the rules' eligibility table.

• Age limits: second grade, 18 to 42; third grade, 18 to 37; fourth grade, 18 to 37.

• Graduates of the Central Police University or the Taiwan Police College, and people who have already passed a police personnel exam, cannot sit this exam.

• If a breach of these conditions is found, the consequence depends on when: before the exam, eligibility is cancelled; during it, the candidate is barred from continuing; after the exam but before results, not admitted; during training, admission is cancelled; after qualifying, the pass and certificate are cancelled.

Exam pattern

There are three grades. The second grade corresponds to the senior exam second level, the third grade to the senior exam third level, and the fourth grade to the junior exam. Categories and subjects are set in a schedule attached to the rules.

• Stage 1 is written. Only those who pass stage 1 sit stage 2, a physical fitness test.

• The third-grade foreign affairs police category may also include a foreign-language oral exam.

• Stage 2 pass standards, with two standing long jump attempts and one 1,200 m run: men, at least 200 cm and within 5 minutes 50 seconds; women, at least 145 cm and within 6 minutes 20 seconds.

Marking and results

• The written score alone is the total score; the physical test is pass or fail.

• Second and third grades: general subjects (each subject counts 10 percent) plus professional subjects (average of the subjects, weighted by the remaining share).

• Fourth grade: the average of all subjects, except fire police, which weights general subjects 10 percent per subject, general physics and chemistry at 10 percent each, and other subjects' average at 70 percent.

• You are not admitted if any written subject is zero, the total is under 50, or the foreign-language oral is under 60. A missed subject scores zero.

Medical check

After the stage 1 result notice, you have 14 days to complete a medical check at a designated hospital and submit the form, or you cannot sit stage 2. Failure grounds include a body mass index below 18.0 or above 28.0 for men (below 17.0 or above 26.0 for women), uncorrected vision below 0.2 in either eye (unless corrected vision reaches 1.0), colour blindness, high blood pressure, and grip strength under 30 kg in either hand. The rules list further grounds, including gang or obscene tattoos with stated exceptions.

After the exam

• Admitted candidates must complete training and pass it. The Civil Service Protection and Training Commission then reports to the Examination Yuan, which issues the pass certificate, and the Ministry of the Interior or the Ocean Affairs Council places them in posts.

• Second and third grade candidates train at the Central Police University, and fourth grade candidates at the Taiwan Police College.

• Qualifiers obtain police officer status and eligibility for police, fire service and Ocean Affairs Council posts. For six years from qualifying, they may not move outside the Ministry of the Interior, the Ocean Affairs Council and their offices and schools.