What NPF constable recruitment is
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) constable recruitment is the annual federal enlistment cycle through which unmarried Nigerian citizens are inducted into the lowest rank of the police as police constables, on Grade Level 03. Under the 1999 Constitution and the Police Service Commission (Establishment) Act, the sole body legally empowered to recruit, appoint, promote and discipline any officer of the Force below the Inspector General is the Police Service Commission (PSC). The Nigeria Police Force itself, through its Recruitment Board and Departmental Committees at Force Headquarters and in the state commands, runs the screening logistics on the ground, but the offer of enlistment is signed by the PSC. A protracted tussle between the two agencies over who controls the process was resolved in the PSC’s favour by the Court of Appeal in 2020, and the current cycle is being run on that basis.
For the 2026 cycle the PSC advertised 50,000 constable vacancies to be filled across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory on the federal character principle, which caps the intake from any one state at its share of the national quota and further reserves slots for each of the 774 local government areas so that no LGA is unrepresented.
Who can apply
Applicants must be Nigerian citizens by birth, aged 18 to 25 years at the closing date of the application window, and unmarried at the point of enlistment. Married applicants and applicants who have been previously dismissed or convicted are disqualified. The educational minimum is the Senior Secondary School Certificate with credit passes in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, in not more than two sittings, from WAEC, NECO or an equivalent recognised board. Awaiting-result candidates may apply where the current guidelines permit, but must present the physical result at screening.
Physical standards apply. Male applicants must be at least 1.67 metres tall and female applicants at least 1.64 metres, and the male chest measurement, fully expanded, is set at a minimum of 34 inches. Every applicant must be physically and medically fit, free of hearing and sight defects, and free of tattoos and body piercings that the screening board considers incompatible with the uniform. Applicants must produce a Local Government indigene certificate signed by the LGA chairman and a current National Identification Number (NIN).
Stages of the recruitment
The cycle runs in five stages, each an elimination filter. First, the online application on the PSC recruitment portal at npfapplication.psc.gov.ng, which is currently the official URL after the Force’s earlier policerecruitment.gov.ng address was retired. Applicants complete a biodata form, upload a passport photograph, signature and credentials, and print an acknowledgement slip. Second, the physical and credentials screening at state screening venues, at which original documents are verified and height, chest and preliminary fitness are measured. Third, the Computer-Based Aptitude Test, a standardised paper covering English Language, general knowledge and current affairs, and numerical and reasoning ability, held at accredited CBT centres across the states. Fourth, a full medical examination at a designated public hospital or police clinic. Fifth, a final oral interview and the release of the PSC’s provisional list of enlistees, who are then posted to a Police College for basic training.
Typical timeline
A cycle typically runs from portal opening in the last quarter of one year to enlistment orders in the third quarter of the next. The 2026 cycle followed that shape: the portal opened on 15 December 2025 and closed on 8 February 2026, physical screening ran from 9 March to 18 April 2026, the aptitude test was held on 28 April 2026 and medical screening of shortlisted candidates began on 16 July 2026, per the dates cited in the data above.
Sources and re-verification
Primary sources for this page are the Police Service Commission at psc.gov.ng and the Nigeria Police Force at npf.gov.ng, together with the PSC recruitment portal linked in the official links above. Where those domains were intermittently unreachable at the time of writing, secondary Nigerian outlets, Premium Times, Punch, Vanguard, Guardian Nigeria and The Cable, were used to confirm cycle dates and the vacancy figure, and are cited in the data block. Recruitment terms, cut-off dates and physical standards do change between cycles; re-verify any volatile fact against the current PSC advertisement before relying on it for a live application.