What the CLE is
The Criminologist Licensure Examination, called the CLE and sometimes the CBRLE, is the national board examination a person must pass to be a registered criminologist in the Philippines. It is conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission through the Professional Regulatory Board of Criminology, under Republic Act 11131, the Philippine Criminology Profession Act of 2018.
The registered criminologist licence is the base credential for entry into the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, the National Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies in the criminal justice system, and for private security, forensic and academic roles that require the title. The licence is separate from the entrance and screening processes each of those agencies runs on top of it.
Who conducts it, and when
The PRC administers the CLE twice a year, in cycles that have recently fallen in February and August. The August 2025 sitting produced 13,074 passers out of 25,410 examinees, a national passing rate of 51.45 percent, with the results released by the PRC after twenty-six working days. The February 2025 sitting had earlier produced 22,245 passers out of 36,768 examinees, a 60.50 percent passing rate. A February 2026 cycle was subsequently held and its results were released after twenty-six working days.
Who can apply
Applicants must be Filipino citizens, or foreign nationals qualified under a reciprocity arrangement the PRC recognises, and of good moral character. The academic requirement is a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from a college or university recognised by the Commission on Higher Education and accredited by the Board. Republic Act 11131 also disqualifies applicants dishonourably discharged from military service or convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude.
How the exam runs
The CLE is an objective, machine-scored pen and paper test covering six subjects that mirror the Bachelor of Science in Criminology curriculum. The subjects and their weights are Criminal Jurisprudence and Procedure at twenty percent, Law Enforcement Administration at fifteen percent, Crime Detection and Investigation at twenty percent, Criminalistics at fifteen percent, Correctional Administration at ten percent, and Criminology at twenty percent. The papers are administered over two days per the PRC’s programme for each cycle.
The passing rule is a weighted average of at least 75.00 percent with no single subject below 60.00 percent, the standard PRC formula. A candidate whose weighted average clears seventy-five but whose lowest paper falls under sixty is rated failed, which is a common outcome and worth planning for. Criminalistics and Criminal Jurisprudence are the subjects the PRC’s own school-by-school breakdown routinely identifies as the ones that pull weighted averages down.
Applying and the examination fee
Registration is handled through the PRC’s Licensure Examination and Registration Information System, LERIS, on prc.gov.ph. Applicants create an online account, select the sitting and testing venue, upload the required documents including the transcript of records and Special Order where applicable, pay the examination fee through the accepted channels, and receive the Notice of Admission digitally. The exact fee, deadlines and testing venues are posted with each cycle’s PRC advisory.
On exam day
Bring the printed Notice of Admission, the original valid government photo identification whose name matches the notice, and a black ballpoint pen. Mobile phones, smartwatches, calculators, and any electronic device are not allowed inside the testing room. Arrive well before the reporting time on the notice because latecomers are not admitted.
After passing
A passer must appear for the oath-taking scheduled by the Board of Criminology and register with the PRC to receive the Professional Identification Card and Certificate of Registration, at which point the passer is a registered criminologist. The Republic Act 11131 framework also requires continuing professional development for licence renewal.
Some figures on this page were verified against secondary reporting where the primary PRC pages were not directly reachable from the build environment on the last-verified date. Every fact carries its source and should be re-checked against prc.gov.ph before it is quoted publicly.