How to Join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Photo by RCMP

There are three types of employees at the RCMP: regular members (police officers), civilian members and public servants.

A. Regular members

The police officers of the RCMP are known as regular members. They have to serve at least 3 years as frontline officers before being eligible to apply for a specialization.

The cadet selection process has several steps:

1. Career presentation: Before filling in any application, it is highly recommended that you attend a career presentation. A RCMP police officer leads this informative session and talks about his or her own experience in the force. You can also take this opportunity to ask any questions related to the RCMP and the selection process. To register for a career presentation in your city, click here.

2. Application and the RCMP Police Aptitude Test (RPAT): The next step will be to write a test. The RPAT is 114 multiple-choice questions evaluating your potential to be a police officer. It will evaluate seven different skills: composition, comprehension, memory, judgment, observation, logic and computation. The pass mark is 3.2 out of 5.0. You can click here to register for the RPAT or here for the preparatory guide. You have to fill out the application form and hand it in when you write the test.

3. Selection package: Applicants with the most competitive scores on the RPAT will be selected for the next stage of the recruiting process. The selection package contains several application forms that you will be asked to complete. You must complete the forms and return them once you are contacted by the recruiting office (RCMP).

4. Regular Member applicant questionnaire: Among the forms provided in the selection package, you will find the regular member applicant questionnaire. The applicant form is to verify your honesty, integrity and ethics to make sure all applicants proceeding to the next stage reflect the core values of the RCMP.

5. Physical Abilities Requirement Evaluation (PARE): This is a test to assess your ability to perform the physical demands of police work. It includes an obstacle course and a push/pull section. The PARE must be completed in less than 4 minutes 45 seconds. All information on the PARE can be found here.

6. Regular member interview selection: The goal of this interview is to evaluate skills such as problem solving, teamwork, reliability, flexibility, etc. Click here if you want to see the list of skills being evaluated in this interview.

7. Pre-employment polygraph: This interview, with the help of a “lie detector”, verifies your accountability, respect, professionalism, compassion, honesty and integrity. You can find more information here.

8. Field investigation and security clearance: After the polygraph interview, there is a background investigation (which examines previous employment, education, character references, personal finances, etc.). This stage of the process verifies your suitability, reliability and security. For more information click here.

9. Health assessment: You must pass a medical exam (physical, dental, psychological) conducted by a medical doctor. For vision and hearing requirements click here.

10. Prerequisites and enrollment: If you successfully complete all of these steps and are accepted into the RCMP, you will be trained at the RCMP academy (“depot division”) in Regina, Saskatchewan. You will undergo a 24-week training program with other cadets. Before leaving for depot, you must obtain a valid standard first aid certificate. For more information you can click here.

B. Civilian Members

Civilian members are RCMP employees who provide resources and assist frontline officers. Ranging from scientists to computer programmers, the RCMP offers a wide choice of careers for non-police officers. There are a number of requirements to become a civilian member.

Basic requirements:

  • Be a Canadian citizen; if you were born outside of Canada, you must become a Canadian citizen before applying to the RCMP;
  • Be of good character: you must possess integrity, honesty, professionalism, compassion, respect and accountability, which will be assessed through the suitability interview;
  • Meet the position’s education / experience criteria;
  • Meet the position’s linguistic requirements; and
  • Meet the physical and medical requirements of your particular employment category.

To be accepted as a civilian member in the RCMP, you typically must have a university degree. However; some divisions do not have this requirement. Click here for more information on the basic requirements for civilian members.

(Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

There are several career specializations available for civilian members:

  • Air and Marine Operations;
  • Community and Cultural Affairs;
  • Criminal Intelligence;
  • Engineering;
  • Forensics;
  • Human Resources;
  • Information Technology;
  • Law;
  • Public Affairs and Communications;
  • Research and Analysis;
  • Technicians and Technologists;
  • Telecommunications Operator; and
  • Wellness & Safety

(Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

C. Public servants

Public servants are the third category of RCMP employees. The organization hires specialists in areas such as finance, information technology, communication and human resources management. Please visit the public service careers webpage for more information.

Joining the RCMP is a really amazing experience for those who want to have a career in policing. The RCMP is a dynamic and interesting place to work where you can develop new skills every day. Keep in mind that it is important to choose a career you will love, and if that is the RCMP, then so be it!

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