Colorado POST-Approved Basic Academies

In order to become POST-certified as a peace officer, you must first attend a POST-approved Basic academy. All Basic academies must meet or exceed POST requirements. The minimum required Basic curriculum is 556hours, though all academies exceed this requirement. Academies may be full-time or part-time, and length ranges from 16 to 40 weeks and typically run from August-December or January-May/June. Attendance at agency academies is limited to individuals sponsored by a law enforcement agency. Community college academies operate on open-enrollment and are generally self-funded. Specific requirements for admission must be met in order to enroll. Please contact the individual academies directly to obtain information regarding the application process, cost and length of program. There is NO online academy.

Click to view the Colorado POST Academy Statistics [updated 07/2021] spreadsheet. PLEASE NOTE: The annual and overall statewide rankings contained in this Academy Metric are based on the sole measurable data point available, the POST written exam. While this is an important and useful assessment tool, it cannot entirely capture the entire breadth of instruction at a law enforcement training academy. Soft skills, such as communication and de-escalation, cannot be quantified with current assessment methods and are therefore not used towards these rankings. Users of this Academy Metric should understand that while this tool can be effective in comparing law enforcement training academies across the state, it does not capture the overall quality of training provided to recruits.

Current Basic Academic Training Curriculum (2019)

Please review the Basic Certification page for further information regarding the certification process.

List of Reserve Academies

List of Refresher Academies

Click here for information about certification ofnon-United States citizens.