How to become a 911 dispatcher in New Jersey
In New Jersey, 911 dispatchers are hired by city, county and regional 911 centers. The New Jersey Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services (OETS) sets the statewide standards; the credential is Public Safety Telecommunicator (OETS-certified call taker/dispatcher).
Pay at the City of Newark Department of Public Safety
Each city and county sets its own pay.
No official Newark pay plan or posting for its 9-1-1 telecommunicator title was found on the city's own domain.
Pay for this work across New Jersey
Federal survey figures for public safety telecommunicators in New Jersey, counting every employer in the state, public and private, so they differ from any one agency's pay scale above.
| People in this work | 4,010 |
|---|---|
| Lower pay (10th percentile) | $46,080 |
| Median pay | $59,240 |
| Higher pay (90th percentile) | $79,040 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates (all employers)[bls.gov]
Requirements
- Every PSAP call-taker and dispatcher position must be staffed by a person certified by OETS (N.J.A.C. 17:24-2.2(c)); uncertified substitutes only when a certified person is out due to illness or an emergency
- Initial training: an approved Basic Telecommunications Course; OETS policy sets the minimum course length at 40 hours
- Current CPR certification from a NJ Department of Health-approved course (not required where the PSAP directly transfers EMS calls to a qualifying agency)
- Current Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) certification in an approved course (same EMS-transfer exception); OETS's own EMD course is 32 hours, EMD recertification every 3 years with 24 hours of continuing education
- Annual in-service training: an 8-hour program developed by the local PSAP and approved by OETS, each year after initial certification
- Basic course candidates must be proficient in reading and writing English, speak clearly on radio and phone, hear telephone/radio signals, and stay calm under stress (OETS Policy 2.1, adapted from ASTM F 1258); the hiring agency verifies these
Source:[law.cornell.edu]
Required training
40 hours minimum. OETS Telecommunicator Training Policies (Policy 1.1, Jan 2015): all approved Basic Telecommunications Courses must include a minimum 40-hour course of instruction (interpersonal communications and caller interrogation, message recording, police/fire/EMS functions, telecommunications systems, radio procedures, legal issues). EMD certification is a separate course (OETS EMD course 32 hours). Courses are given by OETS-approved vendors/sponsors.[nj.gov]
Pension and retirement
- Plan: Public Employees' Retirement System of New Jersey (PERS)
- Benefit formula: Years of service / 60 × final average salary (Tier 5); FAS = last 5 years of creditable service or highest 5 fiscal years, whichever is larger
- When you can retire: Tier 5 (enrolled on/after June 28, 2011): service retirement at age 65; early retirement with 30 years of service before 65, reduced 3% for each year under 65
PERS covers State and local government employees in New Jersey; Tier 5 rules from the NJ Division of Pensions and Benefits PERS fact sheet/guidebook.
Source:[nj.gov]