How to become a corrections officer in Maine

Pay

Salary Schedule 82, effective June 28, 2026.

Source:[maine.gov]

Requirements

• Minimum age: 18
• Education: High school graduate or equivalent (HiSET, GED, etc.)
• Valid driver's license
• No serious criminal record or extensive motor vehicle record (automatic disqualifiers apply)

Source:[maine.gov]

Hiring process

1. Online application and minimum-qualification review
2. Physical Agility Test
3. Oral Board Interview (pass/fail)
4. Background investigation (fingerprint criminal history + prior employment references)
5. Basic Corrections Training Program

Source:[maine.gov]

Entrance exam

Physical Agility Test (PAT). Push-ups, sit-ups, step test (96 steps in 60 s), 140-lb dummy drag, fire extinguisher carry, 1-mile run/brisk walk. Oral Board is a pass/fail structured interview.[maine.gov]

Academy

6 weeks, paid. Six-week Basic Corrections Training Program (42.5 paid hours/week) at a regional MDOC facility, following the Maine Criminal Justice Academy curriculum for state certification; followed by three weeks of facility-specific Post-School and Field Training Officer coaching.[maine.gov]

Pension and retirement

• Plan: Maine Public Employees Retirement System (MainePERS), 1998 Special Plan
• Benefit formula: 2% of average final compensation (average of three highest years of earnable compensation) for each year of service in a covered position
• When you can retire: Age 55 with 10 years, or 25 years in a covered position; benefit for plan service reduced if under age 55
• Social Security: no, this job is not covered

MainePERS lists '(Certain) Department of Corrections Employees' employed on or after 1/1/2000 in the 1998 Special Plan. Member contribution 8.65% for the first 25 years under the plan, 7.65% thereafter. MainePERS: state employees contribute to MainePERS instead of Social Security. LD 1424 (a separate 25-year DOC plan) was carried over, not enacted, per Legislature records.

Source:[mainepers.org]