How to become a police officer in Delaware
In Delaware, police officers are hired by city police departments and county sheriff's offices. The Delaware Police Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST, formerly the Council on Police Training) sets the statewide standards; the credential is Police officer certification (Delaware POST). At the Wilmington Police Department, new hires start at $67,600 a year, rising to $91,477 after about 4 years. You must be at least 21.
Pay at the Wilmington Police Department
Each city and county sets its own pay. This is the official scale of the Wilmington Police Department, the largest city's agency.
| Starting salary | $67,600 |
|---|---|
| Top of scale | $91,477 |
| Years to top | 4 |
| Scale effective | 2025-12 |
Wilmington police officer posting (December 2025); top pay from year five.
Source:[web.archive.org]
Pay for this work across Delaware
Federal survey figures for police and sheriff's patrol officers in Delaware, counting every employer in the state, public and private, so they differ from any one agency's pay scale above.
| People in this work | 1,800 |
|---|---|
| Lower pay (10th percentile) | $62,470 |
| Median pay | $92,970 |
| Higher pay (90th percentile) | $130,870 |
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state estimates (all employers)[bls.gov]
Requirements
- Minimum age: 21
- Education: High school graduate (diploma from a state-accredited high school); an equivalency diploma issued by an accredited high school is acceptable
- Citizenship: U.S. citizen
- Age 21 for full-time officers (18 for seasonal officers)
- Physical examination by a licensed physician (vision correctable to 20/20 with each eye no worse than 20/200 uncorrected, color and depth perception, normal hearing, no communicable disease)
- Drug screening before appointment or academy attendance
- Validated psychiatric/psychological test plus in-person examination and endorsement by a licensed psychologist/psychiatrist
- Valid driver's license
- Good reputation and character: background investigation in POST's prescribed form and an in-person interview by the chief or designee
- No felony or misdemeanor conviction that bars possessing a weapon; fingerprint search of local, state and national files plus the IADLEST National Decertification Index
- Written job-related examination prescribed by POST
- Bad conduct or dishonorable military discharge disqualifies
- Weight in proportion to height/build or Cooper Institute body-fat standard; must meet the academy's minimum physical ability standards (POST recommends the Cooper battery at the 20th percentile in at least 3 events)
Source:[post.delaware.gov]
Hiring process
- Application
- Written job-related examination
- Physical ability test
- Background investigation, fingerprinting and in-person interview with the chief or designee
- Medical examination including vision and hearing
- Psychological testing and evaluation
- Drug screening
- POST-approved basic police academy (584-hour mandatory curriculum)
Source:[post.delaware.gov]
Entrance exam
Written job-related examination (POST-prescribed entrance test). Each applicant must pass a validated written test related to the duties of a police officer, in the form and manner prescribed by POST; results are kept two years for POST inspection. No separate post-academy state licensing exam is listed.[post.delaware.gov]
Required training
584 hours minimum. POST: the mandatory curriculum for police basic training reflects 584 hours, required for all police officer appointments except seasonal appointments.[post.delaware.gov]
Pension and retirement
- Plan: Delaware County and Municipal Police/Firefighter Pension Plan (11 Del. C. ch. 88)
- Benefit formula: Monthly ordinary service pension = 2.5% of final average compensation x years of service up to 20, plus 3.5% of final average compensation x years of service above 20; final average compensation = highest 36 consecutive months
- When you can retire: Service pension after leaving employment when the member has 20 years of credited service, or 5 years and age 62, or age plus credited service (at least 10 years) equals 75; vested after 5 years
Statewide plan that counties and municipalities affiliate with; members contribute 7% of monthly compensation (since Jan 1, 2006). Not confirmed whether Wilmington's police participate or keep a city plan.
Source:[delcode.delaware.gov]