Guide

After passing the NAPOLCOM exam: the certificate, the PNP recruitment stages, and what the eligibility does and does not guarantee.

The NAPOLCOM eligibility is the door, not the room. NAPOLCOM's own description is exact: passing the PNP Entrance Examination confers the PNP Entrance eligibility, which is appropriate for appointment to the rank of Patrolman or Patrolwoman. The appointment is made by the PNP, against a quota, after a recruitment process that screens for everything RA 8551 requires and the exam could not test. This guide sets out that process in order, with the law each stage comes from, so that a passer knows what is still ahead and can prepare for it in parallel.

Last reviewed: September 2026
Read: 3 min
Source: NAPOLCOM official

Exam guide

After Passing the NAPOLCOM Exam: What the Eligibility Gets You, and the Steps to Patrolman

Short answer

Passing confers the PNP Entrance eligibility, which is one requirement for appointment as Patrolman or Patrolwoman. Appointment itself comes through PNP recruitment: an application against a regional quota, then the physical agility test, the physical, medical and dental examination, the neuro-psychiatric examination, a drug test, a character and background investigation and a selection board. A new Patrolman then completes field training as a condition of permanency under RA 8551.

Quick facts

You receive: Certificate of Eligibility, by mail
It is: One requirement for appointment, not an appointment
Next: PNP recruitment, against a quota
Stages: PAT, PMDE, neuro-psych, drug test, CBI, board
Then: Field training as a condition of permanency

Key takeaways

The eligibility is necessary, not sufficient. The PNP recruits against a quota and screens on things the exam never measured.
The Certificate of Eligibility is mailed after the online result; you apply to the PNP with it, not with the website listing.
The recruitment stages are set by RA 8551's qualifications: height and weight, physical agility, medical and dental health, psychological fitness, no drug use, good character.
A newly appointed Patrolman or Patrolwoman completes a field training programme in patrol, traffic and investigation before the appointment becomes permanent.
Nothing in the exam or the eligibility fixes a shortfall in height, weight or fitness. Start on those now.

What you actually hold

About two months after the sitting NAPOLCOM posts the list of passers and mails a Certificate of Eligibility to each. The certificate establishes that you hold the PNP Entrance eligibility, which RA 8551 lists among the minimum qualifications for appointment: a Filipino citizen of good moral conduct, with a bachelor's degree, within the age and height standards, physically and mentally fit, with no drug dependence, and holding the appropriate eligibility.

It is worth being precise about what the certificate is not. It is not an appointment, not a place in a training class, and not a guarantee of either. The PNP recruits to fill an approved quota, national and regional, and applicants compete for those places.

Source: NAPOLCOM's examination results page, Republic Act No. 8551, the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998

The PNP recruitment stages

Recruitment is run by the PNP through its regional offices and the Regional Officers Selection Board, against the quota approved for that cycle. The stages exist to verify the qualifications in Section 14 of RA 8551 that the examination did not, and every one of them can end an application.

1
Application and initial evaluation
You apply through the PNP's recruitment portal or the regional recruitment office during a recruitment period, with your Certificate of Eligibility, transcript, birth certificate, clearances and other documents. Height and body mass index are measured at this stage against the RA 8551 standards.
2
Physical agility test (PAT)
A timed fitness assessment of endurance, strength and stamina. The exact events are set by the PNP; runs, push-ups and sit-ups are the core of it.
3
Physical, medical and dental examination (PMDE)
A full clinical, laboratory, vision and dental examination against the medical standards for the service.
4
Neuro-psychiatric examination and drug test
Psychological testing and interview to assess emotional stability and fitness for police service, and a drug test. RA 8551 requires both for appointment and for every promotion.
5
Character and background investigation (CBI)
Field verification of your record, schooling, employment and community standing, including interviews with family, neighbours, employers and references, and checks for pending cases and associations.
6
Selection board and appointment
A final board interview and deliberation. Successful applicants are appointed Patrolman or Patrolwoman and take their oath.

Source: Republic Act No. 8551, the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998

Field training and permanency

Appointment is the start of a probationary period. RA 8551 requires a field training programme involving actual experience and assignment in patrol, traffic and investigation as a requirement for permanency of the appointment. In practice that follows the basic recruit course, so a new Patrolman spends the first stretch of service in training before the appointment is permanent.

A Patrolman or Patrolwoman appointed on a temporary basis for want of eligibility, which can happen when quotas are hard to fill, sits the same entrance examination to make the appointment permanent. That is the second group NAPOLCOM's announcement admits to the exam.

Source: Republic Act No. 8551, the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998, NAPOLCOM's examination information page (Regional Office CALABARZON)

What to start on now

Every stage after the certificate tests something you can improve during the two-month wait for results. The physical agility test rewards a running programme started early. The medical examination rewards knowing your own numbers before the PNP does. The background investigation rewards clean paperwork: clearances from the NBI, the police and the barangay, and a documented record of where you have lived and worked.

Height and weight are the two that cannot be reviewed for, and they are the two that most often surprise a passer. The standard is 1.62 m for men and 1.57 m for women, waivable to 1.57 m and 1.52 m under NAPOLCOM's circular; weight must be within 5 kg of the standard for your height, age and sex. If either is close, know that before you apply.

Source: Republic Act No. 8551, the PNP Reform and Reorganization Act of 1998, NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular No. 2013-004 on waivers of the minimum qualifications

Frequently asked questions

Does passing the NAPOLCOM exam mean I am hired?

No. It confers the PNP Entrance eligibility, which is one of the qualifications for appointment. The PNP recruits against a quota through its own screening stages.

How long is the NAPOLCOM eligibility valid?

NAPOLCOM's announcements and RA 8551 set no expiry on the eligibility itself; the age limit for appointment is what runs out. An eligibility holder must still be within the age standard (30, or up to 35 on a quota waiver) when appointed.

What are the stages of PNP recruitment?

Application and initial document evaluation with height and BMI measurement, the physical agility test, the physical, medical and dental examination, the neuro-psychiatric examination and drug test, the character and background investigation, and the selection board.

What is field training?

RA 8551 requires a field training programme in patrol, traffic and investigation as a condition of a permanent appointment. A newly appointed Patrolman completes it after the basic recruit course.

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