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 08/2024] 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.
Authorized Basic Academy Program Requirements
The links below provide the Basic Academic Training program for the years listed in a printable PDF format if needed for out-of-state certification transfer, etc. Programs listed contain the minimum requirement for that year, though the actual program length varies by academy, and many programs were longer. A gap in program years indicates that there was no change to the program.
- Current Basic Academic Training Program
2024 Program (effective 7/1/2024)
- Past Basic Academic Training Program
2023 Program
2022 Program
2019 Program
2017 Program
2015 Program
2012 Program
2011 Program
2009 Program
2005 Program
2004 Program
2000 Program
1999 Program
1998 Program
1996 Program
1995 Program
1993 Program
1991 Program
1990 Program
1988 Program
1986 Program
1984 Program
1982 Program
1981 Program
1977 Program
1974 Program- Certification of Non-United States Citizens
Please review the Basic Certification page for more information about the certification process.
Authorized Colorado Basic Academies
Academy | Address | Type | Contact | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adams County Sheriff's Academy | FLATROCK Regional Training Center 23600 E. 128th Ave. | Agency | Cmdr. Casey Overton
| ||||
Aims C.C. Basic Peace Officer Academy | Aims Windsor Campus, Public Safety Institute Building 1130 South Gate Drive Windsor, CO 80550 | Community College | Ross Perkins Interim Director | ||||
Arapahoe C.C. Law Enforcement Academy | 5900 South Santa Fe Drive | Community College | Director 303-797-5874 | ||||
Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Training Academy | 13101 E Broncos Pkwy Centennial, CO, 80112 Google Maps | Agency | Quinn Cunningham Director | ||||
Aurora Police Training Academy | 25950 East Quincy Avenue Aurora, CO 80016 Google Maps | Agency | Lt. Justin Shipley Director | ||||
Colorado Mountain College - Glenwood Springs | Law Enforcement Training Academy | Community College | Drew Oesterle Director 970-947-8173 Joseph Maes Assistant Director 970-947-8283 | ||||
Colorado Mountain College - Summit County | 333 Fiedler Ave Dillon, CO 80435 Google Maps | Community College | Tom Kotz Director 970-468-5989 | ||||
Colorado Springs PD Training Academy | 725 North Murray Blvd. Colorado Springs, CO 80915 | Agency | Director 719-444-7679 | ||||
Camp George West | Agency | Training Services Branch Cmdr. 303-273-1753 | |||||
9235 East 10th Drive | Community College | Michael Carter
| |||||
Denver Police Academy | 2155 North Akron Way | Agency | Lt. Jesse Campion Director 720-913-1359 | ||||
El Paso County S.O. Training Academy | Office of the Sheriff | Agency | Sgt. Gregory White
| ||||
Fort Collins Police Services Academy | 2221 S Timberline Rd Fort Collins, CO 80525 Google Maps | Agency | Lt. Jackie Pearson Director | ||||
Front Range Community College Law Enforcement Academy | 4616 S Shields St Fort Collins, CO 80526 Google Maps | Community College | Lt. Ben Hurr and Lt. Marc Weber Director | ||||
Highlands Ranch Law Enforcement
| 6001 Ron King Trail | Private | Dave Weaver Director 303-660-7570 | ||||
Jefferson County SO and Lakewood PD
| 1955 S. Kipling St Lakewood CO 80227 | Agency | Cmdr. Brad Ingermann (JeffCo) Director 303-271-5690 | ||||
North Metro Police Academy | 9000 Colorado Boulevard | Agency | Lt. Jim Gerhardt Director 720-977-5157 | ||||
1802 Colorado Avenue | Community College | Vincent Fraker Director 719-384-6867 Kyle Moore Assistant Academy Director 719-384-6802 | |||||
Pikes Peak Regional Law Enforcement Academy | 5675 South Academy Blvd. | Community College | Cathy LaBrecque Director 719-502-3528 | ||||
Pueblo Community College Law Enforcement Academy | 900 West Orman Avenue | Community College | Director 719-549-337 | ||||
Pueblo Police Department Law Enforcement Academy
| 200 South Main Street | Agency | Antoinette Ramos Academy Director 719-553-3321 | ||||
Red Rocks C.C. Law Enforcement Training
| 13300 West Sixth Avenue | Community | Thomas Williams Interim Director 303-914-6363 | ||||
Southwest Regional Law Enforcement Academy (Pueblo Community College Southwest) | 33057 Hwy 160 | Community College | Douglas Parker Director 970-564-6202 | ||||
Technical College of the Rockies Police Academy
| 1765 U.S. Highway 50 | Community College | Brett Hilling Director 970-874-6576 | ||||
Trinidad State Junior College - Alamosa
| Law Enforcement Training Academy | Community College | Sgt. Tate Kindschuh Director 719-252-3605 | ||||
Western Colorado Peace Officers Academy | 2508 Blichmann Avenue | Community College | Michael Diehl Director | ||||
Western Colorado Law Enforcement Academy | PO Box 790 Montrose, CO 81402 | Community College | Courtney Jones Director |
Other Resources
- HB21-1122 Commission Resource Guide
- Reserve Academies List
- Refresher Academies List
Note
For questions about certification, please use the following e-mail:
Career resources: