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Annual Training Requirements

Summary of Annual Training Requirements for POST Certified Officers

  • 20 hours of training to include: 
    • 1 hour Firearms Requalification
    • 1 hour Use of Deadly Force
    • 1 hour De-escalation
    • 2 hours Community Policing
  • Consequences for failing to get your required annual training: 
    • Loss of your arrest powers
    • Training waiver fees
    • Potential emergency suspension of your certification

Laws Governing Annual Training Requirements

(a) During calendar year 1999 and during each calendar year thereafter, any person employed or appointed as a peace officer shall complete 20 hours of training as provided in this Code section; provided, however, that any peace officer serving with the Department of Public Safety who is a commissioned officer shall receive annual training as specified by the commissioner of public safety.  

(b) The training required by subsection (a) of this Code section shall be completed in sessions approved or recognized by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

(c) Peace officers who satisfactorily complete the basic course of training in accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall be excused from the minimum annual training requirement for the calendar year during which the basic course is completed.

(d) Any peace officer who does not fulfill the training requirements of this Code section shall lose his power of arrest.

(e) A waiver of the requirement of training provided in this Code section may be granted by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, in its discretion, upon the presentation of evidence by a peace officer that he or she was unable to complete such training due to medical disability, providential cause, or other reason deemed sufficient by the council.

(f) Any person who is registered or certified with the council as a retired peace officer is excused and exempt from compliance with this Code section for the year in which he or she retires. A retired peace officer may voluntarily comply with the requirements of this Code section and, in that event, such retired peace officer shall receive such minimal annual training without payment of any fees or costs, but only if sufficient class space is available. Nothing in this subsection shall be deemed to grant an exemption to persons required to complete the annual training requirement of this Code section.

(g) Any person required to comply with this Code section shall provide confirmation of his or her training for the previous year to the council in a manner required by the council. Failure to provide the council with confirmation of training in a timely manner or failure to obtain required training in a timely manner shall result in an emergency suspension of the officer’s certification by the executive director. The order of emergency suspension issued by the executive director shall be made in writing and shall specify the basis for the determination. The emergency suspension order shall continue in effect until the training requirements are confirmed or a waiver is issued pursuant to subsection (e) of this Code section. An emergency suspension issued pursuant to this subsection shall be automatically withdrawn upon confirmation of required training or the issuance of a waiver by the council.

History: Code 1981, § 35-8-21, enacted by Ga. L. 1988, p. 1063, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 777, § 5; Ga. L. 2004, p. 986, § 2A; Ga. L. 2013, p. 864, § 3/HB 366. 

(a) Each person employed or appointed as a peace officer shall, as part of the annual training required by O.C.G.A. 35-8-21, satisfactorily complete during each calendar year the annual firearms training mandated by this rule. The failure by any peace officer to attend and successfully complete the training required by this rule shall result in the loss of that officer’s power of arrest, as set forth in O.C.G.A. 35-8-21(d).

(b) Annual firearms training shall, at a minimum, consist of three hours of training provided by a POST-certified firearms instructor, which training shall include, but not be limited to:

    1. Training on the Constitutional and legal limitations on the use of deadly force;
    2. Training on the agency’s policies regarding the use of deadly force;
    3. De-escalation options for gaining compliance; and
    4. A demonstration of proficiency in the safe and effective use of the primary handgun carried and/or used by the particular officer, to include a course of fire that meets or exceeds the minimum standard set forth in the basic training course for which the officer was initially trained and is currently employed. In any instance where an officer has more than one peace officer certification, the higher standard shall apply. Any officer failing to achieve the required score in the above training may undergo additional courses of fire under the direction of a POST-certified firearms instructor in order to achieve a passing score.

(a) Each person employed or appointed as a peace officer shall, as part of the annual training required by O.C.G.A. 35-8-21, satisfactorily complete during each calendar year the annual community policing training mandated by this rule. The failure by any peace officer to attend and successfully complete the training required by this rule shall result in the loss of that officer’s power of arrest, as set forth in O.C.G.A. 35-8-21(d).

(b) Annual community policing training shall, at a minimum, consist of two hours of training as approved by POST Council.

Annual Training FAQ

No. It is the responsibility of each individual officer to complete 20 hours of training during each calendar year. Many agencies have programs that allow officers to attend training on duty, but this type of program is not required by law.

You, the individual officer, are responsible for maintaining a record of your training hours. Neither POST nor the regional academies will necessarily have records of all training you complete; for this reason, it is suggested each officer keep a folder with copies of certificates of completion, etc. documenting received training. Such documentation will ensure your actions are in compliance with the law, should an arrest or warrant be questioned in the courts.

There are only two exemptions from the 20-hour requirement:

  1. If you are inactive for the entire year.
    • If you work any portion of a year, you are required to receive 20 hours of training for that year.
  2. If you complete basic mandate in the calendar year.

 

No, but you will lose the “power of arrest” at midnight on December 31 of that year.

No, the power of arrest is gone. To get it reinstated, you must make up the deficient training and submit a waiver request form and associated fees to the Council. The Council will review the request and inform you of its decision. Until such time as a waiver is issued, you have no “power of arrest.”

You can submit a copy of the training certificate presented at the completion of the course and POST will add this training to your record.

NOTE: Please include your Social Security Number or Okey and documentation indicating the number of hours of training if it is not printed on the course completion certificate.

Yes. To get credit for this type of training you must submit to POST a copy of the course completion certificate with your social security number or Okey written on the certificate along with documentation (agenda) indicating the number of hours of training.

Yes. Once you have an application for certification on file at POST, you are in the computer system and any training reported by an academy will be entered onto your training record.