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EXAM 6303 · TEST AUGUST 13, 2026

NYC Correction Officer exam 6303: the complete guide

What the job is, when the exam is, the 11 ability areas it tests, and how to prepare for each one. Every fact below traces to the official notice.

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Key dates

Filing closed
May 29, 2026
Tested on
August 13, 2026
Passing score
70%

This cycle has finished. The dates above are the ones exam 6303 was actually run on. New York City Department of Correction / DCAS publishes a new number, a new filing period and a new test date in the next notice — the abilities it tests are the same ones below, which is why preparing before the notice appears is the whole advantage.

Correction Officer Exam No. 6303 is the current notice, amended 29 April 2026. Its filing period ran 1 April – 29 May 2026 and the notice states that multiple-choice testing was expected to begin 13 August 2026. Of the exams tracked on this site, this is the one with the most recent official notice.

The April 2026 amendment was a pay revision rather than a rule change: it raised the stated minimum salary from $54,652 to $56,838, the basic maximum from $105,146 to $109,352, and each of the four longevity increments. Candidates who had already applied did not need to reapply.

Because the notice is recent, it is the single best document to read if you want to know what a New York City uniformed civil-service exam actually asks of a candidate today — the filing window, the fee, the qualifying routes and the ability areas are all in it.

The 11 ability areas, and what each one asks of you

The Correction Officer test is multiple choice at a computer terminal, and 70% is the minimum passing score. Your score sets your ranking on the eligible list. Each area below has a technique lesson and a drill built for this exam — not adapted from another one.

Deductive Reasoning

Take a rule you are given and apply it to a specific case, then judge whether the answer actually follows. The wrong options are usually the ones that break one clause of the rule.

Drill this area

Inductive Reasoning

Work the other direction: combine separate facts into the general conclusion they support, and reject conclusions that outrun the evidence.

Drill this area

Information Ordering

Put steps, numbers, names or procedures into the order a stated rule demands. The rule is always supplied — the work is following it exactly.

Drill this area

Mathematical Reasoning

Read a problem, work out which operation actually answers it, then set it up. The reasoning is the tested part; the arithmetic is the easy part.

Drill this area

Memorization

Hold words, numbers, faces and procedures well enough to answer after the material is taken away. A trainable filing habit, not a talent.

Drill this area

Number Facility

Add, subtract, multiply and divide quickly and correctly under time pressure. Speed and accuracy together, not either alone.

Drill this area

Problem Sensitivity

Notice that something is wrong, or about to go wrong, before it is pointed out — and name both the whole problem and its parts.

Drill this area

Spatial Orientation

Work out where you are relative to something else, and pick the route or direction that follows. Usually a map, a floor plan or a set of turns.

Drill this area

Visualization

Predict how a shape, pattern or object looks once it is rotated, folded or rearranged — mentally, without drawing it.

Drill this area

Written Comprehension

Understand what a sentence or paragraph actually says — policies, regulations, signage — and answer from the text rather than from assumption.

Drill this area

Written Expression

Choose the wording that another person will read the way you meant it. Grammar, clarity and precision in reports, in multiple-choice form.

Drill this area

This exam draws on a wider set of ability areas than the Police Officer exam does — eleven rather than nine, with mathematical reasoning and number facility added. That difference is visible on test day: basic hand-held calculators for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are permitted at the Correction Officer test, while the Police Officer notice permits no calculator at all.

As with the other DCAS uniformed exams, some questions are answered from documents or other material supplied to candidates on the day of the test rather than from memory of outside knowledge.

Who can apply

Education and experience
There are four qualifying routes by the time of appointment: 39 college semester credits (Academy training supplies a further 21 for a total of 60); or a four-year high school diploma plus six months of honorable full-time U.S. military service, or six months of full-time social services, casework, mental-health counselling or homeless-services work, or six months in a qualifying law-enforcement position; or a high school diploma plus one year of satisfactory full-time paid general work experience; or two years of active service in a military Reserve or National Guard component with an honorable discharge. Individual Ready Reserve time does not count.
Qualifying law-enforcement work
The law-enforcement route is defined by statute rather than by job title: police officer positions under section 1.20(34) of the New York Criminal Procedure Law, peace officer positions under section 2.10, special patrolman designated under section 14-106 of the Administrative Code and chapter 13 of title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York, or an equivalent federal or out-of-state position.
Age
At least 17 by the date you sit the multiple-choice test and 21 by the date of appointment. Unlike the Police Officer notice, the Correction Officer notice sets no maximum age — but if you are still too young when the list is terminated, that list is finished for you.
Driver license
A New York State learner's permit at the time of appointment, and a full New York State driver license before graduating from the Department of Correction Academy. An existing licence with moving violations, a suspension or an accident record can be disqualifying.
Residency
At the date of appointment you must live in New York City or in Nassau, Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Rockland or Putnam county, under the New York State Public Officers Law.
Peace officer status
You must satisfy and keep satisfying New York State's requirements for peace officers for the whole of your employment. Appointment is also subject to the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, which bars hiring or promoting anyone with a qualifying record of sexual abuse in a custodial setting.
Screening
Background investigation with a $75 fingerprint-screening fee, medical and psychological assessment, a qualifying physical test, drug screening, and annual firearms qualification. The probationary period is 24 months and includes a prescribed training course you must complete.

Scoring, and what happens after you pass

If you pass, your name goes onto an eligible list in final score order and you are given a list number. The notice says such a list is usually active for four years, which matches the ceiling in New York Civil Service Law § 56 of not less than one and not more than four years.

Appointments are made under New York Civil Service Law § 61, which lets the appointing authority pick one of the three highest-ranked candidates on the certified list who will accept the position. So the list is worked from the top down, and your list number — not merely the fact that you passed — decides whether you are ever reached.

If you believe a part of your test was rated incorrectly you can appeal to the DCAS Committee on Manifest Errors through the online application system. An appeal can move your score in either direction.

What the notice says about pay

Notice of Examination No. 6303 as amended 29 April 2026 states a minimum salary of $56,838 per year, rising to $109,352 at the completion of five and a half years, with an annual uniform allowance of $1,100. Longevity payments of $4,799, $5,799, $6,799 and $9,314 are added to base salary after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of service respectively. The notice states all rates are subject to change.

How to prepare

Start with the diagnostic — 14 questions, about seven minutes, no signup. It tells you which of the 11 areas is costing you rank, so you drill the weak one instead of the comfortable one. Then work the lessons and drills for that area, and sit a timed mock when you want to know where you stand under the clock.

Take the free diagnosticBrowse the drillsSit a timed mock

Questions candidates ask

What are the requirements for the NYC Correction Officer exam?

Notice of Examination No. 6303 sets four qualifying routes by the time of appointment: 39 college semester credits; or a high school diploma plus six months of military service, social-services/casework experience or qualifying law-enforcement work; or a high school diploma plus one year of full-time paid general work experience; or two years of active Reserve or National Guard service with an honorable discharge. You must also be 21 at appointment, hold at least a New York State learner's permit, be a U.S. citizen and meet New York State peace officer requirements.

Can you use a calculator on the NYC Correction Officer exam?

Yes — the notice permits basic hand-held calculators that do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Calculators with additional features are banned and must be sealed in a pouch. This is a real difference from the NYPD Police Officer notice, which permits no calculator at all, and it reflects that the Correction Officer test covers mathematical reasoning and number facility.

What is the passing score for the NYC Correction Officer exam?

70%. Passing is the threshold for getting a list number at all; the score above 70 is what determines your position in line, because appointments come off the list in rank order.

How much do NYC Correction Officers make?

The notice as amended in April 2026 states a starting salary of $56,838 per year rising to $109,352 after five and a half years, plus a $1,100 annual uniform allowance and longevity payments after 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of service. The notice says all rates are subject to change, so check the current notice before relying on the figure.

Is there an age limit for the NYC Correction Officer exam?

There is a minimum but no maximum: 17 to sit the test, 21 to be appointed. That differs from the NYPD Police Officer notice, which additionally requires candidates to be under 35 on the first day of the filing period in order to be appointed.

The rest of the guide

Correction Officer practice test — one question from every ability area

Real questions from the bank, answered in the page, with the technique explanation after each one.

NYC Correction Officer Salary (2026)

Correction Officer pay starts at $56,838 and reaches $109,352 at five and a half years, with four longevity increments on top.

NYC Correction Officer Requirements (2026)

Exam 6303 offers more routes in than any other exam here: 39 college credits, or a high school diploma plus six months of military service, social services work or law enforcement.

NYC Correction Officer Test: Format and the 11 Abilities

Exam 6303 tests eleven ability areas — the widest set DCAS publishes — adding mathematical reasoning and number facility to the nine on the Police Officer notice.

NYC Correction Officer vs Police Officer: Which Exam to Take

Same pay ceiling, same five-and-a-half-year ladder, overlapping ability sets — but different entry routes, different calculator rules and very different filing calendars.

What Does a NYC Correction Officer Do?

Care, custody and control, as the notice puts it — and what that means day to day: counts, tool control, cell checks, escorts and the written record that has to survive scrutiny months later..

Where these facts come from

We do not publish exam dates ourselves, and you should be skeptical of any site that posts one without a source. Every fact on this page comes from the documents below, each with the date we last opened it. Facts on this page were last checked August 15, 2026 — for the current filing period and test date, the official notice is authoritative.