THE NYS COURT OFFICERS ACADEMY
The NYS Court Officers Academy
Once you clear screening, you enter the academy for four months of paid basic training. It is the start of a two-year traineeship that turns a recruit into a certified peace officer. Here is what it involves.
The NYS Court Officers Academy is four months of paid basic training that every Court Officer-Trainee must complete, delivered at two locations — Brooklyn for downstate and the upstate academy — and followed by the rest of a two-year traineeship. As of 2026-07-30 no academy class date has been announced for exam 45-857: the exam is administered August 26 to October 7, 2026, and training starts only after the eligible list is established and you are appointed.
Last verified: 2026-07-30.
Four months of paid basic training
Recruits — Court Officer-Trainees — attend four months of paid basic training at the NYS Court Officers Academy for their Initial Peace Officer Basic Training. The exam 45-857 announcement puts it plainly: candidates must successfully complete four (4) months of a paid training program at the academy.
Upon successful completion, recruits are certified by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Office of Public Safety, as peace officers of the State of New York. Expect to demonstrate proficiency in physical training, defensive tactics, basic life support and firearms, alongside a demanding academic curriculum.
The academy is not a contractor or a shared regional facility. It was established in 1972, runs under a Chief of Training, and its full-time court-officer staff are themselves certified as police instructors by DCJS. It is responsible for training roughly 4,200 court officers plus about 2,000 additional non-uniformed peace officers across the Unified Court System — so the people teaching your class do this full time, statewide.
When is the next NYS Court Officers Academy class?
There is no published answer, and any site that gives you a specific date is guessing. The court system does not announce academy class start dates in advance, and none has been announced for exam 45-857. What is published is the sequence that has to happen first — and it puts a 45-857 candidate in 2027 at the earliest.
| Aug 26 – Oct 7, 2026NOW | Exam 45-857 testing window |
| ~Spring 2027 | Scores released (~6 months after the testing window) |
| First half of 2027 | Eligible list established; 45-841 and 45-843 lists expire |
| After the list | Canvassing in rank order, then pre-appointment screening |
| On appointment | Four months of paid academy basic training (JG-16) |
| +2 years | Traineeship completed → NYS Court Officer (JG-19) |
Score release around spring 2027 and list establishment in the first half of 2027 are the court system's own expectations, not ours. The practical consequence: the only part of this timeline you control is the exam score that sets your rank.
What the training covers
A sample of the core curriculum published by the court system:
- ✓New York State Penal Law & Criminal Procedure Law
- ✓Firearms training
- ✓Physical training & defensive tactics
- ✓Arrest procedures & prisoner escort
- ✓Court structure, agency policies & guidelines
- ✓Baton and pepper spray use
- ✓Counter-terrorism & bomb-detection training
- ✓Critical incident management & evacuation procedures
- ✓Law enforcement mental health & domestic violence awareness
- ✓Incident command systems
- ✓Defensive driving
- ✓Basic life support
- ✓Oral and written communication skills
- ✓Interacting with the general public
This is a sample, not the full list. Recruits also take part in daily physical fitness routines and are regularly assessed and tested.
Do not confuse this with the academy's 140-hour Basic Peace Officer Training Course, which is run periodically for court clerk and court assistant titles that are also covered as peace officers by statute. Court Officer-Trainees do the four-month recruit academy, not the 140-hour course.
Where the academy is
Two locations: one serving the downstate (NYC) area and one serving upstate. Which one you report to follows your appointment region, not your preference.
DOWNSTATE
Court Officers Academy
541 St. Johns Place
Brooklyn, NY 11238
Subway 2, 3, 4, 5 or the Franklin Avenue Shuttle to Franklin Avenue, then walk down Franklin and turn onto St. Johns Place. Bus B45 or B48 to Classon / St. Johns Place.
UPSTATE
Court Officers Academy
101 State Farm Place, Suite 107
Malta, NY 12020
Note the discrepancy on the court system's own academy page: the narrative text still describes the upstate academy as Castleton-On-Hudson, while the address block on that same page lists the Malta address above.
Because the two descriptions disagree at the source, treat the address here as a planning figure and confirm your reporting location in writing with the court system before you travel or move.
The two-year traineeship & pay
The four-month academy is part of a longer two-year traineeship. You enter the academy at Judicial Grade 16 (JG-16), starting at $58,100 (effective April 1, 2025), plus location pay depending on your county and annual allowances.
After you successfully complete the two-year traineeship, you are promoted to NYS Court Officer at Judicial Grade 19 (JG-19), starting at $68,593.
| Academy entry — Court Officer-Trainee (JG-16) | $58,100 |
| Location pay (by county tier) | +$2,460 / +$4,920 |
| After the traineeship — Court Officer (JG-19) | $68,593 |
You have to keep earning your spot
Getting into the academy is not the finish line. Per the exam announcement, a trainee may be terminated at any time during basic training for failing to meet performance standards. Recruits are regularly assessed and tested, and must demonstrate proficiency across the physical and academic curriculum.
There is a footnote to that rule most guides leave out, and it is the reason "at any time" really means at any time: the announcement states that the minimum probationary period under Rules of the Chief Judge 25.22(b) does not apply to NYS Court Officer-Trainees. You do not get the floor that rule would otherwise give you.
The practical takeaway: the academy expects you to show up prepared and keep performing throughout basic training.
What happens after graduation
After completing basic training you are certified as a peace officer and continue at your assigned work site, with further on-the-job training. Court Officers return to the academy periodically for in-service training, including firearms training and the annual requalification required for those authorized to carry a firearm — the academy runs eight firearm ranges, one or more of them in operation daily somewhere in the state, to keep up with that statute-mandated requalification.
From there, the career opens up. The academy names the specialized units it trains for: the Mobile Security Patrol (MSP), the Special Response Team (SRT) and the New York State Courts Ceremonial Unit, plus instructor-level and train-the-trainer courses if you want to end up teaching the next class. Higher ranks in the Court Officer title series come through separate promotional exams; because those figures are not part of the 45-857 announcement, we do not quote specific numbers for them.
None of this transfers between agencies. A recruit academy is defined by the department that runs it, so the length, the certification you leave with and the pay while you are in it all differ — the NYC Police Officer exam 7313 page keeps that department's own terms as its notice states them, and we do not carry a figure from one across to the other.
NYS Court Officers Academy — common questions
How long is the NYS Court Officers Academy?
Four months. The exam 45-857 announcement states that candidates must successfully complete four (4) months of a paid training program at the NYS Court Officers Academy. That four-month academy is the first stage of a two-year Court Officer-Trainee traineeship; the rest is on-the-job training at your assigned court.
When is the next NYS Court Officers Academy class?
The court system does not publish academy class start dates in advance, and no class date has been announced for exam 45-857. The sequence is fixed, though: the 45-857 exam is administered August 26 to October 7, 2026, scores are expected around spring 2027 (roughly six months after the testing window), the eligible list is expected to be established in the first half of 2027, and candidates are then canvassed in rank order and screened before appointment. Academy training begins only after appointment, so a 45-857 candidate should plan on 2027 at the earliest.
Where is the NYS Court Officers Academy?
There are two locations. The downstate academy is at 541 St. Johns Place, Brooklyn, NY 11238. For the upstate academy the court system's own page is inconsistent: the narrative text describes the upstate location as Castleton-On-Hudson, while the address block on the same page lists 101 State Farm Place, Suite 107, Malta, NY 12020. Confirm your reporting location with the court system before you travel.
Do you get paid at the court officer academy?
Yes. Academy basic training is paid. Recruits enter at Judicial Grade 16 (JG-16) with a starting salary of $58,100 effective April 1, 2025, plus location pay of $2,460 or $4,920 depending on the county tier, and annual allowances.
Can you be dropped from the court officer academy?
Yes, at any time. The 45-857 announcement states that performance is carefully reviewed and evaluated during academy basic training and that a trainee who fails to meet performance standards may be terminated at any time. The announcement also notes that the minimum probationary period under Rules of the Chief Judge 25.22(b) does not apply to NYS Court Officer-Trainees.
Where this academy information comes from
We checked the training length, academy locations and addresses, curriculum, peace-officer certification, pay, traineeship and performance rules against these official New York State Unified Court System pages:
- NYS Court Officers Academy — four months of paid training, the two academy locations and their published addresses, the 1972 founding and training volumes, the full curriculum, DCJS certification, the specialized units, the 140-hour clerk course and the eight firearm ranges. Retrieved 2026-07-30; this is the page whose narrative text and address block disagree on the upstate location.
- Candidate Screening Process — daily fitness, assessment, graduation and follow-on training
- Court Officer-Trainee exam 45-857 — the "four (4) months of a paid training program" wording, JG-16/JG-19 pay, location pay, the two-year promotion, the termination-at-any-time rule and the Rules of the Chief Judge 25.22(b) carve-out. Testing window August 26 – October 7, 2026; scores expected around spring 2027 and the eligible list in the first half of 2027, per the court system's own candidate FAQ.
Last verified: 2026-07-30. DutyRank is an independent study product and is not affiliated with the New York State Unified Court System.
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