EXAM 45-857 · AFTER THE WRITTEN TEST
The written exam is done. Here's what you can start now.
Results are months away, but the next two hurdles — a physical test and a background investigation — reward the people who start early. Everything below is from the court system's own pages.
What happens between now and the academy
- 1
Results, then the list
Results are typically e-mailed about six months after the testing window closes — around spring 2027 for 45-857 — and the eligible list is established in score order after that.
- 2
The call, by rank and region
Candidates are contacted in rank order for the region they chose on the Availability Form, and only if and when their rank is reached. The call is a conditional appointment and a date to report for Phase 1.
- 3
Phase 1 — Physical Ability Test, vision screening, fingerprints
The four-event PAT and a vision screening test. Those who clear both are fingerprinted at the Court Officers Academy, at no fee.
- 4
Phase 2 — written psychological tests and the background investigation
The background investigation begins only after you qualify on the PAT. An investigator from the Applicant Verification & Compliance Unit interviews you and stays your contact throughout.
- 5
Phase 3 — psychological interview and evaluation board
An interview with a licensed clinical psychologist, whose decision draws on the interview, the written tests and the background report; then a board of court managers, security professionals and administrative staff reviews your history.
- 6
Phase 4 — pre-appointment medical, then the academy
A comprehensive medical exam against published standards. Appointment to the academy needs you to be at least 20½ and to hold a valid New York State driver's license; training is at least four months.
The page says candidates must complete each step before moving to the next. It gives no durations — not for any phase, and not for the gaps between them — so anyone quoting you a timeline is guessing.
PAT points calculator
Four events, 0–7 points each, one standard for everyone. You pass with 20 or more points and at least 1 on every event — a 0 anywhere fails the battery whatever the total. Enter a practice attempt to see where your points are and what the next one takes in each event.
Enter all four results to see your points. Nothing leaves this page.
- • Scored on the court system's points table dated April 19, 2024. The court system reserves the right to modify the test during the life of the list — check the table when you are called.
- • The agility run is run twice; the court system does not say which trial is scored.
- • The number of stages in each beep-test level, and which recording the test uses, are not published — a level and stage from a practice app may not match the test's exactly.
- • At home nobody applies the no-count rules below. A rep the examiner would not count does not score, so practise to the test's standard.
How each event is run
Push-ups — one minute
Feet 8–12 inches apart, hands slightly wider than your shoulders, body straight. A rep counts when your sternum touches a foam block and you push back to full arm extension. Knees touching, a bent body, or arms short of full extension — no count.
Illinois Agility Run — timed
About 60 yards around cones: start lying face down, fingertips behind the line; run to the far cone, back to the middle, then weave the centre cones. Two trials. A stumble, keep going; a fall, a missed turn or a knocked cone stops the trial, and you get two minutes' rest and one retest.
Sit-ups — 60 seconds
Knees bent 45–60°, heels 12–18 inches from you, feet held; arms crossed with hands on the opposite shoulders. A rep counts when your elbows touch or pass your thighs and your mid-back returns to the mat. You may rest, but the clock keeps running.
Beep test — to the recording
20-metre shuttles in your lane, paced by a recording that speeds up each level; one foot must touch or cross the line on each beep. Miss the pace for two consecutive stages and the test ends. Your score is the level and stage you reach.
You cannot take the PAT without a Medical Release Form signed by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant who has personally examined you. Fail the battery and you get one retest of all four events, no sooner than 90 days later; results are valid for a year. The court system's pages do not state the order of the events on the day. From the PAT overview.
Training: what the official guide recommends
The court system links a Physical Ability Preparation Guide. In short:
- See a doctor first if the guide's screening questionnaire or its list of risk factors applies to you — it names smoking, an inactive lifestyle, high blood pressure and age among them.
- Every session: a few minutes of light aerobic warm-up and stretching, then the workout, then a cool-down.
- Strength two to three days a week with 48 hours between sessions for the same muscles, building from one set to three sets of 8–12 reps.
- Aerobic work three to five days a week, and anaerobic work — sprints and turns — on two, with a rest day between.
- Progress by effort, not by calendar: the guide moves you up a level when the current one stops being a challenge.
We deliberately publish no week-by-week plan: the guide has none, and a schedule of ours would be fitness advice. Nothing on this page is medical advice — stop if something hurts, and ask your doctor before you start.
Background investigation: documents checklist
From the court system's screening page and the UF-1 questionnaire, grouped by when to do each one. When you are called, the letter and forms you receive govern — this list is what they say today.
0 of 23 ticked — saved in this browser only.
Collect now — originals, plus a copy of each
The screening page lists these for the background interview and puts no date limit on any of them, so there is no reason to wait for the letter.
Rebuild your history — what UF-1 asks for
The questionnaire is 20 pages, every question must be answered ("N/A" where it doesn't apply), and it warns that deliberate misstatements or omissions can and often will lead to rejection. Most of it is history you can reconstruct now.
Wait until you're called — these are wasted if done early
The page's own rules make these time-sensitive. Do them when the Phase 1 letter arrives, not before.
The medical and psychological phases
The medical standards are the one part of screening the court system publishes as numbers. They are here so nothing surprises you — not as a self-test. Only the court system's physicians decide, and it may change the standards during the list.
Vision
Near: 20/40 or better in both eyes, corrected or not. Far: at least 20/30 in the better eye and 20/100 in the worse, with or without correction, and 20/100 or better uncorrected with both eyes together. Visual fields of at least 140°, color vision (the Farnsworth-Munsell D-15 if you fail the standard test) and depth perception. After corrective eye surgery such as LASIK, a mandatory 30-day wait before entering the academy.
Blood pressure
Qualified up to 140/90, evaluated above it, disqualified above 160/100.
Hearing
Hearing aids are permitted. Qualified if the average loss across 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 Hz is 25 dB or less with no single threshold over 30 dB HL, within the page's limits at 4000 and 6000 Hz and between the two ears; recourse testing exists for scores within an eligible range.
Lungs, blood and drug screen
A pulmonary function test (the page states FEV1 or PEF of 80% or greater), a blood test, and a urinalysis for illegal drugs — a positive disqualifies, and is one of the disqualifications the page says is not re-evaluated. Others may be re-evaluated by a physician the court system designates.
Psychological screening
The page describes a series of standardized written psychological tests in Phase 2 and an interview with a licensed clinical psychologist in Phase 3, whose decision rests on the interview, the tests and the background report. It does not name the tests, say how long they take, or say what disqualifies — so neither do we. Answer honestly and consistently with your UF-1.
Common questions
What score do you need to pass the NYS Court Officer physical test?
20 or more points across the four events, and at least 1 point on every event. Each event scores 0 to 7 on the court system's points table (dated April 19, 2024), and a 0 on any one of them fails the battery whatever the total — the table's own example is 21 points with a 0 on sit-ups, which fails.
Are the PAT standards different by age or sex?
No. The points table has one set of standards for every candidate, and none of the court system's screening pages mention age or sex norms.
What happens if I fail the Physical Ability Test?
The PAT overview says a candidate who fails gets one retest of the entire battery, no sooner than 90 days later. PAT results are valid for one year.
What documents do I need for the court officer background investigation?
The screening page lists originals and copies of your birth certificate, Social Security card, diploma and transcripts, marriage and divorce records where they apply, driver's licenses, registrations and lifetime driving abstracts, your DD-214 if you served, certified dispositions for every arrest and summons, proof of current New York residency, two recent photos and an SSA-7050 earnings printout. The checklist on this page groups them by when to get them.
Can I start the background paperwork before I'm called?
You can gather most of the documents and reconstruct your address, job and ticket history now. The forms themselves are completed only after you qualify on both the PAT and the vision screening, and the photos must be under six months old, so those wait.
How long does court officer screening take?
The court system does not say. Its page gives no durations for any phase or the gaps between them — only that each step must be completed before the next.
Sources — NYS Unified Court System, verified September 29, 2026
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