The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) issues licenses to peace officers, county jailers, telecommunication operators and investigative hypnotists. In each case, an applicant must meet certain training and examination standards prior to licensing. The licensing examination follows required training or its equivalent, and each is an independent licensing requirement.

Establishing eligibility:

To be eligible to take a state licensing examination, a student must have a valid endorsement. An endorsement to take an examination is issued by an academy coordinator, the executive director of the Commission, or a person authorized by the executive director.

Once an initial endorsement is issued, an examinee will be allowed three opportunities to pass the examination. After three failures, or if the endorsement expires, the examinee must re-qualify by repeating the entire training course for the license sought. If an attempt is invalidated for any reason, that attempt will count as one of the three opportunities.

Accommodations are processed through TCOLE. 

Examinee requirements:

To be eligible to sit for an examination, an examinee must,

• possess and display at the examination site a valid endorsement for the specific type of examination sought;
• bring to the examination site identification issued by the state or federal government with the examinee’s photograph;
• report on time;
• not disrupt the examination; and
• comply with all of the written and verbal instructions of the proctor.

Picture identification may be:

• a valid driver's license (preferred),
• a law enforcement agency identification with photo, or
• United States government issued photo identification.

For more information on cost, registration procedures and exam times contact the Lamar Institute of Technology Testing Center at 409-247-4978 or 409-241-9701. Testing is located in Eagles' Nest Building Room 115.