The Metropolitan Police has opened applications for its 2026 police constable intake, with two main routes into the job and no degree required for one of them. The force launched its latest recruitment campaign on 12 October, calling on Londoners to apply as constables.

The Police Constable Entry Programme, known as PCEP, is a two-year route that combines classroom learning at a Met training centre with practical work alongside experienced officers. Unlike the degree apprenticeship route, it does not lead to an academic qualification, and applicants do not need a degree to join. Recruits are employed as police officers from their first day.

What the two routes offer

The second main route is the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, a three-year programme that combines fully funded university study with operational training and leads to a degree in professional policing practice. The Met is also recruiting through its degree-holder route and its detective constable entry pathway.

The Met says new constables start on more than £43,000 a year, including London allowances. The force has said it is looking in particular for people from London's own communities, and for applicants who share its values of integrity, courage, accountability, respect and empathy.

Who can apply

For the PCEP route, applicants need a Level 2 qualification in English language at GCSE grade C or above, or grades 4 to 9, plus two A levels at grade E or above or an equivalent Level 3 qualification. People without the Level 3 qualification can still apply if they have at least 18 months of professional experience, or service as a special constable, police community support officer or in the Armed Forces.

Applicants can be 17 when they apply, but cannot start training until they are 18. They must also pass a fitness test and meet the police eyesight standards, and applicants from outside the UK need indefinite leave to enter or remain.

The Met warns that if a chosen entry route becomes fully subscribed, applicants may be offered an alternative route. Applications are made through the force's official careers portal, and the Met says candidates who pass all stages in this campaign are likely to be offered a start date after March 2027.