Kerala Police Exam Guide
Kerala Police Civil Police Officer (CPO) / Constable 2026: The Complete Guide
The Civil Police Officer exam combines a demanding written paper with a physical test that eliminates most candidates. This guide gives the exact physical standards and PET timings, the full written syllabus including the 20-mark law block, salary, and a plan for both.
The CPO / Constable post
The Civil Police Officer (CPO), also recruited as Police Constable, is a uniformed executive rank in the Kerala Police with a 12-month training period. The CPO, Armed Police Battalion and Constable posts share an identical Plus-Two-level written syllabus, physical standard and PET, so this guide covers them together.
Eligibility, age and physical standards
Qualification: a pass in Plus Two (HSE) or equivalent. Age: 18–26 (born 02.01.1999–01.01.2007 for the 563/2025 cycle); OBC up to 29, SC/ST up to 31, ex-servicemen up to 41.
Physical measurement (men)
| Standard | General | SC/ST |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 168 cm | 160 cm |
| Chest | 81 cm, min 5 cm expansion | 76 cm, 5 cm expansion |
Women CPO height is 152 cm. Eyesight must be 6/6 in each eye without glasses, no colour blindness or squint, and free of knock-knee, flat foot, varicose veins and similar conditions.
Physical Efficiency Test — the events and standards
You must qualify any 5 of these 8 events (National Physical Efficiency One-Star Standard, men):
| Event | One-Star Standard |
|---|---|
| 100 m run | 14 seconds |
| High jump | 132.20 cm |
| Long jump | 457.20 cm |
| Putting the shot (7264 g) | 609.60 cm |
| Throwing the cricket ball | 6096 cm |
| Rope climbing (hands only) | 365.80 cm |
| Pull-up / chinning | 8 times |
| 1500 m run | 5 min 44 sec |
A qualifying endurance filter (3 km road run in 13 minutes) has been used in recent selections. Women candidates run the same eight events at relaxed one-star women's standards.
Written exam pattern & mark distribution
OMR, 100 questions / 100 marks / 75 minutes, 1/3 negative marking, bilingual. Official distribution:
| Section | Marks |
|---|---|
| General Knowledge (History, Geography, Economics, Constitution, Kerala Governance, Life Science, Physics, Chemistry, Arts/Sports) | 40 |
| Current Affairs | 10 |
| Simple Arithmetic + Mental Ability | 10 |
| General English | 10 |
| Regional Language (Malayalam etc.) | 10 |
| Special Topics (Law & Policing) | 20 |
The syllabus — and the decisive law block
Sections I–V mirror the standard Plus-Two GK/English/Malayalam/maths syllabus, with the largest GK sub-blocks being Indian Constitution (8), History (5), Geography (5) and Economics (5). Physics and Chemistry now demand numerical problem-solving (mirror formula r=2f, work-power), not just definitions.
The 20-mark Special Topics (Law & Policing) block is what distinguishes this exam: penal law and offences (against the body, against women, against property), criminal procedure (arrest, rights of the arrested, the 24-hour rule, investigation), evidence (dying declarations, expert opinion), the Kerala Police Act 2011, NDPS Act, POCSO Act, IT Act and RTI Act. Increasingly these are applied-scenario questions ("which section applies to this act") rather than rote section numbers, and the law is shifting to the new criminal codes (BNS/BNSS/BSA 2023).
How the pattern has shifted
The move is from static recall to application: numerical physics and chemistry, scenario-based law questions, high current-affairs weight (Kerala schemes, appointments, sports), and situation-embedded reasoning (blood relations, direction, coding within short scenarios). Literature questions have partly given way to matching and assertion-reason items.
Salary and benefits
Pay scale: ₹31,100 – 66,800 (11th Pay Revision). Gross starting is roughly ₹39,000–43,000 including DA and HRA. Allowances: DA, HRA, uniform/washing, travel, risk/special duty pay, medical, PF/pension.
The selection process
Application (OTR) → Written/OMR test → Physical Measurement Test → Endurance test (where applied) → Physical Efficiency Test (5 of 8) → medical examination → certificate verification → ranked list.
Study plan and common mistakes
Physical: start running early, build to 3 km comfortably under 13 minutes, then sharpen the 1500 m and 100 m; train your best 5 events to a margin but keep 6–7 viable as insurance. Written: own the 20-mark law block and the 8-mark Constitution (finite, high-yield), do daily Kerala current affairs, and drill arithmetic/reasoning at 45 seconds per question.
Common mistakes: neglecting the PET until the last month; ignoring the 10-mark regional language; rote-learning old IPC section numbers instead of the new BNS framework; reckless guessing; and skipping the eyesight/colour-vision check early (it disqualifies many late).
Sample questions (with answers)
Model questions in the real exam pattern. Tap to reveal the answer.
1. Minimum chest expansion required for a male CPO candidate?
2. The 1500 m one-star qualifying time in the PET is —
3. A concave mirror has focal length 15 cm; its radius of curvature (r = 2f) is —
4. Which amendment introduced Panchayati Raj (rural local bodies)?
5. If cost price is ₹400 and selling price ₹460, the profit % is —
6. The POCSO Act protects which group?
7. Marthanda Varma is associated with which kingdom?
8. NITI Aayog replaced which body?
9. Correctly spelt word — (a) Occassion (b) Occasion (c) Ocasion (d) Occassion
10. Under the Kerala Police Act 2011, community policing is dealt with in Section —
Frequently asked questions
What is the qualification for Kerala Police Constable / CPO?
What is the height requirement for a male CPO?
How many PET events must I clear?
Is there negative marking in the CPO written exam?
What is the Kerala CPO salary?
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