California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training

What California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training does

The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is a California state government commission established by the Legislature in 1959 under Penal Code Sections 13503, 13506, and 13510 to set minimum selection and training standards for state law enforcement. POST operates a comprehensive training and certification ecosystem built around the Learning Portal (online courses and videos), a Course Catalog of more than 2,500 certified courses delivered by 800+ presenters, the EDI system for agency roster and training record submission, the Compliance Dashboard for officer training status, the POST Profile System for certificates, and the Mark43-based POSAD platform for misconduct case management. The agency also administers proprietary assessment instruments (PELLETB for entry-level officers and PELDSTB for dispatchers) and operates the Testing Management and Assessment System (TMAS) for basic academy testing. More than 260 staff members, including regional consultants across 10 California regions, support 600+ participating law enforcement agencies that have voluntarily adopted POST standards; services are delivered at no direct cost to agencies.

POST is funded through the California General Fund and the State Penalty Fund (the latter derived from penalty assessments on criminal and traffic fines), not through commercial revenue. The business model is a voluntary, incentive-based program: agencies agree to abide by POST standards in exchange for access to assessment tools, training resources, management counseling, training reimbursement, professional certificates, and accountability infrastructure. In 2021 POST received expanded statutory authority to certify, suspend, and decertify peace officers for serious misconduct, effective January 1, 2023, extending its mandate beyond training standards into officer accountability. Geographic operations are confined to California, and there are no subsidiaries, acquisitions, or external funding rounds.

Name

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training

Legal name

California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training

Website

https://post.ca.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

California state commission established in 1959 that sets minimum selection and training standards for law enforcement, administers certification and (since 2023) decertification authority, and serves 600+ participating agencies through training, assessment, and accountability programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Law Enforcement Training & Certification

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922), Educational Services (61), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Professionals (Teacher/Administrator CE, CPD) (EDAAALAE), Paraprofessional / Teaching Assistant Certification Authorities (EDADAJAN)

Keywords

• Law enforcement training
• Peace officer certification
• Public safety standards
• Police academy training
• Officer selection testing

Headquarters

HQ city

West Sacramento

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. State Government Funding: POST funding comes from the General Fund and the State Penalty Fund. The State Penalty Fund receives money from penalty assessments on criminal and traffic fines. As a government agency, POST does not generate revenue from commercial activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

POST is the California state agency that sets minimum selection and training standards for state law enforcement and certifies, suspends, and decertifies peace officers. It delivers standardized entry-level tests (PELLETB and PELDSTB), basic academy training, professional certificate programs, in-service and leadership courses via the Learning Portal and Course Catalog, and a misconduct-review (POSAD) system serving 600+ participating agencies at no direct cost.

Product overview

The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) operates a comprehensive law enforcement training and certification ecosystem. The core system consists of the POST Learning Portal for online courses, the POST Course Catalog with over 2,500 courses from 800+ presenters, and the POST Professional Certificates Program recognizing peace officer achievement. Supporting platforms include the Compliance Dashboard for officer training compliance tracking, the POST Profile System for certificate management, and the EDI system for agency data submission. The Peace Officer Decertification System managed by POSAD handles serious misconduct review. POST also provides assessment tools including the PELLETB and PELDSTB test batteries, the TMAS testing system, and Background Investigation Manual. Training programs include the Regular Basic Course (academy), Command College, Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute, Institute of Criminal Investigation, Field Training Programs, and specialized training for dispatchers and mental health crisis response. The Mark43 POSAD Platform enables agencies to submit misconduct cases, while the Data Warehouse and OpenData portals provide public access to law enforcement statistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• POST Learning Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 600 agencies participate in the voluntary POST Program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• California Law Enforcement AgenciescoreOthersOver 600 California law enforcement agencies participate in the voluntary POST Program. Participating agencies agree to abide by the standards established by POST and are eligible to receive services including job-related assessment tools, research, management counseling, training development, reimbursement for training, leadership programs, and training resources.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC): Florida body under FDLE that certifies, trains, and disciplines law enforcement officers, mirroring POST's standards-setting and decertification role in another state.
• Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE): State agency that licenses, sets training standards for, and can revoke certification of Texas peace officers; directly analogous to POST but in a different state jurisdiction.
• Peace Officer Standards and Training (Minnesota POST Board): Minnesota's licensing and standards board for peace officers, a near-identical institutional model to California POST in a different state.
• New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS): State agency overseeing police training standards, certification, and criminal justice data in New York, comparable to POST's mission in California.

Emerging players

• Lexipol: Private provider of policy manuals and online training for public safety agencies, overlapping with POST's training content and compliance-tracking offerings.
• Vector Solutions (Vector LMS for Public Safety): Commercial online training and LMS provider for law enforcement, overlapping with POST's Learning Portal and course delivery, though as a for-profit vendor.

Others

• Mark43: Public safety software vendor supplying POST's POSAD misconduct-case platform; an ecosystem technology provider rather than a competitor.
• IADLEST: International association coordinating POST-equivalent standards and training bodies nationally; a peer network organization intersecting POST's certification and standards mandate.
• Police Executive Research Forum (PERF): Research and professional development organization for law enforcement leadership, thematically related to POST's Command College and executive training programs.

Broad incumbents

• Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA): National accreditation body setting professional standards for law enforcement agencies, overlapping with POST's standards and accreditation function.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CaliforniaPOST
• Facebookfacebook.com/CaliforniaPOST
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/california-post
• Instagraminstagram.com/commissiononpost
• Xx.com/CommissionPOST

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training