Guatemala’s National Civil Police (PNC) recruits through a standing call, not a yearly one. Ministerial Agreement 231-2024 of the Ministry of the Interior (Ministerio de Gobernación) opens the agent training course to Guatemalans by birth, with unlimited applications and places set by the budget (Article 6). Each intake has its own dates for online pre-registration, file delivery and testing, set by the course’s evaluation board (Junta Evaluadora). This page covers that route, document by document. The official forms are in Spanish.
Quick summary
- Who: Guatemalans by birth (guatemaltecos de origen), men and women.
- Age: 18 to 30 (Ministerial Agreement 15-2026, 3 March 2026), checked as of the start of the course, per the PNC’s file guide.
- Schooling: a diversificado diploma, registered with the Comptroller General (Contraloría General de Cuentas) and the SAT.
- Minimum height: 1.55 m men, 1.53 m women. No tattoos, piercings or earring scars.
- The file: 10 documents, two sets (original and copy), in a labelled manila folder with a plastic fastener.
- Tests: medical, physical, academic, psychological and a reliability check. Physical and academic pass at 60 out of 100.
- Cost: the PNC’s guide says applying, testing and enrolling are free.
- During training: study grant plus a Q1,200 monthly stipend, subject to budget (Ministerial Agreement 160-2026). The course runs at least 10 months.
The rules behind the call
The requirements page of the PNC’s education branch (Subdirección General de Estudios y Doctrina, SGED) posts the base agreement and three amendments, plus the 2026 forms (checked October 21, 2026):
| Ministerial Agreement | Date | What it changed |
|---|---|---|
| 231-2024 | 16 October 2024 | Standing call: requirements, file, evaluations, entry by competitive selection |
| 213-2025 | 12 May 2025 | Course renamed the agent training course; minimum length 10 months (was 8) |
| 15-2026 | 3 March 2026 | New Article 13 on requirements (age 18 to 30); suspension for pregnancy |
| 160-2026 | 7 August 2026 | Monthly stipend Q1,200 (was Q800) |
The 2026 forms (Appendix I application, Appendix II CV, Appendix III medical, Appendix IV physical) and the study guide for intake 60 are on the same page: portal.pnc.edu.gt/requisitos.
The 10 documents and how fresh they must be
From the Guía de Conformación de Expediente (file guide) posted by the evaluation board in October 2026:
| # | Document | Condition set by the guide |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Application, Appendices I and II (2026) | Block capitals, blue ink, no crossings-out or abbreviations |
| 2 | DPI, original and enlarged half-letter photocopy on oficio-size paper (tamaño oficio) | Valid; if expired, a RENAP processing receipt. The original is returned |
| 3 | Diversificado diploma, original and photocopy | Registered with the Contraloría General de Cuentas (degree registration) and the SAT; names must match the DPI |
| 4 | Criminal record certificate (no record) | Original printout, under 6 months old |
| 5 | Police record certificate (no record) | Original printout, under 6 months old |
| 6 | Birth certificate | No more than 30 days since issue |
| 7 | RTU (tax registration) record | Updated the day after your birthday |
| 8 | Sex offender registry (RENAS) certificate from the Public Ministry | Valid on the day you file |
| 9 | Tax compliance certificate (solvencia fiscal) | No more than 30 days since issue |
| 10 | Certificate of not having been discharged from a previous course | Issued on the day you hand in the file by PNC staff |
Delivery, per the same guide: two sets (original and copy), each in a manila folder with a plastic fastener, labelled in black marker with your name, DPI number, phone, exact address, delivery date and file number. The address on the guide is the evaluation board’s: 15 calle 16-00, zona 6, Colonia Cipresales, Guatemala City.
Article 16 of the base agreement says applications are rejected if delivered outside the set date and time, through other channels, incomplete, or with inaccurate or altered data.
The process
Article 16 of Ministerial Agreement 231-2024 sets the order:
- Online pre-registration on the SGED’s official site, opened according to the evaluation board’s schedule.
- Call to testing: the Incorporation Department notifies pre-registered applicants.
- Physical file delivery on the date the board sets.
- Enrolment in the process: once the complete file is received, you get a file number.
- Evaluations (Article 17), in groups. Bring sports gear, writing materials and your DPI (Article 17.6).
- Results: those who pass are ranked by academic score, and offers go out according to the places available (Articles 17.8 and 19).
The five evaluations
| Evaluation | What it covers (Article 17, Ministerial Agreement 231-2024) | Pass rule |
|---|---|---|
| Medical, lab and specialist | Clinical exam; no surgery in the past 6 months; body mass index between 19 and 27 (written as a percentage in the agreement); medical exclusion list (heart, sight, hearing and others) | Fit / not fit |
| Physical | Push-ups in 30 s: 30 men, 25 women. Sit-ups in 30 s: 30 men, 25 women. Course Navette: level 6 men, level 5 women | 60 of 100 points |
| Academic | Competencies in the entry profile; the board publishes a study guide | 60 of 100 points |
| Psychological | Psychometric tests by a licensed psychologist | Fit / not fit |
| Reliability | Document checks, home visits (family and socioeconomic context), technical instruments | Recommended / not recommended (advisory) |
During the course
- Length: at least 10 months (Ministerial Agreement 213-2025).
- Study grant: police and academic training, lodging, meals and basic medical care (Ministerial Agreement 160-2026).
- Stipend: Q1,200 a month, subject to the SGED’s budget.
- On day one: sign a study agreement and take out a performance bond (seguro de caución) that guarantees repayment of training costs if you are discharged, plus a commitment to the course regime.
- Pregnancy during the course: Article 24 Bis (Ministerial Agreement 15-2026) suspends the cadet for the pregnancy and breastfeeding period; she can rejoin the running course or the next one by written request to the Subdirector General de Estudios y Doctrina, with a medical report certifying that she is fit to continue training; the request must be filed within three years of the suspension decision, and at the start of the new course she must update her admission file with the required documents. If training is already complete and only graduation is pending, there is no suspension.
The academy has its central campus in Guatemala City and regional campuses in Huehuetenango (west) and Cuilapa, Santa Rosa (east), per the SGED portal’s menu.
Related
- Criminal record certificate and police record certificate
- RENAP birth certificate
- SAT tax compliance certificate
Sources
- SGED-PNC, basic course requirements page (agreements, appendices, guides): https://portal.pnc.edu.gt/requisitos/ (checked October 21, 2026).
- Guía de Conformación de Expediente, evaluation board of the agent training course (PDF on the SGED portal, October 2026).
- Ministerial Agreements 231-2024, 213-2025, 15-2026 and 160-2026, Ministry of the Interior (scanned copies posted by the SGED; read October 21, 2026).
- AGN (Guatemalan state news agency), 9 March 2026 report on PNC academy requirements: https://agn.gt/estos-son-los-requisitos-para-ingresar-a-la-academia-de-la-pnc/
The agreements set no pre-registration or file-delivery dates: the evaluation board schedules them for each intake (Article 16), and pre-registration is done on the SGED’s official site.