Yes, the FBI runs an aptitude test, and every Special Agent applicant takes it. It is called the Phase I test: a computerized assessment of approximately three hours, sat in a proctored testing center, made up of five timed sections. Those are logic-based reasoning (11 questions), figural reasoning (9 questions), a personality assessment (100 statements), preferences and interests (37 questions) and situational judgement (19 questions). It is not an IQ test, and the FBI publishes no scoring model and no cut score for it. It simply tells you whether you passed, within one hour of finishing.
Careers In The FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for upholding national security and the safety of all US citizens through intelligence and law enforcement duties.
Anyone pursuing a career as an FBI Special Agent must meet published eligibility requirements and then pass a selection process the FBI calls the Special Agent Selection System, or SASS. It says the process "generally takes at least one year and often longer, depending upon annual federal funding levels and hiring goals".
Types Of FBI Jobs
The FBI is assigned to investigate a range of activities, including:
- Organized crime
- Cybercrime
- Terrorism
- Counterintelligence
- Public corruption
- Violent crime
- Civil rights
No degree subject is preferred and no law enforcement or military background is required. The FBI states that it "seeks special agents with any occupation that requires a college degree".
How To Get A Job In The FBI
To be considered for the Special Agent role you must be a US citizen, at least 23 years old, and hold a bachelor's degree or higher from a US accredited college or university. You must apply before your 36th birthday unless you have veteran's preference or federal law enforcement experience, and you must complete SASS and enter on duty no later than the day before your 37th birthday.
How much work experience you need depends on the grade you would enter at:
- GL-9: a bachelor's degree plus one year of sworn law enforcement officer experience, or an advanced degree.
- GL-10: a bachelor's degree plus at least two years of full-time professional work experience, or an advanced degree plus at least one year.
So "a degree plus two years" is one route of four, not the requirement. You will also need a valid driver's license, the ability to legally possess and carry a firearm, and the ability to obtain a Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance. Agents must be available for assignment to any of the FBI's 56 field offices.
FBI Application Process
The FBI publishes the stages of the Special Agent Selection System, in this order:
- Application and screening, with a minimum qualification decision in about 10 days.
- Phase I test, which you have 14 days to schedule and complete.
- PFT self-evaluation and Suitability Questionnaire, both due within 7 days of passing Phase I.
- Meet and Greet, within 30 days of eligibility.
- Physical Fitness Test and Phase II (a) written exam, grouped as one stage.
- Phase II (b) interview, within 90 days of eligibility.
- Conditional Appointment Offer, within seven days of passing Phase II (b).
- Background investigation and fit for duty medical exam, run concurrently.
- Basic Field Training Course at Quantico.
Note where the fitness test sits. The FBI groups the Physical Fitness Test and the Phase II (a) written exam under a single heading, so the fitness test comes before the Phase II interview, not at the end of the process. Guides that place it after Phase II are describing an order the FBI no longer publishes. Every applicant is assigned an applicant coordinator who guides them through the whole thing.
FBI Online Application And Screening
The first step is the online application. Since January 2026 the FBI requires you to build your resume in its own Resume Builder: uploaded resumes "will not be reviewed or used for qualification purposes", and the posting instructs applicants not to attach a cover letter.
Throughout SASS you are evaluated against the FBI's Core Competencies. As published on FBIJobs.gov, those are six:
- Collaboration
- Communication
- Initiative
- Organizing and Planning
- Problem Solving/Judgement
- Professionalism/Integrity
One thing worth knowing before you write your examples: the live Special Agent job posting rates applicants on a related but different list of eight, which adds Flexibility/Adaptability, Interpersonal Ability and Leadership and drops Professionalism/Integrity. The FBI is currently publishing both lists, so prepare evidence that covers both.
Your application is then screened to determine your suitability. Successful applicants are invited to take the computerized Phase I test.
FBI Phase I Tests
What Is The FBI Phase I Test?
The FBI Phase I test is a computerized assessment of approximately three hours, a figure that includes check-in and check-out procedures. It is taken in a proctored environment administered by a testing contractor rather than by the FBI itself, and the FBI notes that the proctors "are not affiliated with the FBI".
It is split into five timed sections: logic-based reasoning, figural reasoning, personality assessment, preferences and interests, and situational judgement. Paper and pencil are not allowed, you must bring a driver's license to the assessment, and you are notified whether you passed within one hour of completing the test.
For a section-by-section walkthrough, read our FBI Phase 1 test preparation guide.
FBI Phase I Test Pass Rate
The FBI does not publish one. No pass rate, invitation rate or progression rate appears in its careers pages, in its guide PDFs or in the live Special Agent job posting, and neither does a cut score. What it publishes instead is that applicants are rated on their individual competitiveness and on the professional needs of the FBI, and that hiring depends on annual federal funding levels and hiring goals. Any specific percentage you see quoted for Phase I does not come from the FBI.
What the FBI does publish is the cost of failing. You are limited to two invitations to Phase I, a minimum of 90 days must pass before a second one, and failing twice means you are deactivated and ineligible for future consideration.
FBI Logic-Based Reasoning
This section works like a verbal reasoning test. You are given a short paragraph and then a multiple-choice question with five options, and you have to judge which conclusion follows from the information provided rather than from what you already know. There are 11 questions, and the FBI states that "no pen and paper or calculations are necessary".
The FBI's guide names four statement types to watch for, because each one limits what you may infer: "all" or "every" statements, "no" or "none" statements, "some", "many" or "few" statements, and "if-then", "whenever" or "every time" statements. Its own advice is to use the information in the paragraph only and to pay attention to words such as "must" or "only".
FBI Figural Reasoning
This is another measure of problem-solving, this time visual, in the form of an abstract reasoning test. You work through nine questions, each an arrangement of shapes and patterns with one section missing, and you pick the part that completes it from five options. Patterns may run down the columns or across the rows, and may involve shape, color, the number of shapes or sides, or other characteristics, so check both directions.
FBI Personality Assessment
The personality test assesses how your character traits match the demands of the role. It is adaptive: your "responses on the previous questions will be used to determine the next set of questions".
You are "presented with five pairs of statements on each screen" and use a slider to show how far you agree with one statement of each pair rather than the other. You cannot choose a neutral position: the selector has to move left or right, even where you agree or disagree with both to a similar extent, which the FBI says is a normal part of the assessment. The section contains 100 statements.
FBI Preferences And Interests Assessment
This section gathers information about your personal attitudes toward a variety of statements, and there are 37 questions. Like the personality assessment, it is about fit rather than ability, but the format is different: one statement at a time with a five-point rating scale running Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree. Unlike the personality section, this one does have a midpoint.
FBI Situational Judgement Test
The situational judgement test contains 19 questions, each describing a hypothetical work scenario with five response options, each proposing a different way of responding. You select the response option that is most consistent with how you would actually respond.
There are no right or wrong answers in this section, and the FBI's own advice is blunt: "Do not attempt to 'beat the test' by claiming qualities or experiences that you do not really have." Falsified responses can mean a permanent bar from FBI employment.
FBI Meet And Greet
Within 7 days of passing Phase I you must submit a PFT self-evaluation and a Suitability Questionnaire. The Meet and Greet itself follows within 30 days of eligibility, and the live job posting also calls it an information session.
It is not a formal interview, but you will discuss your application in more detail and will be assessed further against the Core Competencies.
FBI Physical Fitness Test
The Physical Fitness Test consists of four events, administered in this order with no more than five minutes of rest between each:
- Pull-ups or chin-ups: the maximum number of continuous repetitions, untimed.
- A timed 300-meter sprint.
- Push-ups: the maximum number of continuous repetitions, untimed.
- A timed 1.5-mile run.
There are no sit-ups in the FBI PFT. Sit-ups appear on the FBI's physical requirements page only as a suggested training exercise for beginners. Anything describing a sit-up event, or a 12-point pass mark, is describing the older version of the test.
Each event is scored on a scale running from minus 2 up to 10 points, for a maximum of 40. To pass you "must score at least 1 point in each event and a minimum of 10 points in total". The scoring scales differ for male and female applicants to account for physiological differences; the test itself is identical.
The timings are strict. You must take the PFT within 30 days of your Meet and Greet completion date, and you get one first attempt plus two more within six months of that date. Score fewer than 6 points, or fail to earn at least 1 point in any single event, on your first attempt and you are withdrawn, though you may reapply. Fail to pass within the allotted window and you are permanently disqualified from the Special Agent Selection System.
The FBI publishes a self-evaluation form and a FitTest mobile app that gives real-time scoring against the official standards. You will also have to pass a second PFT during training at Quantico or you will be dismissed.
FBI Phase II Tests
What Is The FBI Phase II Test?
Phase II is, in the FBI's words, "two standalone pass/fail assessments": Phase II (a), a written exam, and Phase II (b), a panel interview.
FBI Phase II (a) Written Assessment
This is a two and a half hour computerized writing assessment taken in a proctored testing center. You read about a fictional scenario and produce two written reports, and it "tests your ability to analyze data and compose two well-written, comprehensive reports".
Two details catch people out. Software to check spelling and grammar is not available, and you are told to use only the facts provided rather than adding your own. Time is given for an optional break midway through. You get a maximum of two attempts: after a first failure you must wait at least 60 days, and a second failure ends your application.
FBI Phase II (b) Structured Interview
This is a one hour interview in front of a panel of three special agents at a local or regional testing site. It follows the standard performance-based interview format used for government interviews, and the panel scores you against the Core Competencies using standardized criteria.
The FBI prescribes the shape of your answers: Situation, Action, Result, at a 10/80/10 ratio, so the bulk of each answer should be what you personally did. The panel has not seen your application or resume, you will be doing most of the talking, you will not be able to ask the panel questions, and the FBI states there are no trick questions. Two failures disqualify you; if you are eligible to re-test you may apply after six months.
After The FBI Tests
FBI Conditional Appointment Offer (CAO)
Within seven days of passing Phase II (b), successful candidates receive a Conditional Appointment Offer. This is a provisional offer of employment that becomes final once the remaining checks are cleared.
FBI Background Investigation And Medical
The background investigation takes approximately six months and can take 18 months or more. It covers a personnel security interview, a polygraph examination, a drug test and fingerprinting, plus credit and arrest checks, interviews with associates and references, and verification of educational achievements, leading to a Top Secret / SCI clearance. A fit for duty medical exam runs alongside it, and the published vision standard is at least 20/20 in one eye and no worse than 20/40 in the other.
FBI Basic Field Training Course (BFTC)
New Agent Trainees attend the Basic Field Training Course at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI publishes the BFTC as 18 weeks in three places on FBIJobs.gov, covering approximately 850 hours of instruction. Its own BFTC guide says graduation takes place in week 16, and its Special Agent FAQ still says agents spend their first 16 weeks at the Academy, so treat 18 weeks as the published length and week 16 as the graduation point. New Intelligence Analyst Trainees train for 12 weeks.
Trainees live on campus for at least the first three weeks, and the curriculum covers firearms, defensive tactics, interview and interrogation, and human intelligence. Passing the coursework does not guarantee graduation: trainees are continually assessed on judgment, conscientiousness, integrity, emotional maturity, initiative and cooperation.
Two things changed recently that older guides still get wrong. You now receive your initial field office placement before you attend BFTC, and if relocation is not right for you, you have the option to return to your processing field office after graduating. All special agents must sign and adhere to a mobility agreement.
Tips To Get Hired At The FBI
Earn A Degree, In Any Subject
A bachelor's degree or higher from a US accredited college or university is mandatory, and the FBI is explicit that military service does not waive it. It is equally explicit that no subject is preferred. Pick a major you will do well in, then build the professional experience your entry grade requires.
Build Evidence Against The Core Competencies
You are judged on the Core Competencies at every stage, so start collecting concrete examples now. The Phase II (b) panel will not have seen your resume, so each example has to stand up on its own when told in Situation, Action, Result order.
Treat Fitness As Part Of The Application
The PFT self-evaluation falls due within 7 days of passing Phase I and the official test within 30 days of your Meet and Greet, so this is not something to begin after you apply. Score fewer than 6 points at the first attempt and you are withdrawn immediately.
Prepare For The Phase I Test, With Your Eyes Open
The FBI publishes its own Testing Overview Guide, which contains practice items with an answer key for the reasoning questions, and it is direct about where preparation should come from:
"The FBI does not endorse any test preparation materials beyond what can be found on FBIJobs.gov or within this guide."
The same guide warns that an applicant "will be deactivated for receiving advice beyond what is provided by the Applicant Coordinator and/or what is available at FBIJobs.gov. This includes information gathered from online sources or FBI employees." That applies to this page as much as any other, and you should read it before you buy anything, from us or from anyone else.
Nothing here is FBI material, FBI approved, or a reproduction of real Phase I items. Applicants sign a nondisclosure form, so anyone publishing genuine FBI questions would be publishing something the FBI forbids its applicants from supplying. What general practice can legitimately do is make the question formats routine, so that on the day the format is not the thing slowing you down. The logic-based section behaves like a verbal reasoning test, the figural section like an abstract reasoning test, and working through logical reasoning and situational judgement questions covers the rest.
Answer The Behavioral Sections Honestly
Three of the five Phase I sections have no right answers, and trying to second-guess them is the one preparation strategy the FBI explicitly warns against. Answer as you would actually behave.
