Police Records Clerk Typing Test: Bars and Hiring Steps
By Mark Fulton ·
Police records clerk jobs that post a typing bar usually ask for 40 to 45 net words per minute on a five minute timed test, proven with a certificate that is less than a year old, and the test is only one gate in a longer sequence. In the city bulletins below, Santa Monica and North Las Vegas ask for 45 net WPM, and Azusa asks for 40. After typing come a written or clerical exam, an interview, and a background investigation that is often the slowest part of the whole process. A few departments, such as Sacramento in the bulletin below, put no typing gate in front of you at all and rely on a civil service exam instead. The sections below lay out what each posting says, where typing falls in the sequence, and how to use the weeks before your test.
What does a police records clerk do at the keyboard?
Titles vary a lot: Police Records Specialist, Police Records Technician, Records Clerk, Clerk Typist (Police Records). The work is similar under every title, and it is mostly structured data, not prose.
The Azusa Police Records Specialist I bulletin lists the daily work plainly. You transcribe and type arrest reports, warrants, citations, crime and traffic reports, fingerprint cards and vehicle impound forms. You operate computer and teletype terminals to enter, change and look up data such as stolen property, vehicle registrations and warrants. You release reports to the public and to other agencies under the rules that govern that release, and you sort, file and search for records.
Notice what is missing from that list: long documents. Very little of the job is typing a memo from top to bottom. It is names, dates of birth, plate numbers, incident numbers, addresses, offense codes and short narrative fields, entered into a records system while someone waits at the counter or on the phone.
That shapes the test. A records employer does not need you to be the fastest typist in the building. It needs the number on the screen to match the number on the paper, every time, because a transposed digit in a warrant or a plate can point at the wrong person. So the bar is modest, the accuracy requirement is strict, and the people who struggle are usually fast typists who rush the digits.
What typing speed do records clerk bulletins require?
There is no national standard. Each city, county or department sets its own, and some post none. Here is what real postings said at the time they were published. Treat every row as a snapshot, because bars and rules change between recruitments, and the posting you apply to is the only authority for your application.
| Employer and title | Posted bar | How it is proven |
|---|---|---|
| City of Santa Monica, Police Records Technician (November 2025) | 45 net WPM, listed as "Keyboarding @ 45 wpm (Qualifying)" | Certificate dated within 12 months, accepted only at the time of application. If you have none, the city administers a test. Online certificates and online tests are not accepted |
| City of North Las Vegas, Police Records Specialist (posted April 2025, since closed) | 45 accurate net WPM | Typing certificate dated no more than one year before the application, then a pass/fail typing test during the selection process |
| City of Azusa, Police Records Specialist I (2021 bulletin) | 40 net WPM on a 5 minute test | Certificate within 12 months showing your name, issuer, test date, gross speed, errors and net speed. The bulletin says online typing tests are not accepted and lists government agencies, temp agencies, business colleges, adult schools and public schools as acceptable issuers |
| City of Sacramento, Police Records Specialist I (2022 bulletin) | No typing gate listed in the selection steps | Online civil service exam with a 70 percent passing score, then an eligibility list |
Read the table for the pattern, not just the numbers. Two of the three that post a speed want 45, and the third wants 40. Two of them say outright that online tests do not count. And the Sacramento example shows that you cannot assume a typing test exists: some departments screen on a written exam first and test keyboarding later, or not at all.
If you want a rule of thumb, aim to type comfortably above 50 net WPM on a five minute test, so a 45 net bar leaves room for a bad day. That is a practice target, not a quote from any employer.
Where does the typing test fall in the hiring process?
The order differs by department, but the same stages keep showing up. Here is the full sequence assembled from the postings above and the City of San Mateo's records specialist FAQ, which lists a department's hiring milestones in order.
| Stage | What happens | Where typing shows up |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Application and screening | Online application, minimum qualifications check, sometimes a screening committee | Many bulletins want the typing certificate attached here, and reject the application if it is missing or too old |
| 2. Typing or keyboarding test | A timed test, usually five minutes, scored in net WPM | The gate itself. Santa Monica lists it as qualifying, North Las Vegas as pass/fail |
| 3. Written, clerical or online exam | Reading, spelling, filing, error checking, coding, following directions | Not typing, but a separate hurdle. Sacramento's version is an online exam, and Santa Monica's is in person |
| 4. Interview or oral board | North Las Vegas weights its oral board 100 percent with a 70 percent pass | Your speed is already settled by now |
| 5. Background investigation | History, references, fingerprints, credit check. San Mateo says these typically take two to four months | None, but your application answers must match what the investigator finds |
| 6. Polygraph, psychological and medical | Listed in the San Mateo, Sacramento and North Las Vegas materials in varying combinations | None |
| 7. Offer and training | Conditional offer, then systems training, often including state and national criminal justice database certification | North Las Vegas expects database certification within six months of hire |
Two practical points follow from that table.
First, the certificate clock matters. A certificate that is "within 12 months" can expire before a slow recruitment reaches its final stage, or before you apply to the next city. Plan your test date against the application window, not just against how ready you feel.
Second, the typing test is the cheapest gate to prepare for and the one you can fully control. You cannot speed up a background investigation, but you can walk into the test with a score well above the bar.
How is a records typing test different from a dispatcher test?
Both jobs sit in police departments and both list typing, so they get lumped together. They test different things.
A dispatcher test, such as the CritiCall format, is built around doing two things at once: listening to audio and entering what you hear, often with data entry under time pressure. Our 911 dispatcher typing test guide covers that format. The hard part is attention under load.
A records clerk test is closer to a standard civil service clerical test: a timed passage or data entry exercise on a screen, with net WPM computed after errors. The hard part is steady accuracy over five minutes on text that includes numbers. If you can already pass a civil service clerical test, you are most of the way there, and our civil service typing test guide walks through those formats and where they are administered.
One caution from the table above: the written exam that follows the typing test is where records applicants lose time and energy. It covers filing, coding, error checking and reading comprehension, not keyboard skill. This post only covers the keyboard side. Study guides and your department's own exam notice cover the rest.
Does an online typing certificate count?
Sometimes, and you have to read the bulletin to know.
The honest picture from the bulletins above: Santa Monica's posting says online typing certificates and online tests are not accepted. Azusa's says it does not accept online typing tests and names the kinds of issuers it does accept. North Las Vegas asks for a certificate dated within a year without spelling out the format in the lines I read. The rule is employer by employer.
Our proctored typing test guide explains the vocabulary to watch for: "proctored", "supervised", "administered by", "original certificate". If your target bulletin uses any of those words, an online certificate, including the verified one from this site, will not satisfy it. Plan to test in person at a school, temp agency, workforce center or the employer itself. If the bulletin is silent on format and only asks for a net WPM figure, an online result can be reasonable supporting evidence, but ask the HR contact before you rely on it. Use the practice here to get your score up, then take whichever test the posting actually names.
How do you prepare in the weeks before the test?
Six weeks is enough to move most working typists a meaningful distance on this kind of test, because you are training accuracy and number handling more than raw speed. Adjust the timeline to your own date.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baseline | Take two 5 minute tests on different days. Note net WPM, accuracy and which characters you miss most. Check your bulletin for the bar and the format |
| 2 | Accuracy first | Drill on the accuracy test. Slow down until you are consistently at or above 97 percent, then let speed rise on its own. Our guide to improving typing accuracy covers the habits |
| 3 | Numbers and codes | Practice strings of digits, dates, plate-style codes and incident numbers. Keep your eyes on the source, not the keys. See touch typing finger placement for number row technique |
| 4 | Sustained pace | Run full five minute sessions at a pace you can hold. Most posted bars are on five minute tests, so a strong 60 second burst does not predict your result. The 1 minute vs 5 minute test comparison explains the gap |
| 5 | Simulate the test | Match the real conditions: the same keyboard type, a quiet room, no restarts. Do two or three scored attempts and take the lowest as your honest number |
| 6 | Book and rest | Confirm the testing location, ID requirements and certificate format. Do light practice only in the last two days |
A short practice passage helps with week 3. It is fictional and uses plain keyboard characters. Paste it into the custom typing test and repeat it until your errors stop:
Incident 25-004718 was reported at 1420 hours on 03/14. Vehicle plate 7KLM294, gray sedan, last seen northbound on Fifth Street. Reporting party: Dana Ortiz, DOB 06/21/1988. Case routed to Records for entry and review.
Type it exactly as shown, including the numbers. When the capital letters and digits stop being the place where you slow down, the real test feels easier.
A final habit worth building: when you finish a practice run, review the errors, not just the score. Records work punishes the same mistakes over and over, such as swapping adjacent digits or dropping a leading zero. Knowing your own pattern lets you slow down at exactly the right moment.
Where to go from here
Take a baseline today, see where you stand against the bar in your bulletin, and use the six-week plan to close the gap before your test date. The free typing accuracy test runs in your browser, so you can build accuracy there before your exam date. When a bulletin accepts an online result, you can later put a verified score on your application through the typing certificate, and check your bulletin's wording first.
FAQ
What WPM do police records clerks need?
It depends on the department. In the bulletins reviewed here, Santa Monica and North Las Vegas ask for 45 net WPM and Azusa asks for 40 net WPM on a five minute test. Some departments post no typing bar. Check the current posting for the department you are applying to.
Is the police records typing test proctored?
Often, yes. Santa Monica says it will administer a typing test itself if you have no certificate, and both Santa Monica and Azusa say online typing tests are not accepted. Azusa lists government agencies, temp agencies, business colleges, adult schools and public schools as acceptable issuers. Read the bulletin for the wording on your recruitment.
Is there a written exam as well as typing?
Frequently, yes. Santa Monica lists keyboarding as a qualifying step followed by an in-person written exam. Sacramento uses an online exam with a 70 percent passing score. Employers may also add an interview, an oral board, a polygraph, and psychological and medical evaluations. San Mateo lists nine milestones, from an initial department interview to the Police Chief's interview.
Can I use an online typing certificate for a police records job?
Only if the bulletin allows it. Several of the postings above explicitly refuse online tests and certificates. If yours is silent, contact the HR office listed on the posting and ask what format they accept before you pay for or rely on a certificate.