State training requirements
Alabama Peace Officer Training Requirements
Who governs peace officer standards in Alabama, the annual in-service requirement, the mandated topics for de-escalation and crisis response, and who decides what counts for in-service credit.
Verified as of July 10, 2026
Who governs
Peace officer standards and training in Alabama are set by the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC).
Annual in-service requirement
Alabama requires 12 hours of continuing education completed and reported annually by each certified officer, plus annual firearms re-qualification. Chiefs complete 20 hours of executive-level continuing education annually. Effective January 1, 2024, one hour of training on interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities is required every other year, delivered online through KultureCity, which is the only approved program for that requirement.
Source: Ala. Admin. Code 650-X-12-.02 (continuing education)
Mandated topics relevant to CodeBlu
Sensory needs and invisible disabilities
One hour of training on interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities is required every other year, effective January 1, 2024.
Source: Ala. Code 36-21-51.1
Firearms
Annual firearms re-qualification is required.
Source: Ala. Admin. Code 650-X-12-.03
De-escalation and crisis intervention
No explicit recurring de-escalation in-service mandate was located in Chapter 650-X, and no general statewide crisis-intervention or mental-health in-service mandate was located; the biennial disability-interaction hour is the closest related requirement. No standalone recurring domestic-violence mandate was located.
Who decides in-service credit
Centralized approval
Continuing education is completed and reported to APOSTC, and courses and curricula are delivered through Commission-approved academies and instructors. The Commission defines the curriculum and approves the training that counts.
Source: Ala. Admin. Code 650-X-12-.02
What this means for training like CodeBlu
In Alabama, in-service courses are certified or approved centrally through Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC), so credit does not rest with an individual agency alone. The honest framing for training like CodeBlu is professional development that builds the underlying skills; any formal credit path runs through the state's approval process. This is not a determination of eligibility: CodeBlu does not certify hours or grant credit, and agency policy, the state's process, and legal counsel govern.
Primary sources
- POST-equivalent siteAlabama POST Commission (official site)
- Administrative codeAla. Admin. Code 650-X-12-.02 (continuing education)
- Administrative codeAla. Admin. Code Chapter 650-X-12
Verified as of July 10, 2026. This page is reviewed on an annual cadence, and the date is bumped only on re-verification against the primary sources above.
Frequently asked questions
- Who sets peace officer training requirements in Alabama?
- Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) sets peace officer standards and training requirements in Alabama.
- How many annual in-service training hours does Alabama require?
- Alabama requires 12 hours of continuing education completed and reported annually by each certified officer, plus annual firearms re-qualification. Chiefs complete 20 hours of executive-level continuing education annually. Effective January 1, 2024, one hour of training on interacting with individuals with sensory needs or invisible disabilities is required every other year, delivered online through KultureCity, which is the only approved program for that requirement.
- Who decides what training counts for in-service credit in Alabama?
- Continuing education is completed and reported to APOSTC, and courses and curricula are delivered through Commission-approved academies and instructors. The Commission defines the curriculum and approves the training that counts.