State training requirements
Tennessee Peace Officer Training Requirements
Who governs peace officer standards in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee are set by the Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission.
Annual in-service requirement
Tennessee requires 40 hours of in-service each calendar year at a school certified or recognized by the POST Commission, appropriate to rank and responsibility. Completion makes an officer eligible for an $800 annual cash pay supplement; deputies are funded under a separate formula of 5 percent or $600. Each in-service session must include at least 8 hours of firearms requalification (75 percent score), plus child sexual abuse training and, for emergency-vehicle operators, 2 hours of annual emergency vehicle operations. Failure forfeits the supplement, and a second consecutive failure results in loss of certification.
Mandated topics relevant to CodeBlu
Firearms
At least 8 hours of firearms requalification with a 75 percent score is required in each in-service session.
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse training is required in each in-service session.
Source: T.C.A. 38-8-111
De-escalation and crisis intervention
No explicit standalone recurring de-escalation mandate was located in Chapter 1110, and no statewide recurring crisis-intervention, mental-health, or domestic-violence mandate was located in Chapter 1110.
Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1110-06
Who decides in-service credit
Centralized approval
In-service must be completed at a school certified or recognized by the POST Commission and meet Commission course-curriculum requirements; specialized or higher-education substitutions require Commission approval. The state body controls credit and the supplement.
What this means for training like CodeBlu
In Tennessee, in-service courses are certified or approved centrally through Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, 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 siteTennessee POST Commission (official site)
- StatuteT.C.A. 38-8-111 (in-service training)
- Administrative codeTenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1110-06
- Administrative codeUniversity of Tennessee CTAS in-service training summary
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 Tennessee?
- Tennessee Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission sets peace officer standards and training requirements in Tennessee.
- How many annual in-service training hours does Tennessee require?
- Tennessee requires 40 hours of in-service each calendar year at a school certified or recognized by the POST Commission, appropriate to rank and responsibility. Completion makes an officer eligible for an $800 annual cash pay supplement; deputies are funded under a separate formula of 5 percent or $600. Each in-service session must include at least 8 hours of firearms requalification (75 percent score), plus child sexual abuse training and, for emergency-vehicle operators, 2 hours of annual emergency vehicle operations. Failure forfeits the supplement, and a second consecutive failure results in loss of certification.
- Who decides what training counts for in-service credit in Tennessee?
- In-service must be completed at a school certified or recognized by the POST Commission and meet Commission course-curriculum requirements; specialized or higher-education substitutions require Commission approval. The state body controls credit and the supplement.