Police ranks and pay in England and Wales

At a glance

• A new constable starts on £32,255 a year outside London. In the Met that comes to £42,334, once London pay is added.
• A constable's scale has seven steps. You move up one step a year, until you reach the top at £52,015 (£62,094 in the Met).
• Sergeants start at £55,443, so promotion is a clear step up.
• These figures are from 1 September 2026 and include the 3.5% pay rise.

Pay scales are national, so they are the same in all 43 forces. The only differences are London pay, and a higher scale for inspectors and chief inspectors in the Met and the City of London Police.

The ranks

From the bottom up, the ranks are constable, sergeant, inspector, chief inspector, superintendent and chief superintendent. Above them are the three chief officer ranks: assistant chief constable, deputy chief constable and chief constable.

The Met uses different titles at the top. From the lowest to the highest they are commander, deputy assistant commissioner, assistant commissioner, deputy commissioner and commissioner. The City of London Police uses commander, assistant commissioner and commissioner.

Chief officers' pay is set separately, so this page does not cover it.

Pay by rank

This table is for forces outside London. A pay point is a step on the pay scale.

• The constable figures are for officers who joined on or after 1 April 2013. Officers who joined before then are on an older scale.
• New constables start on the first step. Since 1 April 2025 a chief officer can choose to start all new constables on the second step instead.

Every step, with an estimate of take-home pay after tax and pension, is on our police pay scales 2026 page.

London and the Met

In the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police, pay is basic pay plus two extras: London weighting of £3,260 a year and London allowance of £6,819 a year. Together that adds £10,079 to every rank. This table uses the highest rate of London allowance, which is the rate the Met shows in its own recruitment pay.

Inspectors and chief inspectors in these two forces also have their own, higher basic pay, so their basic figures differ from the first table.

Each range runs from the first step to the top. Constables are shown for those who joined on or after 1 April 2013. Some forces pay other allowances for where you work. This page does not list them.

Moving up a step

• You move up one step a year until you reach the top, on the anniversary of when you joined or were promoted.
• To get each rise you need to meet the pay progression standard. That means doing your annual performance review, not being under formal action for poor performance or attendance, and doing any training your force asks for.
• Officers still on probation move up without having to meet the standard.

The full rules are in the pay progression section of our pay scales page.

Moving up a rank

You will not be paid less when you are promoted. Your pay goes to the first step on the new scale that pays more than you earned before. Two examples, for forces outside London:

• A constable at the top of the scale on £52,015 who becomes a sergeant moves to £55,443.
• A sergeant at the top of the scale on £58,175 who becomes an inspector moves to £66,000.

To be promoted to sergeant or inspector you first have to pass the NPPF exam, Step Two. It is set by the College of Policing. Passing it is the first stage, not the whole process. We have a guide to each exam, and the exam dates.

Where the figures come from

The pay figures are the Home Office rates from 1 September 2025 with the 3.5% pay award added, rounded to the nearest pound. The award was announced on 15 July 2026. The Home Office will publish the exact new figures, so your payslip may differ by a pound or two. Pay figures were last checked on 3 October 2026, and the ranks on 26 October 2026.

More on police pay

Reference only, not pay or legal advice. Always check your payslip and your force.