The Firefighter Hiring Process: Every Step, In Order

By Ryan Coffey, firefighter at the Port of Seattle Fire Department. Six years on the Everett Fire Department hiring panel. Updated November 2026.

If you searched "how to become a firefighter," most of the answers you found were about school and certifications. Those matter. But for a career department, becoming a firefighter mostly means getting through one thing: the hiring process. It is long, it is different at every department, and almost nobody explains it to you before you are in the middle of it.

I went through it for five years and about 30 failed interviews before I was hired. Then I spent six years on the other side, on the Everett Fire hiring panel. This page is the map I wish I had at the start: every step, roughly in order, what each one is really doing, and where candidates lose time they never get back.

The short version

Most career fire departments follow some version of this order:

1. Meet the minimum requirements
2. Submit the application
3. Written test
4. Physical ability test (usually the CPAT)
5. Oral board interview
6. Ranked eligibility list
7. Chief's interview (not every department)
8. Conditional job offer
9. Background investigation
10. Psychological evaluation, medical exam and drug screen
11. Final offer and academy

That is the common shape. The details are not common at all, and the differences matter.

The order changes from department to department

Here is how four real departments describe their own process. Look at where the physical test lands in each one.

• Seattle Fire: application, then the FireTEAM written test plus a self-assessment, then an oral board for top scorers. The CPAT comes later, during pre-employment screening, and Seattle requires its own CPAT even if you already hold a valid card. Medical, psychological and background checks come after the conditional offer.
• Austin Fire: application, then a written exam and a recorded oral process. The CPAT comes after the conditional offer, and only an Austin-issued CPAT is accepted.
• Phoenix Fire: application, then a written exam and an eligibility list. You need a CPAT and an Arizona EMT certification by the final selection interview.
• Fremont Fire (California): a written exam through a statewide testing system, then the city application, then an oral board, then a fire chief interview and conditional offer, then background, psych and medical.

Same job, four different orders. That is why the first thing you do for any department is read its process page and write the steps down. Do not assume the last department you tested with works the same way.

Every step, and what it is actually doing

1. Minimum requirements

These are the gates you have to clear before anything is scored. They vary more than people expect:

• Age: Austin requires 18 to 35 on the exam date. LAFD and Phoenix require 18, with no maximum.
• Diploma or GED: required by Austin and LAFD. Phoenix lists it as preferred.
• EMT: Seattle wants a current Washington EMT or eligibility for sponsorship before recruit school. Phoenix requires an Arizona EMT and does not accept National Registry alone. LAFD asks for proof at its pre-employment assessment.
• Driver's license: required almost everywhere. Seattle also asks for a positive driving record.

Read the requirements for every department on your list, not just the first one. An EMT rule like Phoenix's can take months to fix if you find it late.

2. The application

It feels like paperwork. Treat it like the first page of your background file, because at some departments that is exactly what it becomes. Dates, addresses and employers you list here will be compared to everything you submit later. Be accurate and keep a copy of every application you send.

3. The written test

Many departments use a standardized test delivered by a testing company instead of writing their own. Two you will run into often are the FireTEAM test, delivered through the National Testing Network, and the tests run by Public Safety Testing, which many Washington departments use.

The written score often decides who gets invited to the oral board at all. Seattle invites the top 1,000 for its 2026 to 2027 cycle. That makes this step a ranking, not just a pass/fail gate. I break down the FireTEAM test section by section in the FireTEAM guide.

4. The physical ability test

Most departments use the CPAT, a timed course of eight events. The City of Los Angeles describes it as eight events in 10 minutes and 20 seconds, with a passing card valid for 12 months. Some departments run their own version or make you test with them directly, and LAFD has moved to a different test, the BPAT, for 2026.

Two things to watch: when your CPAT expires, and whether the department you want will accept the one you already have. Public Safety Testing, for example, requires your CPAT within 180 days before or after your written exam.

5. The oral board

This is the interview: a panel, a fixed set of questions, and a score for each answer. It is also where the most weight usually sits. LAFD weights its interview at 100 percent of the score for ranking. Seattle counts the oral board for 25 percent alongside the written components.

From the panel side, this is the step where qualified candidates separate. Most people who reach the board can do the job. The board decides who ranks high enough to get hired. I wrote a full guide to the questions and what the panel scores on each one.

6. The eligibility list

Your scores put you in rank order on a list, and the department hires from the top down as positions open. A few things candidates do not realize:

• Testing companies usually do not rank you. Public Safety Testing says it sends raw scores, and each agency builds its own ranked list.
• Lists expire. LAFD says its list is valid for one year from the interview date. Austin says a minimum of 12 but less than 24 months. Public Safety Testing says most agencies keep candidates on lists for around 12 to 15 months.
• A spot on the list is not a job. If the department hires fewer people than expected, the list can expire before your number comes up.

7. The chief's interview

Some departments add a final interview with the chief or senior staff before the offer. Fremont, for example, runs a fire chief interview before its conditional offer. It is a different conversation from the oral board, and it is scored differently. I will cover it in its own guide.

8. The conditional offer

A conditional offer means the job is yours if you pass everything that follows. It is a real milestone, and it is also the point where the most personal parts of the process begin.

9. The background investigation

An investigator checks your history: employment, residences, references, criminal and driving records, and at some departments credit and social media. This is the step where honesty matters more than anything else in the process. I go through what investigators look at, and what actually disqualifies people, in the background investigation guide.

10. Psych, medical and drug screen

A psychological evaluation, a medical exam to fire service standards, and a drug test. Departments order these differently, but they usually come after the conditional offer and before the final one.

11. Final offer and academy

Clear everything above and you get a start date for the academy. Then a new set of tests begins.

How long does the firefighter hiring process take?

Longer than you want, and it depends entirely on the department. A few that publish a timeline:

• Fremont Fire: about six months.
• Prince George's County Fire (Maryland): approximately four to six months.
• Seattle Fire: the hiring register for the current cycle comes out in March 2027, and the first academy class starts in August 2027.

That is one cycle at one department. Most people test with several departments at once and go through more than one cycle. It took me five years.

What I would track if I were testing today

When you are testing with several departments at once, the process stops being one long line and becomes a calendar. The candidates who stay organized do not miss things. I would keep one sheet with:

• Every department, its application deadline and its step order
• Which steps are ranked and which are pass/fail at each one
• Your written test scores, where they were sent, and when they expire
• Your CPAT date and expiration, and which departments accept it
• Your EMT certification and expiration
• Every application you submitted, saved as a copy

None of this gets you hired. It keeps you from losing a year to a deadline you did not see.

Common questions about the firefighter hiring process