Prison officer medical checks 2026: eyes, hearing and more

In shortThe medical is one of the last steps in a process that takes six to seven months on average, and an invitation does not mean you have met the standard.

The medical is one of the last steps in an application that takes six to seven months on average. Pre-employment checks, which the careers page quotes at 8 to 10 weeks and which cover security, identity, employment history and health screening, run alongside or after the earlier stages.

The medical assessment and fitness test follow, and then the recruitment team agrees a start date and training dates.

In shortOfficially the medical is an eye test, a hearing test and basic health screening with a blood pressure check, with no published list of excluded conditions or pass marks.

The how-to-apply page (opened 3 October 2026) says the medical assessment is carried out by a trained occupational health professional. The eligibility page adds that you must declare pre-existing physical or mental health conditions for a confidential occupational health assessment.

The youth custody tips page says that a physical and mental health issue will not necessarily prevent you from doing the job and that, where appropriate, relevant adjustments will be recommended.

• An eye test.
• A hearing test.
• Basic health screening, including a blood pressure check.

In shortA third-party site reports specific thresholds, but they are not confirmed by any current HMPPS document and may have changed since 2019.

A third-party candidate site, last updated 19 March 2021 and citing HMPPS guidance, reports the standards in the table below.

The youth custody pages confirm a hearing standard without hearing aids and an eyesight standard in both eyes. But the exact numbers are Reported, not confirmed by a current HMPPS document, and the standards may have changed since 2019.

• Uncorrected distance vision of at least 6/36 with both eyes open, and corrected vision of at least 6/12 with both eyes open.
• Hearing that allows you to hear normal conversation at 3 metres (10 feet) without hearing aids, assessed with a whisper test.
• Blood pressure between 90/60 and 140/90 as satisfactory, with a borderline band up to 160/100 that triggers three further readings.
• A body mass index target of 30 or under, with people at 31 to 35 possibly considered fit if they are heavily muscled and have no other concern.

In shortAssessments are at six UK sites, you can claim up to £100 of UK travel costs, and third-party pages describe about two hours on site.

• Sites6Swindon, Cambridge, South London (Croydon), Rugby (Newbold Revel), Leeds, Manchester
• Travel costsUp to £100UK travel only; not available outside the UK
• On site (reported)About 2 hoursMedical first, fitness test afterwards, usually same day

We do not know how a site is allocated to you, so check the invitation, and note that Newbold Revel is named only as an assessment location on the current pages, not as a training venue.

We could not confirm the two-hour timing on an official page, so ask the recruitment team how long to allow. Plan your travel with margin, particularly if you rely on public transport, because turning up late may mean rebooking.

In shortDeclare pre-existing physical and mental health conditions: the assessment is confidential, and a condition will not necessarily prevent you.

You are asked to declare pre-existing physical and mental health conditions, and the page promises a confidential occupational health assessment. Declaring is the right thing to do.

The medical exists to find out whether you can do the job safely and what support or adjustment you might need, and not hiding something is also part of the honesty that the role requires.

HMPPS says that a physical or mental health issue will not necessarily prevent you from doing the job and that relevant adjustments will be recommended where appropriate.

In shortAdjustments are published for the online tests, interview and assessment centre, but not for the fitness test or the medical, so ask early and in writing.

HMPPS publishes a reasonable adjustments page for its recruitment process. It says adjustments change part of the assessment to remove or reduce a disadvantage, and that they are available for a diagnosed or undiagnosed disability, long-term condition or short-term illness or injury.

You tick 'yes' on the application form and the team contacts you. The page says you will not be penalised or judged for asking.

• Examples include extra time, a reader or scribe, written interview questions with notice and flexible time slots.
• The page lists adjustments for timed exercises, interviews, written tests and reading. It does not mention the fitness test or the medical, so we cannot say adjustments apply there.
• The youth custody tips page does say relevant adjustments will be recommended where appropriate, which indicates the occupational health route considers them case by case.

In shortThe official pages do not say whether the fitness test can be deferred for pregnancy, so raise any such need in writing as early as possible.

The official pages we read do not say whether the fitness test can be deferred during pregnancy.

The Equality Act 2010 protects pregnancy and maternity, so if you are pregnant or expect to be, raise it with the recruitment team in writing as early as possible and ask what the options are. We will not guess at the answer.

Inside Time reported in April 2022 that a deferral of up to six months for the menopause had been introduced, following concerns about differences in test outcomes between women and men. That is a 2022 report and Dated, so ask whether anything similar applies now.

In shortVetting and the medical are separate processes with separate decision makers, and the fitness test follows the medical.

Our vetting guide explains the vetting side in detail. Read our bleep test level guide for what is published about the standard, and the training plan for a safe way to prepare.

If your medical shows a condition that stops you from taking the fitness test safely on the day, the occupational health professional will say so, and you can ask what comes next.

In shortAsk exactly what is needed, which standard was missed and how retaking works, and put any concerns in writing.

Whatever happens, be kind to yourself. Many people with a record of good health find it stressful to be assessed in this way.

If the outcome is a failure that you believe is wrong or you think your condition should have been considered differently, seek advice from a trade union, ACAS or a solicitor, and put your concerns in writing.

In shortUse the condition-specific guides for what the published pages say, and the process guides for the whole journey.

If your question is about a specific condition, each of the guides below explains what the published pages say and what is not published.

• Anxiety or depression.
• Asthma.
• ADHD or dyslexia.
• Glasses and eyesight.
• Applying with a disability.