Prison officer with tattoos, glasses or hearing aids?

In shortTattoos have a clear published policy; eyesight and hearing have a published standard but only reported numbers.

Candidates tend to ask three practical questions: will my tattoos count against me, will I be rejected because I wear glasses, and what if I use a hearing aid. The answers have different levels of certainty, and it is worth being honest about that.

Because these three topics all depend on the pre-employment medical, and because each is small enough that a separate article would have to be padded with guesses, we cover them together. The structure is simple: tattoos first, then eyesight and glasses, then hearing, then how to prepare.

If your concern is a disability or a long-term condition more broadly, read our guide to prison officer with a disability or asthma. For the whole medical process, see prison officer medical checks.

Tattoos

A clear, published policy.

Eyesight

A published fact that a standard exists and an eye test is part of the medical, but the figures are only reported.

Hearing

An official statement for youth justice workers and a reported figure for prison officers.

'Verified' and 'reported'

'Verified' means we read it on an official page on 3 October 2026; 'reported' means a third-party site cites it from an HMPPS document that we could not open.

In shortVisible tattoos are permitted unless offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating; facial tattoos are generally not acceptable.

The prison officer application page states that tattoos are permitted, including those that are visible, as long as they are not deemed offensive, discriminatory, violent or intimidating in any way. The October 2026 HMP Birmingham advert repeats the position.

That is a more relaxed policy than many people expect, and it means that a sleeve, a tattoo on the forearm or a small tattoo on the hand is not in itself a barrier.

In shortAsk recruitment in writing before you invest in the application, because the policy turns on how the image could be read.

Since the policy turns on a judgement about how the image could be read, a written reply is more reliable than an opinion on a forum. Think about how a stranger who knows nothing about you would read the image.

Many tattoos are personal and harmless but use imagery, such as symbols, slogans or numerals, that can have other meanings. The policy language is about how the tattoo is deemed, not what you intended.

In shortA standard exists in both eyes and the medical includes an eye test; the 6/36 and 6/12 figures are only reported from 2019 guidance.

• Uncorrected (reported)6/36Both eyes open; 2019 guidance, not opened
• Corrected (reported)6/12Both eyes open; 2019 guidance, not opened

Two things are verified. The medical assessment includes an eye test, as the application page states. And the Youth Custody tips page says candidates must meet the required eyesight standard in both eyes, which tells us a standard exists and applies to both eyes.

The prison officer pages we read do not publish the numbers, and the HMPPS 'Health Information and fitness standard guidance' document dated February 2019, which is the usual source, returned an error when we tried to open it.

Third-party sites report, citing that document, that monocular vision needs a specific assessment. A 2019 HMPPS blog post advised contact lens wearers to bring glasses and solution.

These are reported, dated, and not confirmed on a current official page, so treat them as a guide to what to expect rather than a rule to rely on.

In shortWearing glasses does not make you disabled in law, so eyesight is mostly about meeting the medical standard rather than adjustments.

The Equality Act 2010 treats the extent to which an impairment of sight is correctable by spectacles or contact lenses as outside the disability definition, which means someone whose vision is fully corrected by glasses is not usually protected as a person with a visual disability.

Severely sight impaired and sight impaired people certified by a consultant ophthalmologist are in a different position, because the regulations deem them to be disabled. This is a general legal summary, and a tribunal looks at the practical effect, not only the prescription.

• If you have a more significant visual impairment, you are likely to be in the category of disabled applicants, for whom the careers site offers reasonable adjustments in the recruitment process such as larger font sizes.
• How such adjustments relate to the medical standard is decided case by case, and the pages do not say.
• It is reasonable to infer that clear vision matters in a role involving observation, searches and responding to incidents, but we do not know the reasoning HMPPS gives for its standard and will not pretend to.
• If you have a condition that affects your vision, our guide on disability and the prison officer role explains how adjustments and the Equality Act work.

In shortExpect to be tested without a hearing aid, declare it, and ask recruitment what standard applies to the role.

The medical includes a hearing test, according to the application page. For youth justice workers, the Prison and Probation Jobs pages state that candidates must have a suitable standard of hearing without the use of hearing aids.

For prison officers, a 2019 HMPPS blog confirmed a whisper test at about 3 metres, and third-party sites report that candidates should be able to hear normal conversation at about 3 metres without aids. These officer figures are reported and dated, not confirmed on a current official page.

In shortThe medical follows the assessment centre, with eye, hearing and blood pressure checks and then the fitness test; bring glasses and declare anything relevant.

The medical takes place after you have passed the online assessment centre and as part of pre-employment checks, which take 8 to 10 weeks. It is held at one of several UK sites, including Swindon, Cambridge, Croydon, Rugby, Leeds and Manchester, and travel expenses of up to £100 for UK travel are available.

The medical includes eye and hearing tests, a blood pressure check and basic health screening, followed by the fitness test.

• Eyes: book a routine eye test before the assessment if your prescription is out of date, and bring your glasses and lens solution.
• Hearing: avoid arriving with a cold or blocked ears if you can help it, and if you know you have reduced hearing, declare it rather than hoping it will go unnoticed.
• Blood pressure: a 2019 blog advised avoiding caffeine beforehand; that advice is dated, but it is harmless.
• Fitness: the upper-body test uses a 7 kg riot shield and grip equipment, and you can check readiness with our fitness test calculator.
• Tell the recruitment team about anything that might need adjusting before the day, and keep copies of letters from your optician or audiologist.
• Our guides to the fitness test and the bleep test level explain the physical stage, and the recruitment process guide shows where the medical sits.

1. Read the vacancy for the prison and any role-specific health requirements.
2. Check your tattoos against the published policy and ask recruitment if unsure.
3. Book an up-to-date eye test and bring glasses and lens solution to the medical.
4. If you use a hearing aid, ask recruitment which standard applies and declare it.
5. Request reasonable adjustments on the application form if you need them.
6. Keep copies of letters from your optician, audiologist or GP.

In shortSeveral points cannot be answered from published sources, but you can still ask recruitment and raise the point at the medical.

That does not leave you without options. You can contact the recruitment team on 0345 241 5358 or by email and ask specific questions, and you can ask for written answers.

If you cannot get an answer before you apply, make the application and raise the point at the medical, where an occupational health professional can tell you about your own position. In either case, being open early avoids the costs of finding out late.

The wider context is that disabled applicants make up a small share of applicants. Over 24 months to June 2026, 3.5% of Band 3 and youth justice worker applicants were disabled and 2.7% of formal offer acceptances, according to HMPPS recruitment diversity statistics.

We do not know the reasons for that gap in any individual case, so treat the figures as context rather than a prediction.

• We could not open the HMPPS health and fitness guidance, so the numerical standards for eyesight, hearing and blood pressure are reported only.
• We found no published rule on colour vision, laser eye surgery, piercings, hair or religious dress.
• We do not know how HMPPS handles borderline results or retakes of the medical standard, as the fitness test retake rules are also not published.