Spain to drop minimum height requirement to be a police officer

The General Directorate of the Spanish National Police will abolish the minimum height requirement set to be a police officer.

The change in the requirements, which could be in force in the next call for tests scheduled for 2023, was announced on Monday by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, after a meeting with the Director General of the Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras, and the officials responsible for training and selection of the National Police.

To date, the minimum height was set at 165 centimeters for men and 160 for women. This minimum cap will be abolished except for access to intervention groups or some special units such as the UIP, the UPR, and the Special Operations Group, commonly known as GEO. The ministry explained in a press release that in these units the height affects the operation of the specific police work carried out by its members.

Interior Minister Grande-Marlaska said that this change contributes to breaking "one of the glass ceilings" that prevented women's access to the police.

“The current regulation is more restrictive for women. Its limit is only two centimeters below the average height of women, while in the case of men the margin reaches up to nine centimeters," he explained.

Spelling test

According to newspaper ABC, the suppression of the minimum height limit is added to the abolition of the controversial spelling exam in the tests to become a police officer.

The exam had been heavily criticized for its alleged difficulty by police candidates and also by police unions.

The new regulation, with its novelties, could be applied in the next call for access tests to the National Police in 2023, once all the negotiation and consultation processes are completed, as well as the usual regulatory production procedures.

Other requirements

Other requirements to become a police officer in Spain are the following:

• Spanish nationality.
• Be over 18 years of age and not exceed the maximum retirement age.
• Not have been convicted of an intentional crime, not be separated from public service or disqualified from exercising public functions.
• Not suffering from any disease, pathology or cause of physical or mental medical exclusion listed in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
• Accept the commitment to carry weapons and to use them if necessary.
• Have a class B driving licence.
• Have a high school degree or equivalent degree, or have met the conditions for obtaining it before the deadline for submitting applications.