1. What are the qualifications for the Special Agent position?
To become an FBI Special Agent, you must be a U.S. citizen or a citizen of the Northern Mariana Islands. You must be at least 23 years of age, but younger than 37 upon your appointment as a Special Agent. Applicants must possess a four-year degree from a college or university accredited by one of the regional or national institutional associations recognized by the United States Secretary of Education. All candidates must possess a valid driver's license and be completely available for assignment anywhere in the FBI's jurisdiction. In addition, applicants must be able to meet all of the FBI's Special Agent Qualification Requirements.

2. Is there a waiver regarding the maximum age limit of 37?
No, the maximum entrance age for Special Agents is mandated by Public Law 93-350, enacted July 12, 1974. Per this law, the Attorney General — with the concurrence of the Office of Personnel Management — set the date immediately preceding one's thirty-seventh birthday as the last date for original entry on duty as a law enforcement officer in the Department of Justice.

3. Is there waiver of the four-year degree if an applicant has military service?
No. All applicants must have a four-year degree when applying for the Special Agent position.

4. Will having uncorrected vision or laser surgery disqualify me from applying for the Special Agent position?
Special Agent candidates need to have at least 20/20 vision in one eye and not worse than 20/40 vision in the other eye. If an individual has a satisfactory history of soft contact lens wear for more than one year and is able to meet correction to 20/20 in one eye and no worse than 20/40 in the other eye, safety concerns are considered mitigated and applicant processing may continue. If an applicant has had laser eye corrective surgery, a six month waiting period is required prior to beginning New Agents' Training at the FBI Academy. The applicant must also provide evidence of complete healing by an ophthalmology clinical evaluation. Policy for color vision allows continuation of applicant processing if those who fail initial color vision screening are able to successfully complete the Farnsworth D-15 color vision test.

5. How do I apply to become a Special Agent?
The first step towards becoming an FBI Special Agent is to complete the online application. You can only apply through the FBI office covering your residence, place of education, and/or place of employment. For more information on the entire application process, please see the Special Agent Application and Hiring Process section of this site.

6. What kind of training do FBI Special Agents receive?
All Special Agents begin their career at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia for 20 weeks of intensive training at one of the world's finest law enforcement training facilities. During their time at the FBI Academy, trainees live on-campus and participate in a variety of training activities. Classroom hours are spent studying a wide variety of academic and investigative subjects. The FBI Academy curriculum also includes intensive training in physical fitness, defensive tactics, practical application exercises, and the use of firearms.

Over the course of their career, the FBI provides additional training opportunities to continually keep Special Agents updated on the latest developments in the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

7. Do I have to know how to shoot a gun to apply to be an FBI Special Agent?
No, it is not necessary to have prior experience with a firearm. All Special Agent trainees will receive extensive training in the use and maintenance of firearms and related equipment.

8. What are the physical fitness requirements to become an FBI Special Agent?
Serving as an FBI Special Agent is a demanding job. A Special Agent is often placed in situations that make great demands on his/her physical capacity. In these instances, physical fitness is often the factor that spells the difference between success and failure — even life and death. Therefore, all candidates for the position must be in excellent physical condition with no disabilities which would interfere in firearm use, raids, or defensive tactics. For more information on the physical fitness requirements, please see the Special Agent Physical Requirements portion of this site.

9. Do certain degrees provide a more desirable educational background for the Special Agent position?
The FBI does not recommend particular courses or schools. Any degrees that develop research and analytical skills are desirable educational backgrounds. For example, a Law degree is a desirable asset because Special Agents are charged with investigating violations of federal laws of the United States; an Accounting degree is also desirable because Special Agents trace financial transactions and review/analyze complex accounting records in criminal investigations; an Engineering degree is desirable because Special Agents often have to critically analyze large amounts of information in order to plan the next steps in an investigation; etc.

10. What is a typical day like for a Special Agent of the FBI?
There is no such thing as a typical day for an FBI Special Agent. Every day is different. One day you could be testifying in federal court, and the next you could be executing a search warrant and gathering evidence. One day you could be meeting with a source to gather intelligence on illegal activities, the next you could be making an arrest, and the next you could be back in the office meeting with your squad and catching up on paperwork. FBI Special Agents are always on call to protect their country; this is definitely not a nine-to-five career. Although the work is challenging and exciting, Special Agents still have the opportunity to spend quality time with their families.

11. How does the background investigation process work?
Because of the sensitive nature of the FBI's missions, all FBI positions require at least a Top Secret Security Clearance. Before employees can start work with the FBI, they must undergo an intensive background investigation that includes a polygraph examination, a test for illegal drugs, credit and records checks, and extensive interviews with former and current colleagues, neighbors, friends, professors, etc. Please also note that there are certain employment requirements that may disqualify you from consideration for employment with the FBI. Before applying for any position with the FBI, please be sure that the FBI Employment Disqualifiers do not apply to you.

12. How much are FBI Special Agents paid?
Special Agent trainees at the FBI Academy are paid as GS-10, step 1 ($43,441) plus the Quantico, VA locality adjustment (17.50%) during their time at the FBI Academy. This equates to $51,043 on an annualized basis (or $1,963 per each two-week pay period).

Newly assigned Special Agents are paid as GS-10, step 1 ($43,441) plus locality pay and availability pay. Locality pay (which ranges from 12.5% to 28.7% of base salary depending upon office assignment) is additional compensation to account for differences in the labor market between different areas. Availability pay is a 25% increase in adjusted salary (base salary + locality pay) for all Special Agents due to their requirement to average a 50-hour work week over the course of the year. Thus, with the locality and availability pay adjustments, new Special Agents in their first Field Offices earn between $61,100 and $69,900, depending upon the region of the country to which they are assigned.

New Special Agents assigned to certain designated high-cost offices (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C., Boston and Newark) may also be paid a one-time relocation bonus of approximately $22,000 to help offset higher real estate and living costs. In order to qualify for the relocation bonus, new Special Agents must be assigned to one of the designated high-cost offices and they must be moving from a lower cost area to a different geographical area with a higher cost of living.

For example, a new Agent assigned to Washington, D.C. would make a base salary of $43,441 (GS-10, step 1 on the Law Enforcement Officers' salary table) + locality pay of $7,602 (based on Washington, D.C.'s locality adjustment of 17.5%) + availability pay of $12,761 (25% of base + locality) for a total salary of $63,804 their first year. If the new Special Agent qualified for the relocation bonus (e.g., moving from Atlanta to Washington, D.C.), they would also receive a one-time payment of approximately $22,000.

13. What are the employment benefits like?
As an FBI employee, Special Agents are also entitled to a variety of benefits, including group health and life insurance programs, vacation and sick pay, and a full retirement plan.

14. What are the opportunities for promotions and pay increases?
As they gain more experience, Special Agents can qualify for promotion to a variety of managerial and executive positions. Special Agents enter as GS 10 employees on the law enforcement government pay scale and can advance to the GS 13 grade level in field, non-supervisory assignments. Promotions to supervisory, management, and executive positions are available in grades GS 14 and GS 15 as well as in the FBI Senior Executive Service. For more information on the government pay scale, please visit the Office of Personnel Management's "Salaries and Wages" web page.

15. How long does the FBI Special Agent application process take?
The length of the application process for the Special Agent position can vary greatly from applicant to applicant. The process could be as little as six months or as long as several years. The Special Agent Selection System (Phase I and Phase II Testing) is based on the applicant's competitiveness in the pool of candidates. If an applicant meets several of the FBI's critical skill needs, they are more likely to move quickly through the testing process. If an applicant does not meet any of the FBI's critical needs, however, it may take months or longer to be scheduled for testing.

In addition to the length of the Phase I and II testing process, the Physical Fitness Test, FBI Background Investigation, and Medical Evaluation will all impact the length of the application process. Each of these items can take a considerable amount of time to complete if any issues are encountered.

16. How are Special Agents assigned to offices and how often are Special Agents rotated in their assignments?
Newly appointed Special Agents are assigned to one of the FBI's 56 field offices based on the current staffing and/or critical specialty needs. New Agents are given the opportunity to rank their desired locations. While consideration is given to these preferences, first office assignment is based upon the staffing needs of the FBI. All Special Agents are subject to transfer at any time to meet the organizational and program needs of the FBI. Special Agents accept the possibility of transfer as a condition of their employment.

A new Special Agent can generally expect to remain in his/her first office of assignment for approximately three years. During their first two years new Special Agents are guided by a veteran Special Agent who will help them apply the lessons learned at the FBI Academy. New Agents initially assigned to a small- or medium-sized field office are normally transferred to a large field office at the end of their third year. New agents initially assigned to a large field office will generally not be transferred unless they apply for management positions, are eligible for a voluntary transfer, or the needs of the FBI dictate otherwise.

17. I want to be an FBI "Profiler" - where do I begin the application process?
You first need to realize the FBI does not have a job called "Profiler." The tasks commonly associated with "profiling" are performed by Supervisory Special Agents assigned to the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) at Quantico, Virginia. Despite popular depictions, these FBI Special Agents don't get "vibes" or experience "psychic flashes" while walking around fresh crime scenes. It is an exciting world of investigation and research — a world of inductive and deductive reasoning; crime-solving experience; and knowledge of criminal behavior, facts, and statistical probabilities.

Special Agents are not eligible for positions at the NCAVC until they have three years of experience. Because the positions are so competitive, however, individuals selected usually possess eight to ten years of experience as a Special Agent. The NCAVC employs Special Agents with a variety of backgrounds. The most important qualifications include overall experience as an investigator specializing in violent crimes, particularly homicides, rapes, child abductions, and threats. Please see our list of NCAVC Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the NCAVC.

We thank you for your interest in a career as an FBI Special Agent. We invite you to navigate the other sections of this Web site to gain a more complete picture of what it means to join the FBI and become "One of America's Finest."