The PO-EL by IPMA-HR is a popular police written test used by many departments in the U.S. The publisher, IPMA-HR, has changed the name several times and therefore, you will find it referred by different terms. Today, the official name is the Public Safety Compass Entry Level Police Exam, a mouthful for sure! This means that if your agency tells you that their exam is IPMA-HR, or PO-EL, or Compass, they are all the same thing.

The 1-hour, 45-minute exam is made up of five cognitive sections plus a Police Interest Questionnaire. Test takers receive a booklet called the TIP (Technical Information Packet) at the start of the exam. Students have 25 minutes to study the TIP before answering questions that are based upon the TIP without referring to notes.