Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET)

The North Carolina Basic Law Enforcement Training (“BLET”) is a State accredited program designed to prepare entry level individuals with the cognitive and physical skills to become certified police officers and deputy sheriffs.

To be accepted into the College’s BLET program, students must meet the following criteria:

1. Must complete a BLET application.

2. Must be at least 20 years of age or older.

3. Must be a citizen of the United States of America.

4. Must be a high school graduate or have earned a high school equivalency (high school diplomas earned through correspondence enrollment are not recognized toward educational requirements).

5. Must provide a medical examination report, properly completed by a physician licensed to practice medicine in North Carolina, a physician's assistant, or a nurse practitioner, to determine the applicant’s fitness to perform the essential job functions of a criminal justice officer.

6. Must take a standardized reading comprehension test and score at the tenth grade level or higher within one year prior to entrance into the BLET program.

7. Must provide a certified criminal record check for local and state records for the time period since the applicant had become an adult and from all locations where the applicant has resided since becoming an adult. An Administrative Office of the Courts criminal record check or a comparable out-of-state criminal record check will satisfy this requirement. 

8. Must have not been convicted of a felony or:

  • a crime for which the punishment could have been imprisonment for more than two years; or
  • a crime or unlawful act defined as a "Class B misdemeanor" within the five year period prior to the date of application for employment unless the applicant intends to seek certification through the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission; or
  • four or more crimes or unlawful acts defined as "Class B Misdemeanors" regardless of the date of conviction; or
  • four or more crimes or unlawful acts defined as "Class A Misdemeanors" except the trainee may be enrolled if the last conviction occurred more than two years prior to the date of enrollment; or
  • a combination of four or more "Class A Misdemeanors" or "Class B Misdemeanors" regardless of the date of conviction unless the individual intends to seek certification through the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission.
9. Every individual who is admitted as a trainee in the BLET program shall notify the BLET of all criminal offenses which the trainee is arrested for or charged with, pleads no contest to, pleads guilty to or is found guilty of, and all Domestic Violence Orders (N.C.G.S. § 50B) which are issued by a judicial official and which provide an opportunity for both parties to be present.


The notifications must be received by the College within thirty (30) days of the date the case was disposed of in court. 

Criminal Justice Education and Training

The College requires students enrolled in courses mandated under N.C.G.S. § 17C and 17E, the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission or the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission to be sponsored by law enforcement agencies until completion of the program. The student must be sponsored by a law enforcement agency to be admitted into the program. Failure to have such sponsorship shall result in an admission’s denial. 

Non-Criminal Justice Education and Training Firearm Courses

Except for courses governed by Criminal Justice Education and Training, if the College has a program that requires students to possess a firearm, prior to admission, the student must provide proof of eligibility to possess firearms. For purposes of this Policy, “firearm” means a handgun, shotgun or rifle that expels a projectile by action of an explosion; “proof of eligibility” means: i) a current, valid State-issued permit to purchase a firearm; ii) a current, valid State-issued concealed carry permit from North Carolina; iii) a current, valid State-issued concealed carry permit from a state with a reciprocal concealed carry agreement with North Carolina; iv) proof of an exemption from permit requirements pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 14-415.25; or v) a background check to determine whether the applicant can lawfully possess a firearm in North Carolina pursuant to N.C.G.S. §§ 14-269.8; -404(c); -415.1; -415.3; and -415.25.