HP Police Constable 2026: Physical Tests Come Before the Written Exam

Himachal Pradesh Police runs its Constable selection backward compared to most state police recruitments: your physical tests come first, and only candidates who clear those get to sit the written exam. Applications for the 734-post 2026 drive closed 21 August, with the written exam and physical tests expected sometime in September or October, though HPPSC hasn't fixed exact dates yet. If you applied, that order flip changes how you should be spending the weeks ahead of you.

At a Glance

Detail	Figure
Vacancies	734 (491 Male, 243 Female)
Application window	10 July – 21 August 2026, closed
Physical tests + written exam	Expected September–October 2026, exact dates not yet announced
Pay scale	Level 3, ₹20,200–₹64,000
Application fee	₹600 General
Qualification	Matriculation and 10+2 from a recognized board

The Order That Trips People Up

In Telangana's or Karnataka's police recruitments, you sit a written test first and only candidates who clear it move on to physical tests. HP Police flips that sequence: Physical Standard Test and Physical Efficiency Test come first, and clearing both is what earns you a seat at the written exam, not the other way around. The PET is qualifying only, with no marks awarded for how fast you run or how far you jump, but failing any single event removes you from the process entirely before you've written a single word of the exam you may have spent months preparing for.

That changes where your limited prep time should go right now. If you've been treating the written syllabus as priority one and physical training as something to pick up "closer to the date," this recruitment punishes that ordering specifically. There's no written-exam safety net here if your body isn't ready first.

Age Bands Are Split Unusually Too

Most exams give a single age relaxation on top of a base window. HP Police Constable 2026 instead sets separate absolute ranges by category: General and EWS candidates run 18 to 25, OBC/SC/ST run 18 to 27, and Home Guard candidates run 20 to 28. Worth checking which band you actually fall under rather than assuming a flat "+3 years OBC" style relaxation applies, since the structure here isn't built that way.

What to Do With No Exam Date Yet

Since HPPSC hasn't locked the written exam or physical test schedule, the responsible move is training as if the physical stage could land anytime from early September onward, not waiting for a confirmed date to start. Build running endurance and whatever specific PST/PET standards HPPSC lists in your category (height, chest, and timed runs are the usual components for state police recruitments) over the coming weeks, since fitness built gradually holds up far better under test-day pressure than fitness crammed into a final week once a date drops. Keep written-exam prep (General Knowledge, Current Affairs, Mathematics) running in parallel at a lower intensity for now, then shift it into high gear once you've cleared the physical stage and know you'll actually need it.

For more on how PET works as a hard filter in state police recruitment generally, see our Telangana Police TSLPRB guide and Karnataka Police Constable guide. For other openings in the state, browse our Himachal Pradesh jobs hub.