Federal Bureau of Prisons

At the Federal Bureau of Prisons, being a Correctional Officer goes beyond the uniform and law-enforcement benefits. You're building a rewarding career helping inmates on the inside succeed when they get back on the outside. Join our team.

Basic Correctional Officer requirements:

For consideration at the GS-05 level:

To be considered at the GS-05 level, requires successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in any field leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.

OR

You must have at least 3 years of full-time general experience, one of which is equivalent to the GS-04 grade level, or one year of specialized experience. This experience must demonstrate the aptitude for acquiring knowledge and skills required for correctional work. It also must demonstrate the possession of personal attributes important to the effectiveness of correctional officers:

This general experience may have been gained in work such as:

For consideration at the GS-06 level:

9 semester hours or 14 quarter hours of graduate study, from an accredited school, in:

OR

You need 1 year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty to the next-lower grade level in Federal service. This experience must have equipped you with the particular knowledge and skills to perform the duties of the position:

Examples of occupations where specialized experience may have been gained:

Some examples of this qualifying experience are:

Age Requirement

At time of appointment, applicants must not have reached their 37th birthday unless they previously served in a Federal civilian law enforcement position covered by special civil service retirement provisions, including early or mandatory retirement. Qualified Preference Eligible Veterans may be exempt from meeting the maximum entry age of 37.

WE'RE HIRING NATIONWIDE. COME WORK ON THE INSIDE.

Correctional Officers are vital at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. To fill these high-priority positions, we look for qualified individuals year-round and nationwide. We have immediate openings at facilities in multiple locations.

Apply now for a Correctional Officer position below:

Find direct hire* GL-05, GL-06, GL-07 Correctional Officer opportunities in these locations:

If you qualify as a GL-08 Correctional Officer and are interested in the above locations, please click here.

*Direct hire opportunities allow you to work directly with the hiring institution, bypassing the USAJOBS application. To apply for the Correctional Officer position at these locations, please submit a complete application packet to the email address indicated in the job announcement.

Hints and tips.
Check out the application process for helpful tips.

Please consider the following locations that have immediate vacancies:

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR CAREER, IN PRISON.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a unique agency in the United States Department of Justice. As a Correctional Officer here, your performance makes a real difference every day. And in our transparent promotion structure, that performance gets noticed. There are definitely benefits to working in prison:

This position has non-standard application procedures.

You can find out how to apply to a specific opportunity by reviewing the "Qualifications" tab.