Free SAPS Recruitment Test Practice 2026
200 original questions for the written part of the police trainee assessment: English, reading, numeracy and reasoning. Four 50-question mock tests. Tuned for mobile. No account needed.
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The SAPS test exam at a glance
The South African Police Service (SAPS) recruits entry-level police trainees through advertised intakes; the 2026/2027 advertisement (reference TRA26/27) closes on 13 November 2026. Applicants must be South African citizens aged 18 to 35 at the closing date, hold a Grade 12 certificate, be proficient in English and one other official language and have no criminal convictions or pending cases. Every applicant faces fitness, psychometric and integrity testing, a medical evaluation and an interview, and vetting that includes fingerprint verification; trainees then attend a SAPS Training Academy. SAPS does not publish the number of questions, the time or a pass mark for the written assessment; guides describe literacy, numeracy and reasoning questions. Applying costs nothing. Tigertest practises the literacy, numeracy and reasoning part with four 50-question mock tests and a 70% target.
Tigertest has 200 SAPS test practice questions with explanations, all free with no account required.
- Run by
- South African Police Service (SAPS)
- Assessments
- Fitness, psychometric and integrity testing, medical, interview, vetting
- Written test content (guides)
- Literacy, numeracy and reasoning
- Questions and time
- Not published
- Pass mark
- Not published
- Age and education
- 18 to 35 at the closing date, Grade 12
- Tigertest mock tests
- 4 x 50 questions, 70% target
- Cost
- Free to apply
Updated by the Tigertest team. Practice questions follow SAPS entry-level police trainee advertisement 2026/2027 (TRA26/27) and e-Recruitment FAQ, checked November 2026. Exam rules change, so confirm current details with South African Police Service.
How It Works
Train by Topic
Five training sets cover grammar, spelling and vocabulary, reading comprehension, numbers and tables, word problems, and verbal and logical reasoning. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
Full Mock Tests
Four 50-question tests that together cover all 200 questions, with a 70% target. No question repeats across tests, and every answer explains the working and the common wrong pick.
Built for the Written Assessment
SAPS does not publish a syllabus or a topic split, so the weighting is Tigertest's own: English and reading carry the most marks, then numeracy, then reasoning. Questions are set in everyday South African situations, with rand, kilometres and the 24-hour clock. The integrity and psychological assessment, fitness test, interview and medical are not modelled, and shape-based reasoning is written as text patterns.
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Share FeedbackHow to Prepare for the SAPS Assessment
1. Read carefully and answer from the text
Reading questions reward the answer the passage actually supports, not what you think is likely. Police officers write statements and reports every day, so practise spotting the key fact, the time and the person in a short notice or report.
2. Get quick at numbers without a calculator
Revise fractions, percentages, ratio, averages, speed, distance and time, and the 24-hour clock. Write down your working: most wrong answers come from one slip, such as dividing by the wrong total.
3. Learn the reasoning patterns
Letter and number series, codes, analogies, seating and queue puzzles, directions and if-then statements come up again and again. Once you know the pattern types, each question takes seconds.
4. Prepare for the other stages too
The written assessment is only one step. Get fit for the fitness assessment (the 2026/2027 advertisement requires a body mass index of 30 or less and a waist measurement within its limits before you can take it), gather your documents, and answer the integrity and psychological questions honestly: there are no right answers to learn. Aim for 40 or more in every Tigertest mock test before your assessment date.
SAPS Recruitment Test Frequently Asked Questions
What is on the SAPS police trainee assessment?
The South African Police Service's 2026/2027 police trainee advertisement says every applicant is subjected to fitness, psychometric and integrity testing, a medical evaluation and an interview. SAPS does not say what the psychometric test contains; guides describe a written assessment of literacy, numeracy and reasoning. Tigertest practises the literacy, numeracy and reasoning part only: English grammar, vocabulary and reading, numbers, word problems and tables, and verbal and logical reasoning.
How many questions are on the SAPS test and what is the pass mark?
SAPS does not publish a question count, a time limit or a pass mark for the trainee assessment (the 2026/2027 advertisement gives none), and the format can change from one intake to the next. Tigertest's mock tests are 50 questions with a 70% target, so work at a steady pace and aim well above it, because there are far more applicants than posts.
What is not covered by this practice test?
Tigertest does not model the integrity and psychological assessment, the physical fitness assessment, the interview, the medical or the vetting (background enquiries and fingerprint verification), nor the training at a SAPS Training Academy that follows. Reasoning questions that use shapes or pictures in the real assessment are written here as text patterns (sequences of shapes, folded paper, turning arrows). There are no general knowledge or law questions.
Who can apply to be a SAPS police trainee?
The 2026/2027 advertisement (reference TRA26/27, closing 13 November 2026) asks for South African citizens aged 18 to 35 at the closing date with a Grade 12 certificate, proficiency in English and one other official language, physical, medical and mental fitness, no criminal convictions or pending cases and no tattoos visible in uniform. Applications are made online through the SAPS e-Recruitment portal. Read the current advertisement on the SAPS website before you apply, and never pay anyone who offers to secure you a post: SAPS says there are no costs to applicants.
Are these the real SAPS assessment questions?
No. Every question is original, written by Tigertest to practise the same English, numeracy and reasoning skills without copying any real assessment. Tigertest is not affiliated with the South African Police Service, and it does not book, run or replace any part of the recruitment process.
SAPS test sample questions and answers
6 of the 200 practice questions, one from each topic, with the answer explained.
1. A chart shows that 3 in every 8 callers to a hotline were reporting fraud. Out of 1 200 callers, how many reported fraud?
- A.150 callers
- B.450 callers
- C.360 callers
- D.800 callers
Answer: B. 1 200 ÷ 8 = 150, and 150 x 3 = 450.
2. Which sentence about the suspect's denial is grammatically correct?
- A.The suspect denied to have been there.
- B.The suspect denied that he has be there.
- C.The suspect denied of having been there.
- D.The suspect denied having been there.
Answer: D. "Deny" is followed by a verb in the -ing form (denied having), with no preposition.
3. Each row follows a rule: 2, 6, 18 / 3, 9, 27 / 5, 15, ? What number replaces the question mark?
- A.45
- B.25
- C.30
- D.75
Answer: A. Each number is three times the one before it: 15 x 3 = 45.
4. A shift starts at 19:30 and lasts 11 hours 45 minutes. At what time does it end?
- A.07:45
- B.31:15
- C.07:15
- D.06:15
Answer: C. 19:30 plus 11 hours is 06:30, and 45 minutes more is 07:15.
5. Read the passage: "Zanele applied for a post in the Western Cape but was offered one in the Northern Cape. Although she had hoped to stay near her family, she accepted, saying the experience would help her career." Why did Zanele accept the post?
- A.For a higher salary
- B.Because she disliked the Western Cape
- C.For her career
- D.To be near her family
Answer: C. She accepted because she said the experience would help her career, even though she wanted to stay near family.
6. Which word means "to make a situation less serious or tense"?
- A.de-escalate
- B.escalate
- C.exaggerate
- D.investigate
Answer: A. To de-escalate is to reduce tension. To escalate is the opposite.
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