Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Florida's officer salary incentive, under s. 943.22, Fla. Stat., pays full-time officers $30 a month for a community college degree or equivalent: 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) plus eligibility for an associate degree. A bachelor's adds $50, so $80 for education, with a $130 monthly cap on all incentives. The hours must come from an accredited institution.
Under s. 943.22, Fla. Stat., a full-time officer with a community college degree or equivalent, meaning 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours and eligibility to receive an associate degree, receives $30 a month, a bachelor's degree from an accredited college adds $50 a month, and all salary incentive payments together are capped at $130 a month.
The rule asks for 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) and associate-degree eligibility. The legal source is s. 943.22, Fla. Stat..
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Community college degree or equivalent | $30 a month; equivalent = 60 semester or 90 quarter hours and eligibility for an associate degree | [1] |
| Bachelor's degree | An additional $50 a month (so $80 for education) | [1] |
| Career development training | $120 a month for 480 hours of approved courses | [1] |
| Cap | $130 a month for all salary incentive payments together | [1] |
| Accreditation | Institutions accredited by the agencies listed in s. 943.22(1)(a) | [1] |
Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (rules in Chapter 11B-14, F.A.C.); paid by the officer's employing agency decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (rules in Chapter 11B-14, F.A.C.); paid by the officer's employing agency.
Core criminal justice subject; 3 credits, NCCRS-recommended
Self-paced online Introduction to Criminology course (Criminology 150). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Social science general education in most associate degrees; ACE-recommended and NCCRS-recommended
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Social science general education; ACE-recommended and NCCRS-recommended
Self-paced online Introduction to Sociology course (Sociology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Composition is in the general education core of every Florida associate degree
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Ethics elective often taken by officers; NCCRS-recommended
Self-paced online Ethics in the Social Sciences course (Social Science 110). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Useful for crisis work; usually an elective in a degree plan
Self-paced online Abnormal Psychology course (Psychology 180). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU, UoPeople and Newlane are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; check their own transfer pages and your agency's accreditation rule before choosing where your 60 hours will sit.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Broward College, in-state online | $122.90 per credit hour | About $2,212 for 18 credits (six 3-credit courses) | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning monthly plan | $99 a month | Monthly access to its course list | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine membership | $99 a month plus a course fee | Membership plus a one-time fee per course | 15 Nov 2026 |
The incentive is $360 a year for the associate level and $960 a year once the bachelor's is added. Most officers need only part of the 60 hours, so the cost is what is left on the degree plan, not all 60.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask your agency's training or HR office in writing which transcript it accepts for the salary incentive, and ask your college in writing which courses it will place in your degree plan, before you enrol.
The statute gives three ways to qualify at the first level: graduate from an accredited community college, hold a degree granted under s. 1007.25, or complete 60 semester hours (90 quarter hours) and be eligible to receive an associate degree. The last part is easy to miss. Sixty random hours are not enough; they have to add up to an associate degree at that college.
That is why the college matters as much as the courses. Build the hours inside a real associate degree plan, and the eligibility question answers itself.
The amounts are small but permanent. Thirty dollars a month is $360 a year for the associate level. A bachelor's adds $50, for $80 a month or $960 a year. Career development training can add $120, but the total from all three is capped at $130 a month.
Many Florida agencies also pay their own degree incentives on top of the state program. Those are set by the agency or a union contract, not by s. 943.22, so ask your agency what it adds.
Section 943.22 covers full-time officers certified under Florida's criminal justice standards. It excludes Senior Management Service employees, and it pays no education incentive in a position whose class specification already requires a 4-year degree or higher. Payments are not retroactive, so the date your agency receives the transcript matters.
Under s. 943.22, a full-time officer receives $30 a month for a community college degree or equivalent and an additional $50 a month for a bachelor's degree, so $80 a month for education. Training incentives can add more, but all salary incentive payments together are capped at $130 a month.
Either a degree or the equivalent. The statute defines the equivalent as 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours plus eligibility to receive an associate degree. So the 60 hours must add up to an associate degree at the college; ask the college to confirm that in writing.
Some Florida colleges give credit for a completed basic recruit academy toward an associate degree. Each college decides how much. Ask the college that will hold your hours to review your academy record before you plan any new courses.
Only once they sit on an accredited college's transcript as part of your hours. UPI Study courses are ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended and reach a college via a college transcript; the college decides whether to count them, and your agency checks the accreditation.
No. Section 943.22 does not allow retroactive payments, so the incentive starts from when your agency processes the qualifying transcript. Send the transcript to your agency as soon as the hours or degree post, and ask how its reporting dates work.
Your employing agency pays it and reports to the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission under Chapter 11B-14 of the Florida Administrative Code. Ask your agency's HR or training office for its process and forms.
Criminology, psychology, sociology and composition are all on PRO. Check with your college and agency first.