What Are the Requirements to Become a US Marshal?

To become a Deputy U.S. Marshal, you must be a U.S. citizen between 21 and 36 years old, hold a bachelor’s degree in a related field or equivalent law enforcement experience, pass rigorous medical and fitness screenings, clear a Top Secret background investigation, and complete 18 weeks of training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia. The hiring process runs 12 to 18 months from application to academy start, and any felony conviction or misdemeanor domestic violence conviction is an automatic bar to employment.¹ The requirements below are for the career deputy position, which is what almost everyone means when they ask about becoming a U.S. Marshal.

One Quick Distinction Before You Apply

The title “U.S. Marshal” covers two different jobs. A U.S. Marshal is a presidential appointee, nominated for each of the 94 federal judicial districts and confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term.² There is no civil-service application for that role. A Deputy U.S. Marshal is a career federal law enforcement position filled competitively through USAJOBS. Everything that follows describes the deputy path.

Threshold Eligibility

Four requirements decide whether you can even be considered. Failing any one of them ends the process:¹

United States citizenship. Permanent residents do not qualify.
Age at least 21 and no older than 36 at the time of appointment, because federal law requires law enforcement officers to be appointed before their 37th birthday. Certain veterans and current federal law enforcement employees may qualify for age waivers.
A valid driver’s license at the time of appointment.
Good moral character and a clean criminal history. A felony conviction is a permanent bar.

Education and Experience Pathways

Deputy positions are posted at the GL-07 pay grade, and the Marshals Service accepts four routes to qualify. You only need to meet one:¹

At least one year of specialized law enforcement experience at the GS-05 level or equivalent, involving investigations, arrests, service of court orders, and firearms use.
One full academic year of graduate study or law school in a related field.
Superior Academic Achievement: a bachelor’s degree in a related field with a GPA of 3.0 or higher overall (or 3.5 in your major), class rank in the upper third, or membership in a national scholastic honor society.
A combination of graduate education and specialized experience totaling 100 percent of the requirement.

The related-field requirement trips up some applicants. A degree in business or English alone won’t satisfy the Superior Academic Achievement pathway. The service lists specific qualifying fields: criminal justice, criminology, homeland security, forensic science, computer forensics, psychology, sociology, public administration, political science, and law.

Fitness Standards

Applicants take a four-part Fitness-In-Total (FIT) Certification test covering a 1.5-mile run, a one-minute push-up test, a one-minute sit-up test, and a sit-and-reach flexibility test.³ You must pass push-ups, sit-ups, and the run at the minimum level required to graduate from basic training. Fitness testing continues twice a year for the rest of your career, so build habits you can sustain rather than peaking once.

Medical Standards

Deputies carry firearms, make physical arrests, and work in unpredictable conditions, so the medical bar is high. Expect a pre-employment medical exam and periodic evaluations throughout your career.⁴

Vision

Binocular vision must correct to 20/20 with lenses. Uncorrected vision must be 20/200 or better in each eye. Near vision must reach 20/40 or better, corrected or uncorrected. You need to distinguish basic colors, and depth perception must be clinically normal. Vision correction surgery, including LASIK, may be disqualifying depending on the outcome and will draw additional scrutiny.⁴

Hearing

Hearing is tested without hearing aids using an audiometer. Pure-tone thresholds are evaluated individually in each ear at 500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 Hz.

Conditions That May Disqualify

Any medical condition that affects your ability to safely perform the full range of duties is disqualifying. The Marshals Service specifically flags diabetes, convulsive disorders, hernias, orthopedic conditions limiting mobility or strength, hypertension, and heart disease as conditions that may be disqualifying. The word “may” matters. These aren’t automatic rejections in every case, but they trigger closer review.⁴

Automatic Disqualifiers

Criminal History

A felony conviction is a permanent bar. Federal law also prohibits anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁵ Because deputies must carry a firearm, a domestic violence misdemeanor effectively disqualifies you, even if the rest of your record is spotless.¹

Drug Use

The position is a Testing Designation Position, meaning you must pass a pre-employment drug screen and remain subject to random testing for the rest of your career. Applicants also complete a detailed illegal drug use questionnaire covering their full history. The Marshals Service does not publicly disclose its exact look-back windows, but recent illegal drug use raises serious suitability concerns. Disclose honestly. A dishonesty finding is its own disqualifier.

The Application and Hiring Process

Deputy positions are posted only on USAJOBS during limited announcement windows. There is no rolling application. Set up a USAJOBS account and enable alerts for the 0082 series so you don’t miss an opening.⁶

After your online application, the process moves through written assessments, structured interviews, and a psychological evaluation. Passing each phase leads to a tentative job offer, which is contingent on clearing the background investigation and medical screening. Plan on 12 to 18 months from application to academy start.⁶ Don’t leave your current job at the tentative offer stage.

Background Investigation and Clearance

Every candidate goes through a Single Scope Background Investigation, the most thorough federal background check. Investigators review criminal history, financial records, employment history, and personal references, and they contact neighbors, former coworkers, and others who can speak to your character.¹ You must obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance, with periodic reinvestigations throughout your career. The Marshals Service does not use polygraph examinations, unlike some other Justice Department agencies such as the FBI, DEA, and ATF.

Training Academy

After clearing every screening, you report to the U.S. Marshals Service National Basic Training Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. The Basic Deputy U.S. Marshal Integrated program runs 18 weeks, taught jointly by FLETC and Marshals Service instructors.⁷

The curriculum covers firearms proficiency, defensive tactics, physical conditioning, legal instruction, control tactics, driver training, use of force, service of process, federal court procedures, and officer survival. You take five written exams and must score at least 70 percent on each, plus pass-or-fail practical exercises that test whether you can apply the material under realistic conditions.⁷ After graduation, new deputies serve a one-year probationary period during which the agency can separate you without the procedural protections that apply to permanent employees.⁸

Mobility: You Don’t Pick Your City

Before you’re hired, you must sign a mobility agreement. The Marshals Service places deputies across the 94 federal judicial districts based on agency needs, not personal preference. You apply under a hiring region, but the agency chooses your specific duty station.⁶ You must stay at that initial station for at least three years, and any later reassignment carries a two-year commitment at the new location.⁹ If a spouse’s career, family, or other constraints tie you to a specific area, weigh this carefully. The mobility requirement is non-negotiable.

Pay

New deputies are hired at GL-07 on the federal law enforcement pay scale. In 2026, GL-07 base pay ranges from $48,854 to $61,787 depending on step, and GL-09, the typical promotion after your first year, ranges from $54,485 to $70,307.¹⁰ Two additions sit on top of those base figures. Locality pay adjusts salary based on duty station, so deputies in high-cost areas like Washington, D.C., San Francisco, or New York earn substantially more than the base table shows. As criminal investigators, deputies also receive Law Enforcement Availability Pay, an extra 25 percent of base pay in exchange for being available for unscheduled duty beyond the standard 40-hour workweek.¹¹ Between locality and availability pay, actual compensation for a new deputy often runs 40 to 60 percent above the base salary table. Deputies also fall under the federal law enforcement retirement system, with mandatory retirement by the end of the month you turn 57 after 20 years of covered service.

1
U.S. Marshals Service. Deputy U.S. Marshals Qualifications
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 28 – 561 United States Marshals Service
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U.S. Marshals Service. Fitness Standards
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U.S. Marshals Service. Medical Requirements
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 – 922 Unlawful Acts
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U.S. Marshals Service. Deputy U.S. Marshals
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U.S. Marshals Service. Training Academy
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eCFR. Code of Federal Regulations Title 5 – 315.802 Length of Probationary Period
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United States Marshals Service. Policy Directives – Human Resources
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OPM. Salary Table 2026-GL LEO
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 5 – 5545a Availability Pay for Criminal Investigators