WAC 139-06-010   Certification.  (1) Effective January 1, 2002, all Washington peace officers shall be required to submit a signed peace officer certification form to the commission, which shall serve as an official request for certification as a peace officer in Washington state. The form shall be submitted to the commission by the peace officer at such time as the peace officer has met the requirements for certification contained in RCW 43.101.095, and shall certify that the peace officer has met such requirements. The commission shall issue a certificate of peace officer certification upon verification that the peace officer is eligible for certification.

     (2) A peace officer who has satisfied, or has been exempted from, the basic training requirements of RCW 43.101.200, prior to January 1, 2002, but who was not employed as a commissioned peace officer on January 1, 2002, and has not had a break of more than twenty-four consecutive months of law enforcement service, shall upon his or her return to employment submit a peace officer certification form to the commission as described in subsection (1) of this section. The commission shall issue a certificate of peace officer certification upon verification that the peace officer is eligible for certification. If the peace officer's break in law enforcement service was more than twenty-four consecutive months, the peace officer must comply with the training requirements of WAC 139-05-200. The commission shall determine under chapter 43.101 RCW and rules of the commission whether the peace officer is eligible for certification and, if so, it shall determine any requirements that the peace officer must meet as a condition of certification.

     (3) A certification granted based on an administrative exemption under WAC 139-05-200 shall remain in effect for the duration of the exemption.

     (4) Upon determination that a certification form contains missing or deficient information, commission staff shall notify the peace officer and the peace officer's employing agency (for purposes of this chapter, "peace officer's employing agency" shall mean the law enforcement agency of termination and/or current employing law enforcement agency) of such and the peace officer must submit the missing or deficient information to the commission within thirty days of the date the request is issued. Failure to submit the missing or deficient information within the required time shall result in a recommendation that the peace officer's request for certification be denied.

     (4) In order to determine a peace officer's eligibility for certification, commission staff may request information in addition to that provided on the peace officer certification form. The peace officer or the peace officer's employing agency shall submit the requested information within thirty days of the date the request is issued. Failure to comply with the commission's request shall result in a recommendation that the peace officer's request for certification be denied.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 43.101.080. 03-02-010, § 139-06-010, filed 12/20/02, effective 1/20/03.]