What are the physical fitness and medical standards for ICE special agent candidates?
Executive summary
ICE requires Special Agent candidates to pass a pre-employment physical fitness test (PFT) and a medical exam/drug screen; selectees must retake and pass the HSI PFT during academy training [1] [2]. Candidates also complete a formal medical screening using ICE medical-clearance forms (ICE Form 30‑048 for some roles) and must meet vision/hearing and other medical standards before attending basic training [3] [4] [5].
1. What the fitness test is and why it matters — a job‑related screen
ICE and Homeland Security explain the PFT as a job‑related assessment meant to predict a candidate’s ability to meet academy and on‑the‑job physical demands. The HSI PFT materials and videos instruct applicants to train to published standards and note that selectees must meet or exceed each event’s minimum standard; trainees must also pass the PFT again at the HSI Academy to graduate [1] [6]. FLETC and related Physical Performance Requirements describe practical exercises and physical‑control tasks (takings, restraints, rapid coordinated movements) that the fitness standards are designed to allow a trainee to perform [7].
2. What the medical screening covers — formal clearance, vision, hearing and more
DHS and ICE materials make clear medical screening is mandatory. Job announcements and ICE guidance require a pre‑employment medical exam and medical clearance; some ICE positions require a Law Enforcement Medical Clearance form (ICE Form 30‑048) to be completed by a healthcare provider [4] [3] [5]. Independent career guides and recruitment pages summarize that candidates must meet eyesight and hearing limits and other health standards to be fit for duty, though precise numeric thresholds are provided in agency medical documents not included here [8] [9].
3. Procedural steps: when you’ll be tested and re‑tested
ICE’s hiring steps repeatedly list the PFT and medical exam as discrete gates in the process. Candidates face a pre‑employment PFT and medical exam as part of selection and will also complete the PFT again upon entry to the HSI Academy; the hiring pipeline also commonly includes drug screening and background/security vetting [10] [4] [1] [2]. USAJOBS vacancy text and ICE career pages emphasize PFT success and medical clearance as prerequisites to attend basic training [5] [10].
4. Age, waivers and changing rules — what sources show and what they don’t
A recent DHS announcement removed age caps for ICE law‑enforcement applicants and reiterated that all recruits must complete medical screening and the physical fitness test; that release signals procedural access changes but does not alter the core requirement of medical and fitness clearance [2]. Other secondary sources note prior age limits for some selections (e.g., HSI referral by the day before an upper age limit), but available sources here do not list specific medical waivers or detailed age‑based medical exceptions [11] [12]. Not found in current reporting: the exact list of conditions that automatically disqualify a candidate or the full waiver policy language.
5. What the standards imply for applicants — training, documentation and timing
ICE recommends that applicants train to the PFT standards prior to testing; many vacancy announcements and career advice pages advise obtaining medical paperwork (early access to medical forms, completed ICE medical clearance) ahead of events to speed hiring [6] [10] [3]. Job notices and guides also warn candidates the process includes drug tests, polygraphs for some applicants, and extended background investigations — meaning medical/fitness clearance is necessary but only one part of a multi‑phase vetting pipeline [5] [13] [14].
6. Conflicting or missing details — where you’ll need to dig deeper
Public-facing ICE videos and handbooks describe events and the rationale for standards but do not publish all numeric cutoffs, disqualifying diagnoses, or the full medical examination protocol in the materials provided here [1] [15]. Civilian summaries and career sites repeat that vision and hearing minimums exist but vary in detail and may be outdated [8] [9]. To get definitive numerical standards, disqualifying conditions, or waiver procedures, applicants should obtain ICE’s official PFT scoring tables and the current Law Enforcement Medical Clearance documents referenced in vacancy announcements [1] [3] [4].
Sources cited: ICE HSI PFT materials and handbook [1] [15] [6], FLETC Physical Performance Requirements [7], DHS recruitment/press and ICE hiring pages and vacancy texts referencing medical screening and PFT [2] [10] [3] [4] [5], career guidance summaries [9] [8].