The U.S. Marshals Service is the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country, and its deputies carry out some of the most sensitive duties in the federal justice system, including protecting federal judges, transporting prisoners, and apprehending fugitives. Because of that responsibility, the agency puts every applicant through a long screening process built around a formal background investigation, a medical exam, a physical fitness standard, and a federal suitability determination. This article walks through what that process actually involves, using the agency’s own published hiring material and the federal regulation that governs suitability decisions.
Who runs the hiring process
The U.S. Marshals Service hires Deputy U.S. Marshals through excepted service federal hiring authority, and openings are posted on USAJOBS rather than through a standard competitive civil service announcement. The agency notes that applicants should keep a current USAJOBS profile and a resume that fits the two page format federal law enforcement postings generally require.
Basic qualifications
Before a background investigation even starts, an applicant has to clear a set of baseline qualifications. According to the agency’s published qualifications page, candidates must generally be appointed before their 37th birthday, with the typical hiring age window running from 21 to 36. That age limit does not apply to applicants with certain prior federal law enforcement or firefighter service, or to some veterans’ preference eligible applicants, consistent with the age provisions in 5 U.S.C. 3307 that the agency cites.
Other baseline requirements include proof of U.S. citizenship, a valid driver’s license at the time of appointment, willingness to carry a handgun and qualify with firearms twice a year, and willingness to give sworn statements and testimony in court. Applicants are also evaluated against grade level qualification standards, typically at the GL 5, GL 7, or GL 9 level, based on a combination of general experience and education.
The hiring steps, in order
The Marshals Service lays out its excepted service hiring process as a sequence rather than a single screening event. Applicants who pass the minimum qualifications review and an online assessment move to an in person fitness screening, then a structured interview. Only after both of those steps does an applicant receive a tentative offer of employment. The background investigation, medical screening, and drug test all happen after the tentative offer and before a final offer is extended.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Application and online assessment | Resume and assessment reviewed against minimum qualifications for the announced grade level |
| Fitness screening | One attempt at the Physical Efficiency Battery, scored against age and gender standards |
| Structured interview | In person interview at a designated location |
| Tentative offer | Conditional offer issued pending pre-employment checks |
| Background investigation, medical exam, drug test | Single Scope Background Investigation, physical exam against medical standards, and a pre-employment drug screening |
| Final offer and training | Final offer followed by basic training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center |
What the background investigation covers
The qualifications page states that applicants must pass an initial Single Scope Background Investigation, commonly called an SSBI, and must successfully pass periodic background reinvestigations for as long as they hold the position. An SSBI is the most thorough category of federal personnel background investigation and typically draws on a long form questionnaire about an applicant’s residences, employment, education, finances, foreign contacts, and conduct. The SF 86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions, published by the Office of Personnel Management, is the standard form used across the federal government to collect that information for investigations at this level.
The decision that follows an investigation is not made in isolation. Federal agencies make suitability and fitness determinations under 5 CFR part 731, the Office of Personnel Management regulation that sets the standard and the criteria agencies use when deciding whether a person’s character, conduct, or history is compatible with the duties of a federal position. The U.S. Marshals Service does not publish a specific list of automatic disqualifiers for the deputy marshal position on its careers site. Instead, a suitability decision is made case by case against that federal standard, informed by what the SSBI turns up. The agency’s published hiring steps do not list a polygraph examination as part of the deputy marshal process, so applicants should rely on the agency’s own current job announcement and recruiting officer for the most accurate description of what a given vacancy requires.
Medical standards
Every applicant completes a full physical exam and has to meet the agency’s published medical requirements. Binocular vision must reach 20/20, correctable with lenses, and uncorrected binocular vision must test at 20/200 or better. Near vision must be 20/40 or better, corrected or uncorrected, and color vision must be sufficient to distinguish basic colors. Hearing is tested unaided with an audiometer at 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000 hertz for each ear. Deputies also undergo periodic or as needed medical exams during their career to confirm they continue to meet the standard.
Fitness standards
Deputy marshal candidates have to pass the agency’s Physical Efficiency Battery at the minimum standard for their age and gender immediately before being hired and again before attending basic training, and the fitness standards page shows that incumbents are then tested on the same battery every six months for the rest of their career. The core assessments are a 1.5 mile run, a one minute push up test, and a one minute sit up test, with a sit and reach flexibility measure also included in the published minimums below.
| Age group (men) | 1.5 mile run | Push ups (1 min) | Sit ups (1 min) | Sit and reach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 to 29 | 12:18 | 33 | 40 | 17.5 in |
| 30 to 39 | 12:51 | 27 | 36 | 16.5 in |
| 40 to 49 | 13:53 | 21 | 31 | 15.3 in |
| 50 to 59 | 14:55 | 15 | 26 | 14.5 in |
The same page publishes a separate set of minimums for women across the same age bands, and the agency offers a FIT Readiness Program that applicants can use to assess and improve their fitness ahead of the screening.
Drug screening
Applicants must pass a pre-employment drug screening, and the position is designated a Testing Designation Position, which means deputies remain subject to random drug testing for the duration of their career, not just at the hiring stage.
Conduct and appearance standards
Once hired, deputies are also held to the agency’s personal appearance standards, which govern grooming, attire, jewelry, and body art while on duty. Visible tattoos and body markings are restricted on the head, face, neck, tongue, lips, and scalp, and hand tattoos are limited to a single ring tattoo on one finger per hand. These are internal conduct standards rather than background check criteria, but they are part of the same hiring packet an applicant reviews.
Training
Applicants who clear every pre-employment requirement and receive a final offer attend an 18 to 19 week basic training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, before reporting to their first duty station. New deputies must also sign a mobility agreement and generally remain at that first duty station for a minimum of three years.
How long the process runs
The Marshals Service’s own FAQ for the position states that the hiring process, from application through completion of training, can run anywhere from about six months to roughly two years, because of the number of steps involved and the depth of the screening. The agency attributes that range to the qualifications review, interview, background investigation, and medical and fitness screening all being part of a single sequential process rather than parallel steps.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Deputy U.S. Marshal background check include a polygraph?
The U.S. Marshals Service’s published qualifications and hiring process pages do not list a polygraph exam as a required step. The published pre-employment requirements are a Single Scope Background Investigation, a medical exam, a fitness screening, and a drug test. Applicants should check the specific job announcement, since requirements can be added at the announcement level.
How long does the Deputy U.S. Marshal hiring process take?
The agency states the process generally runs from about six months to roughly two years from application to completion of training, because of the number of sequential screening steps involved.
What disqualifies someone from becoming a Deputy U.S. Marshal?
The agency does not publish a specific list of automatic disqualifiers. Suitability is determined case by case under the federal standard in 5 CFR part 731, based on what the background investigation, medical exam, fitness test, and drug screening show.
What is a Single Scope Background Investigation?
It is the category of federal background investigation the Marshals Service requires before an initial appointment and again on a periodic basis afterward. It typically relies on a long form federal questionnaire, such as the SF 86, covering an applicant’s residences, employment, education, finances, and conduct history.
Is there an age limit to apply?
Applicants are typically between 21 and 36 years old and must be appointed before their 37th birthday, though the limit does not apply to applicants with qualifying prior federal law enforcement or firefighter service, or to some veterans’ preference eligible applicants.
Where does Deputy U.S. Marshal training happen?
Selectees attend an 18 to 19 week basic training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, before reporting to their first duty station.
Employers evaluating candidates for law enforcement adjacent or high trust positions face a similar challenge on a smaller scale: building a screening process that is both thorough and compliant. For background on how federal background check forms work more broadly, see our guide to the SF 85 and SF 86 federal background check forms, and for a look at a comparable federal law enforcement hiring process, see our article on the border patrol agent background check. If your organization needs a compliant screening partner for employment or tenant decisions, Reveal Background can help.
This article is general information about a federal hiring process, not legal advice. Applicants should rely on the current official job announcement and their district recruiting officer for the exact requirements of any specific vacancy.
