Complete CLE Guide 2026: Criminology Licensure Review

What is the Criminology Licensure Exam?

The Criminologist Licensure Exam (CLE), given by PRC's Board of Criminology, is the board exam for criminology graduates — future police officers, investigators, correctional staff and criminology instructors. It's one of PRC's biggest exams: 62,178 people took it across the two 2025 sittings, and 75,388 across the two 2026 sittings.

CLE 2026 Schedule and Results

PRC held the 2026 CLE twice. The February 4–6 sitting saw 30,320 of 45,936 examinees pass (66.00%, results out 13 March). The August 1–3 sitting saw 16,952 of 29,452 pass (57.56%, results out 1 September). There is no further CLE in 2026.

The next CLE is expected around February 2027, but PRC has not yet published its 2027 schedule. Filing for the August 2026 sitting ran from 17 April to 17 June, so watch the PRC schedule page for the 2027 dates and filing window.

Exam Structure

A three-day, paper-based exam of six subjects, weighted as follows in PRC's 2026 programme:

• Criminal Law and Jurisprudence — 20% (Day 1 morning)
• Law Enforcement Administration — 15% (Day 1 afternoon)
• Crime Detection and Investigation — 20% (Day 2 morning)
• Forensic Science (formerly Criminalistics) — 15% (Day 2 afternoon)
• Criminology (theories, victimology, ethics, juvenile justice, research) — 20% (Day 3 morning)
• Correctional Administration — 10% (Day 3 afternoon)

You pass with a 75% weighted average and no subject below 60% (RA 11131, Sec. 17). If your average reaches 75% but a subject falls below 60%, your result is deferred: you retake that subject once, within two years, and need at least 80% on it. Miss that and you retake all six. The application fee is ₱900.

How to Prepare

A 10–12 week plan is a sensible starting point. Rotate all six subjects every week and practise with questions that explain why each answer is right. CLE questions test applied understanding of law and procedure — rote memorisation alone won't cut it. In the final three weeks, sit a full-length timed practice run each week. You'll need the stamina: the real exam runs across three days, with 3½-hour morning papers and 2½-hour afternoon papers.

Give the three 20% subjects a little more time, but don't neglect the 10–15% ones — the 60% floor applies to every subject.

Check the Official Dates

Always confirm exam dates, filing deadlines and the programme with the PRC.

See Also

• CLE Exam Overview
• CLE Six-Subject Rotation
• CLE Retake Strategy
• CLE Passing Rates: National Results and School Data