NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-5.2 Duration

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-5.2, Duration. The working test period shall not include any time served by an employee under provisional, temporary, interim or emergency appointment. The working test pe Full text with 8 recorded amendments, 48 citing decisions, cited by 3 other rules.

Selection and Appointment · Working Test Period

Current through New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 14, July 20, 2026. Reviewed as of July 26, 2026.

This is an annotated mirror, not the official publication. Verify against the Civil Service Commission before relying on it.

In plain language

How long it lasts, and when the clock starts. It starts on the date of regular appointment, and time served provisionally, temporarily, on an interim basis or under an emergency appointment does not count toward it. Somebody who worked provisionally in a title for two years begins their working test period at zero on the day they are regularly appointed. The length then splits by service. Local service is three months of active service and cannot be extended. State service is four months of active service, which the Chairperson or designee may extend by a further two months at the appointing authority request, and that request should reach Commission staff at least five working days before the four months are up. Active service is the operative phrase: time not actively worked does not tick the clock down.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-5.2. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

Can you be let go during your working test period, and can you appeal

Yes to both, and the deadlines are short. The working test period is formally part of the examination rather than a probation added after hiring, which is why an appointing authority can end it for unsatisfactory performance on terms that would not survive a major discipline appeal.

It begins on the date of regular appointment. Time served provisionally, temporarily, on an interim basis or under an emergency appointment does not count, so previous service in the same job does not shorten it. Length depends on service: three months of active service in local service, which cannot be extended, and four months in State service, which the Chairperson may extend by two more at the appointing authority request.

You are entitled to see how it is going. A progress report is due at two months and a final report at the end, with an extra report at five months where a State period has been extended, and entry level law enforcement, correction officer, correctional police officer and firefighter titles run on a six month cycle instead. You get a copy of every report, and a missing one is worth raising while the period is still running.

If it ends badly, the notice rules matter more than they look. Written notice must be served in person or by certified mail, must tell you about the 20-day right to a hearing, and must be served within a window of five working days either side of the last day. Notice outside that window creates a presumption that you have attained permanent status.

The appeal itself is hard, and it is worth knowing that before you file. You carry the burden of proving the action was in bad faith, which is a materially higher bar than a major discipline appeal where the appointing authority has to justify what it did. Bad faith is not the same as being wrong or unfair. If it is found, the remedy is a new working test period, full or shortened. And separately from all of this: losing a working test period does not have to mean losing the list, because an employee separated for unsatisfactory performance may ask to be restored to an eligible list, though anybody removed for disciplinary reasons may not.

Related on this site: /hiring-process

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team. Every statement here traces to the rules cited on this page. It is not legal advice, and a collective agreement may change how these rules apply to you.

(a) The working test period shall not include any time served by an employee under provisional, temporary, interim or emergency appointment. The working test period shall begin on the date of regular appointment. See N.J.A.C. 4A:1-1.3 for definition of regular appointment. #

(b) The length of the working test period, except as provided in (c) through (e) below, shall be as follows: #

1. In local service, a period of three months of active service, which may not be extended. #

2. In State service, a period of four months of active service, which the Chairperson or designee may extend on request of an appointing authority for an additional two months. Such request should be submitted to appropriate Civil Service Commission staff at least five working days before the end of the four-month period. The appointing authority shall notify the employee of the extension in writing on or before the last day of the four-month period. #

i. Regularly appointed employees serving in intermittent titles shall serve a working test period of 88 work days, which, upon the request of the appointing authority, may be extended by the Chairperson or designee for an additional 44 work days. For purposes of this subparagraph, any part of a day shall constitute a work day. #

ii. An employee serving in an intermittent title who is furloughed prior to completing the working test period, shall resume the working test period upon return from furlough. #

(c) When notice of termination is served following the last day of the working test period pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:2-4.1(c), the working test period shall end on the date of service of the notice. #

(d) Persons appointed to entry level law enforcement, correction officer, correctional police officer, juvenile detention officer, and firefighter titles shall serve a 12-month working test period. A law enforcement title is one that encompasses use of full police powers, but shall not include the local service competitive title of police assistant. See N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.7A. Persons appointed in local service to the competitive title of police assistant shall serve a three-month working test period. #

1. In local service, law enforcement officers who are required by N.J.S.A. 52:17B-66 et seq. (Police Training Act) to complete a police training course shall not begin their working test period until notification is received by the appointing authority from the Police Training Commission of the successful completion of the police training course. However, major disciplinary procedures applicable to employees serving in a working test period (see N.J.A.C. 4A:2-2) shall also be applicable to such officers from the date of appointment until completion of police training. Upon successful completion of the working test period, the date of appointment from the eligible list shall be recorded as the date of regular appointment. #

i. Law enforcement officers who have successfully completed the police training course prior to appointment shall begin their working test period on the date of regular appointment. #

2. Appeals from failure to successfully complete the police training course shall be in accordance with procedures established by the Police Training Commission. See N.J.A.C. 13:1-9. #

(e) An approved leave of absence, including a furlough extension leave or a voluntary furlough shall extend the completion of the working test period for a period of time equal to that leave or voluntary furlough. #

1. When a paid leave of absence is granted to a correction officer or juvenile detention officer for the purpose of training required by N.J.S.A. 52:17B-68.1, such leave shall not extend the length of the working test period, unless the course in which the appointee is enrolled is scheduled to end after the one-year period. Regarding appointments to the title of correctional police officer apprentice, see N.J.A.C. 4A:3-3.7B. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 8 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2019 d.072
    51 N.J.R. 191(b); 51 N.J.R. 1115(a); 52 N.J.R. 971(a)
  2. AmendedR.2017 d.142
    49 N.J.R. 492(a); 49 N.J.R. 2239(a)
  3. AmendedR.2010 d.061
    42 N.J.R. 9(a); 42 N.J.R. 775(a)
  4. AmendedR.2006 d.104
    37 N.J.R. 4351(a); 38 N.J.R. 1425(a)
  5. AmendedR.1995 d.12
    26 N.J.R. 4126(a); 27 N.J.R. 145(a)
  6. AmendedR.1993 d.270
    25 N.J.R. 1085(b); 25 N.J.R. 2509(a)
  7. AmendedR.1989 d.569
    21 N.J.R. 1766(a); 21 N.J.R. 3448(b)
  8. date not statedAdministrative change
    46 N.J.R. 2109(b)

How this rule has been applied

48 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:4-5.2. The list below is citations to those decisions, not the decisions. We have not written summaries for this section. A citation with no summary is deliberate: we do not paraphrase a decision we have not read. Nothing here is legal advice.

Civil Service Commission final determinations (29)
  • In re Salerno, Marlboro, CSC Docket No. 2025-6212025 N.J. CSC LEXIS 82Docket 2025-621
  • In re Payne, Camden Cnty. Dep't of Corr.2021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 273Docket CSV 04382-19
  • In re Hearon, Fair Lawn, CSC Docket No. 2021- 17892021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 229Docket 2021-
  • In re Corrales, et al., Dep't of Children & Families, CSC Docket Nos. 2020-1967, et al. (Consolidated)2021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 130Docket 2020-1967
  • Rule of Three. In re Williams, Police Aide (M0941U), East Orange, CSC Docket No. 2021-9292021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 113Docket 2021-929
  • In re Bright, Warren Cnty., CSC Docket No. 2021-6002021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 28Docket 2021-600
  • In re Oswald, Cumberland Cnty. Dep't of Pub. Works2021 N.J. CSC LEXIS 8Docket CSV 15107-19
  • In re Engineering Technician Apprentice, CSC Docket No. 2020-5752020 N.J. CSC LEXIS 202Docket 2020-575
  • In re Construction and Maintenance Technician Apprentice, CSC Docket No. 2020-5762020 N.J. CSC LEXIS 190Docket 2020-576
  • In re Juvenile Detention Officer et al, CSC Docket No. 2018-16412018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 91Docket 2018-1641
  • Police Captain. In re Roman, Deputy Police Chief (PM1747R), Newark, CSC Docket No. 2015-7592018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 72Docket 2015-759
  • In re Osadacz, Twp. of Aberdeen, CSC Docket No. 2017-39182017 N.J. CSC LEXIS 504Docket 2017-3918
  • In re Morales, City of Bayonne, CSC Dkt. No. 2015-31152015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 256
  • In re Dombrowski, Borough of North Arlington, CSC Docket No. 2015-29062015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 379Docket 2015-2906
  • In re Mullan, Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2013-16022013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1199Docket 2013-1602
  • In re Kozlak, Ocean Cnty., CSC Docket No. 2014-14412013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1123Docket 2014-1441
  • In re Caprio, Police Officer, City of Bridgeton, CSC Dkt. No. 2014-11452013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1107
  • In re Taylor, Voorhees Twp. Police Dept., CSC Dkt. No. 2014-12012013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1086
  • Police Department. In re Pawel Wcislo, Twp. of Marlboro, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-32532013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 663
  • In re Hisham Sheikh, Bergen County Sheriff's Office, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-2002013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 100
  • Borough. In re Robert Scarborough, Borough of Woodlynn, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-17972013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 24
  • In re Reid2011 N.J. CSC LEXIS 754Docket CSR 7477-10
  • In re Salva2010 N.J. CSC LEXIS 616Docket CSV 941-09
  • In re Salva2010 N.J. CSC LEXIS 616Docket CSV 941-09
  • In re Salva2010 N.J. CSC LEXIS 616Docket CSV 941-09
  • Regrut v. Warren County95 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 460
  • Wilczynski v. Water Pollution Control95 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 378; 96 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 300
  • Singletary v. Bergen Pines County Hospital95 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 370
  • McClellan v. Department of Community Affairs94 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 19
Office of Administrative Law initial decisions (19)
  • In re Mathur, Dep't of Children & Families2025 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 343Docket CSV 07606-24
  • In re Oswald, Cumberland Cnty. Dep't of Pub. Works2021 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 7Docket CSV 15107-19
  • In re Wilson, City of Newark Dep't of Pub. Safety2018 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 611Docket CSV 00233-18
  • Sarmad v. Dep't of Children & Families2017 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 243Docket CSV 12825-14
  • In re Guevara, Union City Dep't of Pub. Safety2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 311Docket CSV 09238-14
  • In re Voigtsberger, Camden Cty. Dep't of Corrs.2015 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 227Docket CSV 17848-13
  • In re Howe, City of Clifton2008 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 1545Docket CSV3601-06
  • In re Dickerson2008 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 1084Docket CSV 11065-06
  • In re Villecca2008 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 710Docket CSV 2978-06
  • In re Garcia2008 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 595Docket CSV 11932-07
  • In re Coleman2007 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 1151Docket CSV 6637-06
  • In re Lorenc, Jackson Twp., OAL Docket No. CSV 2537-042007 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 1323
  • In re Clark2007 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 1072Docket CSV 09764-05
  • In re Mortimer2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 543Docket CSV 6378-05
  • In re Mortimer2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 543Docket CSV 6378-05
  • In re Bellini2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 209Docket CSV 3584-02
  • In re Bellini2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 209Docket CSV 3584-02
  • In re Williams-Kline2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 203Docket CSV 11386-03
  • In re Robinson2006 N.J. AGEN LEXIS 128Docket CSV 11727-03

This rule points to

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Working Test Period