Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 NYS Court Officer Exam

Are you considering a career with the NYS Court system? Court officer is just one of the many jobs in the court system, but it is a crucial one. If you’re thinking about taking the NYS Court officer exam, you may have some questions regarding it.

If you have already applied for the exam but aren’t sure what the job is about or what the exam is like, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this blog, we’ll address all the questions you may have regarding the exam and the court officer job.

What is The New York State Court System?

The New York State Unified Court System is responsible for promoting the rule of law, serving the public, and ensuring timely and just resolution of matters brought before the courts. The NYS Court system is a diverse and large organization, comprising of almost 1,200 judges.

Nonjudicial employees such as court officers serve as the backbone of the system. Employees work in offices, court agencies, and courtrooms in 300 separate locations across the 62 counties in New York State.

What Does a Court Officer Do?

Like police officers, court officers have the task of maintaining peace and order in the court facilities. While many people think this job isn’t as dangerous as that of a regular police officer, the reality is different.

Court officers have to maintain security in the court where several criminals are on trial on any given day. The risk is high, and it requires the same alertness as a police officer (or even more) to be a court officer.

Court officers have to maintain security and order before, during, and after the trials take place. Moreover, they’re also responsible for protecting all parties present in the court, such as the judges, juries, witnesses, and the audience.

Typically, court officers ensure that there’s no contraband or weapon, no disruptions or attacks, and safe escort of jury members as well as convicts and criminals. As you may already know, if you want to become an NYS court officer, you need to take the civil service exam.

What Salary and Benefits Do NYS Court Officers Get?

According to the official website, NYS Court Officer-Trainees will join the academy after hiring at the Judicial Grade 16. Successful completion of the two-year training sees court officers promoted directly to Judicial Grade 19.

According to the latest reports, the court officers can start earning $51,113 and earn up to $81,605 after promotion. Moreover, court officers also get a $4,200 location pay differential if they serve in the NYC Metropolitan Area.

ZipRecruiter reports that court officers in NYS can earn a basic salary as high as $109,686 every year. So, rest assured that making good money won’t be a problem if you join the NYS Court System as a Court Officer.

Court officers also enjoy twenty paid vacations in their first year and can enjoy up to 27 paid vacation days per year by their 7^th year. Court officers also get a pre-tour prep leave time and an additional twelve paid holidays.

Moreover, working as a court officer for the NYS, candidates enjoy a regular work schedule, excellent health coverage, and limited weekend and evening assignments. Court officers will also be entitled to retirement benefits and deferred compensation options.

When is the NYS Court Officer Exam?

The NYS Court Officer exam was initially scheduled for last year. The registration process was open from January 22 until February 26 last year. The exams were scheduled to be held during the months of March and April. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a postponement.

The exams are now rescheduled to be held between September 7, 2021, to December 10, 2021. The applicants will receive emails with self-scheduling links between August 16, 2021, and September 3, 2021. It’s also worth mentioning that these tests will not be remote or online.

Candidates will also be informed of the COVID-19 safety protocols to follow on the test site after they’ve completed self-scheduling. Moreover, NYS Court Officer-Trainees are expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the time of hiring.

If you haven’t applied already, we’re sorry to tell you that applications are no longer possible. Only candidates who applied last year are eligible for the civil service exam in NYS. However, if you are interested in applying later, it’s better to be prepared for the exam beforehand.

What is on the NYS Court Officer Exam?

We obtained a sample test for the NYS Court Officer-Trainee exam and will guide you on what you can expect from the test. The test is a great way to understand the types and formats of questions you will see on your exam.

The examination comprises 70 multiple-choice questions, and the candidates will have three hours and fifteen minutes to attempt the test. The exam assesses five significant aptitude areas of the candidates.

We’ll discuss these areas briefly to give you some idea of what to expect on the exam:

Remembering Facts and Information

The questions in this section will assess your ability to remember the details of an incident. The applicants are given a written description of some incident with five minutes to read the story.

A ten-minute delay will follow this, and then you will be asked to answer questions related to the story’s facts.

Reading, Understanding, and Interpreting Written Material

This section will assess your ability to understand and interpret. This section will include two types of questions, i.e., Format A and Format B. Format A has brief reading passages and questions related to them.

Format B will include passages with words or phrases removed in between. Applicants will have to select alternative words and phrases that logically complete the sentences.

Applying Facts and Information to Given Situations

This section checks your ability to use the information provided to you and apply it to specific situations. Applicants will have to use this information to answer contained within the passages.

Clerical Checking

This section, as the name suggests, is about your clerical checking skills. This includes questions that assess how applicants can distinguish between different sets of information that look alike. The candidates will be asked to identify the differences between these sets.

Court Record Keeping

This section will assess your ability to read, manipulate, and combine all the information to answer specific questions. If you want to learn more about the exam, you can check out the sample exam paper here.

How to Prepare for Your NYS Court Officer Exam

If you want to prepare for the NYS Court Officer exam, we at Civil Service Success can help! We offer preparatory courses for the exam in multiple locations, including Brooklyn, Nassau, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk, and Westchester. Classes start in August, so get registered now!

These courses will help you prepare thoroughly for the exam, and you’ll also gain valuable insights into how the exam and interview process works. We also offer other courses, such as the NYC Sanitation Worker exam and the Suffolk County Police exam, so contact us now to learn more.