1. (a) Before a law enforcement agency may appoint a person licensed or seeking a license as a peace officer, county jailer, or telecommunicator the agency head or designee must:

   1. (1) obtain the person's written consent for the agency to view the person's employment records;
   2. (2) obtain a copy of the Personal Status Report (PSR) maintained by the commission;
   3. (3) obtain a completed, signed, and notarized Personal History Statement (PHS);
   4. (4) obtain a Computerized Criminal History (CCH) from TCIC and NCIC;
   5. (5) obtain proof of eligibility after separation from the military, if applicable;
   6. (6) conduct and document a background investigation;
   7. (7) for peace officers, obtain proof of weapons qualification within the 12 months preceding appointment;
   8. (8) for current licensees, electronically request and obtain the F-5 Return (F5R) from the commission, contact each of the person's previous law enforcement employers, and document the contact on the F5 return;
   9. (9) have the person fingerprinted and subjected to a search of local, state, and U.S. national records and fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record;

   10. (10) in addition to the requirements listed in this section:

       1. (A) For a licensee with more than 180 days since their last appointment:

          1. (i) obtain a new declaration of psychological and emotional health (L3 Form); and
          2. (ii) obtain a new declaration of the lack of any drug dependency or illegal drug use (L2 Form); and

       2. (B) For a person's initial appointment:

          1. (i) obtain proof of meeting educational requirements;
          2. (ii) obtain proof of meeting U.S. citizenship requirements;
          3. (iii) obtain a new declaration of psychological and emotional health (L3 Form), if more than 180 days from the graduation of the basic licensing course;
          4. (iv) obtain a new declaration of medical eligibility and lack of any drug dependency or illegal drug use (L2 Form), if more than 180 days from the graduation of the basic licensing course; and
          5. (v) submit an appointment application (L1 Form) and receive an approval of the application before the person discharges any duties related to the license sought; and
   11. (11) For current licensees, submit an Appointment Application (L1 Form) within 7 days of the appointment.

2. (b) When a person licensed by the commission separates from an agency, the agency shall, within 7 business days:

   1. (1) submit a Separation report (Form F5) to the commission; and
   2. (2) provide a copy to the licensee in a manner prescribed by Texas Occupations Code section 1701.452.
3. (c) A law enforcement agency that is given a signed consent form shall make the person's employment records available to a hiring law enforcement agency as authorized by Texas Occupations Code section 1701.451.
4. (d) An agency must retain records kept under this section while the person is appointed and for a minimum of five years after the licensee's separation date with that agency. The records must be maintained under the control of the agency head or designee in a format readily accessible to the commission.
5. (e) The effective date of this section is August 1, 2025.

Source Note:The provisions of this §217.7 adopted to be effective April 6, 2017, 42 TexReg 1777; amended to be effective May 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 1879; amended to be effective February 5, 2020, 45 TexReg 768; amended to be effective August 1, 2025, 50 TexReg 4962.