What is the Personal History Statement (PHS), and do I have to fill one out?

The Personal History Statement (PHS) is designed to assist public safety agencies in the background investigations of candidates. 

The PHS is one of the most important, if not the most important document you will complete as a public safety candidate. It is critical that you are entirely truthful and thorough when you complete the PHS. Many candidates are disqualified for untruthfulness, inaccuracies, or omissions in their PHS. Candidates will need to update their PHS following each test and if you have changes to personal information such as employment, address, marital status, etc.

It is vital that you also keep your PHS information up to date as changes occur. Please note that all uploaded versions of your PHS are saved and viewable on the PST website for 24 months. After 24 months, your PHS will be deleted. If you wish to maintain a copy for your records, you can use the print view of the PHS and then choose the "print to pdf" or equivalent option. 

Many of the agencies we work with require the candidate to complete the PHS within seven (7) days of passing the written exam. However, not all agencies will require PST's personal history statement. Check out the requirements on each agency profile to determine if the agency you are applying to requires the PHS. 

Please note that even if the PST PHS is not required, you will likely be required to fill out something similar for each agency.