Privacy Policy Statement

The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals, as enumerated in Article 1 of the California Constitution, the Information Practices Act of 1977, and other state and federal laws.

POST’s policy limits the collection of, and safeguards the privacy of, personal information collected or maintained by POST. POST’s information management practices conform to the requirements of the Information Practices Act (Civil Code Section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), Government Code Sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.

POST follows these principles in collecting and managing personal information:

  • We do not collect personal information about you unless you choose to provide that information to us, or you choose a service on this website where gathering personal information is necessary to deliver the specific services. Use of these services is entirely voluntary.

  • We do not collect home, business, or email addresses, or account information from persons who simply browse our Internet website. POST only collects personal information about individuals through the POST Website if an individual provides such information to POST voluntarily via our online services such as forms or surveys.

    During your visit to POST’s Website, our web server automatically gathers and stores certain information about your use of the site. This information does not personally identify you, and your email address is not collected in this automatic process. The information that is automatically collected and stored is:

    • Your domain or Internet Protocol (IP) address.
    • The type of browser you used to access our site.
    • The date and time of your visit to our site.
    • The webpages or services you accessed at this site.
    • The URL or IP address of the website from which you came to this site.
    • If you downloaded a form, publication, or document.

    We use this information to evaluate and improve the content of our site and to make our site more useful to our visitors. We also use it to diagnose problems with our server, to keep our server running smoothly, and to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology they use. This information does not identify or track you personally.

    Electronically-collected information is exempt from requests made under the California Public Records Act, and Website visitors may request to have their information discarded without reuse or redistribution, by contacting the Information Security Officer at the address listed below. POST will not distribute or sell any electronically-collected information about users to any third party without the user's written consent.

  • We may use cookies in some areas of this website to improve the overall usability of the site. POST uses electronic “cookies,” or simple text files stored on your computer by your web browser, to collect and temporarily store information. Cookies may be used on our site when needed to maintain the functionality of an interactive application. Cookies created on your computer by using this Website do not contain personal information and do not compromise your privacy or security. The cookie is temporary and will be deleted when you exit your browser.

    Cookies may be refused. However, if you turn off your cookie option, you may not be able to access some of our online services.

    The POST Website contains links to third party sites. POST is not responsible for the use of cookies, the privacy policies, or the content of those sites.

  • We collect personal information on individuals only as allowed by law. POST limits the collection of personal information to what is relevant and necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose. For example, we may need to know someone's address, telephone number, and Social Security Number, among other things, to properly identify the person before issuing a professional certificate.

    Personal information, as defined in the Information Practices Act, is information that identifies or describes an individual including, but not limited to, name, Social Security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, financial matters, and medical or employment history.

  • We strive in each instance to tell people who provide personal information to POST the purpose for which the information is collected. At the time of collection, we also strive to tell persons who are asked to provide personal information about the general uses that we will make of that information.
  • We tell people who provide personal information about their opportunity to review that information. POST allows individuals who provide personal information to review the information and contest its accuracy or completeness.
  • We only use or disclose personal information for the specified purposes, or purposes consistent with those purposes, unless we obtain the consent of the subject of the information, or unless required by law or regulation. The Public Records Act exists to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to have access to appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public's right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. In the event of a conflict between this Policy and the Public Records Act, the Information Practices Act or other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will control.

  • We use information security safeguards. POST takes reasonable precautions to protect the personal information collected or maintained by POST against loss, unauthorized access, and illegal use or disclosure. POST uses encryption software to protect the security of individuals' personal information during transmission of such information through POST's Website. Such personal information is stored by POST in secure locations. POST's staff is trained on procedures for the management of personal information, including limitations on the release of information. Access to personal information is limited to those members of POST’s staff whose work requires such access. Confidential information is destroyed according to POST's records retention schedule. POST conducts periodic reviews to ensure that proper information management policies and procedures are understood and followed.

    POST encourages all individuals to use appropriate safeguards to secure their computers and the information on those computers.

  • We use Google Analytics to help improve our website. POST uses Google Analytics to help understand how visitors interact with our website so that the site can be improved. You can read Google's security and privacy policies for Google Analytics. You can choose not to have your data used by Google Analytics by downloading their opt-out browser add-on.

Please note that this Privacy Policy reflects POST's current business practices and is subject to change without notice. Additional details regarding conditions of POST Website use are located under our Terms and Conditions.

For More Information

The IT Privacy and Compliance Officer has responsibility for POST’s Privacy Policy Statement. Questions, comments, complaints, or requests related to privacy or personal information access requests may be emailed to Privacy@post.ca.gov, or by writing to or calling:

Commission on POST
Attn: IT Privacy and Compliance Officer Computer Services Bureau
860 Stillwater Road, Suite 100
West Sacramento, CA 95605
(916) 227-3909

Policy Date: 4/28/2022

Is Your Computer Secure? - Information and resources on the DOJ Website

Commission on POST Privacy Policy prior to 1/11/2016