A group of 250 women applicants seeking entry to the Policía Nacional has appealed to the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) the grading system for the access tests for the corps. The plaintiffs consider that the procedure introduces a double physical filter that harms their chances of obtaining a place on the grounds of sex, according to information released by Europa Press.
The complaint is directed against the Ministry of the Interior and questions the way in which the scores obtained in the different tests are combined. The challengers argue that the Administration establishes physical exercises and differentiated scoring scales for men and women, but then it integrates the grades into a joint ranking.
How the access score for the Policía Nacional is calculated
The Basic Scale call for applications published in the BOE on August 11, 2025 establishes that the opposition phase includes a knowledge test and another test of physical aptitude. The latter is graded with the average of the results obtained in its exercises and requires reaching at least five points to pass it.
The annex to the call for applications includes differences between men and women in certain exercises and in their corresponding scoring scales. In the pull-up bar strength test, for example, men must perform pull-ups, while women have to maintain the suspended position with their arms bent.
Section 6.11 states that the final score of the opposition phase is obtained by adding the knowledge and physical aptitude scores. Applicants are ordered from highest to lowest score and, if those who pass all the tests exceed the number of places called for, the ones who take the top positions in that ranking are selected.
The information released by Europa Press states that the lawsuit incorporates data from a prior selection process. Of the 429 applicants who were declared unfit after applying the final sum, 235 were women and 194 were men. The appellants use this breakdown to argue that the system has an unfavorable effect on the female candidates.
The plaintiffs also challenge the cut-off score of 4.75 points applied in the psychotechnical test of the call for applications to which they submitted. They consider that the threshold was set arbitrarily and against the rules of the process.
What the applicants are asking the court for
The recurrent, applicants to be part of the National Police, invoke Article 14 of the Constitution, which recognizes equality before the law and prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex. They also argue that the grading system does not respect the measures aimed at promoting equal opportunities in access to public employment.
The lawsuit requests that the challenged decision be annulled or, subsidiarily, that the selection procedure be reviewed. Among the measures claimed are recalculating the cut-off grade of the psychotechnical test, modifying the list of suitable applicants, and reassigning the places for student police officers in accordance with the revised result.