National Firefighter Ability tests explained
The NFA tests were developed for National Firefighter Selection, a shared recruitment approach for wholetime firefighters in England and Wales. They were timed, multiple-choice tests designed to check that applicants had the everyday reasoning skills needed to train as a firefighter, without needing any fire service knowledge.
There were three ability tests — Working with Numbers, Understanding Information, and Situational Awareness & Problem Solving — and a behavioural questionnaire, the National Firefighter Questionnaire (NFQ). They were built around the Personal Qualities and Attributes (PQAs), the national description of firefighter behaviours at the time.
Fire and rescue services have since moved on. Many now describe online tests from commercial test publishers in their candidate packs, and interviews are increasingly assessed against the NFCC Leadership Framework and the Core Code of Ethics rather than the PQAs.
Are the NFA tests still used?
Most of the recent (2024–26) wholetime firefighter recruitment material we have reviewed from more than fifteen services does not describe the NFA tests. The exception we found is North Wales Fire and Rescue Service, whose selection process includes in-person Working with Information tests covering understanding information, working with numbers and problem solving, and links the free official NFA practice booklet and NFQ practice booklet. If you are applying there, use those booklets. Elsewhere, candidate guides from services including Cheshire, Devon & Somerset, Dorset & Wiltshire, Mid & West Wales and Shropshire describe online reasoning tests, situational judgement tests and behavioural questionnaires instead — several of them supplied by Test Partnership — and some re-test shortlisted candidates in person.
Every service runs its own recruitment, and the providers vary. West Midlands links to Test Partnership practice for its verbal, numerical and mechanical reasoning tests; Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Essex and West Yorkshire describe Arctic Shores task-based assessments; South Yorkshire and Surrey describe SHL assessments; Avon's briefing documents are from Talogy; and Lancashire uses a situational judgement test it calls the Firefighter Talent Screener. Processes also change between campaigns, so the only reliable guide to your tests is the information pack or invitation from the service you are applying to.
What many services use now
These are the test types that come up most often in recent candidate guides. Timings are as reported by individual services and vary. Our guide to the online firefighter tests covers each in more detail, with example question styles.
Verbal reasoning
Reported as around 15 minutes in some services' guides
Short passages followed by statements you mark True, False or Cannot Say based only on the text. Some versions time each question individually.
Numerical reasoning
Reported as around 18 minutes · calculator often allowed
Tables and graphs with questions on percentages, rates, ratios and totals. Answers may be multiple choice or True / False / Cannot Say.
Mechanical reasoning
Reported as around 17 minutes
Diagrams of gears, levers, pulleys, springs, pressure and similar everyday mechanics — you reason about what happens rather than recall formulas.
Situational judgement test
Usually untimed
Realistic scenarios where you rate each possible response on an effectiveness scale (for example from counter-productive to effective), or rank the responses.
Behavioural questionnaire
Usually untimed
Statements about how you prefer to work that you rate or rank. There are no simple right answers; consistency and honesty matter.
Full access includes practice for each of these test types as well as the NFA-style tests below.
The NFA tests, and our NFA-style practice
Our NFA-style tests use original questions for the abilities the three NFA tests assessed. They are not copies of the NFA tests, and two of them use a different answer format from the originals, as noted below. The timings are for our practice versions. The free official NFA practice booklet shows the original formats.
Working with Numbers
Our practice version: 45 minutes · 32 questions · no calculator
Numerical reasoning with fire-service data — tables, charts, floor plans and operational figures. You pick out the right numbers and apply straightforward arithmetic (percentages, ratios, areas, averages) accurately and at pace. Read our Working with Numbers guide for question types and strategy.
Understanding Information
Our practice version: 35 minutes · 25 questions (the official booklet gives 30 minutes)
Verbal reasoning. You read a passage — written like an operational notice, safety briefing or incident report — and answer based solely on the text. The original NFA test used four-option multiple-choice questions (for example, “Which one of the following statements is true?”). Our version uses True / False / Cannot Say statements instead, the style of the verbal reasoning tests many services use now. See our Understanding Information guide.
Situational Awareness & Problem Solving
Our practice version: 35 minutes · 30 questions
A situational judgement test covering judgement, safety, teamwork and integrity. In the original NFA test you chose the single option out of four that best described what you would do. Our version asks you to pick both the most and the least appropriate response — our own variant, which also suits modern situational judgement tests. Our Situational Awareness guide explains the common traps.
National Firefighter Questionnaire (NFQ)
Our practice version: 77 statements · untimed
A behavioural questionnaire built around the seven PQAs. Our NFQ-style practice gives you feedback on how consistently your answers reflect those qualities — useful preparation for the behavioural questionnaires services use today.
Independent practice with original questions. Not affiliated with any fire and rescue service, the NFCC or any test publisher.
Free official practice: Test Partnership's free FRS practice tests, and the official NFA practice booklet and the official NFQ practice booklet linked by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service. Check your own service's candidate pack for anything else it provides.
How firefighter tests are scored
Reasoning tests have objectively correct answers. Situational judgement tests are marked against a key that reflects the most and least effective responses, so there are still better and worse answers even when the difference is subtle. Behavioural questionnaires are usually compared with a profile for the role rather than marked right or wrong.
Services rarely publish pass marks in advance, and thresholds can change between campaigns. Some use test results only as a sift; others combine them with later stages. Unless your service tells you otherwise, answer every question you can within the time — and read the instructions for each test, because formats differ.
Practise before you commit
Try the practice tests free
Sample questions with no account needed. Full access unlocks all 9 practice tests and the interview preparation for £14.99.
How to prepare
Start by finding out which tests your service uses — the candidate pack or invitation normally names them. Then practise those formats under timed conditions, and use NFA-style practice to strengthen the underlying skills.
- ✓Check your service's candidate pack for the test types, timings and whether a calculator is allowed.
- ✓Practise every test type you will sit — including mechanical reasoning, which many candidates have never seen before.
- ✓Switch to timed conditions early so the pace stops being a surprise.
- ✓Review every question, right and wrong — patterns in your errors matter more than raw scores.
- ✓Verbal reasoning: answer strictly from the passage and use Cannot Say when the text does not settle it.
- ✓Situational judgement: read the Core Code of Ethics for fire and rescue services and think about safety, respect and teamwork.
For the full picture, see what to expect at firefighter selection and our firefighter fitness test guide.
Free test guides
How to Pass the NFA Working with Numbers Test
Test Guide · 7 min read
How to Pass the NFA Understanding Information Test
Test Guide · 6 min read
NFA Test Tips: How to Prepare for Firefighter Ability Tests
Test Preparation · 6 min read
How to Pass the NFA Situational Awareness & Problem Solving Test
Test Guide · 7 min read
Firefighter Online Tests: Verbal, Numerical and Mechanical Reasoning, SJTs and Questionnaires
Test Guide · 12 min read
Frequently asked questions
Do fire services still use the National Firefighter Ability tests?
Most of the recent (2024–26) recruitment material we have reviewed from more than fifteen services does not mention the NFA tests. It describes other online assessments instead — verbal, numerical and mechanical reasoning tests, situational judgement tests, behavioural questionnaires and, at some services, game-based or task-based assessments. One exception is North Wales Fire and Rescue Service: its current selection process includes in-person Working with Information tests (understanding information, working with numbers, problem solving) and links the free official NFA and NFQ practice booklets. Processes change between campaigns, so check your service's candidate pack.
What tests are in firefighter selection now?
It depends on the service. A common pattern in recent candidate guides is online verbal reasoning (True / False / Cannot Say), numerical reasoning (tables and graphs, often with a calculator), mechanical reasoning (diagrams of gears, levers and pulleys), a situational judgement test and a behavioural questionnaire, followed by physical tests, an interview and other assessments. Some services re-test shortlisted candidates in person, and some use different online or game-based assessments.
Is NFA-style practice still worth doing?
Yes, as part of a wider plan. The NFA tests measured similar core skills to the modern tests — reading information precisely, working accurately with numbers and making sound, values-based judgements. Practising them builds those skills, but you should also practise the specific formats your service uses, such as mechanical reasoning and effectiveness-rating situational judgement questions.
How hard are the firefighter ability tests?
The content is not academically advanced — the numeracy is everyday arithmetic and the reading is careful comprehension. What makes them demanding is the time pressure, unfamiliar question formats and, for the verbal tests, answering strictly from the information given. Pass marks are rarely published and can vary between campaigns.
Can I use a calculator?
Several services' guides say a calculator is allowed for the online numerical reasoning test, so check your invitation. Our NFA-style Working with Numbers practice is set without a calculator, which builds speed and confidence with written working.
Are 'fire service assessment tests' the same as the NFA tests?
Not necessarily. 'Fire service assessment tests' and 'national firefighter tests' are often used loosely to mean whatever online tests a service uses. Older guides usually mean the NFA tests; recent candidate packs usually describe reasoning tests, situational judgement tests and questionnaires. Your service's own guidance is the only reliable description of what you will sit.
Sources
Official candidate guidance we reviewed (checked September 2026). Sources for individual services — including West Midlands, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Essex, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Surrey, Avon and Lancashire — are listed on each fire service page below. Firefighter Tests is independent and not affiliated with any of these organisations.
- Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service — Online assessments guidance for applicants (2024, PDF)
- Devon & Somerset Fire and Rescue Service — Preparing for online tests
- Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service — Wholetime firefighter recruitment information pack (2024, PDF)
- Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service — Wholetime recruitment handbook (PDF)
- North Wales Fire and Rescue Service — Wholetime firefighter selection process
- National Firefighter Ability Tests practice booklet (official, hosted by North Wales FRS, PDF)
- Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service — Written tests explained
- Test Partnership — Fire and rescue service test preparation