FBI Pistol Qualification Course
Test Yourself Against a Professional Performance Standard.
How good of a handgun shooter are you—objectively?
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The FBI Pistol Qualification Course gives shooters something ordinary range practice often doesn't: a defined course, established distances, time limits, standardized scoring, and a measurable result.
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At Majeed Guns & Firearms School, our FBI Qualification program is designed for shooters who want to move beyond casual range practice and put their handgun fundamentals to a serious, documented test.
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This isn't simply another day at the range.
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You train. You prepare. You shoot the qualification. You receive a score.
The objective is straightforward: determine how your handgun fundamentals perform when accuracy, time, distance, one-handed shooting, reloading, positional shooting, and consistency are evaluated together.
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What Is the FBI Pistol Qualification?
The FBI maintains firearms training and qualification programs for armed Bureau personnel. The FBI's Firearms Training Unit oversees training and qualification, and the Bureau maintains systems for recording firing-range scores and monitoring compliance with firearms proficiency requirements.
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FBI new-agent firearms training is considerably broader than a single qualification course. Agents receive extensive instruction in firearms safety, marksmanship and practical shooting and train with pistol, shotgun and carbine platforms.
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Our course focuses specifically on the publicly documented FBI-style pistol qualification standard as a challenging performance benchmark.
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It should not be confused with attending the FBI Academy or receiving an FBI credential.
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Who Should Take This Class?
This program is ideal for shooters who have already developed safe handgun fundamentals and now want an objective way to evaluate their performance.
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It can be particularly valuable for experienced civilian shooters, armed-security professionals, firearms instructors, competitive shooters, permit holders seeking advanced training, and serious handgun owners who want something more demanding than conventional recreational practice.
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It's also an excellent goal for students progressing through our training programs.
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Instead of simply saying:
“I'm a pretty good shooter.”
You can actually put your performance against a defined standard and document the result.
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This Is Not a Beginner Handgun Class
Students should already be comfortable safely handling their handgun before attempting a timed qualification.
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Before attempting a scored run, students should demonstrate appropriate muzzle discipline, trigger discipline, loading and unloading, safe holster use, firearm manipulation, fundamental marksmanship and range safety.
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Students who aren't ready for the qualification can begin with our handgun fundamentals or private coaching programs and work toward it.
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There's nothing wrong with training before testing.
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The qualification should measure your ability—not introduce you to a handgun for the first time.
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Our Program: Train → Prepare → Qualify → Document
We don't believe the best way to experience a qualification is simply walking onto the range cold and being handed a scorecard.
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Our program can be structured in progressive stages.
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STAGE 1 — Safety & Equipment Evaluation
Before qualification begins, the instructor evaluates the student's firearm and required range equipment and reviews the safety standards governing the program.
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We also establish the student's experience level and discuss what the qualification is designed to measure.
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STAGE 2 — Fundamentals Assessment
Before worrying about the clock, we evaluate the fundamentals.
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Depending upon the student, this can include assessment of:
Grip • Stance • Sight management • Trigger control • Follow-through • Accuracy • Consistency • Safe handgun manipulation • Equipment familiarity
The purpose is to identify deficiencies before they appear on the scored qualification.
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STAGE 3 — Qualification Skill Preparation
Students are introduced to the types of skills that will be evaluated during the qualification.
The publicly documented 2019 FBI-style pistol course is a 50-round course containing ten timed strings across distances of 3, 5, 7, 15 and 25 yards. Public descriptions of the course include one-handed shooting, conventional two-handed shooting, a timed reload and standing/kneeling work.
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We prepare students to understand the course structure and safety requirements before attempting a recorded run.
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The Five Distance Stages
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3 Yards — One-Handed Performance
The close-distance portion evaluates the shooter's ability to maintain control while shooting one-handed.
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The publicly documented 2019 course allocates 6 rounds to this distance and incorporates both strong-hand and support-hand shooting within a timed string.
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This portion can reveal weaknesses that aren't apparent when every practice session is performed with a conventional two-handed grip.
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5 Yards — Close-Range Accuracy Under Time
The 5-yard stage contains 12 rounds across multiple timed strings.
At this distance, the challenge is balancing accuracy with increasingly restrictive time requirements.
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The shooter cannot simply rush.
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Hits still matter.
7 Yards — Consistency & Reloading
The 7-yard portion accounts for 18 rounds and introduces additional performance demands, including a timed empty-gun reload in the publicly documented course.
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This stage evaluates whether the shooter can maintain safe, consistent performance while managing both the firearm and the clock.
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15 Yards — Precision Becomes More Important
At 15 yards, small errors become increasingly visible.
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The qualification includes 6 rounds at this distance.
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Grip inconsistencies, trigger-control problems and poor visual discipline that may have been hidden at closer distances can become much more apparent.
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This is where students begin seeing the difference between merely shooting quickly and shooting efficiently and accurately.
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25 Yards — The Final Test
The course concludes at 25 yards with 8 rounds.
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The publicly documented 2019 course incorporates standing and kneeling shooting within this final stage.
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At 25 yards, fundamentals matter.
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The shooter must bring together everything demonstrated throughout the course: control, accuracy, consistency, positional stability and time management.
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50 Rounds. 100 Possible Points.
The publicly documented 2019 FBI-style qualification uses 50 rounds, with qualifying hits worth two points for a maximum possible score of 100 points. Publicly reported standards identify 80/100 as the agent qualification threshold and 90/100 as the instructor-level threshold.
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That gives students an immediately understandable benchmark:
80/100 — Qualification benchmark
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90/100 — Commonly reported FBI firearms-instructor benchmark
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100/100 — Perfect qualification score
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For our students, the number isn't simply about passing.
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It creates a baseline.
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A shooter who records an 82 today has something objective to work from. Train, correct weaknesses, return later, and attempt to improve that performance.
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Measure. Train. Retest. Improve.
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Equipment Required
Students should arrive with reliable, properly maintained equipment appropriate for the course.
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Typical equipment includes:
• Reliable semi-automatic handgun
• Quality, secure handgun holster appropriate for the course
• Appropriate magazines
• Magazine carrier where required
• Sufficient ammunition for practice and qualification attempts
• Eye protection
• Hearing protection
• Appropriate range clothing and footwear
• Suitable firearm case
• Any additional equipment specified by the instructor
Students participating in a qualification should use equipment with which they are already familiar whenever possible.
A scored qualification is not the ideal time to discover that unfamiliar equipment doesn't work for you.
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Why Take a Standardized Qualification?
Most recreational shooters never establish a meaningful baseline.
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They go to the range, shoot a target, look at the holes and decide whether they had a “good day.”
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A qualification is different.
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There is a defined target, defined course, defined distances, defined time requirements and defined score.
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That allows performance to be measured and repeated.
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Instead of saying:
“I shoot regularly.”
You can say:
“I completed an FBI-style pistol qualification course and recorded a documented score of ___/100.”
That is substantially more specific.
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Build a Documented Shooting Record
Students who successfully complete our program can maintain their results as part of their personal firearms-training record or professional-development portfolio, where appropriate.
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This may be particularly useful for firearms instructors, security professionals, competitive shooters, or serious students who maintain documentation of continuing training.
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Your training record can identify the course completed, date, firearm used, score achieved, instructor/school administering the assessment and applicable course standard.
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However, completing an independently administered FBI-style qualification does not make someone FBI-certified, FBI-qualified personnel, a federal firearms instructor or an FBI agent.
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It documents that the shooter completed a course based on a published qualification standard and achieved the recorded score.
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A Score Is a Snapshot—Not the Finish Line
A qualification tells you how you performed that day.
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It doesn't mean training is complete.
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In fact, the FBI itself treats firearms proficiency as an ongoing process rather than a one-time accomplishment; Bureau materials describe continuing qualification and proficiency programs for armed personnel.
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We encourage students to use their first score as a baseline and periodically return to measure improvement.
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First Attempt → Identify Weaknesses → Coaching → Practice → Requalification
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That turns a single qualification into a genuine development program.
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Want to Work Toward a 90+ Score?
Our Private Firearms Coaching can be combined with qualification preparation.
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Instead of repeatedly attempting the course and hoping your score increases, an instructor can evaluate the areas costing you points and structure future practice around measurable improvement.
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The goal becomes specific:
Establish your baseline. Identify the deficiency. Train intelligently. Retest.
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More Than a Certificate. A Measurable Standard.
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Anyone can say they know how to shoot.
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A documented qualification gives you something different:
A course. A standard. A score. A date. A measurable result.
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Majeed Guns & Firearms School
FBI Pistol Qualification Course & Performance Assessment
Branford, Connecticut
(203) 887-8368
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Training • Preparation • Qualification • Scoring • Documentation • Private Coaching
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50 Rounds. 100 Points. What's Your Score?
Train for the standard. Step to the line. Put your skills to the test.