Are you ready to make a real difference in your community? Looking for meaningful ways to give back? If you're prepared to make a serious time commitment and become part of a dedicated team in the SF Bay Area, CALSAR might be the place for you.
Search and Rescue expectations: Is SAR Right For Me?
Make sure you can pass our Fitness Qualification hike
See what our Training Weekends are all about
If you’re built for challenge and purpose, your mission begins here. Follow the Self Pre-Check below!
Before you begin your application, please review the following requirements carefully. To ensure a successful experience with CALSAR, all applicants must meet all of the criteria listed below and attend ALL recruiting events and training weekends. There will be no make-up events or trainings.
If you cannot commit to ALL recruiting events and training weekends, please check back here next year for the 2027/2028 recruiting class. Thank you for your interest in CALSAR!
Minimum Requirements
✅ You must be 18 years old by September 12, 2026
✅ You must have no felony convictions and be able to pass a criminal background check
✅ You must pass our Physical Fitness Qualification (4 mi with 1,300 ft elevation gain, carrying a 25-lb pack, under 95 mins)
✅ You must attend ALL Recruiting Events and Training Weekends (see dates below)
Mandatory Recruiting Dates
Search Team Exercises
Attend one:
Saturday, Sept 12, 2026 (SF Presidio) — 9:00 am12:00 pm
OR Saturday, Sept 19, 2026 (Redwood City) — 9:00 am12:00 pm
Physical Fitness Qualification
Attend one:
Saturday, Sept 26, 2026 (Novato) — Start between 7:30–9:30 am
OR Saturday, Oct 3, 2026 (Novato) — Start between 7:30–9:30 am
Mock Search Mission Tryouts
Saturday, Oct 17, 2026
Full-day commitment; location TBD
Interviews
Saturday, Oct 24, 2026 — 30-minute time slots (scheduled individually)
Self-paced online Helicopter, Swiftwater, and Incident Command System courses must be completed prior to receiving an Interview invite
Candidate Onboarding
Sunday, Nov 7, 2026
Mandatory Cadet Training Dates (if selected to move forward)
You must attend ALL of the following training weekends and online evening lectures
WFA: Dec 5-6 (no overnight, online prep call Wed Dec 2)
SAR1: Jan 23-24 (overnight, online lecture Wed Jan 20)
SAR Nav: Feb 20-21 (overnight, online lecture Wed Feb 17)
SAR2: Mar 20-21 (overnight, online lecture Tue Mar 16)
Thank you for taking an interest in joining the team! Being an effective member of our unit requires going through an involved training program and an ongoing commitment to showing up on searches and other unit events.
As such, we've designed a recruiting process that reflects the commitment we expect from members and showcases many of the skills that we provide deeper training in after joining the unit. Obviously, this allows CalSAR to select the best candidates to move forward with. However, we believe it also gives applicants an excellent idea of what it's like being in the unit and thus an indication of whether it's right for you early in the process. 2-way fit is key to our recruiting process.
The first step in the recruiting process is to familiarize yourself with CalSAR and what you are getting into. Prior to submitting an application, please review the following background videos:
Overview of the CalSAR Application (watch first - 3 minutes)
Introduction to CalSAR (30 minutes)
The CalSAR Recruiting Process (20 minutes)
Search & Rescue Details (45 minutes)
After you've watched the introductory videos and have a good sense for what commitment we expect from members, please complete our online application (due: Aug 15, 2026). When filling out this application, please be thoughtful and reflect on how you see CalSAR fitting into your life. Multiple current members of the unit will review your application, so please demonstrate that you believe you are a good fit and will have the commitment to contribute for the long term. We have limited space in the subsequent recruiting events, so not all applicants will be invited to continue the process.