SAR membership is demanding, and it's one of the most fulfilling things you'll ever do. If you're fit, dependable, and want to serve your community on its hardest days — this is your call to answer.
SAR team members are unpaid professionals. We live full, regular lives — careers, families, everything — and we hold ourselves to a professional standard when the pager goes off. Expect rigorous training, genuine camaraderie, and the privilege of helping people on the worst day of their lives.
Many new members arrive with backcountry skills already. You don't have to know everything — but you do have to be willing to train hard, show up, and put the team and the mission first.
Skills That Save LivesThese are the baseline expectations for prospective members. Don't meet every one yet? Reach out anyway — we'll talk it through.
Every member follows the same path. Here's how it works, start to finish.
Submit the form below. A SAR representative will reach out to talk about the team, answer your questions, and invite you to meet us.
Attend a meeting and training to see the work up close. This is your chance to make sure SAR is the right fit — and for us to get to know you.
Clear a Sheriff's Office background check and complete onboarding as a member of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office volunteer corps.
Build the fundamentals — navigation, search technique, rope systems, wilderness medicine, radio, and incident command. See the skills you'll train →
Earn your place on the callout roster and start answering the call alongside the team. Training never stops — and neither do we.
Fill out the application below and we'll get in touch about upcoming Academies and answer your questions. Please be patient — we conduct physical ability tests and interviews once per year, and teams may be full at any given time. Once offered a spot, you'll undergo a thorough Ventura County Sheriff's Office background check.
