Two top members of the NYPD have signed up to take the chief’s exam to work in Suffolk County, The Post has learned.

James Essig, the chief of detectives, and Juanita Holmes, the chief of training, are among 16 people who have registered for the March 25 civil service test.

Also on the list of 16 test takers is Elliot Colon, the former commanding officer of the 67th Precinct in Brooklyn.

The exam will be used to fill chief’s positions for two wealthy, and low-crime, Long Island enclaves — the villages of Southampton and Lloyd Harbor.

Most of the other candidates work for the Southampton police force or other Long Island departments.

Southampton has been without a permanent chief since “million dollar cop” Thomas Cummings left in September 2021 with a payout of $774,000 in unused sick, vacation, and personal time as well as health benefits for life. His 2021 salary was $274,000.

The Village Board in December voted to hire Anthony Carter, a former NYPD inspector, as the new head of the department, which has about 30 sworn officers. But the offer, which came with a $225,000 annual salary, was made over the objections of Jesse Warren, the village mayor.

Warren said he wanted a candidate who had already taken the chief’s exam, which Carter had not done. He was slated to take the test in March.

Carter, a deputy police commissioner for Suffolk County, bailed after the controversy erupted, leaving the Village Board furious with the mayor and back to square one to hire a top cop.

Holmes was considered a leading candidate for the job last year but did not make the eligibility list after taking the chief’s exam, according to a source familiar with the hiring process.

She had been the only internal NYPD candidate for the police commissioner’s job under Mayor Adams but was bypassed in December 2021 in favor of Keechant Sewell. The move was expected to steer Holmes into retirement, sources said at the time, but she was named chief of training in January 2022.

Essig, a 40-year department veteran, has been chief of detectives since March 2021.

The NYPD had its biggest exodus since 2002 last year with 3,701 cops retiring or resigning, departures tied to a variety of factors including higher pay and lower stress at other departments.

A departure of top cops “sends a message to the police executives that the de facto commissioner is Mayor Adams. He’s created an apathetic environment with the executive staff and there’s a lot of frustration,” said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice

The NYPD did not immediately return a request for comment.

Additional reporting by Dean Balsamini