Popular searches
Andhra Pradesh · Government Exams
Departmental tests are not a recruitment. They are the qualifying examinations serving Andhra Pradesh government employees must pass for probation to be declared, for promotion, and for the increments their service rules make conditional on them. The commission conducts them in two sessions a year and publishes the results as passes, not as a merit list.
Three things make this commission’s version easier to prepare for than most. It has abolished negative marking. It publishes the qualifying marks for every paper, in an annexure to each notification. And it has already rewritten its criminal-law papers for the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and its companion codes, with a section-by-section concordance — so a candidate for those papers knows exactly what replaced what.
Andhra Pradesh Departmental Tests · checked 19 September 2026
The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.
Checked 19 September 2026
Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission
Two a year, labelled May and November; the examinations run some weeks after the label
Notification No. 03/2026 for the May 2026 session — results published 17 August 2026
₹500 a paper plus a ₹500 application processing fee
Notification
| Departmental Tests | Half-Yearly Examinations | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sits them | Serving state government employees, for the tests their service rules prescribe; some papers open to anyone. | Officers of the All-India Services and State Services already in service — IAS and IFS probationers, IPS probationers, Deputy SPs, Deputy Collectors, forest officers. |
| Sessions | Two a year, labelled May and November. | Two terms a year, March and September. |
| Latest | No. 03/2026 of 11 May 2026, May 2026 session. Examinations 6 to 11 July 2026; results 17 August 2026; viva-voce 2 September with results 10 September. | No. 04/2026 of 9 July 2026, September 2026 term, held 8 to 11 September 2026. |
| How to apply | Online, ₹500 a paper plus ₹500 processing. | On paper through the head of office or District Collector, ₹100 a test. |
The commission has published a revised syllabus for the law department’s papers: the Indian Penal Code is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 in Criminal Judicial Test Papers I and II (codes 98 and 108), the Code of Criminal Procedure by the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 in Papers III and IV (codes 127 and 136), and the Indian Evidence Act by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 in the Evidence Act test (code 77). The document carries chapter and section concordance tables and lists the newly added sections — trial in absentia, witness protection, electronic-mode provisions, electronic records — so the change is specified rather than announced. Unlike the neighbouring state, this substitution applies to the departmental tests themselves and not only to the half-yearly series.
Overview
The tests exist because state service rules make career events conditional on demonstrated knowledge of the rules an officer works under. A revenue officer must know the revenue codes; an officer handling money must know the accounts and treasury rules; a police clerk must know criminal procedure. The departmental test certifies that knowledge, and until it does, probation stays undeclared and promotion waits.
The commission runs them as computer-based objective tests for most papers, with the language and survey papers written conventionally on bar-coded answer books. Each paper is designated with books or without books. A with-books paper permits bare Acts in the hall and nothing else — no guides, commentaries, notes or handbooks — which changes what preparation for those papers means: not memorising the code, but knowing it well enough to find the section quickly.
There is no general list. The papers you must pass, the period within which you must pass them, and the consequence of not doing so are fixed by the service rules for your post. A set of papers is open to anyone, in government service or not; most are restricted to the department whose rules prescribe them. A candidate who has already passed a paper may not sit it again and is liable to be debarred for doing so. Confirm the paper codes against your own rules before registering.
Eligibility
Eligibility is a question about your post, not about a degree or an age. Andhra Pradesh government employees may apply for the tests prescribed in their departmental service rules under the Departmental Tests Rules of 1965. Beyond that, the notification divides the paper codes into those open to anyone and those restricted to a department.
| Papers | Who may sit them |
|---|---|
| Open to all, in government service or not | Codes 05, 08, 10, 18, 19, 27, 28, 36, 43, 45, 49, 62, 67, 77, 98, 108, 127, 136, 137, 141, 142, 144 to 148 and 155 — the accounts tests for subordinate and executive officers and local bodies, the Revenue Test, the judicial and Evidence Act tests, the language tests and the translation tests. |
| Restricted to a department | Sericulture, Mines and Geology (service certificate required), Works Accounts, Workshop Officers, the commission’s own staff, the social welfare and health papers. The Divisional Test is for senior assistants with three years in the accounts branches of the engineering departments and for superintendents, with a service certificate. |
| Secretariat employees | May sit the Commercial Taxes papers 6 and 7 and the Treasuries and Accounts papers to gain eligibility for appointment by transfer. |
| Law graduates | May claim exemption from Criminal Judicial Test Papers I and II by uploading the law degree. Commerce graduates are exempt from Paper I of Part I of the Divisional Test. |
| Charge | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Examination fee | ₹500 per paper | Under a government order of September 2020. No fee for the Gujarati and Marwari language tests. |
| Application processing fee | ₹500 | Charged once per application, in addition to the per-paper fee. |
| Correction | ₹100 per correction | During a short window after the closing date; no changes after two days from it. |
| Memorandum of marks | ₹200 | For unsuccessful candidates, by postal order or demand draft within one month of the result. |
| Recounting | ₹300 per paper | Conventional papers only, within fifteen days of the result. Revaluation is never entertained. |
Selection process
Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.
| Stage | Format | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Notification and online application | Per session | The commission notifies each session with an application window of about three weeks. Candidates register for the paper codes their service requires, pay per paper, and may correct the application for a fee during a short window after closing. |
| The examination | Computer-based objective, or conventional for language and survey papers | Objective papers run two hours; conventional papers three. Candidates report an hour early for biometric verification, and gates close thirty minutes before the paper. Bare Acts only in with-books papers. |
| Viva-voce, for language tests | Oral, after the written part | The second class language tests proceed to their oral parts only for candidates who pass the written part; the third class language test is viva-voce only. |
| Result | Pass or fail, published on the website | Results are displayed on the commission’s website, which is the authentic publication for extending service benefits. No individual pass certificate is issued. Results are also issued in the Udyoga Samacharam format, and errata are published where needed. |
Exam pattern
| Paper type | Mode | Duration | Sessions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most papers | Objective, computer-based | 2 hours | 10 to 12 and 3 to 5 |
| Language papers (codes 5, 6, 7, 19, 28, 36, 37, 49, 58, 67, 74) and survey papers | Conventional, on bar-coded answer books in blue or black ball pen | 3 hours | 10 to 1 and 3 to 6 |
| Second Class Language Test (code 05) | Conventional | 2 hours | 3 to 5 |
| Third Class Language Test (code 155) | Viva-voce only | — | As scheduled |
The notification states that the negative marks system has been cancelled by G.O.Ms.No.101 of September 2020, and that the practice of inviting objections to the answer key has been dispensed with. Qualifying marks are set out paper by paper in Annexure III: the general rule is a minimum of 40 marks in each paper, with each paper of a multi-paper test passable separately. The exceptions are specific — the Divisional Test and the Works Accounts Service papers need 40 per cent in each paper and 45 per cent in aggregate; the Criminal Judicial Test papers are taken together at 40 per cent and must all be passed at one sitting; several forest, fire and excise papers are assessed together; and the lower-standard special language tests prescribe no minimum in the written part.
The result displayed on the commission’s website is the authentic publication for all service benefits under a 2011 government order and the amended 1965 rules — no individual pass certificate is issued and none should be waited for. Bio-data corrections must be submitted within fifteen days of the last examination day.
Sources
Checked 11 September 2026 against the commission’s departmental test pages and the May 2026 notification with its three annexures. Fees, modes, timings, eligibility, the abolition of negative marking and the pass marks are quoted from those documents; the BNS substitution from the commission’s revised law-department syllabus. The list of books allowed is published as a scanned document the text of which could not be read here, so the with-books rule is quoted from the examination instructions instead.
APPSC departmental tests page Departmental notifications list Notification No. 03/2026 — May 2026 session Annexure I — examination instructions and with-books rule Annexure II — time-table with paper codes Annexure III — qualifying marks by paper Revised syllabus for the law department papers — BNS, BNSS and BSA Departmental results dashboard Half-yearly examination notifications
Exam resources
Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.
Questions
The commission runs two sessions a year, labelled May and November. The May 2026 session, Notification No. 03/2026, is complete — examinations 6 to 11 July 2026 and results 17 August. As at 11 September 2026 the November 2026 session had not been notified. The label and the examination month differ: the November 2025 examinations were held in January 2026.
₹500 for each paper, plus a ₹500 application processing fee per application, payable online only and not refunded. There is no fee for the Gujarati and Marwari language tests. Corrections cost ₹100 each during a short window after closing.
No. The notification states that the negative marks system was cancelled by G.O.Ms.No.101 of September 2020, and that the practice of inviting objections to the answer key has been dispensed with.
The general rule, published in Annexure III of each notification, is a minimum of 40 marks in each paper, with each paper of a multi-paper test passable separately. Exceptions are specific: the Divisional Test and Works Accounts papers need 40 per cent in each paper and 45 per cent in aggregate; the Criminal Judicial Test papers are assessed in pairs at 40 per cent and must all be passed at one sitting; some forest, fire and excise papers are assessed together; and the lower-standard special language tests prescribe no written minimum.
Andhra Pradesh government employees, for the tests their departmental service rules prescribe. A set of paper codes — the accounts tests for subordinate and executive officers and local bodies, the Revenue Test, the judicial and Evidence Act tests and the language tests — is open to anyone whether in government service or not. Most other papers are restricted to the department whose rules prescribe them, some with a service certificate required.
That bare Acts alone may be brought into the hall for that paper. Guides, commentaries, short notes, made-easy books, handwritten or photocopied material, diaries, training-institute material and handbooks are all barred, and calculators are unlawful except scientific calculators in the village surveyor papers. Each paper is marked with books or without books on the time-table.
Yes. The commission has published a revised syllabus for the law-department papers replacing the Indian Penal Code with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in Criminal Judicial Test Papers I and II, the Code of Criminal Procedure with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita in Papers III and IV, and the Indian Evidence Act with the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam in the Evidence Act test, with section-by-section concordance tables and a list of newly added provisions.
By display on the commission’s website, which is the authentic publication for extending service benefits under a 2011 government order and the amended 1965 rules. No individual pass certificate is issued. Results are also issued in the Udyoga Samacharam format and errata are published. Unsuccessful candidates may obtain a memorandum of marks for ₹200 within a month; recounting is available for conventional papers only, at ₹300 within fifteen days; revaluation is never entertained.
No. The half-yearly examinations are a separate series for officers of the All-India Services and State Services already in service — IAS, IFS and IPS probationers, Deputy Collectors, Deputy SPs, forest officers — held in March and September terms, applied for on paper through the head of office at ₹100 a test. The September 2026 term, Notification No. 04/2026, was held from 8 to 11 September 2026. A serving employee sitting an accounts or revenue test is in the departmental test series, not this one.
Read the syllabus, attempt a free mock, then fix the section that costs you the most marks.
Already practising? Create Free Account to track your preparation.
