Tamil Nadu · Government Exams

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment

The Medical Services Recruitment Board fills the state’s health service: Assistant Surgeons for the hospitals, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, health inspectors, nursing assistants, village health nurses and the dozens of paramedical and support posts around them. It notifies post by post rather than in a combined examination, and in 2025 it issued twenty-three notifications.

It selects in two different ways, and which one applies depends on the post. The professional posts — Assistant Surgeon, pharmacist, health inspector — sit a Tamil eligibility test and then a written subject examination with no negative marking and no interview. The paramedical and support posts — nursing assistant, laboratory technician, village health nurse — are selected on a weighted percentage of their qualification, HSC and SSLC marks, with no examination at all.

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Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment · 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.

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19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment: the facts that matter now

01
No application open at 11 September 2026; the board’s 2026 planner lists 5,317 tentative posts, many under interim stay
Current status
02
Tamil Nadu Medical Services Recruitment Board
Conducted by
03
Tamil eligibility test at 40%, then a 100-mark subject examination; no negative marking; no interview
Professional posts
04
Marks-based — a weighted percentage of qualification, HSC and SSLC marks; no examination
Paramedical posts

Notification

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment notification and key dates

Checked 11 September 2026. No MRB application window was open. The most recent notification, No. 02/MRB/2026 for six Therapeutic Assistant posts, closed on 11 February 2026. The board’s annual planner, updated on 2 July 2026, lists 5,317 tentative posts across twenty-five lines, records a provisional selection list for eight of them, and marks fourteen as under an interim stay of the High Court in two writ petitions of 2026.

The recruitments that have moved furthest, with their status on the board’s site at the date checked.
Post	Notification	Vacancies	Status
Assistant Surgeon (General)	No. 17/MRB/2025, 21 November 2025	1,100	Examined 25 January 2026; provisional selection list 11 March 2026, subject to pending writ petitions
Nursing Assistant Grade-II	No. 01/MRB/2026, 19 January 2026	999	Marks-based; provisional selection list of 961 candidates published 9 September 2026, subject to pending writ petitions, despite the planner recording an interim stay
Health Inspector Grade-II	No. 16/MRB/2025, 27 October 2025	1,429 in the planner	Examined; provisional selection list 13 January 2026
Assistant Surgeon with speciality	No. 22/MRB/2025	299	Provisional selection list 5 March 2026
Pharmacist	No. 04/MRB/2025, 17 February 2025	425 notified; 630 in the planner	Applications closed March 2025; the planner records the recruitment as work in progress and no examination date was found
Laboratory Technician Grade-II	No. 11/MRB/2025, 10 July 2025	60	Marks-based; work in progress
Village Health Nurse	No. 10/MRB/2023, 11 October 2023	2,250	Marks-based; revised provisional list published, with a further 160 posts in the planner under stay

Fourteen planner lines are under interim stay

The planner records an interim stay in two 2026 writ petitions against the Nursing Assistant, Radiographer, Dental Mechanic, Pharmacist (Homoeopathy), Dark Room Assistant, Therapeutic Assistant, Refractionist, Grief Counsellor, Radiotherapy Technician, Ophthalmic Assistant, Village Health Nurse and Skilled Assistant lines. The board nonetheless published provisional lists for the Dental Mechanic and Nursing Assistant posts in September 2026, each expressly subject to the petitions, which suggests the stay no longer blocked those two. The orders themselves are not on the board’s judgments page, and the current position of the petitions was not found.

No Staff Nurse notification since 2019

The board’s notification list shows the last general Staff Nurse recruitment as No. 02/MRB/2019, with a 2022 notification for nurses in the differently-abled category. The Village Health Nurse and Nursing Assistant posts are different cadres with different qualifications. A candidate holding a nursing degree or diploma and waiting for a Staff Nurse notification is waiting for something the board has not issued in seven years; the planner for 2026 does not list one.

Check the board directly

MRB notifications MRB results and provisional selection lists Annual recruitment planner 2026

Overview

What Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment is, and who it suits

The board’s notifications share a frame — an online application, a Tamil requirement, a category-based age rule under which the reserved communities have no upper limit, and a provisional selection list published subject to pending writ petitions — but divide on the selection method. For a post with a professional degree and a council registration, the board examines: a Tamil eligibility test at tenth-standard level that must be passed at 40 per cent and is then discarded, followed by a two-hour subject paper of 100 questions at the level of the qualifying degree, set in English, with no negative marking, normalised across sessions, and with no oral test.

For a post with a certificate or diploma qualification, the board does not examine. It weights the marks a candidate already holds — sixty per cent for the nursing assistant certificate and forty for SSLC, or fifty per cent for a laboratory technician’s diploma with thirty for HSC and twenty for SSLC — and ranks on the result. The Tamil requirement is met by evidence at certificate verification rather than by a test. A candidate for these posts cannot improve their position by preparing; they can only apply correctly and hold the right documents.

What sets the board apart

No upper age limit for reserved communities — SC, SC(A), ST, MBC, DNC, BC and BC(M) candidates have no maximum age in the board’s notifications; the limit applies to others only, at 32 to 42 by post.
Two selection methods — a written examination for professional posts, a marks-based weighting for paramedical posts. The notification says which.
Tamil as a gate — a 50-mark, one-hour Tamil eligibility test at 40 per cent before the subject paper for examined posts; a Tamil qualification produced at verification for the others. Differently-abled candidates are exempt from the test.
COVID duty incentive marks — two to five marks in the examined posts for candidates who served in COVID duties for six months or more, under a 2023 government order.
A published annual planner — with tentative post counts and status per post, updated through the year. It records which recruitments are under interim stay.

Read the notification for the selection method before preparing

Preparation for a marks-based post is document preparation, not examination preparation — there is no paper to sit. Preparation for an examined post is a Tamil test and a subject paper at degree standard. A candidate who does not know which kind of post they are applying for cannot know what to do next. The notification states the scheme of selection in a numbered paragraph; read that paragraph first.

Eligibility

Who can apply for Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment

Eligibility by post, from the most recent notification for each. Age is reckoned as on 1 July of the notification year; reserved communities have no upper limit.
Post	Qualification	Upper age for others	Fee — SC, SC(A), ST, DAP / others
Assistant Surgeon (General)	MBBS with twelve months’ internship, registered with the Tamil Nadu Medical Council on the notification date	37; DAP 47; ex-servicemen 48	₹500 / ₹1,000
Pharmacist	D.Pharm, B.Pharm or Pharm.D, with Tamil Nadu Pharmacy Council registration kept alive	32; DAP 42; ex-servicemen 50	₹500 / ₹1,000
Health Inspector Grade-II	HSC with biology, Tamil as a subject in SSLC, and the two-year multipurpose health worker or health inspector course	As notified	₹300 / ₹600
Laboratory Technician Grade-II	The two-year diploma in medical laboratory technology from the King Institute or a state-recognised institution, or the one-year certificate	32; DAP 42; ex-servicemen 48	₹300 / ₹600
Nursing Assistant Grade-II	SSLC and the nursing assistant training certificate from a government medical institution in the state	34; DAP 44	₹300 / ₹600
Village Health Nurse	Women only; HSC and the multipurpose health worker or ANM course, registered with the state nurses and midwives council, and fit for camp life	42; DAP 52; destitute widows 59	₹300 / ₹600

The conditions that recur

Council registration on the notification date — medical, pharmacy or nursing council as the post requires, and kept alive. A registration dated after the notification does not qualify.
Tamil, by test or by evidence — the examined posts sit a Tamil eligibility test; the marks-based posts produce evidence at verification — Tamil in SSLC, SSLC in Tamil medium, or the second class language test.
Government service can disqualify — in the Nursing Assistant notification, non-reserved applicants with five or more years of government service are ineligible.
Fees are not refunded — and are charged per post, so applying to several notifications costs each fee.

Selection process

How Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment selection works

Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.

Stages change between cycles. Confirm the structure in the notification for the cycle you are sitting.
Stage	Format	What it involves
Notification and online application	Per post, about three weeks	The board notifies each post separately with its own portal and closing date. The qualification, council registration and Tamil requirement must be held on the notification date.
Tamil eligibility test — examined posts	Objective, 50 marks, one hour, qualifying at 40%	At tenth-standard level, sat before the subject paper on the same day. Its marks are not counted for ranking. Differently-abled candidates are exempt.
Subject examination — examined posts	Objective, 100 questions, 2 hours, English	At the level of the qualifying degree, with minimum qualifying marks of 30 for SC, SC(A) and ST candidates and 35 for others. No negative marking. Scores are normalised across sessions. COVID incentive marks are added.
Marks-based ranking — paramedical posts	Weighted percentage, no examination	The qualification certificate or diploma, HSC and SSLC marks are weighted in the proportions the notification sets and the candidates ranked on the result, with incentive marks where applicable.
Certificate verification and provisional selection	Documents, then a published list	Original certificates including council registration and evidence of Tamil are verified, and a provisional selection list is published by number and date, subject to the outcome of pending writ petitions. There is no interview for any post.

Exam pattern

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment exam pattern and marking

The examined posts. The Tamil test gates the subject paper and is then discarded; the subject paper alone ranks.
Component	Format	Marks	Rule
Tamil language eligibility test	Objective, tenth-standard level, one hour	50	40% to qualify, all categories; not counted for ranking; differently-abled candidates exempt
Subject examination	Objective, 100 questions, two hours, English, at the level of the qualifying degree	100	Minimum 30 for SC, SC(A) and ST; 35 for others. No negative marking. Normalised across sessions.
COVID duty incentive	On certificate	2 to 5	Six to twelve months 2; twelve to eighteen 3; eighteen to twenty-four 4; over twenty-four 5
Interview	—	—	None for any post

The marks-based posts. No examination; the notification fixes the weights, under government orders of 2014 and 2015.
Post	Weighting
Nursing Assistant Grade-II	Nursing assistant certificate 60%, SSLC 40%. Where the course awards no marks, the SSLC or HSC percentage alone is used.
Laboratory Technician Grade-II	Diploma 50%, HSC 30%, SSLC 20%
Village Health Nurse	Certificate or diploma 50%, HSC 30%, SSLC 20%, with COVID incentive marks
Therapeutic Assistant	Diploma, HSC and SSLC weighted as the notification sets

No negative marking, no interview, and marks published

The Assistant Surgeon and Pharmacist notifications state in terms that there is no negative mark for a wrong answer and no oral test for the post, and that the marks of all candidates will be hosted. Where the examination runs in more than one session, scores are normalised under a published formula. Requests for revaluation or the cause of failure are not complied with.

Confirm the structure against your own notification

TNPSC revises paper structure, marks, syllabus detail and eligibility between recruitment cycles, and has done so more than once in recent years — the Tamil eligibility component itself is a recent addition. Everything here describes the shape the recruitment has held; the notification for the cycle you are sitting is the document that decides it. Read it end to end before you plan around any figure.

Study plan

How to prepare for Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment

A plan that depends on which kind of post you want

Establish the selection method first examined or marks-based. It changes everything that follows.
Examined posts: prepare tenth-standard Tamil as a subject the test is one hour, 50 marks and 40 per cent, and it is marked before the subject paper. A strong MBBS graduate who has not prepared it can be removed by it.
Examined posts: work the board’s published papers the question bank holds the Assistant Surgeon 2024 subject and Tamil papers with keys, and papers for several other posts. They show the level and the phrasing.
Examined posts: answer everything no negative marking, so a blank is the only way to lose a mark.
Marks-based posts: assemble the documents the qualification marksheet, HSC and SSLC in the form the notification asks for, the council registration, and evidence of Tamil. There is nothing else to prepare and no way to improve the rank.
Hold the COVID duty certificate if you have one two to five marks in an examined post, on a certificate in the prescribed form.
Watch the planner, not the rumour the board updates it through the year with post counts and status, including which lines are under stay.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 11 September 2026 against the board’s notifications, provisional selection lists and the planner updated on 2 July 2026. Qualifications, age, fees and the scheme of selection are quoted from the notifications named below. The board publishes question papers and keys for its examined posts on a question-bank page and syllabuses on a syllabus page; the address with a leading www returned an error at the date checked, and the working host is mrb.tn.gov.in.

Official sources for this page

MRB home MRB notifications MRB results and provisional selection lists Annual recruitment planner, updated 2 July 2026 Assistant Surgeon (General) notification No. 17/MRB/2025 Assistant Surgeon provisional selection list, 11 March 2026 Nursing Assistant Grade-II notification No. 01/MRB/2026 Pharmacist notification No. 04/MRB/2025 Health Inspector Grade-II notification No. 16/MRB/2025 Laboratory Technician Grade-II notification No. 11/MRB/2025 Village Health Nurse notification No. 10/MRB/2023 MRB question bank — papers and keys MRB syllabus page

Exam resources

Everything for Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment SyllabusTamil Nadu MRB syllabus — the Tamil eligibility test, the subject papers for Assistant Surgeon, pharmacist and health inspector, and the marks-based posts.Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment Exam PatternTamil Nadu MRB exam pattern — the Tamil gate and the 100-mark subject paper for examined posts, the weighted-marks formula for the rest, and common rules.Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment Previous PapersTamil Nadu MRB previous papers — the board’s question bank of subject and Tamil papers with keys for its examined posts.Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment Mock TestsTamil Nadu MRB mock tests — rehearsing the Tamil gate and the two-hour subject paper for examined posts.Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment PreparationTamil Nadu MRB preparation — for examined posts, Tamil and the subject paper; for marks-based posts, the documents; for both, the planner.Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment Study MaterialTamil Nadu MRB study material — what to read for the Tamil test and for each examined subject paper.

More Tamil Nadu preparation

All Tamil Nadu examsEvery exam in this category Previous-year papersPast papers with solutions Current affairsDaily, weekly and monthly Exam updatesNotifications and results

Questions

Tamil Nadu MRB Recruitment — FAQs

Is any Tamil Nadu MRB application open right now?

No. As at 11 September 2026 the most recent notification, No. 02/MRB/2026 for Therapeutic Assistant, had closed on 11 February 2026 and no later notification was listed. The board’s planner updated on 2 July 2026 lists 5,317 tentative posts, marks eight lines with a provisional selection list and fourteen as under interim stay.

Does MRB hold a written examination for every post?

No. Professional posts — Assistant Surgeon, Pharmacist, Health Inspector and similar — sit a Tamil eligibility test and a 100-mark subject examination. Paramedical and support posts — Nursing Assistant, Laboratory Technician, Village Health Nurse, Therapeutic Assistant — are selected on a weighted percentage of qualification, HSC and SSLC marks with no examination. The notification states which scheme applies.

What is the MRB Tamil eligibility test?

A one-hour objective Tamil paper of 50 marks at tenth-standard level, sat before the subject examination. A candidate must score 40 per cent for the subject paper to count; the Tamil marks are not used for ranking. Differently-abled candidates are exempt under a 2022 government order.

Is there negative marking or an interview in MRB recruitment?

No. The Assistant Surgeon and Pharmacist notifications state in terms that there is no negative mark for a wrong answer and no oral test for the post, and no MRB notification found carries an interview.

What is the MRB Assistant Surgeon exam pattern?

A Tamil eligibility test of 50 marks in one hour at 40 per cent, then a subject examination of 100 objective questions in two hours in English at MBBS level, with minimum qualifying marks of 30 for SC, SC(A) and ST candidates and 35 for others. No negative marking, scores normalised across sessions, COVID duty incentive marks of two to five added on certificate, and no interview. The 2025 recruitment for 1,100 posts was examined on 25 January 2026.

What is the MRB age limit?

SC, SC(A), ST, MBC, DNC, BC and BC(M) candidates have no upper age limit. For others the limit is set per post — 37 for Assistant Surgeon, 32 for Pharmacist and Laboratory Technician, 34 for Nursing Assistant, 42 for Village Health Nurse — with ten years more for differently-abled candidates and further provisions for ex-servicemen and destitute widows. Age is reckoned as on 1 July of the notification year.

What are the MRB fees?

₹500 for SC, SC(A), ST and differently-abled candidates and ₹1,000 for others in the professional posts; ₹300 and ₹600 respectively in the paramedical posts. Online only, not refunded, and charged per notification.

When will MRB recruit Staff Nurses?

The board’s notification list shows the last general Staff Nurse recruitment as No. 02/MRB/2019, and the 2026 planner does not list one. Village Health Nurse and Nursing Assistant are different cadres with different qualifications and were recruited in 2023 and 2026 respectively.

Does MRB publish previous question papers?

Yes, for its examined posts. The question-bank page holds the Assistant Surgeon 2024 subject and Tamil papers with keys, the Indian medicine officer papers of 2025, the Physiotherapist and Senior Analyst papers and others. The marks-based posts have no papers.

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