Popular searches
Tamil Nadu · Government Exams
TNPSC Group 4 is the largest recruitment the commission runs: Junior Assistant, Typist, Steno-Typist, Junior Revenue Inspector, Village Administrative Officer, Forest Guard and Forest Watcher, and the clerical posts of a dozen boards and corporations, filled through one combined examination. The 2025 cycle began at 3,935 posts and grew through three addenda to 5,307, and its counselling was still running when this page was checked.
It is one paper. Two hundred questions for 300 marks in three hours, of which the first hundred are Tamil — and a candidate who does not score 60 of the 150 Tamil marks has the rest of the paper left unmarked. There is no prelims, no mains, no interview, no typing test and no penalty for a wrong answer; the only deduction is for a question left blank. The commission’s planner puts the next notification on 6 October 2026 and the examination on 20 December.
TNPSC Group 4 · 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
2025 cycle in counselling; no window open; the planner’s next notification date is 6 October 2026
Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
A pass in SSLC for most posts; typewriting and shorthand certificates for Typist and Steno-Typist; HSC science for Forest Guard
One — Tamil 100 questions for 150 marks, then general studies and aptitude 100 questions for 150; 300 in all
Notification
Checked 11 September 2026. The most recent Group 4 cycle is Notification No. 07/2025 of 25 April 2025. Its examination was held on 12 July 2025, marks and ranks were published on 22 October, and counselling has run in four phases — December 2025, February, April and July 2026 — with the forest posts on their own track through August. No final selection list had been published. No window is open; the commission’s annual planner puts the next Group 4 notification on 6 October 2026 with the examination on 20 December, and describes both dates as tentative.
| Stage | When |
|---|---|
| Notification | 25 April 2025 |
| Applications | 25 April to 24 May 2025, with a correction window to 31 May |
| Addenda | 7A on 21 May 2025 — the blank-answer rule and age clauses; 7B on 26 September — 727 posts added; 7C on 3 December — 645 more; 7D on 12 December — unit-wise revisions |
| Written examination | 12 July 2025, 9.30 to 12.30 |
| Final answer key | 17 November 2025 |
| Marks and rank | 22 October 2025 |
| Onscreen verification | Uploads 29 October to 7 November 2025 |
| Counselling | Phase I 8 to 18 December 2025; Phase II from 4 February 2026; Phase III from 10 April; Phase IV from 24 July; forest-post verification and physical tests through 14 August |
| Post | Notified | After 7B | After 7C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Assistant, security and non-security | 1,667 | 1,969 | 2,216 |
| Typist | 1,099 | 1,392 | 1,598 |
| Steno-Typist Grade-III | 335 | 361 | 412 |
| Village Administrative Officer | 215 | 218 | 218 |
| Junior Revenue Inspector | 239 | 239 | 239 |
| Forest Guard, with and without driving licence; Forest Watcher | 257 | 278 | 278 |
| New post codes added by addenda | — | Typist and clerical posts in the pollution control board, TUFIDCO, TNERC, TIDCO, ELCOT, the maritime board and the power distribution corporation | Assistants, typists and stenographers in the medical university; posts in the housing board, the Waqf board and the Secretariat |
| Total | 3,935 | 4,662 | 5,307 |
Overview
Group 4 fills the base of the state’s ministerial and revenue services. The 2025 notification listed Junior Assistant in the ministerial, judicial and secretariat services, Typist and Steno-Typist Grade-III, Junior Revenue Inspector, the Village Administrative Officer, the forest department’s guards and watchers, and clerical posts in the pollution control board, the electricity utility, the industrial corporations and the medical university — thirty-odd post codes, each with its own qualification and, at counselling, its own unit-wise distribution.
Every candidate sits the same paper and lands on the same merit list; the posts are allotted at counselling by rank, preference and the typewriting or shorthand grades a candidate holds. Because the paper is single-stage and objective, the whole competition happens in three hours, and because a third of its marks are Tamil at SSLC standard, the candidates who score highest are usually those who prepared the language as seriously as the general studies.
The notification is explicit: Parts B and C are evaluated only if the candidate secures 40 per cent — 60 marks — in Part A. A candidate whose general studies is strong and whose Tamil is not can have two-thirds of the paper left unmarked. The syllabus is SSLC-standard Tamil, which is finite; the threshold is modest for anyone who prepares it and absolute for anyone who does not. A differently-abled candidate who studied only in English may take General English in its place.
Eligibility
| Post | Qualification |
|---|---|
| Junior Assistant, Junior Revenue Inspector, Village Administrative Officer, Forest Watcher | The minimum general educational qualification — a pass in the SSLC of Tamil Nadu, with the open-school tenth deemed equivalent. |
| Typist | SSLC, plus the Government Technical Examination in Typewriting — Higher or Senior grade in both Tamil and English, or Higher in one and Lower in the other — plus the certificate course in computer office automation, which may be acquired within two years of appointment. |
| Steno-Typist Grade-III | SSLC, plus the Government Technical Examination in both Typewriting and Shorthand at the same grade combinations, plus the computer certificate. |
| Personal Clerk and the degree-level clerical posts | A degree, with typewriting and shorthand at Higher grade in Tamil and English and the computer certificate, as tabulated per post. |
| Forest Guard | HSC with physics, chemistry, biology, zoology or botany; with a driving licence, three years’ experience and a first-aid certificate for the driving post. |
| Candidates | Ministerial posts | VAO and forest posts |
|---|---|---|
| General — minimum | 18 | 21 |
| General — maximum | 32 | 32 |
| SC, SC(A), ST, BC, BC(M), MBC and DC | 34 or 37 by community — and no maximum at all for a candidate holding a qualification higher than SSLC | VAO 42, forest posts 37 — with no higher-qualification relaxation |
| Persons with benchmark disability | 42 general; 44 to 47 reserved | VAO 42 general, 52 reserved |
| Ex-servicemen | 50 general; 55 reserved | As for ministerial posts |
| Destitute widows | 37, and no maximum with a higher qualification | VAO 37 general, 42 reserved; no relaxation |
Selection process
Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.
| Stage | Format | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Written examination | Objective, OMR, single paper | Part A, Tamil at SSLC standard, 100 questions for 150 marks; Part B general studies, 75 questions, and Part C aptitude and mental ability, 25 questions, for 150 marks together. Three hours. Sixty in Part A for the rest to be marked; 90 in all to qualify. One merit list on the total. |
| Onscreen certificate verification | Documents, uploaded | Shortlisted at three candidates per vacancy for general candidates and two for reserved communities for the ministerial posts, and six per vacancy for the forest posts. Typewriting, shorthand and computer certificates are checked here. |
| Physical standards and endurance — forest posts only | Qualifying, at Chennai | A walk of 25 kilometres for men and 16 for women in four hours, with the physical standards the forest posts prescribe. |
| Physical verification and counselling | By rank and preference | At three per vacancy for general candidates and one and a half for reserved communities. Posts are allotted by rank, preference and — for Typist and Steno-Typist — the grades of typewriting and shorthand held. Run in phases; the 2025 cycle had four by August 2026. |
Exam pattern
| Part | Content | Standard | Questions | Marks | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | Tamil eligibility-cum-scoring test, set in Tamil | SSLC | 100 | 150 | 60 required for Parts B and C to be evaluated |
| Part B | General studies | SSLC | 75 | 150 for B and C together | — |
| Part C | Aptitude and mental ability | SSLC | 25 | — | |
| Total | 200 | 300 | 90 to qualify, every community; three hours |
There is no deduction for a wrong answer. But half a mark is deducted for every question left entirely blank — a candidate who does not know the answer must darken option E — and two marks for a wrong register number on a non-personalised sheet. Leaving a question unanswered is the one thing the commission penalises. The rule was introduced for this cycle by Addendum 7A, and it is the reason the answer sheet carries a fifth option.
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
Sources
Checked 11 September 2026. Vacancies, eligibility, fees, the scheme of examination, the Tamil gate, the blank-answer deduction and the verification ratios are quoted from Notification No. 07/2025 and its four addenda; the timetable from the commission’s verification lists and press releases. The commission publishes the Group 4 question paper and final key for every cycle — 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025 — and the standalone VAO papers of 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Notification No. 07/2025 Addendum 7A — the blank-answer rule and age clauses Addendum 7B — 727 posts added Addendum 7C — 645 posts added Addendum 7D — unit revisions Group 4 syllabus Group 4 2025 question paper — Tamil and general studies Group 4 2025 final answer key Group 4 2024 final answer key Onscreen verification list, October 2025 Objective papers with final keys — all cycles TNPSC annual planner
Exam resources
Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.
Questions
The commission’s annual planner for 2026 puts the next Group 4 notification on 6 October 2026 and the examination on 20 December 2026, both marked tentative. As at 11 September 2026 no window was open and the 2025 cycle was still in counselling.
One objective paper of 200 questions for 300 marks in three hours: Part A, Tamil at SSLC standard, 100 questions for 150 marks; Parts B and C, general studies 75 questions and aptitude 25, for 150 marks together. Parts B and C are evaluated only for candidates scoring 60 in Part A. Ninety of 300 qualifies. There is no prelims, no mains, no interview and no typing test.
Not for a wrong answer. Since Addendum 7A of May 2025, half a mark is deducted for every question left entirely blank — a candidate who does not know the answer must darken option E — and half a mark if the thumb impression is not affixed. The penalty is for not answering.
Part A of the paper — 100 questions of SSLC-standard Tamil for 150 marks, set in Tamil. A candidate must score 60 for Parts B and C to be evaluated, and the Tamil marks then count in full towards the rank. A differently-abled candidate who studied only in English may take General English instead.
No. The notification contains no typing, skill or computer test. Typist and Steno-Typist posts require the Government Technical Examination certificates in typewriting and shorthand at the notification date, and the grades held decide preference at counselling — but the commission conducts no test.
3,935 as notified on 25 April 2025, rising to 4,662 after Addendum 7B and 5,307 after Addendum 7C — 2,216 Junior Assistants, 1,598 Typists, 412 Steno-Typists, 218 Village Administrative Officers, 239 Junior Revenue Inspectors, 278 forest posts and clerical posts across the boards and corporations. The notification calls the figures tentative until counselling.
For the ministerial posts, reckoned as on 1 July 2025: 18 to 32 for general candidates; 18 to 34 or 37 by community for reserved candidates, with no maximum at all for a reserved candidate holding a qualification above SSLC. The Village Administrative Officer and forest posts start at 21 and carry a fixed ceiling — 42 for reserved VAO candidates — with no higher-qualification relaxation.
One-time registration ₹150 valid five years, and an examination fee of ₹100. SC, SC(A), ST, disabled and destitute-widow candidates are fully exempt from the examination fee; BC, BC(M), MBC and DC candidates have three free chances and ex-servicemen two.
Yes, every cycle. The papers with final keys for 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025 are on the commission’s answer-keys page, along with the standalone VAO papers of 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Yes, since 2017. The VAO is post code 2025 in the Group 4 combined examination — 218 posts in the 2025 cycle — with the same paper, fee and syllabus as the ministerial posts but its own age band: a minimum of 21 and a ceiling of 42 for reserved communities with no higher-qualification relaxation.
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.
