Popular searches
Tamil Nadu · Government Exams
The Village Administrative Officer is the revenue department’s officer in the village — the keeper of its land records, the issuer of its certificates, the first point of contact for its people with the state. Tamil Nadu has recruited to the post through the Group 4 combined examination since 2017; the standalone VAO examinations of 2012, 2014 and 2016 were the last of their kind.
That matters for what a VAO aspirant has to know. The paper, the fee, the syllabus, the Tamil gate and the blank-answer rule are Group 4’s. What is particular to the VAO is the age band — a minimum of 21 where the ministerial posts start at 18, a ceiling of 42 for reserved communities where the ministerial posts have none, and no relaxation for a higher qualification — and the district-wise allotment of a post that is, in the end, a village.
Village Administrative Officer · 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
218 posts in the 2025 cycle, now in counselling; no window open; the planner’s next Group 4 date is 6 October 2026
TNPSC Group 4 — the Combined Civil Services Examination-IV, post code 2025
A pass in SSLC — the same as Junior Assistant; no degree, no typewriting
21 to 32 for general candidates; 21 to 42 for reserved communities, with no higher-qualification relaxation
Notification
Checked 11 September 2026. The VAO was last notified inside Group 4 Notification No. 07/2025 of 25 April 2025 — 215 posts, revised to 218 by Addendum 7B — examined on 12 July 2025 and now in the counselling phases that began in December 2025 and ran through July 2026. No final selection list had been published and no window is open. The commission’s planner puts the next Group 4 notification on 6 October 2026 and the examination on 20 December, both tentative; the VAO will be inside it if the revenue department reports vacancies.
| Notification | VAO posts | Examination | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07/2025, 25 April 2025 | 215, revised to 218 | 12 July 2025 | Counselling through 2026; district-wise distribution in Addendum 7B |
| 01/2024 | As notified | 9 June 2024 | Same paper shape — 200 questions, 300 marks, 60 in Part A, 90 to qualify |
| 07/2022 | As notified | 24 July 2022 | Carried VAO-only clauses — cash security and village residence — since dropped |
| 19/2019; 23/2017 | As notified | 2019; 2018 | The first combined cycles |
| Standalone VAO | — | 2012, 2014, 2016 | The last VAO examinations of their own; papers in the archive |
Overview
The VAO sits at the base of the revenue administration. The post keeps the village’s land and revenue records, issues the certificates a resident needs from the state, reports to the tahsildar, and is the officer through whom relief, welfare and revenue collection reach the village. It is in the Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service at pay level 8, and it is recruited district by district.
Until 2016 the commission notified it on its own. From Notification 23/2017 it has been a post code inside the Group 4 combined examination — 215 posts in the April 2025 notification, 218 after the September addendum — sharing one paper and one merit list with Junior Assistant, Typist, Junior Revenue Inspector and the rest. A candidate does not apply for the VAO; a candidate applies for Group 4 and ranks the VAO among their preferences at counselling, where posts are allotted by rank and the district distribution the addenda publish.
There is no VAO examination, syllabus or paper distinct from Group 4. A candidate who wants the post prepares the Group 4 paper — Tamil as half of it, general studies and aptitude as the other half — clears the Tamil gate, scores high enough for the district’s cut-off in their category, and places the VAO at the top of their preferences at counselling. The competition is the whole Group 4 field, allotted district by district.
Eligibility
| Requirement | Village Administrative Officer | Junior Assistant and the ministerial posts |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification | A pass in SSLC of Tamil Nadu, or the open-school tenth | The same |
| Minimum age | 21 | 18 |
| Maximum age — general | 32 | 32 |
| Maximum age — SC, SC(A), ST, BC, BC(M), MBC and DC | 42, fixed | 34 or 37 — and no maximum with a qualification above SSLC |
| Persons with benchmark disability | 42 general; 52 reserved | 42 general; 44 to 47 reserved |
| Destitute widows | 37 general; 42 reserved; no higher-qualification relaxation | 37, and no maximum with a higher qualification |
| Ex-servicemen | 50 general; 55 reserved | The same |
| Fee | One-time registration ₹150; examination ₹100; the same exemptions | The same |
Paragraph 4.1.3 of the notification and paragraph 5A of the commission’s instructions to applicants remove the maximum age for reserved-community candidates who hold a qualification above SSLC — and both say in terms that this does not apply to the Village Administrative Officer or the forest posts. Addendum 7A extended the same relaxation to destitute widows of the general category with the same exclusion. A 43-year-old graduate from a reserved community is eligible for Junior Assistant and not for the VAO.
Selection process
Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.
| Stage | Format | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| The Group 4 written examination | Objective, OMR, single paper | Tamil 100 questions for 150 marks with a gate at 60, then general studies 75 and aptitude 25 for 150 marks. Three hours. Ninety to qualify. One merit list for every Group 4 post. |
| Onscreen certificate verification | Documents, uploaded | The VAO is verified in the same group as Junior Assistant — three candidates per vacancy for general candidates, two for reserved communities. SSLC, age, community and Tamil evidence. |
| Physical verification and counselling | By rank, preference and district | At three per vacancy and one and a half for reserved communities. The VAO is allotted by rank against the district-wise vacancies and sub-quotas the addenda publish, to candidates who have ranked it. |
| Appointment | To a district, at pay level 8 | A physical fitness certificate and vision of Standard III or better are required, as for every Group 4 post. The 2022 notification’s cash security and village-residence clauses no longer appear. |
Exam pattern
The VAO has no paper of its own. The examination is the Group 4 paper, set out in full on the Group 4 page; the summary below is here so that a reader arriving at this page sees what the examination is before ranking the post.
| Part | Content | Questions | Marks | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part A | Tamil at SSLC standard | 100 | 150 | 60 required for Parts B and C to be marked |
| Part B | General studies at SSLC standard | 75 | 150 together | — |
| Part C | Aptitude and mental ability | 25 | — | |
| Total | Three hours | 200 | 300 | 90 to qualify |
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.
Sources
Checked 11 September 2026. The VAO’s post code, vacancies, qualification and age band are quoted from Group 4 Notification No. 07/2025, Addendum 7A and Addendum 7B; the exclusion from the higher-qualification relaxation from the notification and the commission’s instructions to applicants; the dropped 2022 clauses from Notification 07/2022. The commission publishes the Group 4 paper and key for every cycle and the standalone VAO papers of 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Group 4 Notification No. 07/2025 Addendum 7A — age clauses and the blank-answer rule Addendum 7B — VAO posts revised; district-wise distribution Instructions to applicants — paragraph 5A Group 4 Notification No. 07/2022 — the last with VAO-specific clauses Group 4 Notification No. 01/2024 Objective papers with final keys — Group 4 and standalone VAO TNPSC annual planner
Exam resources
Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.
Questions
Not since 2016. The Village Administrative Officer has been recruited through the TNPSC Group 4 combined examination since Notification 23/2017, as post code 2025, with the same paper, fee and syllabus as Junior Assistant, Typist and the other Group 4 posts. A candidate applies for Group 4 and ranks the VAO among their preferences at counselling.
The commission’s planner puts the next Group 4 notification on 6 October 2026 and the examination on 20 December 2026, both tentative. The VAO will be inside it if the revenue department reports vacancies. As at 11 September 2026 no window was open and the 2025 cycle — 218 VAO posts — was in counselling.
In the 2025 cycle, reckoned as on 1 July 2025: 21 to 32 for general candidates and 21 to 42 for SC, SC(A), ST, BC, BC(M), MBC and DC candidates. Unlike the ministerial posts, the VAO gives reserved-community candidates no exemption from the maximum age for holding a higher qualification, and the same exclusion applies to destitute widows. Persons with benchmark disability may apply to 42 or 52; ex-servicemen to 50 or 55.
A pass in the SSLC of Tamil Nadu or the open-school tenth — the minimum general educational qualification, the same as Junior Assistant. No degree and no typewriting. Adequate knowledge of Tamil must be shown or the Second Class Language Test passed within two years of appointment.
The Group 4 paper: 200 objective questions for 300 marks in three hours — Tamil at SSLC standard, 100 questions for 150 marks with a gate at 60; general studies 75 and aptitude 25 for 150 marks. Ninety of 300 qualifies. No deduction for a wrong answer; half a mark off for each blank. One merit list with the other Group 4 posts, then district-wise allotment.
215 as notified on 25 April 2025, revised to 218 by Addendum 7B of 26 September, listed district by district under the revenue administration with category, Tamil-medium and destitute-widow sub-quotas.
The 2022 Group 4 notification required a cash security of ₹2,000 — reduced or waived by community — and that the officer reside in the village under charge. Neither clause appears in the 2024 or 2025 notifications.
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.
