APPSC does not announce a Forest Beat Officer cut-off in advance; it releases results and marks as web notes under each notification. This page has no official previous-cycle cut-off figures: we did not find any that we could verify against an APPSC document. Instead it sets out how candidates are filtered in 2026, from brief Notification No. 18/2026 (15 September 2026), with the 2025 detailed notification where 2026 details are still awaited.
How FBO selection works in 2026
| Step | Filter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Application | Intermediate or equivalent; age and physical standards per detailed notification | Notification 18/2026 |
| Qualifying essay | Must qualify; 50 marks not counted | Scheme annexure |
| Paper-I + Paper-II (CBRT) | Merit on 200 marks, after normalisation if multi-session; 1/3 negative marking | Scheme annexure, para 6 |
| Walking test + medical | Called at 1:2 of vacancies; qualifying | Scheme annexure, N.B. 1 |
| Final selection | Merit among those who pass, by community and local rules | Detailed notification |
So the cut-offs that matter are the written merit mark for the 1:2 list and the final last-selected marks, which under reservation differ by community. The essay, walking test and medical are pass-or-fail.
A different target at each step
| Step | What you must clear | What to measure in practice (our suggestion) |
|---|---|---|
| Essay | The qualifying mark (in the detailed notification) | One 45-minute essay a week, strictly marked |
| Paper-I + II | A place in the 1:2 list | Mock percentile; maths and science scores |
| Walk and medical | The standards | A full-distance walk within the time |
| Final selection | The last-selected mark in your line | Total out of 200; bonus certificates |
Measure all four separately rather than chasing one "cut-off number"; failing any one wastes the rest.
The numbers that shape competition
| Item | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Posts | 23 |
| Called for walking test and medical (1:2) | about 46 (our arithmetic) |
| Merit total | 200 (Paper-I 100 + Paper-II 100) |
| Penalty per wrong answer | 1/3 of the question's marks |
23 posts split by community and by local cadre leaves only one or a few posts in many lines. Small lines tend to have the steepest marks, because one strong candidate can take the only post. That is a general feature of small recruitments, not an APPSC statement.
Why 2025 figures would be a weak guide
| 2025 (Notification 06/2025) | 2026 (Notification 18/2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stages | Screening Test (75 + 75 = 150, 1/3 negative), then Main | Single-level exam only |
| Who sits the merit papers | Only those who cleared screening | Every eligible applicant |
| Mode | As notified in 2025 | Online CBRT, normalisation if multi-session |
In 2025 the main exam was taken by a filtered group. In 2026 everyone sits the merit papers directly, and if there are several sessions the published marks will be normalised scores, not raw scores. Any 2025 figure you find would come from a different structure. The new local-cadre rules under the AP Presidential Order 2025 also change who competes for which post.
Walking test and medical: the hurdles after the written exam
From the 2025 detailed notification (expected to carry over; confirm in 2026's):
| Standard | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Walking test | 25 km in 4 hours | 16 km in 4 hours |
| Height | 163 cm or more | 150 cm or more |
| Chest | 84 cm or more, 5 cm expansion | 79 cm or more, 5 cm expansion |
Height is relaxable by 5 cm for STs and hill communities. Because only twice the number of vacancies are called, anyone who fails the walk or the medical is not replaced from far down the list in the same round. Train for the walk before the written result, not after.
NCC bonus
The 2025 notification added bonus marks for NCC certificates: C = 5, B = 3, A = 1. On a 200-mark merit list where ranks can be close, 5 marks can move you many places. If APPSC keeps this in 2026, keep the certificate ready.
What one mark is worth in a small recruitment
With 23 posts and about 46 calls, ranks can be separated by a mark or two. Our arithmetic: three wrong blind guesses cancel one correct answer (3 × 1/3 = 1), and a 5-mark NCC C bonus (if the 2025 rule continues) equals five correct answers. So:
- Accuracy comes first; leaving an unknown question is a strategy too.
- Careless errors on easy questions are the most expensive; count them separately in mocks.
- If you qualify for a bonus, read in the detailed notification how to claim it and keep the certificate ready for verification.
What moves the written cut-off
Our explanation of how such cut-offs generally behave, not an APPSC statement:
- Number of applicants. With no screening round, every eligible applicant sits Paper-I and Paper-II. A larger field for the same 23 posts pushes the 1:2 mark up.
- Paper difficulty. A hard Paper-II maths section pulls everyone's score down together. The cut-off falls, but your rank relative to others is what decides selection.
- Negative marking. The 1/3 penalty lowers raw scores for candidates who guess heavily, so the marks needed are usually below what an error-free attempt would suggest.
- Normalisation. If the CBRT runs in several sessions, APPSC adjusts scores so that candidates in a harder session are not disadvantaged. The published marks will then be normalised marks, and a raw score from your own answer key will not match them exactly.
- Community and local splits. Each community line, and each local cadre where applicable, has its own last-selected mark.
Common misreadings
- "The essay marks add to my total." They do not. 50 marks, qualifying only.
- "Passing the walking test improves my rank." It does not. It is qualifying; the merit list is the written score (plus any bonus marks the notification allows, such as the NCC bonus in 2025).
- "There is a screening cut-off to clear first." Not in 2026. Brief Notification 18/2026 says no screening test will be held, whatever the number of applications.
- "One cut-off for all candidates." No. There is a separate last-selected mark for each community line, and with 23 posts some lines have very few seats.
- "Last year's marks are this year's target." The 2025 structure was different (screening plus main), so even an official 2025 figure would not transfer directly.
Where APPSC publishes results
- Results and web notes: posted under the notification on the APPSC site. Start at the recruitment notifications page or psc.ap.gov.in.
- What to watch for: the key after the CBRT, the list of candidates called for the walking test and medical, and the final selection list. When APPSC publishes marks with these, we will add them here with the source PDF.
Reading the result note when it arrives
When APPSC publishes the written result, check these points in order (our checklist):
- Is it a list of hall-ticket numbers only, or marks too? Shortlist notes sometimes list numbers without marks. If marks are given, note whether they are raw or normalised.
- Which ratio was used? The brief says 1:2 for the walking test and medical. If the note mentions a different ratio for some lines, that line's vacancies changed.
- Community and local-cadre lines. Find your own line; a general average tells you little.
- Bonus marks. If NCC or other bonus marks were added, the note should say so.
- Dates for the walking test and medical. The Forest Department arranges them with APPSC's concurrence, so the schedule may come in a separate note. Keep training until both are done, and keep your certificates and medical papers ready for verification.
Know your category and local status exactly
The last-selected mark applies by community and local cadre, so know your line. APPSC's web note of 29-09-2026 makes an OTPR update compulsory from 30-09-2026 before any APPSC application; under the Presidential Order 2025 it records district and zone based on study and residence, and false particulars lead to rejection. The community-wise breakup of the 23 posts will be in the detailed notification; check how many posts your line has once it is out.
After the result
- If you are in the 1:2 list: watch the site for walking-test and medical dates, keep training, and ready your Intermediate, community and NCC (if any) certificates with copies.
- If you are not: use your mock-analysis log to see where marks were lost. Watch the APPSC site for the next forest notification and start preparing from that log. Note that Forest Section Officer (17/2026) and other forest posts in this batch take applications in the same window, so if you are eligible, consider applying to them now rather than later.
- Either way: do not act on "expected cut-offs" from other websites; rely on the official note.
How to set your own target
Without official figures, use data you control:
- Take full-length mocks in the real format: 100 + 100 questions, 100 minutes each, on screen, with the 1/3 penalty. Track your percentile across a cohort, not only raw marks.
- Close the maths gap. General Mathematics is 50 marks of SSC-level problems; it is the block where scores spread most between candidates.
- Do not neglect the essay. It is pass-or-fail: a strong objective score is wasted if the essay fails.
- Plan for the walk. It is the last hurdle and the one most under your control.
Mock tests and topic practice on Pareeksha are Pro; the 10-question mini-mock and Daily Dangal are free. See the preparation strategy.
What this page does not have
- Official cut-off or last-selected marks for FBO 2025 or earlier cycles.
- The 2026 age limits, fee, and community-wise breakup of the 23 posts (due in the detailed notification).
- Any forecast. We will add official figures with their source when APPSC releases them.
Related: Syllabus · Exam pattern · Preparation strategy