APPSC does not publish a Group-I cut-off in advance. It releases results and marks as web notes under each notification after every stage. This page has no official previous-cycle cut-off figures: we did not find any that we could verify against an APPSC document, so we have not quoted any. Instead it explains, from Notification No. 07/2026, exactly how candidates are filtered at each stage. That tells you what you are competing against.
How Group-I selection works
| Stage | Filter | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Screening Test | Shortlisting at 50 x vacancies, irrespective of community | Para 15.1 |
| Mains: Telugu and English papers | Must reach the qualifying percentage in each | Annexure-II |
| Mains: Papers I–V (750 marks) | Minimum aggregate qualifying percentage, then rank | Annexure-II |
| Interview (75 marks) | Called at 1:2 | Annexure-II |
| Final selection | Merit on 825 marks, by post, category and local cadre | Notification |
So there are really three cut-offs in each cycle: the Screening shortlisting mark, the Mains mark for the interview call, and the final mark for each post and category.
Three cut-offs, three different targets
| Stage | What you must clear | What to measure in practice (our suggestion) |
|---|---|---|
| Screening | A place in the 50x list | Mock percentile, in both papers |
| Mains | Qualifying floors + the interview-call mark | Timed answer quality; a safe margin in Telugu and English |
| Final | Last-selected mark for your post, category and local cadre | Total out of 750; interview readiness |
Each stage has a different target, so measure all three separately rather than chasing a single "cut-off number".
Shortlisting arithmetic
Our arithmetic from para 15.1 and the vacancy table:
| Vacancy figure | 50x Mains shortlist | 1:2 interview call |
|---|---|---|
| 166 (detailed notification, 06-10-2026) | 8,300 | about 332 |
| 163 (brief notification, 15-09-2026) | 8,150 | about 326 |
The detailed notification is the later document, so use 166 unless APPSC issues a corrigendum. The final interview count can differ slightly because calls are made post-wise and category-wise.
Qualifying minimums
| Category | Telugu and English papers (each) | Minimum aggregate |
|---|---|---|
| OC, Sports, EWS | 40% | 40% |
| BC | 35% | 35% |
| SC, ST, PBD | 30% | 30% |
On a 150-mark paper, 40% is 60 marks, 35% is 52.5 and 30% is 45 (arithmetic). These floors decide who is eligible; the actual cut-off for each post is set by competition and is usually well above the floor in a competitive exam. Note that the Telugu and English papers are qualifying only: a high score in them does not raise your rank, but missing the floor removes you.
2026 vacancies by post
Cut-offs are post-wise, so the number of posts in each line matters. From the detailed notification:
| Post | Posts |
|---|---|
| Deputy Collector | 12 |
| Assistant Commissioner of State Tax | 14 |
| DSP (Civil) Cat-2 | 36 (3 carried forward) |
| DSP (Communications) | 3 |
| District Educational Officer | 14 |
| Regional Transport Officer | 3 |
| District Tribal Welfare Officer | 1 |
| Deputy Registrar, Co-operative | 16 (1 carried forward) |
| Municipal Commissioner Grade-II | 12 |
| Assistant Treasury Officer / Assistant Accounts Officer | 2 |
| District Employment Officer | 3 (1 carried forward) |
| Assistant Audit Officer | 15 |
| Divisional Development Officer | 35 |
| Total | 166 |
Posts with one to three vacancies (RTO, District Tribal Welfare Officer, ATO/AAO, District Employment Officer, DSP Communications) will typically have the steepest post-wise cut-offs once split by category and local cadre. Posts with 30 or more (DSP Civil, Divisional Development Officer) leave more room. This is a general feature of post-wise selection, not an APPSC statement.
The 2026 local-cadre rule
This cycle is the first Group-I under the AP Presidential Order 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.45, GA (SPF&MC), 20-04-2026), with 95% of posts in a local cadre reserved for local candidates and 5% open. That is why APPSC made every applicant update OTPR district, zone and multi-zone details from 30-09-2026. Because the local split has changed, cut-offs from earlier cycles, even where you can find them, are a weaker guide for 2026 than usual.
What moves each of the three cut-offs
This is our explanation of how such cut-offs behave in general, not an APPSC statement.
Screening shortlist mark. The shortlist is a fixed count (50 x vacancies), so the mark is set by how many candidates sit the test and how hard the two papers are. A tough Paper-II pulls everyone down together, so the shortlist mark falls; it does not mean fewer people qualify. The 1/3 negative marking also lowers raw scores across the board compared with an exam without a penalty.
Mains interview-call mark. Mains is descriptive and evaluated by examiners, digitally or conventionally. The call list is made at 1:2 by post and category, so a candidate in a category or local cadre with few posts faces a steeper mark than one competing for 35 Divisional Development Officer posts.
Final mark. The final rank adds the 75-mark interview to the 750 written marks. Because the interview is only about 9% of 825, a strong written score usually decides the outcome, but in a close race the interview can reorder ranks within a post.
Common misreadings
- "Qualifying marks are the cut-off." They are not. 40%, 35% and 30% are the minimums for eligibility. The selection mark for a post is whatever the last selected candidate scored.
- "One cut-off for all of Group-I." There is none. Selection is post-wise, by community and by local cadre, so there are dozens of last-selected marks in one cycle.
- "Telugu and English papers boost my rank." They do not count in the 825. They only have to be cleared.
- "Screening marks carry into the final." They do not. Once you are in the 50x list, everyone starts Mains level.
- "Last cycle's cut-off is this cycle's target." With a new local-cadre rule, new age limits (44, and 30 for DSP) and a different number of posts in each line, old figures are a weak guide even where they exist.
Where APPSC publishes results and marks
- Results and web notes: posted under each notification on the APPSC site. Start from the recruitment notifications page and psc.ap.gov.in.
- Screening Test key: APPSC publishes a preliminary key after the test; objections cost Rs.100 per question under Notification 07/2026.
- What to look for: the Screening result note (list of candidates shortlisted for Mains), the Mains result (interview list), 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 comes
When APPSC releases a result, check these in order (our checklist):
- Hall-ticket numbers only, or marks too? Shortlist notes sometimes list numbers without marks. If marks are given, note which stage they belong to.
- How many were picked? Divide the count by the vacancies to see how the 50x rule was applied.
- Your category and local-cadre line. An overall average tells you little; read your own line.
- Check your score against the final key. If the final key differs from the preliminary one, your estimate changes.
- Dates for the next stage. The Mains or interview schedule may come as a separate note.
Know your category and local status exactly
Cut-offs apply by category and local cadre, so you need to know which line you are in. Community and age-relaxation details flow from OTPR into the application and cannot be changed later. Enter your district, zone and multi-zone correctly in OTPR, based on study and residence; APPSC warns that false particulars lead to rejection. The notification's certificate formats include a local status certificate, a school study certificate and a certificate of residence; have the ones you need ready.
How to set your own target
Without official cut-offs, set targets from data you control:
- Take full-length screening mocks in the real format (2 papers x 120 questions, 1/3 negative) and track your percentile, not just your marks. A percentile tells you whether you would be inside a 50x shortlist.
- Aim to be safely inside the shortlist in both papers. A weak Paper-II (half of it is reasoning and arithmetic) is the most common way strong GS readers lose rank.
- For Mains, measure against the floor first: make sure you are comfortably above 40% in the Telugu and English papers before polishing the counted papers.
- Write timed answers early. Each Mains paper is 150 marks in 180 minutes. Practise full-length answer sets under that clock and have someone strict mark them; descriptive marks are harder to predict than OMR marks, so build a margin.
- Re-check the vacancy table before Mains. If APPSC adds or withdraws posts by corrigendum, the shortlist and interview numbers above change with it.
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 Screening, Mains or final cut-off marks for Notification 12/2023 or earlier cycles.
- Post-wise or category-wise last-selected marks.
- Category-wise or local-cadre-wise vacancy counts (they are in Annexure-I of the notification; read them there for your own category).
- Any forecast for 2026. We will add official figures with their source when APPSC releases them.
Related: Syllabus · Exam pattern · Preparation strategy