Everything on this page comes from APPSC's Notification No. 07/2026 for Group-I Services: the brief notification of 15 September 2026 and the detailed notification of 6 October 2026. Check psc.ap.gov.in for corrigenda before you rely on a date.
Key dates
| Event | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Brief notification | 15-09-2026 | Brief notification and web note |
| Detailed notification | 06-10-2026 | Web note of 06-10-2026 |
| Online applications | 06-10-2026 to 27-10-2026, 11:59 PM | Web note of 06-10-2026 |
| OTPR update compulsory | From 30-09-2026 | OTPR web note of 29-09-2026 |
| Screening Test (offline OMR) | 24-01-2027 | Detailed notification, para 1.7 |
| Mains (descriptive) | To be announced | Detailed notification |
Vacancies: 163 or 166?
The brief notification and the 15-09-2026 web note said 163 posts. The vacancy table in the detailed notification of 06-10-2026 totals 166, including 5 carried-forward (CF) vacancies. The detailed notification is the later and controlling document.
| Code | Post | Posts | Pay scale (Rs) | Age (01-07-2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Deputy Collector | 12 | 61,960ā1,51,370 | 18ā44 |
| 02 | Assistant Commissioner of State Tax | 14 | 61,960ā1,51,370 | 18ā44 |
| 03 | Deputy Superintendent of Police (Civil) Cat-2 | 36 (3 CF) | 61,960ā1,51,370 | 21ā30 |
| 04 | DSP (Communications) | 3 | 61,960ā1,51,370 | 18ā30 |
| 05 | District Educational Officer | 14 | 61,960ā1,51,370 | 18ā44 |
| 06 | Regional Transport Officer | 3 | 57,100ā1,47,760 | 18ā44 |
| 07 | District Tribal Welfare Officer | 1 | 57,100ā1,47,760 | 18ā44 |
| 08 | Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Service | 16 (1 CF) | 57,100ā1,47,760 | 18ā44 |
| 09 | Municipal Commissioner Grade-II | 12 | 54,060ā1,40,540 | 18ā44 |
| 10 | Assistant Treasury Officer / Assistant Accounts Officer | 2 | 54,060ā1,40,540 | 18ā44 |
| 11 | District Employment Officer | 3 (1 CF) | 54,060ā1,40,540 | 18ā44 |
| 12 | Assistant Audit Officer | 15 | 54,060ā1,40,540 | 18ā44 |
| 13 | Divisional Development Officer | 35 | 65,360ā1,54,980 | 18ā44 |
| Total | 166 |
Community, zone and multi-zone breakdowns are in Annexure-I of the notification.
Reading the table (our arithmetic): DSP (Civil) with 36 and Divisional Development Officer with 35 together make 71 posts, about 43% of the 166. At the other end, District Tribal Welfare Officer (1), ATO/AAO (2), RTO (3), District Employment Officer (3) and DSP Communications (3) have very few. Since both DSP posts cap the age at 30, candidates over 30 compete for the remaining 127 posts.
Stages at a glance
| Stage | Mode | Counts in final merit? |
|---|---|---|
| Screening Test | Offline OMR, 2 objective papers | No, shortlisting only |
| Mains | Descriptive, 7 papers (2 qualifying) | Yes, 750 marks |
| Interview | 1:2 ratio | Yes, 75 marks |
Screening Test (prelims)
| Paper | Parts | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper-I General Studies | A History and Culture; B Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations; C Indian and AP Economy and Planning; D Geography (30 marks each) | 120 | 120 | 120 minutes |
| Paper-II General Aptitude | A General Mental Ability, Administrative and Psychological Abilities (60); B(i) Science and Technology (30); B(ii) Current events (30) | 120 | 120 | 120 minutes |
- Objective, degree standard, answered on an OMR sheet.
- Negative marking: 1/3 of a mark for each wrong answer (G.O.Ms.No.235 Finance, 06-12-2016).
- The paper is set in English and translated into Telugu. If the two differ, the English version is authentic.
- Shortlisting for Mains: 50 times the number of vacancies, irrespective of community (para 15.1).
How the marks split inside each paper
| Paper | Block | Marks | Share of the paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper-I | Each of the four parts (A, B, C, D) | 30 | 25% |
| Paper-II | A: Mental Ability, Administrative and Psychological Abilities | 60 | 50% |
| Paper-II | B(i): Science and Technology | 30 | 25% |
| Paper-II | B(ii): Current events | 30 | 25% |
Half of Paper-II is reasoning, arithmetic, data interpretation and the emotional and social intelligence topics. That is the single largest block in the whole Screening Test, and it rewards steady timed practice more than reading.
Mains
Every Mains paper is descriptive, 150 marks and 180 minutes.
| Paper | Subject | Marks | Counted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | Telugu | 150 | No (must qualify) |
| Qualifying | English | 150 | No (must qualify) |
| Paper-I | General Essay on contemporary themes of regional, national and international importance | 150 | Yes |
| Paper-II | History, Culture and Geography of India and Andhra Pradesh | 150 | Yes |
| Paper-III | Polity, Constitution, Governance, Law and Ethics | 150 | Yes |
| Paper-IV | Economy and Development of India and Andhra Pradesh | 150 | Yes |
| Paper-V | Science, Technology and Environmental Issues | 150 | Yes |
| Written total | 750 |
- The essay paper has three essays, one from each of three sections (current affairs; socio-political, economic and environmental issues; cultural, historical and reflective topics).
- Medium for Papers I to V: English, Telugu or Urdu, but one medium for all five papers.
- Answer scripts may be evaluated digitally or conventionally. In digital evaluation the scanned script is read on screen, so clear handwriting, dark ink and neat margins matter even more (our suggestion).
Interview and total marks
| Component | Marks |
|---|---|
| Mains Papers IāV | 750 |
| Interview (1:2 ratio) | 75 |
| Total | 825 |
Screening Test marks are not part of the 825, so everyone shortlisted starts Mains level. Interview calls are at 1:2, two candidates per post: about 332 for 166 posts (our arithmetic).
Qualifying standards
| Category | Telugu and English papers (each) | Minimum aggregate |
|---|---|---|
| OC, Sports, EWS | 40% | 40% |
| BC | 35% | 35% |
| SC, ST, PBD | 30% | 30% |
These are floors, not cut-offs. See cut-off.
Eligibility points that affect your attempt
- Age (as on 01-07-2026): 18ā44 for most posts (G.O.Ms.No.187 of 14-09-2026); DSP (Civil) 21ā30 and DSP (Communications) 18ā30 (G.O.Ms.No.188). SC, ST, BC and EWS get 5 more years; ex-servicemen get length of service plus 3 years; AP state government employees and others as per Rule 12 of the APS&SS Rules, 1996.
- OTPR: compulsory. APPSC's web note of 29-09-2026 requires every applicant to update OTPR particulars from 30-09-2026, under Para 7 of G.O.Ms.No.45 GA (SPF&MC) dated 20-04-2026, because OTPR now records district, zone and multi-zone based on study and residence. Name, date of birth, community and age-relaxation details are pre-filled from OTPR and cannot be altered later. OTPR is not itself an application.
- Local reservation: the AP Presidential Order 2025 (G.O.Ms.No.45) applies, under which 95% of posts in a local cadre are reserved for local candidates and 5% are open.
- Fee: Rs.250 application processing fee plus an examination fee. The exam-fee amount is not legible in the notification text we checked, so read it on the application form. SC, ST, BC, PBD, ex-servicemen, white-card families and unemployed youth (G.O.439 of 1996) are exempt from the exam fee. Each correction costs Rs.100, and objections to the key cost Rs.100 per question.
How to apply, step by step
- Update your OTPR first. Log in at psc.ap.gov.in and update the district, zone and multi-zone particulars that the 29-09-2026 web note asks for. False particulars lead to rejection.
- Check the details that carry over. Name, date of birth, community, fee exemption and age relaxation are pulled from OTPR into the application and cannot be edited afterwards.
- Apply between 06-10-2026 and 27-10-2026 (11:59 PM). Choose your posts carefully: age limits differ for the two DSP posts.
- Pay the fee (Rs.250 processing plus the exam fee, unless exempt) and keep the payment reference.
- Download the hall ticket for the 24-01-2027 Screening Test when APPSC releases it.
On the day of the OMR test
The Screening Test is an offline OMR test. These are our suggestions; follow the official instructions printed with the hall ticket and on the question booklet:
- Take mocks on an OMR sheet too: bubbling time comes out of the same 120 minutes.
- Bubble after every 30 questions or so rather than all at the end.
- If the Telugu translation of a question is unclear, read the English; the English version is authentic.
What changed from the 2023 cycle
The paper scheme is the same as Notification 12/2023: 120 + 120 screening and 5 x 150 Mains plus a 75-mark interview. What is new: the Presidential Order 2025 local rule, higher age limits (44, and 30 for DSP), a fixed Screening Test date of 24-01-2027, and the 50x shortlist written into the notification.
What this means for your attempt strategy
Our arithmetic from the marking scheme, not APPSC advice:
- Break-even for guessing: a right answer gives +1 and a wrong one ā1/3, so an attempt adds marks on average once your chance of being right is above 25%. Guess only after eliminating at least one option.
- Time: 120 questions in 120 minutes is 60 seconds a question in each paper.
- Weight of Mains: each counted paper is about 18% of the 825 total; the interview is about 9%. The written papers decide most of the final rank.
- Qualifying papers: the Telugu and English papers add nothing to your total, but failing one ends your attempt. Do not leave them to the last week.
- Shortlist size: with 50 candidates per vacancy, the Screening Test is a ranking exercise, not a pass mark. Your aim is to finish inside the top 8,300 or so (on 166 posts), so accuracy across both papers matters more than a perfect score in one.
Plan around these numbers in our preparation strategy. Full topic lists are on the syllabus page.
Related: Syllabus Ā· Cut-off Ā· Preparation strategy