AP VRO and VRA: Job Chart, Exam Pattern and Recruitment Status as on October 2026

Few Andhra Pradesh posts are described as loosely as the Village Revenue Officer (VRO) and the Village Revenue Assistant (VRA). Websites often mix up three different things: the grade of the post, the department that recruits, and the name of the village office where the officer sits. This guide separates them using official documents: the Revenue Department's job chart for the VRO (a 2019 order), the Revenue Department's 2020 recruitment notification for VRO Grade-II, and the Gazette text of the 2026 law that renamed the village secretariats.

The short version, as on October 2026: the VRO Grade-II is a Revenue Department functionary who works from the village office that is now called Swarna Gramam; the last full recruitment notification we could read officially was issued in 2020; and neither the APPSC recruitment list nor the CCLA notifications page showed a VRO or VRA notification when we looked on 7 October 2026. Anything you read that gives a fresh vacancy number should be checked against those two official pages.

1. The revenue ladder in one paragraph

The Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA) heads the revenue, survey, settlement and land records administration of the State and supervises the Collectors. The CCLA's own "About" page describes its service role as covering Revenue employees "right from Village Revenue Assistant to Spl. Grade Deputy Collectors", which places the VRA at the first rung. In the field, the order runs from the village to the mandal to the revenue division to the district: Village Revenue Officer, Tahsildar, Revenue Divisional Officer (Sub-Collector), Joint Collector and Collector. The Tahsildar, RDO, Joint Collector and Collector exercise quasi-judicial powers under various revenue Acts, and the VRO is the person who gathers the facts at the village level that those officers act on.

For the broader structure of local government and the district line, read the polity and Panchayati Raj notes.

2. Two names you must not confuse: VRO and the village secretariat

In 2019 the government set up village secretariats and ward secretariats across the State. The recital of the 2026 Ordinance refers to 15,004 village and ward secretariats established under G.O.Ms.No.110 (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, 19 July 2019) and G.O.Ms.No.217 (Municipal Administration and Urban Development, 20 July 2019). A line-department functionary from each of a set of departments was posted to each secretariat. The Revenue Department's functionary was the Village Revenue Officer (Grade-II) in a village, and a Ward Revenue Secretary in a town.

In 2026 the law was amended again. The Andhra Pradesh Grama Sachivalayams and Ward Sachivalayams (GSWS) Act, 2023 (Act 23 of 2023) was amended by Act 17 of 2026, which received the Governor's assent on 2 April 2026, was published in the Gazette on 10 April 2026 and is deemed to have come into force on 13 January 2026. It renamed the village secretariat as "Swarna Gramam" in rural areas and the ward secretariat as "Swarna Wardu" in urban areas, and it renamed the department as the Department of Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu (SGSW). The substituted Section 9 lists the functionaries in two tables. In Table I (Swarna Gramam), serial 7 is "Village Revenue Officer (Grade-II)", whose primary functions are land records, civil supply matters and assisting in the issue of certificates such as caste and income certificates, under the Revenue Department. Serial 8 is the Survey Assistant, who does detailed survey of lands and maintains survey registers. In Table II (Swarna Wardu), serial 7 is the Ward Revenue Secretary with the same revenue functions.

Note 3 to Section 9 is important for exam purposes: functionaries "are governed by the Service Rules issued by the respective Line Departments". A VRO is therefore a revenue employee under revenue service rules, even though the office is a Swarna Gramam. The old phrase "village secretariat" still appears in older orders and in older question papers. Treat "Grama Sachivalayam", "Village Secretariat" and "Swarna Gramam" as the same office under three names across time.

3. What the VRO does: the official job chart

The Revenue (Ser.III) Department fixed the job chart of the Village Revenue Officers (Grade-I and Grade-II) in G.O.Ms.No.415 dated 26 September 2019, on a proposal from the CCLA. It is the best primary source for the duties. In plain language, the functions fall into four groups.

Revenue functions. Maintain village revenue records and all village revenue accounts promptly and accurately, and produce them to senior officers when required. Collect water tax, cesses, taxes and other sums that belong to the Revenue Department. Inspect fields (the order uses the word "azmoish", meaning field inspection, for 100 per cent of fields), including inspection of survey stones twice a year. Protect government lands, tanks, trees and other property, preserve them from encroachment, damage or misuse (including roads, streets and open spaces near the village), and report encroachment to the Tahsildar and follow up. Help the authorities when proceedings are issued under the Revenue Recovery Act by obtaining property details. Hand over all accounts, registers and records to the person authorised if the VRO is transferred, suspended, retires or goes on leave other than casual leave. Issue nativity and solvency certificates within the jurisdiction, following the procedure; for other revenue certificates, enquire and send a report to the competent authority. Report fires, floods, cyclones and other calamities to higher officials and help in assessing loss and providing relief. Inform the railway station master of floods or mishaps that may need urgent action. Inform higher officials about treasure trove, unclaimed property and escheat, conduct a panchanama when recovering unclaimed property and keep attached property in safe custody. Assist in preparing and updating electoral rolls and carry out election duties. Maintain the village chavadi.

Police functions. Assist revenue functionaries in executive magisterial functions, inform the police of suspicious strangers, prevent offences and public nuisance, take measures to bring offenders to justice, search for stolen property, preserve the scene of an offence and take charge of unclaimed property and send it to the police station.

Community welfare and development. Identify beneficiaries, with the help of VRAs and the village and ward volunteers, for house sites and ration cards; report atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and help the victims; work for the removal of untouchability and for access to temples; assist with civil supplies; and coordinate with the Agriculture Assistant on the reconciliation of crops.

Miscellaneous. Perform other duties assigned by the Government, the CCLA, the Collector, the Joint Collector, the RDO, the Tahsildar or any revenue authority; assist in serving legal notices and summons; announce events by beat of drum or other methods; and act as an Inspector under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 when notified.

The order closes with a line worth remembering: every VRO of Grade-I and Grade-II is answerable to the Village and Ward Secretariats. After the 2026 renaming, read that as the Swarna Gramam.

Notice how little of this is "writing". Most of the duties are about facts on the ground: boundaries, crops, encroachments, calamities, certificates. Your preparation should link the syllabus to these tasks.

4. The Village Revenue Assistant

The VRA is the support rung under the VRO. The 2019 job chart mentions VRAs in one place, saying the VRO identifies beneficiaries "with the assistance of V.R.As" and village volunteers. We could not open an official order that sets out the VRA's recruitment qualification, pay or duties in the current year, so this guide does not state them. Older notifications from the CCLA existed, and some websites quote them, but a quote from a different decade is not a reliable guide to a recruitment that may come. If a VRA notification appears, the CCLA website and the Collector's notice for your district will carry it.

One practical point: the VRO Grade-II recruitment in 2020 was a direct recruitment. Service rules can also provide other routes to the same post, and we did not verify those routes, so this guide does not describe them.

5. Recruitment status as on October 2026

Source checked: the APPSC recruitment notifications list and the CCLA notifications page, read on 7 October 2026.

The APPSC list showed notifications 07/2026 to 26/2026, all dated 15 September 2026, covering Group-I, forest posts, welfare posts and others. None of them was for Village Revenue Officer or Village Revenue Assistant. The CCLA notifications page showed items on Deputy Tahsildars' zone allotment, seniority lists of Deputy Collectors, resurvey data collection and printing contracts. It also showed no VRO or VRA recruitment notice. That is a negative result only: we found no notice on those two pages on that date. A line department can publish its own notification, and the former village secretariat portal could not be reached from our connection, so we could not check it.

Some websites in September 2026 reported a large notification for VRO Grade-II, a degree qualification under "G.O.Ms.No.480" and a vacancy figure in the thousands. We could not find any of these on an official page. Until you see the notification on the Revenue Department, the CCLA or APPSC site, treat them as unverified and do not plan around the numbers.

6. The last full notification we can read: 2020

The Revenue Department issued a notification for the post of Village Revenue Officer (Grade-II), with an application window of 11 to 31 January 2020, in the A.P. Village Revenue Officers Service, as amended by G.O.Ms.No.417 Revenue (Ser.III) dated 27 July 2019. It is a useful template for how the process looks, but its numbers belong to 2020.

Feature	2020 notification
Posts	245 notified, with a district table totalling 246 (the notification itself records both figures)
Age	18 to 42 as on 1 July 2020
Applications	Online, 11 to 31 January 2020
Fee	Rs 200 processing fee and Rs 200 examination fee; exam fee exempt for SC, ST, BC, PH and ex-servicemen
Examination	OMR-based objective written test
Marks	150, with 0.25 negative mark per wrong answer
Selection	Merit in the written test; District Selection Committee selects; District Collector appoints

Qualification in 2020. The notification asked for a pass in the Secondary School Certificate examination, and for the National Council of Vocational Training certificate in the Draughtsman (Civil) trade (two years) with Surveying as a subject, from an ITI recognised by the Government of India. Candidates with higher qualification in the same trade were also eligible. The selected candidate had to pass the "Proficiency in Office Automation with usage of Computer and Associated Software" test within six months.

Pay in 2020. The notification states the post carried the scale of Rs 14,600 - 44,870 under the 2015 pay scales, and that the selected candidates would be paid Rs 15,000 per month consolidated for two years, then given the regular scale after satisfactory probation. These figures predate later pay revisions. They tell you the structure, not today's pay slip.

Age relaxation in 2020. Five years for SC, ST and BC; ten years for persons with physical handicap; for ex-servicemen, the length of service plus three years was deducted from age; up to five years for serving State Government employees based on regular service (employees of corporations and local bodies were not eligible); three years for retrenched temporary Census employees; and a higher upper limit of 48 years for certain SC and ST widows, divorced and separated women, and 43 years for others in the same position, for posts of junior assistant or lower.

Other rules in 2020. Each district was a unit of appointment. Government reserved the right to decide cut-off marks. Ties in marks were resolved by age, with the older candidate ranked higher, and then by the earlier date of the qualifying degree or certificate. Appointment was subject to medical fitness. Selected candidates had to reside in the village where they were posted. The answer key and each candidate's marks were to be displayed on the website, and no separate memorandum of marks was issued. Reservations under Rules 22 and 22A of the State and Subordinate Service Rules applied, and local status rules decided which district a candidate could apply for. The Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026 guide gives the wider picture of how reservation and local status work in State recruitment.

7. The 2020 exam scheme and syllabus

Part	Subject	Questions	Minutes	Marks
Part A	General Studies and Mental Ability	50	50	50
Part B	Drawing and Survey	100	100	100
Total		150	150	150

Two thirds of the marks sit in Part B. That one fact should shape your preparation, and many aspirants miss it because they have read generic guides that list only general studies.

Part A has ten heads: general mental ability and reasoning; quantitative aptitude including data interpretation; general English; current affairs of regional, national and international importance; general science and its everyday applications, with contemporary developments in science, technology and information technology; history and culture of India with a focus on Andhra Pradesh; Indian polity and governance (constitutional issues, the 73rd and 74th Amendments, public policy, reforms and Centre-State relations with reference to Andhra Pradesh); society, social justice and rights issues; physical geography of the Indian subcontinent and Andhra Pradesh; and key welfare and development schemes of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Part B, Drawing and Survey, has eight heads:

1. Importance of lettering and numbering, figure sizes and proportions, Indian Standard practice.
2. Construction of plane geometric figures (lines, angles, triangle, rhombus, quadrilaterals, polygon) and orthographic projection as per Indian Standard code.
3. Construction of scales: plain, comparative, diagonal, vernier and scale of chords.
4. Drawing plan and elevation of points, lines, surfaces and solids.
5. Conventional signs and symbols for engineering and building drawings.
6. Drawing and detailing of building elements: brick bonds, stone masonry and joints, foundations, damp-proof course and plinth protection, roof types, flooring, arches and lintels, carpentry joints, doors, windows and ventilators, pitched roofs, steel roof trusses, stairs, a single-storeyed residential house in plan, elevation and section, cross-sections of roads, railway track and embankment, irrigation structures, pipe joints, drainage, manholes, sanitary fittings, rivets and standard steel sections.
7. Surveying of building sites with chain, field-book entries, plotting and calculation of areas.
8. Use of the prismatic compass, handling the levelling instrument, differential levelling, surveying building sites with chain and level, calculation of earthwork, plotting of longitudinal and cross sections, and drawing contours.

If the current notification asks for a different qualification or a different scheme, follow the current notification. But the 2019 amendment and the 2020 scheme are the best evidence we have about what the Revenue Department wants from a village officer: the ability to read, draw and measure land.

8. Worked examples for Part B

Scales. A representative fraction of 1:500 means 1 cm on the drawing is 500 cm on the ground, which is 5 m. A plot 40 m long therefore draws as 8 cm. A plot drawn as 6 cm by 4 cm is 30 m by 20 m on the ground, with an area of 600 square metres.

Area from offsets (trapezoidal rule). A chain line of 40 m has offsets at 10 m intervals of 2.0, 3.5, 4.0, 3.0 and 1.5 m. The trapezoidal rule gives the area as the interval times half the sum of the first and last offsets plus the sum of the others: 10 × [ (2.0 + 1.5)/2 + 3.5 + 4.0 + 3.0 ] = 10 × [1.75 + 10.5] = 122.5 square metres.

Levelling by rise and fall. A backsight of 1.525 m on a benchmark of reduced level 100.000 m is followed by a foresight of 0.945 m to the next point. The difference is 1.525 minus 0.945, which is 0.580 m, a rise, so the reduced level of the next point is 100.580 m. A foresight larger than the backsight gives a fall.

Plan and elevation. A point 30 mm above the horizontal plane and 20 mm in front of the vertical plane appears in the elevation 30 mm above the reference line and in the plan 20 mm below it. Practise placing points in each quadrant until you can state the position without drawing.

Earthwork. A trench 50 m long, 1.2 m wide and 1.5 m deep requires 50 × 1.2 × 1.5 = 90 cubic metres of excavation.

Brick bonds. In English bond, courses of stretchers and headers alternate. In Flemish bond, headers and stretchers alternate within the same course. Learn to sketch both in two courses.

9. Part A: where marks are won quickly

The 50 marks of Part A are the quickest to earn, because one mark takes about a minute. Divide the preparation into three buckets.

State-specific facts. Learn the history, culture, geography and welfare schemes of Andhra Pradesh. Our notes on government schemes, geography and culture and festivals cover the ground. Pay attention to dated facts and put "as on" beside every figure in your notes.

Governance. Be able to explain the 73rd and 74th Amendments, the difference between a gram panchayat and a village secretariat, and the role of revenue officials in disasters. The 29 subjects of the Eleventh Schedule are a frequent source of questions.

Aptitude. The Part A aptitude questions are short. A daily set of ten percentage, ratio and data-interpretation questions in ten minutes is enough to keep speed.

10. A 10-week plan for a VRO-type exam

Weeks	Part B	Part A
1 to 2	Lettering, scales, geometric construction	Aptitude basics, reasoning
3 to 4	Projection, plan and elevation, conventional signs	AP history, geography
5 to 6	Building drawing details; chain survey and offsets	Polity, 73rd and 74th Amendments, schemes
7 to 8	Compass, levelling, contours, earthwork	Current affairs, English
9	Full Part B practice papers	Full Part A sets
10	Three full 150-minute papers	Error log

Part B rewards practice with a pencil. Do not expect to learn drawing from reading alone. Keep a set of drawing instruments and attempt at least two drawings a day.

Common exam traps

• Reading VRO as a "Panchayat" job. The VRO is a Revenue Department functionary under revenue service rules.
• Calling the 2020 pay scale the current scale.
• Assuming the exam is general studies only. In 2020, 100 of 150 marks were from Drawing and Survey.
• Missing the 0.25 negative mark.
• Treating Swarna Gramam as a new post. It is the new name of the village office.
• Mistaking the VRO Grade-I and Grade-II. The 2019 job chart applies to both.
• Believing a vacancy number from a website without an official notice.
• Forgetting the residence rule: selected candidates had to stay in the village where they were posted in 2020.

Key facts for the exam

• Job chart: G.O.Ms.No.415, Revenue (Ser.III) Department, 26 September 2019, for VRO Grade-I and Grade-II.
• Service rules: A.P. Village Revenue Officers Service Rules, 2008, as amended by G.O.Ms.No.417 dated 27 July 2019.
• 2020 notification: Rs 200 plus Rs 200 fee; age 18 to 42 as on 1 July 2020; 150 marks; 0.25 negative marking.
• District is the unit of appointment; District Selection Committee selects; Collector appoints.
• Swarna Gramam and Swarna Wardu renaming: Act 17 of 2026, deemed effective 13 January 2026.
• In the 2026 Table I, VRO Grade-II is serial 7 and Survey Assistant is serial 8; in Table II, Ward Revenue Secretary is serial 7.
• 15,004 village and ward secretariats were set up in 2019 under G.O.Ms.No.110 and G.O.Ms.No.217.
• As on October 2026, no VRO or VRA notification on the APPSC list or CCLA notifications page.

Ten practice MCQs

1. The job chart of Village Revenue Officers (Grade-I and II) was fixed by: a) G.O.Ms.No.110 b) G.O.Ms.No.148 c) G.O.Ms.No.415 d) G.O.Ms.No.1059 only Answer: c. G.O.Ms.No.415 of the Revenue (Ser.III) Department dated 26 September 2019 fixed it.

2. In the 2020 VRO Grade-II written test, how many of the 150 marks were for Drawing and Survey? a) 50 b) 75 c) 100 d) 150 Answer: c. Part A had 50 marks and Part B 100.

3. The negative mark per wrong answer in the 2020 VRO Grade-II test was: a) 1 b) 0.5 c) 0.25 d) 0.33 Answer: c.

4. Under the Act as amended in 2026, the village secretariat is called: a) Gram Kacheri b) Swarna Gramam c) Mandal Parishad d) Rythu Bharosa Kendram Answer: b. Act 17 of 2026 renamed it.

5. Which functionary appears at serial 8 of Table I of the substituted Section 9? a) Survey Assistant b) Energy Assistant c) ANM d) Welfare and Education Assistant Answer: a.

6. Under the job chart, a VRO issues the following certificates within his jurisdiction: a) Caste and income b) Nativity and solvency c) Birth and death d) Marriage Answer: b. For other revenue certificates the VRO enquires and reports.

7. A scale of 1:500 means that 1 cm on the drawing represents on the ground: a) 50 cm b) 5 m c) 50 m d) 500 m Answer: b. 500 cm equals 5 m.

8. A foresight reading of 0.945 m follows a backsight of 1.525 m from a benchmark at 100.000 m. The reduced level of the next point is: a) 99.420 m b) 100.580 m c) 101.525 m d) 100.945 m Answer: b. The difference is a rise of 0.580 m.

9. In 2020, ties in written-test marks were resolved first by: a) Draw of lots b) Age, with the older candidate ranked higher c) Alphabetical order d) Interview Answer: b.

10. Note 3 to the substituted Section 9 says the functionaries are governed by: a) The Panchayat Raj Act only b) The service rules of the respective line departments c) The Constitution only d) APPSC rules only Answer: b.

Frequently asked questions

Is VRO the same as the Panchayat Secretary? No. The Panchayat Secretary belongs to the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department. The VRO belongs to the Revenue Department. Both can be posted at the Swarna Gramam.

Does APPSC conduct the VRO exam? In 2020 the Revenue Department ran the recruitment, with a District Selection Committee and a Collector as the appointing authority. As on October 2026 we found no VRO notification on the APPSC list, so check which body issues any new notice.

What is the qualification? It depends on the notification. In 2020 it was a pass in SSC together with the NCVT certificate in Draughtsman (Civil) with Surveying. Some websites report a degree requirement for a new cycle; we could not verify that officially.

Is a VRA the same as a VRO? No. The VRA is the village-level assistant who supports the VRO. We did not verify current recruitment rules for the VRA.

What is the salary? Use the notification. The 2020 numbers (Rs 15,000 consolidated for two years, then Rs 14,600 - 44,870) are historical.

Where do I check for a new notice? On the CCLA website, the Revenue Department notices of your Collector, and psc.ap.gov.in. Read the PDF.

Related reading

• Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026
• AP polity and Panchayati Raj notes
• AP government schemes notes
• AP geography notes
• AP Sachivalayam secretary guide
• AP Sachivalayam salary and job profile
• Telugu edition: AP VRO VRA గైడ్
• Andhra Pradesh hub

Practise on Pareeksha

Test each unit under time. The platform has 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams and 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks. Try a free mini mock for the general studies part, then a full paper in the online test series. Drawing practice needs paper and instruments, so use mocks for Part A and for aptitude.

Sources and verification

Pages opened and read for this guide:

• Chief Commissioner of Land Administration, Government of Andhra Pradesh: home page, notifications page and "About CCLA" page (ccla.ap.gov.in), read on 7 October 2026.
• Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission portal home page and recruitment notifications list (portal-psc.ap.gov.in), read on 7 October 2026.
• Andhra Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary, 10 April 2026, Act No. 17 of 2026 (GSWS Amendment Act, 2026), with the substituted Section 9 tables, as reproduced in the PRS Legislative Research compilation of the GSWS Act, 2023 with amendments (prsindia.org).
• Andhra Pradesh Gazette Extraordinary, 13 January 2026, Ordinance No. 2 of 2026 (prsindia.org).
• G.O.Ms.No.415, Revenue (Ser.III) Department, 26 September 2019, job chart of Village Revenue Officers (copy hosted on an ap.gov.in site).
• G.O.Ms.No.110, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (Mdl.I) Department, 19 July 2019 (copy hosted on an ap.gov.in site).
• Revenue Department notification for Village Revenue Officer (Grade-II), January 2020, official PDF text, obtained through a mirror because the official village-secretariat portal did not resolve from our connection.

Not verified: any 2026 VRO or VRA recruitment notification, its vacancy numbers, any degree qualification or "G.O.Ms.No.480" (reported on websites only), the current qualification, pay and duties of the VRA, and the current pay scale of the VRO. The village-secretariat portal (gramawardsachivalayam.ap.gov.in) could not be reached.