APPSC AEE Civil 2026: Qualification, Scheme, Syllabus and Preparation Guide

The Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) post is one of the most sought-after technical posts that the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission advertises for civil engineering graduates. It is also a post about which many half-correct descriptions circulate: a screening test followed by a descriptive main examination, an interview, and a long list of departments recruiting every year. This guide replaces those descriptions with what the official notifications print.

Facts that change over time are marked "As on October 2026" and name their source. The primary document is APPSC Notification 17/2025 dated 16.09.2025, available at psc.ap.gov.in, with Notification 19/2022 used for comparison. Where something could not be confirmed, the guide says so rather than guessing.

The post in one view

As on October 2026, the latest AEE notification in the APPSC recruitment list is Notification 17/2025 dated 16.09.2025, for the post of Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil) in Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Engineering Services, advertised as General/Limited Recruitment. It was a small recruitment, and the numbers matter because they show how competitive the post is.

Item	As printed in Notification 17/2025
Post	Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil), Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Engineering Services
Vacancies	3 carried-forward vacancies
Pay scale	Rs 57,100 to Rs 1,47,760 (RPS 2022)
Age	18 to 42 years as on 01.07.2025
Application window	18.09.2025 to 08.10.2025, 11:00 PM
Examination mode	Objective, offline OMR
Written marks	450 (three papers of 150)
After the written test	Computer Proficiency Test for shortlisted candidates

Source: APPSC Notification 17/2025, psc.ap.gov.in, as on October 2026.

The three vacancies were zonal. Zone I had one vacancy, reserved as BC-E (local) and horizontally reserved for a woman, with the notification saying that if no qualified woman is available the post goes to a male candidate. Zone III had two vacancies, one for OC (open) and one for EWS. The notification adds that, for the BC-E woman local vacancy in Zone I, an interchange method applies so that all BC candidates can apply. When an exam has three vacancies, the details of category and zone decide everything, so read the vacancy annexure before you apply.

The Commission's home page also links a candidate-marks page for this notification, which indicates that the written stage has been completed. Check the Commission's website for the current status of selection.

How the pattern has changed over time

Older descriptions of the AEE exam often mention a screening test followed by a main examination. That was the structure under Notification 09/2018 dated 29.11.2018, as the Commission's page for that notification shows: screening test results, a list of candidates qualified for the main examination in civil and mechanical engineering and in electrical engineering, and a list of rejected candidates.

By 2022, Notification 19/2022 dated 28.09.2022 had moved to a direct written examination of 450 marks in three objective papers. That notification covered 23 carried-forward vacancies in the same pay scale of Rs 57,100 to Rs 1,47,760: AEE (Civil) in Rural Water Supply (13), Roads and Buildings (3), Water Resources (4) and Panchayat Raj and Rural Development (2), plus one AEE (Mechanical) in Water Resources. Notification 17/2025 uses the same three-paper scheme and adds the Computer Proficiency Test as a qualifying stage for appointment. If a question paper or a video you are using still talks about a screening stage for AEE, it is describing the 2018 pattern.

Qualification

Notification 17/2025 requires a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from a university in India established under a Central, Provincial or State Act, or from an institution recognised by the University Grants Commission, or a pass in Sections A and B of the AMIE examination conducted by the Institution of Engineers in civil engineering. The AMIE route is cited to G.O.Ms.No.75 of the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department dated 06.04.2011.

The date of the notification is the crucial date for qualification and for counting experience. If you claim an equivalent qualification that the notification does not name, you must submit a copy of the Government Order recognising the equivalence within ten days of the last date for applications, or the application can be rejected. Distance-mode and part-time degree questions are decided by the rules in the specific notification, so confirm with the notification text rather than hearsay.

Note that a diploma is not enough for the AEE post. Diploma holders are the target group for the Assistant Engineer post, which is described in the sibling guide on the Assistant Engineer notification.

Age, fee and reservation

Age is 18 to 42 years as on 01.07.2025, as per G.O.Ms.No.36 of the General Administration (Service-A) Department dated 04.03.2025. Relaxations: 5 years for SC, ST, BC and EWS, 10 years for persons with benchmark disabilities, 3 years plus service rendered for ex-servicemen and NCC instructors, up to 5 years of regular state government service, and 3 years for retrenched temporary employees of the state census department with at least six months of service. Candidates who use an age relaxation can still be considered against open vacancies.

The fee is Rs 250 as application processing fee plus Rs 120 as examination fee, as on October 2026 for this notification. The examination fee is exempt for SC, ST, BC, persons with benchmark disabilities and ex-servicemen, for white-card households of Andhra Pradesh residents, and for unemployed youth with the prescribed declaration. Candidates of other states do not receive exemptions. A correction after submission costs Rs 100, and name, fee and age-relaxation fields cannot be corrected.

Reservations follow Rules 22, 22A and 22B of the State and Subordinate Service Rules, with vertical reservation for ST, SC, BC and EWS and horizontal reservation for women. The four zones use erstwhile district names: Zone I is Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam; Zone II is East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna; Zone III is Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore; Zone IV is Chittoor, Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool. Local status needs study certificates from class IV to class X. Candidates who migrated from Telangana between 2 June 2014 and 1 June 2024 need a local status certificate from the competent authority, as the notification states.

Scheme of examination

Appearance in all papers is compulsory, and absence from any paper disqualifies a candidate. Each wrong answer is penalised by one third of the marks for that question, under G.O.Ms.No.235 of 2016. The scheme follows Annexure VII of G.O.Ms.No.201 of the Finance Department dated 21.12.2017.

Paper	Subject	Questions	Minutes	Marks
Paper I	General Studies and Mental Ability	150	150	150
Paper II	Civil and Mechanical Engineering (common)	150	150	150
Paper III	Civil Engineering	150	150	150
Total				450

The minimum qualifying aggregate on the written test is 40 percent for OC, ex-servicemen and EWS, 35 percent for BC and 30 percent for SC, ST and persons with benchmark disabilities. Candidates are then shortlisted on merit for the Computer Proficiency Test, a practical test of 100 marks in 60 minutes with minimum marks of 40, 35 and 30 for the three groups. Final selection is based on merit in the written examination, followed by the CPT. The notification does not print an interview. Ties in total marks are broken by age, with the older candidate ranked first, and then by the earlier date of the educational qualification.

The Commission publishes an initial answer key, and objections must be filed within three days in the prescribed format. Each objection costs Rs 100, refunded if the objection is sustained. Three subject experts examine the objections and the final key is not reopened. The general studies paper is set in English and translated into Telugu, with the English version authoritative, and the subject papers are in English only.

Paper I: General Studies and Mental Ability

Paper I has ten topics: current events at international, national and Andhra Pradesh level; general science and its everyday applications with contemporary science, technology and information technology; history of India with a focus on Andhra Pradesh and the national movement; geography of India with a focus on Andhra Pradesh; Indian polity and governance including e-governance; Indian economy and planning; sustainable development and environmental protection; disaster management with remote sensing and GIS; logical reasoning and analytical ability; and data analysis.

For an engineer, the sensible plan is to treat Paper I as an equal paper, because it carries one third of the total marks and has the same wrong-answer penalty. The Andhra Pradesh angle appears in four of the ten topics. Our state-specific notes on polity and Panchayati Raj, geography, rivers, dams and irrigation projects and the economy are designed for exactly this paper, and the irrigation notes overlap neatly with the water resources section of Paper III.

Paper II: strength of materials and fluid mechanics

Paper II is common to civil and mechanical engineering and is set at degree standard for the AEE post, unlike the diploma standard used for the Assistant Engineer post. It has two blocks.

Strength of materials covers forces, moments and equilibrium, planar trusses, friction, simple stresses and strains, Hooke's law, elastic constants, temperature stresses, strain energy and impact loading, shear force and bending moment diagrams, flexural and shear stresses, principal stresses and Mohr's circle, theories of failure, columns and struts with Euler and Rankine formulae, lifting machines, torsion of circular shafts, springs, and thin and thick cylinders and spherical shells.

Fluid mechanics and machinery covers fluid statics and properties, hydrostatics, buoyancy and stability, kinematics with continuity, stream function and flow nets, dynamics with the Euler and Bernoulli equations and the momentum equation, flow measurement devices, closed conduit flow with major and minor losses and water hammer, boundary layer concepts, jets on vanes, hydraulic turbines (Pelton, Francis, Kaplan) with draft tube theory and cavitation, centrifugal pumps with NPSH, hydraulic control valves, and hydro projects and plant with classification of dams and spillways.

Paper III: the civil engineering syllabus, topic by topic

Paper III has nine topics. The weightage within the paper is not published, so build your plan from the syllabus, not from rumours.

1. Building materials: timber, bricks, cement, cement mortar and concrete, including water-cement ratio, admixtures, workability, mix design and non-destructive testing.
2. Structural analysis: theorems of elastic structures, virtual work, Castigliano's, Betti's and Maxwell's theorems, deflection of determinate beams, indeterminate frames by moment distribution, slope deflection, Kani's method, stiffness and force methods, and plastic analysis.
3. Design of steel structures: limit state method, bolted and welded connections, tension and compression members, beams, seat connections, industrial roofs.
4. Design of concrete and masonry structures: limit state design for bending, shear, axial compression and combined forces, codal provisions for slabs, beams, columns and footings, prestressed concrete principles and losses, brick masonry design as per IS codes.
5. Construction planning and management: bar charts, work breakdown structures, activity-on-arrow diagrams, critical path, PERT networks, time-cost study, crashing and resource allocation.
6. Hydraulics and water resources engineering: open channel flow, uniform and non-uniform flow, hydraulic jump, dimensional analysis, hydrology, unit hydrographs, flood routing, irrigation systems, canal design with Lacey's and tractive force concepts, gravity dams, energy dissipators, headworks, falls, cross-drainage works and river training.
7. Environmental engineering: water supply, quality standards, treatment, distribution, rural water supply, wastewater engineering, sewers, sewage characteristics and treatment, solid waste, air and noise pollution, environmental impact assessment.
8. Soil mechanics and foundation engineering: soil properties and classification, compaction, permeability and seepage, flow nets, consolidation, stress distribution, shear strength, earth pressure theories, soil exploration, bearing capacity, settlement, shallow foundations, piles and foundations on expansive soils.
9. Surveying and transport engineering: classification of surveys, distance and direction measurement, theodolites, levelling, contours, control by triangulation and traversing, GPS and remote sensing concepts, highway planning, geometric design, pavement principles, drainage, traffic surveys and signalling.

One observation is useful. Topics 6 and 7 are strongly connected to the departments that recruit: water resources and rural water supply. A candidate who can solve open channel flow, canal design and water treatment questions quickly has an advantage in the paper and in the job.

Worked numericals for Paper III

Practise these until the steps are automatic.

Fixed-end moments. A fixed beam of span 5 m carries a uniformly distributed load of 24 kN/m. The fixed-end moment at each support is wL squared over 12, which is 24 x 25 / 12 = 50 kN-m. For a central point load W, the fixed-end moment is WL over 8. These two results are the starting point of moment distribution problems.

Limit state of flexure. In IS 456, the maximum depth of the neutral axis xu,max over d is 0.53 for Fe250, 0.48 for Fe415 and 0.46 for Fe500 steel. A section with a smaller ratio is under-reinforced, which is the preferred ductile failure mode.

Manning's formula. A rectangular channel 4 m wide flows 1 m deep with n = 0.015 and bed slope 1 in 2500 (0.0004). Area is 4 square metres, wetted perimeter is 6 m, hydraulic radius is 0.667 m, and R to the power two thirds is 0.763. Velocity V = (1/n) x R^(2/3) x S^(1/2) = (1/0.015) x 0.763 x 0.02 = about 1.02 m/s, and discharge is about 4.07 cubic metres per second.

Rational method. For a catchment of 90 hectares, runoff coefficient 0.4 and design rainfall intensity 60 mm per hour, the peak discharge is CiA over 360, which is 0.4 x 60 x 90 / 360 = 6 cubic metres per second, using intensity in mm per hour and area in hectares.

PERT time estimate. With optimistic, most likely and pessimistic durations of 4, 7 and 16 days, expected time is (4 + 4 x 7 + 16) / 6 = 8 days, and variance is ((16 - 4) / 6) squared = 4. Remember that the weights are 1, 4 and 1.

Soil phase relations. For specific gravity 2.7 and void ratio 0.8, porosity is e over (1 + e) = 0.444 and dry unit weight is G times gamma-w over (1 + e) = 2.7 x 9.81 / 1.8 = about 14.7 kN per cubic metre.

Levelling. A backsight of 1.45 m on a benchmark of RL 100.000 gives a height of instrument of 101.450 m. A foresight of 2.10 m on a new point gives its RL as 99.350 m, a fall of 0.65 m. Remember: height of instrument equals RL plus backsight, and RL equals height of instrument minus foresight.

Circular curve. A curve of radius 300 m with a deflection angle of 30 degrees has a length of pi x R x delta over 180, which is about 157.08 m.

A sixteen-week study plan

Plan for about 16 weeks if you are starting without a strong foundation, and compress it if your basics are fresh. Weekday study of three hours and weekend study of five hours is a realistic base.

• Weeks 1 to 3: strength of materials for Paper II and structural analysis basics. Draw all shear force and bending moment diagrams by hand.
• Weeks 4 to 5: fluid mechanics, Bernoulli and flow measurement, pipe flow, and hydraulic machines.
• Weeks 6 to 7: design of concrete structures with the limit state method, then steel design.
• Weeks 8 to 9: soil mechanics and foundation engineering, with phase relations, consolidation, bearing capacity and earth pressure.
• Week 10: surveying and transport engineering.
• Weeks 11 to 12: water resources, irrigation and hydrology, then environmental engineering.
• Week 13: construction planning, estimation and building materials.
• Week 14: Paper I revision and current affairs for Andhra Pradesh.
• Weeks 15 and 16: three or four full 450-mark mocks in exam conditions, followed by a day of analysis for each, plus Computer Proficiency Test practice.

Time management inside the paper

Each paper gives 150 minutes for 150 questions, which is one minute per question. Practise in 50-question blocks of 50 minutes. Make a first pass for questions that you can answer in under a minute, a second pass for calculations, and keep a final ten minutes for reviewing flagged items. With a one-third penalty, a wrong answer costs a third of a mark, so guess only when you can eliminate at least one option.

Preparing for the Computer Proficiency Test

The CPT is not a formality, because no candidate is appointed without qualifying it. It is a practical test on office automation: a word-processing task with tables, images and mail merge, an assessed typing task worth a quarter of the marks, a spreadsheet task with formulas, conditional formatting and charts, and a presentation task. Part A is objective and carries one fifth of the marks. The notification warns that files must be saved in a folder named with the hall ticket number, and that failing to follow the procedure can make a candidate ineligible, so rehearse the file-naming steps too.

Differences between AEE and AE in the civil stream

Feature	Assistant Engineer (Notification 20/2025)	Assistant Executive Engineer (Notification 17/2025)
Pay scale	Rs 48,440 to Rs 1,37,220	Rs 57,100 to Rs 1,47,760
Written marks	300	450
Papers	General studies; Civil/Mechanical common (diploma standard)	General studies; Civil/Mechanical common (degree standard); Civil engineering
Qualification	Diploma or degree depending on post code	Civil engineering degree or AMIE Sections A and B
Examination fee	Rs 80	Rs 120

As on October 2026, these are the figures printed in the two notifications, and both end with the Computer Proficiency Test.

Common mistakes

• Preparing for a descriptive main examination. The notifications reviewed here print only objective papers.
• Neglecting Paper I because it feels easy. It carries a full third of the marks and is the paper where careless negative marks accumulate.
• Studying topics in isolation. Concepts such as consolidation, seepage and flow nets recur across the soil mechanics, hydraulics and foundation topics.
• Missing the vacancy annexure. With very few vacancies in one cycle, category and zone decide whether you are competing at all.
• Ignoring the answer key deadline. Objections must be filed within three days of the initial key being published.
• Using a pay scale from another post. The AEE scale and the AE scale differ.

Key facts for exams

• APPSC Notification 17/2025, dated 16.09.2025, advertised 3 carried-forward vacancies for AEE (Civil) in Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (as on October 2026, psc.ap.gov.in).
• Pay scale Rs 57,100 to Rs 1,47,760 under RPS 2022; age 18 to 42 as on 01.07.2025.
• The qualification is a civil engineering degree or AMIE Sections A and B in civil engineering.
• The written test has three papers of 150 questions, 150 minutes and 150 marks each, 450 in all, with a one-third negative mark.
• Selection is on written merit followed by the Computer Proficiency Test of 100 marks and 60 minutes.
• Minimum qualifying aggregate is 40 percent for OC, ex-servicemen and EWS, 35 percent for BC and 30 percent for SC, ST and persons with benchmark disabilities.
• Objections to the initial key must be filed within three days and cost Rs 100 each, refunded if sustained.
• The Notification 09/2018 pattern of screening plus main examination is no longer the current pattern.

Ten practice MCQs

1. What is the total maximum marks of the written examination in Notification 17/2025? (a) 300 (b) 400 (c) 450 (d) 600 Answer: (c). Three papers of 150 marks each.

2. How many carried-forward vacancies did Notification 17/2025 advertise? (a) 3 (b) 13 (c) 23 (d) 99 Answer: (a).

3. Which qualification, besides a degree, did Notification 17/2025 accept? (a) ITI in civil (b) Diploma in civil (c) AMIE Sections A and B in civil engineering (d) B.Sc in mathematics Answer: (c).

4. A fixed beam of span 5 m carries 24 kN/m over the full span. The fixed-end moment at each end is: (a) 25 kN-m (b) 50 kN-m (c) 75 kN-m (d) 100 kN-m Answer: (b), since wL squared over 12 = 24 x 25 / 12.

5. For Fe415 steel in IS 456, the limiting value of xu,max over d is: (a) 0.53 (b) 0.48 (c) 0.46 (d) 0.55 Answer: (b).

6. A channel with R = 0.667 m, n = 0.015 and S = 0.0004 has a Manning velocity of about: (a) 0.5 m/s (b) 1.0 m/s (c) 2.0 m/s (d) 3.0 m/s Answer: (b), about 1.02 m/s.

7. For activity durations 4, 7 and 16 days, the PERT expected time is: (a) 7 days (b) 8 days (c) 9 days (d) 10 days Answer: (b), (4 + 28 + 16) / 6 = 8.

8. Using the rational formula, a 90 ha catchment with C = 0.4 and i = 60 mm/h has a peak discharge of: (a) 1.5 cubic metres per second (b) 3 cubic metres per second (c) 6 cubic metres per second (d) 12 cubic metres per second Answer: (c).

9. The dry unit weight of soil with G = 2.7 and e = 0.8 is about: (a) 12.5 kN per cubic metre (b) 14.7 kN per cubic metre (c) 16.5 kN per cubic metre (d) 19.0 kN per cubic metre Answer: (b), from G gamma-w over (1 + e).

10. What is the minimum qualifying percentage in the written test for the BC category? (a) 30 percent (b) 35 percent (c) 40 percent (d) 45 percent Answer: (b).

Frequently asked questions

Is there an interview for the AEE post? Notification 17/2025 prints selection on merit in the written examination followed by the Computer Proficiency Test. It does not print an interview stage.

Is the AEE examination descriptive? No. The papers printed in Notification 17/2025 are objective, in offline OMR mode, with a negative mark of one third for each wrong answer.

Can a diploma holder apply for AEE? Notification 17/2025 asks for a civil engineering degree or AMIE Sections A and B. Diploma holders should look at the Assistant Engineer notifications, where diploma qualifications are accepted for some post codes.

Which departments recruit AEE civil? Notification 19/2022 covered Rural Water Supply, Roads and Buildings, Water Resources and Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, while Notification 17/2025 covered Rural Water Supply and Sanitation only. The department list changes by cycle, so check the latest notification.

Does the vacancy number include zones? Yes. The AEE post in 2025 was a zonal post with vacancies in Zone I and Zone III. Preferences for zones are taken at the certificate verification stage and are indicative, not binding on the Commission.

What documents should I keep ready? Keep degree and marks memos, study certificates from class IV to X or a residence certificate, community and non-creamy layer certificates where relevant, and an EWS certificate for the previous financial year. The notification also advises creating a DigiLocker account so certificates can be verified electronically.

How do ties in marks get resolved? Candidates with the same total are bracketed and ranked by age, the older candidate first, and then by the earlier date of the educational qualification.

Related reading

• Andhra Pradesh government exams 2026 guide
• APPSC Assistant Engineer (Electrical/Mechanical): what APPSC actually recruits
• APPSC Polytechnic Lecturer guide
• APPSC Section Officer and Assistant Section Officer
• AP rivers, dams and irrigation projects notes
• AP geography notes: rivers, districts, ports
• AP polity and Panchayati Raj notes
• Andhra Pradesh hub
• Telugu version: APPSC AEE సివిల్

When you are ready to test your preparation, you can practise timed mock tests on pareeksha.in, which offers 10 Lakh+ MCQs, 100+ Exams and 5,000+ Full-Length Mocks, and use the results to build your error log.

Sources and verification

Official pages opened for this guide (as on October 2026):

• APPSC home page, recruitment notifications list and the page for Notification 09/2018, psc.ap.gov.in and portal-psc.ap.gov.in
• APPSC Notification 17/2025 dated 16.09.2025, Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil), Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Engineering Services
• APPSC Notification 19/2022 dated 28.09.2022, Assistant Executive Engineers in various engineering services
• APPSC Notification 20/2025 dated 24.09.2025, Assistant Engineer in various engineering subordinate services

Not verified: the final selection outcome and cut-offs for Notification 17/2025; the paper-wise weightage by topic, which the notification does not publish; the nature of duties in each department, which depends on the departmental service rules; and whether a new AEE notification has been issued after October 2026. Check the latest notification before you apply.