Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission
Permanent

APPSC Group 1 Services Examination 2026

Sourced from Official Government PDF
Oct. 6, 2026
Deputy Collectors in A.P. Civil Service (Executive Branch)Asst. Commissioner of State Tax in A.P. State Tax ServiceDeputy Supdt. of Police (Civil) Cat-2 in A.P. Police ServiceDSP (Communications) in A.P. Police ServiceDistrict Educational Officer in A.P. Educational ServiceRegional Transport Officers in A.P. Transport Service

Required Qualification

Graduate267
B.Tech163
B.Ed9
★
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Quick Recruitment Snapshot

Key recruitment parameters at a glance before you apply

Vacancies
166 Posts
Pay Scale
₹54,060 - ₹1,54,980 (RPS 2022)
Age Limit
18 to 44 Years (21 to 30 Years for Dy. SP Civil; 18 to 30 Years for DSP Communications)
Job Location
Andhra Pradesh36Vijayawada15+3 More...

Crucial Recruitment Dates

Official schedule & key deadlines

Published

Oct 6, 2026

2

Starts

Oct 6, 2026

3

Deadline

Oct 27, 2026

4

Exam Date

Jan 24, 2027

Application Window6 – 27 Oct 2026
Exam / Test Date24 Jan 2027

Eligibility Criteria & Educational Qualifications

Who is eligible to apply for this recruitment? Check essential educational qualifications, branch/stream criteria, and age limits.

Educational Qualification

Candidates must possess a recognized Bachelor's Degree from an Indian university established by Central/State Act or UGC-recognized institution as on 06/10/2026.

  • General Posts (PC 01, 02, 06-13): Any graduation degree in Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, or Law.
  • Dy. SP (Civil - PC 03): Bachelor's Degree + Physical Fitness Standards (Men: 167.6 cm height, 86.3 cm chest; ST Men: 164 cm height; Women: 152.5 cm height, 45.5 kg weight).
  • DSP Communications (PC 04): B.E. / B.Tech in ECE / EEE or equivalent degree.
  • District Educational Officer (PC 05): Bachelor's Degree + B.Ed. degree from a recognized institution.

Age Limit & Relaxations

Age calculated as on 01/07/2026 as per Rule 12 of APS&SS Rules, 1996:

  • Standard Posts (PC 01, 02, 05-13): 18 to 44 years.
  • Dy. SP (Civil Cat-II - PC 03): 21 to 30 years.
  • DSP (Communications - PC 04): 18 to 30 years.
  • Age Relaxations: 5 years for SC, ST, BC, and EWS; 10 years for PwBD; length of armed service + 3 years for Ex-Servicemen and NCC instructors; up to 5 years for regular AP State Government employees.
Check Your Age Eligibility

Selection Procedure & Screening Stages

Verified Official Source

How will candidates be selected? Multi-stage screening roadmap from application to final merit list.

Screening Test (Preliminary Objective Test)

Offline OMRQualifying Only

Main Written Examination (Conventional Descriptive Type)

Offline DescriptiveMerit Scored

Interview / Personality Test & Certificate Verification

In-person InterviewMerit Scored

The selection pipeline follows three progressive stages:

  1. Screening Test (Objective OMR): Conducted across all 26 district centers on 24/01/2027. Comprises Paper-I (General Studies, 120 marks) and Paper-II (General Aptitude, 120 marks) for a total of 240 marks with 1/3rd negative marking penalty. Candidates are shortlisted for Mains at a ratio of 50 times the total vacancies (1:50).
  2. Mains Written Examination (Descriptive): Comprises 2 qualifying language papers (Telugu & English, 150 marks each, 180 minutes) and 5 merit papers (Papers I to V, 150 marks each, totalling 750 marks). Conducted at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Ananthapuramu.
  3. Interview / Personality Test: Carries 75 marks. Final merit ranking and service allotment are determined strictly out of 825 marks (750 Mains + 75 Interview) adhering to post preferences, zone/multi-zone reservations, and merit standing.

Syllabus & Exam Pattern Overview

Verified Official Source

What is the examination structure? Mode of test, total marks, duration, and negative marking rules.

Exam Tier / Mode

Screening Test (Preliminary OMR)

Total Duration

240 Minutes

Negative Marking

1/3rd (0.33) marks deducted for each incorrect answer

Subject / SectionQuestionsMax Marks
Paper-I: General Studies (History & Culture, Polity & Constitution, Economy & Planning of India & AP, Geography)120120
Paper-II: General Aptitude (Mental Ability & Administrative Aptitude, Science & Technology, Current Events)120120
Total240240
Exam Tier / Mode

Mains Written Examination (Conventional Descriptive)

Total Duration

1260 Minutes

Negative Marking

No negative marking (Descriptive answer writing)

Subject / SectionQuestionsMax Marks
Compulsory Telugu (Qualifying Paper - SSC Standard)0150
Compulsory English (Qualifying Paper - SSC Standard)0150
Paper-I: General Essay (Contemporary themes of regional, national and international importance)0150
Paper-II: History and Cultural and Geography of India and Andhra Pradesh0150
Paper-III: Polity, Constitution, Governance, Law and Ethics0150
Paper-IV: Economy and Development of India and Andhra Pradesh0150
Paper-V: Science, Technology and Environmental Issues0150
Total—1050

Previous Recruitment Cutoff Benchmarks

Verified Official Source

Historical qualifying marks and eligibility benchmarks for prior recruitment cycles.

Year / CycleStage / TierUR (Gen)OBCEWSSCST
2019
Prelims Screening Test
90.48848878.572
2016
Final Selection (Mains + Interview)
330288.75300247.5247.5

Aspirant Ground Reality & Career Trajectory

Verified Official Source

Practical service rules, posting locations, transfer policy, and promotion ladder curated from official gazettes.

Work Culture & Environment

Office/fieldwork balance, duties, organizational environment.

Group-I officers represent the premier executive leadership of Andhra Pradesh state administration. Deputy Collectors and Municipal Commissioners manage critical sub-divisional revenue administration, land records, disaster response, and municipal governance with intense field inspections and high public interface. DSPs oversee law and order, crime investigation, and police subdivision management with 24/7 on-call duty. Workloads are demanding and heavily tied to state welfare implementation, VIP protocols, and election duties. Officers enjoy significant administrative authority, government accommodation, and dedicated official vehicles.

Posting & Transfer Policy

Initial posting criteria, zone preferences, transfer liability.

Officers are allocated to Multi-Zone-I or Multi-Zone-II (or specific Zonal cadres for Audit posts) based on merit rank, local candidature rules under the AP Presidential Order 2025, and option preferences. Initial postings are typically as Sub-Collector / Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) for Deputy Collectors, Assistant Commissioner (Circle) for State Tax, or Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) for DSPs. Postings rotate periodically every 2 to 3 years across districts within the multi-zone, with headquarters postings in Vijayawada / Amaravati at later career stages.

Career & Promotion Ladder

Promotion timeline, seniority ladder, pay grade scaling.

Group-I officers enjoy structured fast-track career progression. Deputy Collectors typically elevate to Special Grade Deputy Collector within 6 to 8 years, Joint Collector / District Revenue Officer, and are eligible for induction into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) after 8 to 12 years of substantive service. Similarly, DSPs progress to Additional SP, Superintendent of Police (Non-Cadre), and subsequent induction into the Indian Police Service (IPS). State Tax and Panchayat Raj officers follow departmental joint/additional commissioner promotion hierarchies.
Crucial Application Warnings & Eligibility Traps

Avoid common application rejection triggers, photo/signature guidelines, and certificate validity windows.

  • AP Presidential Order 2025 & 95% Local Reservation: Local reservation applies to 95% of vacancies across Multi-Zone-I (Zones I-III: North Coastal & Godavari/Krishna districts) and Multi-Zone-II (Zones IV-VI: Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore, and Rayalaseema districts). Non-local candidates compete only within the 5% open quota.
  • OTPR Profile Pre-population & Limited Correction Window: Application particulars and fee exemptions are populated directly from One-Time Profile Registration (OTPR). Candidate name, fee category, and age relaxation fields cannot be modified after submission; other fields incur a ₹100 fee per correction during a strict 7-day correction window.
  • Negative Marking Penalty: The Screening Test enforces a strict negative marking penalty of 1/3rd (0.33) marks for every wrong answer on OMR answer sheets. Erroneous bubbling or use of whitener/blade invalidates the optical sheet.
  • Compulsory Qualifying Language Papers in Mains: Mains examination features compulsory conventional descriptive papers in Telugu and English (150 marks each). Candidates must achieve the minimum qualifying percentage in both language papers, failing which their merit papers (Papers I to V) will not be evaluated.

Category-Wise Vacancy Breakdown & Pay Scale

Detailed post distribution across UR, OBC, EWS, SC, ST quotas and 7th CPC Pay Matrix / Monthly Stipend.

Category-Wise Vacancy Distribution

  • Deputy Collectors in A.P. Civil Service (Executive Branch)12
  • Asst. Commissioner of State Tax in A.P. State Tax Service14
  • Deputy Supdt. of Police (Civil) Cat-2 in A.P. Police Service36
  • DSP (Communications) in A.P. Police Service3
  • District Educational Officer in A.P. Educational Service14
  • Regional Transport Officers in A.P. Transport Service3
  • District Tribal Welfare Officer in A.P. Tribal Welfare Service1
  • Deputy Registrar in A.P. Cooperative Service16
  • Municipal Commissioner Grade-II in A.P. Municipal Administration Service12
  • Asst. Treasury Officer / Asst. Accounts Officer in A.P. Treasury & Accounts Service2
  • District Employment Officer in A.P. Employment Exchange Service3
  • Assistant Audit Officer in A.P. State Audit Service15
  • Divisional Development Officer in A.P. Panchayat Raj Service35
Total Vacancies166 Posts

Pay Scale & Monthly Remuneration

Post-wise pay scales under Andhra Pradesh Revised Pay Scales (RPS 2022):

  • Deputy Collector, Asst. Commissioner State Tax, Dy. SP (Civil), DSP (Communications), District Educational Officer: ₹61,960 - ₹1,51,370/-.
  • Divisional Development Officer (Panchayat Raj): ₹65,360 - ₹1,54,980/-.
  • Regional Transport Officer, District Tribal Welfare Officer, Deputy Registrar: ₹57,100 - ₹1,47,760/-.
  • Municipal Commissioner Gr-II, Asst. Treasury Officer, District Employment Officer, Assistant Audit Officer: ₹54,060 - ₹1,40,540/-.

Pay scales governed by Andhra Pradesh Revised Pay Scales 2022 (RPS 2022) with admissible Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), and other state allowances.

Andhra Pradesh Govt Salary Calculator

How to Apply Online Step-by-Step?

Follow this verified step-by-step application procedure on the official recruitment portal.

Application Procedure

  1. Visit the official APPSC portal at https://psc.ap.gov.in and complete One Time Profile Registration (OTPR) to obtain an OTPR User ID if not registered previously.
  2. Log in using the registered OTPR User ID and password, navigate to Notification No. 07/2026 for Group-I Services, and click on 'Apply Online'.
  3. Verify pre-populated biographical and educational details from OTPR, select post code preferences and examination center preferences (3 districts for Screening Test, 1 regional center for Mains).
  4. Pay the application processing fee (₹250) and examination fee (₹120, if applicable) via online payment gateway through Net Banking, Debit Card, or Credit Card.
  5. Submit the completed application form before 27/10/2026 (11:59 PM), download the generated Application PDF with Payment Reference ID, and save a printout for future recruitment correspondence.

Application Fee & Category Concessions

• Application Processing Fee: ₹250/- (Mandatory for all applicants).
• Examination Fee: ₹120/- (Exempted for SC, ST, BC, PwBD, Ex-Servicemen, AP White Card holders, and Unemployed youth).
• Other State Candidates: Must pay both fees (₹250 + ₹120 = ₹370/-) without fee concession or reservation benefits.
• Payment Mode: Online via Net Banking / Credit Card / Debit Card through payment gateway.

Official Notification & Portal Verification

Direct links to the authorized government portal, official notification PDF, and career portal.

Verified Official Domain
Visit Official Website

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Frequently Asked Questions & Crucial Aspirant Queries

5 Queries Resolved

Clear, verified answers to top eligibility, exam format, salary calculation, and application queries for this notification.

Yes. Candidates hailing from other states are eligible to apply under the Open Competition (OC) quota (comprising 5% of vacancies in multi-zonal posts). However, non-AP candidates are not eligible for any community reservations or fee exemptions and must pay the full ₹370/- fee (₹250 processing fee + ₹120 exam fee).

Sarkari Job Khojo is an independent information service and job discovery platform. All recruitment insights, syllabi, previous year exam cutoffs, and selection stages are compiled from official government notifications, gazettes, and recruitment portals. We are not affiliated with, authorized by, or an official representative of any government agency or recruitment board. Always verify details in the official advertisement PDF before applying.

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