TNPSC Recruitment: Exams, Syllabus, Fee, and Application Steps

TNPSC recruitment fills Tamil Nadu government posts through exams. The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) holds them, and every application is made online.

This guide gathers the exam list, paper patterns, eligibility rules, fee, selection stages and official links in one place. The notification for a specific exam overrides the general rules given here.

Based on official information from tnpsc.gov.in. The Instructions to Applicants used here were updated up to 11 June 2026.

Candidates register once through One Time Registration (OTR), then apply separately for each exam notified. Selection runs on written exams, an oral test for some posts, certificate verification and counselling. Fee, vacancies and dates come only from the notification for each exam.

Table of Contents

Quick summary of TNPSC recruitment

About the Commission and its legal basis

Article 315 of the Constitution of India provides for a Public Service Commission for the Union and one for each State. Articles 316 to 319 deal with the structure of State commissions. The Governor of Tamil Nadu appoints the Chairman and 14 other members of TNPSC.

The Commission’s website names Thiru. S. K. Prabakar, I.A.S., as Chairman, with 23 August 2024 shown against the name.

The Commission posts every TNPSC recruitment notification on its website and publishes a short notice in one Tamil and one English newspaper. Its Instructions to Applicants state that all selections are purely merit-based, and they warn against touts and agents. Candidates should apply only through the official portal and never pay anyone for a job.

TNPSC exams at a glance

The Scheme of Examination page on tnpsc.gov.in lists the TNPSC recruitment exams below. A dash means the page shows no interview marks for that exam. The notification states whether a post has an oral test.

Exam pattern for the main TNPSC exams

Marks and question counts for TNPSC recruitment come from the Scheme of Examination page. Objective papers are multiple choice, and descriptive papers need written answers.

Group I, IA, IB, IC and VI

The preliminary exam is one paper of 200 questions and 300 marks. General Studies has 175 questions at Degree standard, and Aptitude and Mental Ability has 25 at SSLC standard. Both parts are qualifying.

The main exam has four papers, and all are descriptive except the Education paper in Group IC. Paper I is the Tamil Eligibility Test at SSLC standard, with 100 marks, and it is qualifying only. Papers II to IV carry 250 marks each at Degree standard.

• Groups I, IA and VI use General Studies I, II and III.
• Group IB uses General Studies, Hindu Religion and Law.
• Group IC uses General Studies I, General Studies II and Education. The Education paper is objective type.
• Groups I, IA, IB and IC add a 100-mark interview. The scheme page lists none for Group VI.

Group II and IIA

The preliminary exam is one paper of 200 questions and 300 marks, and every part is qualifying. General Studies has 75 questions at Degree standard. Aptitude and Mental Ability has 25 questions, and the language part has 100, both at SSLC standard. The language part is General Tamil or General English.

The main exam has two papers. Paper I is the Tamil Eligibility Test, with 100 marks, descriptive and qualifying. Paper II for Group II is General Studies, descriptive, with 300 marks. Paper II for Group IIA is objective, with 200 questions and 300 marks. It splits into General Studies (150 questions, 225 marks) and General Intelligence and Reasoning (50 questions, 75 marks).

Group IV and Group V.A

Group IV is one objective paper at SSLC standard, and every part is scoring.

Group V.A has two descriptive papers at Degree standard. General Tamil and General English carry 100 marks each.

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Technical Services and Assistant Public Prosecutor

Technical Services exams in TNPSC recruitment have two objective papers. Paper I Part A is the Tamil Eligibility Test, with 100 questions and 150 marks, and it is qualifying. Part B has General Studies (75 questions) and Aptitude (25 questions) for 150 marks. Paper II is the subject paper, with 200 questions and 300 marks. The counted marks total 450, and Interview Posts add a 60-mark interview.

Degree and PG exams set General Studies at Degree standard and the subject paper at Degree or PG Degree standard. Diploma and ITI exams set General Studies at SSLC standard and the subject paper at Diploma or ITI standard.

The Assistant Public Prosecutor, Grade-II preliminary exam has General Studies (75), Aptitude (25) and Law (100), all qualifying. The main exam has the Tamil Eligibility Test and four Law papers of 100 marks each. A 60-mark interview follows, and the total is 460.

The Commission publishes a syllabus file for every TNPSC recruitment paper, and the unit-wise split of questions is only indicative. The official files sit under Important Links. More outlines are in the syllabus guides on this site.

Eligibility rules that apply to every notification

The general conditions for TNPSC recruitment come from the Instructions to Applicants. A notification adds the rules for its own posts.

Age. For TNPSC recruitment, a candidate must be 18 years old on 1 July of the year the vacancy is notified. The notification prints the upper limit. Concessions apply to reserved communities, destitute widows, ex-servicemen and persons with benchmark disability. Persons with benchmark disability get up to 10 years over the limit, if otherwise suitable.

The Instructions say the upper limit rose by two years for notifications issued from 13 September 2021 to 12 September 2026. The Age Calculator checks age on the cut-off date.

Qualification. A candidate must hold the prescribed qualification on or before the date of notification. The minimum general educational qualification is an SSLC pass. Final-year degree candidates can sit the Group I preliminary exam, but must show proof of the degree for the main exam.

Tamil. A candidate needs adequate knowledge of Tamil. Candidates without it can still apply. They must pass the Second Class Language Test (Full Test) in Tamil within two years of appointment. Passing SSLC, HSC or a degree with Tamil as one of the languages counts as adequate knowledge.

Every main or written stage of TNPSC recruitment in the scheme above carries a Tamil paper.

Community. Only persons belonging to Tamil Nadu count for community status. The community must also be on the Commission’s list for its category. Persons from other states are not treated that way, even if their community is on a list.

Women. At least 30% of all vacancies are set apart for women. This does not apply to recruitments meant only for men or only for women.

How to apply for TNPSC recruitment

The Instructions to Applicants state that OTR is not an application for any post, so each exam needs its own online application.

1. Open tnpscexams.in or tnpsc.gov.in and create the OTR. A valid email ID and mobile number are mandatory, and the Aadhaar number must be linked.
2. Enter the SSLC register number, certificate number, month and year of passing, medium and board exactly as printed. A wrong detail can lead to rejection.
3. Keep a photograph and signature ready. For OTR, the photograph must be taken within the last 3 months and be 20 KB to 50 KB. The signature must be 10 KB to 20 KB, at 200 DPI. The Photo Signature Resizer helps with file size.
4. Click Apply against the notified post and log in with the OTR user ID and password.
5. Fill the form, choose two district exam centres and click Save and Proceed on each page. Candidates with benchmark disability choose one centre.
6. Check the preview, correct any errors, and click Submit. Only Submit counts as applying.
7. Pay the fee online by net banking, card or UPI before the last date, and note the Application Number.

Exam fee and fee concession

Fees for TNPSC recruitment come from the Instructions to Applicants. The notification for each exam states what applies.

Candidates should confirm the Group II and IIA main exam fee in the notification. Each extra subject paper adds a fee.

Each application that claims concession uses one free chance, whatever the post. The Yes or No choice cannot be changed after submission.

How selection works after the application

Selection in TNPSC recruitment follows one of three routes, and the notification names the route for each post.

• Preliminary, main and oral test. The preliminary exam only screens candidates, and its marks do not count in the final merit. For Combined Civil Services Examination I, 20 times the vacancies for each post go to the main exam. Other exams admit 10 times.
• Written exam and oral test. Results lead to online certificate verification, then original certificate verification and the oral test.
• Written exam only. Results lead to online certificate verification, then original certificate verification and counselling.

A category with 5 or more vacancies sends 2 times the vacancies to the oral test or counselling. A category with 4 or fewer sends 3 times. A candidate who skips any written paper or the oral test cannot be selected.

At counselling for TNPSC recruitment, the Commission checks original certificates and allots posts by overall rank and category. Allotment orders are issued on the spot. A candidate who misses the date gets no second chance.

Rules for exam day

These rules apply to written exams held under TNPSC recruitment.

• Candidates must carry the hall ticket downloaded from the Commission’s website and a photocopy of one ID proof. The accepted IDs are Aadhaar, Passport, Driving Licence, PAN card and Voter ID. The original goes to the room invigilator.
• Candidates must reach the venue one hour before the exam. All gates close 30 minutes before the start.
• Objective papers allow only a black ballpoint pen. Descriptive papers allow a black ink pen.
• Venue changes are not allowed. Companions cannot enter, and water, tea, coffee and snacks are not allowed inside.
• On the OMR sheet, only one bubble per question can be darkened. Option E is darkened if the answer is not known.
• Marking answers in the question booklet leads to rejection.

The hall ticket and the notification carry the instructions for each exam.

Common mistakes that cause rejection

Most rejections noted in the Instructions come from a few errors in the TNPSC recruitment form.

• Wrong SSLC details in OTR, or a name that differs from the certificates.
• A selfie, phone photo or photocopy used as the photograph. The photo must be in colour, on a white background, with both ears visible. The name and date of photography must be printed at the bottom.
• A photograph taken before the notification date. Each application needs a photo taken on or after that date.
• A false fee exemption claim. The candidature is rejected, and the candidate is debarred for one year.
• Fee paid by Demand Draft or Postal Order. Offline payment is summarily rejected.
• Pressing Back or Refresh during online payment.
• Treating the preview as submission.
• An invalid email ID or mobile number. The Commission is not responsible for SMS or email that never arrives.

Annual planner and selection schedule

The Commission released the Annual Planner for 2026 on 3 December 2025. It is tentative, and TNPSC recruitment exams may be added or removed. Vacancies are announced in each notification, and the syllabus and scheme can change until the notification date.

The Selection Schedule page tracks each TNPSC recruitment notification by number and year. It shows whether the answer key, results, interview and counselling lists, and selection list are Published, Completed or Not Applicable. The month and year on that page are tentative.

Important Links

FAQs

How many days does the TNPSC recruitment correction window stay open?

The Application Correction Window opens after the last date and runs for three days for the prescribed posts named in the notification. Candidates can also edit the form until the last date. After the window ends, no changes are accepted, and edits that were not submitted are ignored.

Does TNPSC send the hall ticket by post?

No. For every TNPSC recruitment exam, the Commission makes the hall ticket available on its website, and candidates download it through their OTR. No duplicate is issued later. Candidates should keep it permanently, because the Commission may ask for it at the next stage.

Which posts need certificates at the application stage?

Direct recruitments other than Group I, II and IV need certificates with the application. Each claim needs one PDF of up to 200 KB. The Commission keeps these files linked to the OTR for a maximum of two years, and candidates upload them again after that.

Whom can candidates contact about an OTR query?

Queries about OTR or the online application go to helpdesk@tnpscexams.in. Other matters go to grievance.tnpsc@tn.gov.in. The toll-free number is 1800 419 0958, open on working days from 10:00 AM to 5:45 PM. These channels cover any TNPSC recruitment query.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I’m Sandeep Khati, founder of India Job Alerts. I completed my B. Tech. in Computer Science from Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College (JGEC) in 2010, then worked as a Systems Engineer at TCS. I moved into digital publishing in 2011, starting with SearchDarjeeling.com and later working as a web developer and designer at Darjeeling Informatics.

I launched India Job Alerts in April 2025. It’s my most focused project yet, built to publish verified Government and PSU job notifications for candidates in West Bengal, Sikkim, and across India. Before any post goes live, I personally check it against the official notification. Know more

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