CSS

Overview

The CSS (Central Superior Services) Competitive Examination is the annual exam the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) holds to recruit officers into BS-17 posts in Pakistan's federal occupational groups and services. It is FPSC's flagship exam; FPSC also runs separate general recruitment tests for individual federal posts, which are a different process.

The exam fills posts in twelve groups and services: Commerce and Trade Group, Foreign Service of Pakistan, Information Group, Inland Revenue Service, Military Lands and Cantonments Group, Office Management Group, Pakistan Administrative Service, Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, Pakistan Customs Service, Police Service of Pakistan, Postal Group, and Railways (Commercial and Transportation) Group.

Who can apply

• Nationality: citizens of Pakistan, or persons deriving nationality from the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Age: 21 to 30 years on the cut-off date. For CSS 2027 the cut-off date is 31 December 2026. The upper limit is relaxed by two years for categories listed in Rule 6 of the CSS rules: candidates from the scheduled caste and Buddhist communities, recognised tribes of specified areas, permanent residents of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, candidates with disabilities, and government servants and armed forces personnel with at least two years' continuous service. Only one concession applies; they do not add up.

• Education: at least a second division or grade C bachelor's degree from a Pakistani university, or an HEC-recognised equivalent. A candidate with a third division bachelor's degree is eligible if they hold a higher division in a master's degree.

• Attempts: a candidate may take the written CSS exam at most three times within the age limit. Appearing in even one paper counts as an attempt. The preliminary test has no attempt limit, but candidates who have already used all three CSS chances cannot sit it.

• Domicile: seats are allocated by provincial and regional quota, so candidates must produce a domicile certificate, and a domicile once accepted cannot be changed later.

Levels or stages

The competitive examination has five stages, taken in order.

MCQ-based Preliminary Test (MPT)

A screening test used to shortlist candidates for the written exam. It is one paper of 200 MCQs worth 200 marks, lasting 200 minutes. The qualifying threshold is 33%. An MPT pass is valid only for the same year's exam, and only MPT qualifiers may apply for and sit the written exam.

Written examination

Twelve papers worth 1,200 marks in total: compulsory papers worth 600 marks and optional papers worth 600 marks. Each paper is 3 hours long, and subjects carrying 200 marks are split into two 100-mark papers. Most papers include some MCQs, answered on an OMR sheet, except Essay, Applied Mathematics and Pure Mathematics.

Medical examination

Candidates who pass the written exam are examined by a medical board and must be in good mental and physical health.

Psychological assessment

Written tests and group tasks that look at a candidate's personality and aptitude for the civil services. No separate marks are awarded, but the result feeds into the viva voce assessment. A candidate who misses it cannot sit the viva voce.

Viva voce

An interview worth 300 marks. The board looks at the candidate's academic and extracurricular record, general awareness, moral and ethical qualities, alertness and leadership potential. Candidates are expected to know about Islam and Pakistan (non-Muslims are not asked about Islam).

Exam pattern

Compulsory papers (600 marks)

In General Science and Ability, the general science part has 20 marks of MCQs and 40 marks of written questions, and the ability part has 40 marks of written questions. Calculators are not allowed in this paper.

Optional papers (600 marks)

Candidates choose subjects adding up to 600 marks from seven groups, taking no more than one choice from each group:

The optional subjects are set at the level of an honours degree. The subject combination chosen on the application is final and cannot be changed later.

Syllabus

FPSC publishes a syllabus guideline for every compulsory and optional subject, and a separate syllabus for the MPT, on its website. The MPT covers English, general abilities, general knowledge, Islamic Studies (or Civics and Ethics) and Urdu at the levels shown above. The written exam covers essay writing, precis and composition, general science and mental ability, current affairs, Pakistan affairs, Islamic Studies and the chosen optional subjects.

Marking and results

• Written exam pass rule: at least 40% in each compulsory paper, at least 33% in each optional paper, and at least 50% in aggregate. The three General Knowledge papers are passed together by scoring at least 120 out of 300.

• Viva voce: a candidate scoring less than 100 out of 300 fails and cannot be appointed.

• Final merit: written marks plus viva voce marks. Ties are broken by viva voce marks, then compulsory-paper marks, then age (older first).

• Allocation: successful candidates are recommended in merit order against the available vacancies and the provincial and regional quotas, and are then allocated to groups.

For CSS 2026, 63,368 candidates applied for the MPT and 36,758 passed it. 17,351 candidates sat the written exam, held from 4 to 15 February 2026, and 476 passed (2.74%). For CSS 2025, 12,792 candidates sat the written exam, 355 passed, and 170 received allocations.

Important dates

FPSC announces a tentative schedule each year. For CSS 2026, the MPT was held on 9 November 2025 and the written exam began on 4 February 2026.

For CSS 2027, online MPT applications closed on 20 August 2026 and the MPT was scheduled for 27 September 2026, as reported from FPSC's notice. The written exam date is announced in a separate public notice after the MPT.

Fees

• MPT: Rs 250, as stated in the notice for CSS 2026.

• Written exam: Rs 2,200 under the CSS rules.

• Medical board: the rules set Rs 100, paid into the government treasury, plus Rs 1,400 paid to the medical board at the time of the medical exam.

• Representation or review petition: Rs 500 each. Recounting of marks: Rs 500 per paper.

Fees are paid in Pakistani Rupees under the account head C02101 (Organs of State, Exam Fee, FPSC Receipt). Recent notices ask candidates to pay through a PSID (payment slip ID) generated by FPSC's online system.

How to apply

1. Watch the FPSC website for the MPT public notice. For CSS 2026 and CSS 2027 it was issued in August of the previous year.

2. Apply online within the MPT window and pay the MPT fee. No hard copies of documents are needed at the MPT stage.

3. Download the admission certificate from the FPSC website about 10 days before the test, and bring it with your original CNIC and fee receipt.

4. If you pass the MPT, apply online again for the written exam when FPSC opens that window, choosing your optional subjects and test centre.

The MPT and written exam are held at 19 centres, including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad. A test centre cannot be changed once selected.

After the exam

Written results are published on the FPSC website. Successful candidates are then scheduled for the medical exam, psychological assessment and viva voce. After the final result, FPSC recommends candidates in merit order up to the number of BS-17 vacancies, which are announced with the approval of the Establishment Division, and the appointing authorities make the appointments.

Preparation tips

• Prepare for the MPT and the written exam together. The MPT's English, general knowledge and general ability sections overlap with the compulsory written papers.

• Give the compulsory papers extra time. A score below 40% in any one of them fails the whole written exam, however well you do in the optional papers.

• Choose optional subjects you have studied or can study to honours level, and check the group rules before you apply, because a wrong combination leads to rejection.

• Practise timed, handwritten answers for three-hour papers, especially the essay and precis.