Special Examination for Local Government Civil Servants (Taiwan)地方特考

Overview

The Special Examination for Local Government Civil Servants (commonly called the local government special exam) recruits staff for city and county governments in Taiwan. It is governed by a set of rules issued under the Civil Service Examination Act. This page summarises those rules as published in the official national laws and regulations database. The Ministry of Examination announces each year's schedule, vacancies, fees and subject lists separately, and this page does not cover them. Check the Ministry of Examination before applying.

Who can apply

• You must be a citizen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and at least 18 years old.

• You must hold at least one of the qualifications listed in the rules' eligibility tables for the grade and category you choose.

• You must not be barred from national examinations by law.

Exam pattern

There are two grades: a third-grade exam and a fourth-grade exam. Subjects for each category are set in schedules attached to the rules.

• Most categories are written exams only.

• For the third-grade categories of Hakka affairs administration, public-service social worker, public-service veterinarian and public-service architect, and for the fourth-grade category of Hakka affairs administration, the exam has two stages. The first is written, and only those who pass it may sit the second, an individual oral exam. A first-stage pass cannot be carried over to a later year.

Marking and results

• Third-grade written-only categories: the total score combines general subjects and the average of the professional subjects. Legal knowledge and English together count for 14 percent, Chinese for 8 percent, and the professional subject average for 78 percent.

• Fourth-grade written-only categories: the total is the average of all subject scores.

• A missed subject scores zero.

• For categories with an oral exam, the oral score is the average of the examiners' marks. Hakka affairs administration weights written to oral at 80:20 (third grade) and 90:10 (fourth grade). Public-service social worker, veterinarian and architect (third grade) weight 70:30, with the written part based on the professional subjects only.

• You are not admitted if any subject scores zero, if the total is below 50, or if an oral score is below 60. For third-grade architectural engineering, the architectural design subject must reach 50, and the same applies to the landscape and urban design subject in the landscape category.

Regions and placement

Recruitment is centralised: one registration, but candidates are admitted and placed by region. The rules define 15 regions: Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taoyuan cities; Keelung-Yilan; Hsinchu-Miaoli; Changhua-Nantou; Yunlin-Chiayi; Pingtung; Hualien-Taitung; Penghu; Kinmen; and Lienchiang (Matsu). Admission in each region follows that year's staffing needs, and extra candidates may be placed on a reserve list.

After the exam

• Admitted candidates must complete training. Once they pass it and the Civil Service Protection and Training Commission approves, the Examination Yuan issues the pass certificate and they are placed in a post.

• After qualifying, you must work three years in the post you were placed in and may not move to an authority outside it. To move outside the placement authority, you must then serve a further three years in an authority within the same region.