EsPCEx

Overview

The EsPCEx (Escola Preparatória de Cadetes do Exército) is the Brazilian Army's preparatory school for officer cadets. Its admission contest selects candidates for the Curso de Formação e Graduação de Oficiais de Carreira da Linha de Ensino Militar Bélico, the combat-arms officer course that starts at the EsPCEx. The source for this page is the official notice for the 2026/27 contest, published in the Diário Oficial da União on 23 April 2026, which offered 440 places.

For 2026/27 the places were split into ampla concorrência (open competition), 70 per cent, and reserved quotas: 25 per cent for black candidates, 3 per cent for Indigenous candidates and 2 per cent for quilombola candidates. Men and women compete in separate lists (400 places for men and 40 for women).

Who can apply

To register, a candidate must be:

• a native-born Brazilian;

• holder of a civil or military identity card and a CPF number;

• at least 17 and at most 22 years old by 31 December of the year of enrolment.

A candidate who passes every stage and is called for enrolment must also meet the further requirements the notice lists for matriculation. These include a completed secondary education (with diploma or school record), fitness in every phase of the second stage, clear standing with the electoral authorities, and a minimum height: 1.60 m for men and 1.55 m for women. Men aged 16 or under may qualify at 1.57 m if a specialist exam shows they are still growing. Registration needs a gov.br account in the candidate's own name.

Stages

The contest has two stages.

1. First stage: Exame Intelectual (EI). A written exam taken by all registered candidates. It is both eliminatory and classificatory.

2. Second stage. Taken only by candidates called after the EI, in this order, each phase eliminatory: health inspection (Inspeção de Saúde), physical fitness test (Exame de Aptidão Física), psychological exam, and verification of the requirements for enrolment. Candidates who chose reserved places also go through a confirmation of their self-declaration.

Exam pattern

The Exame Intelectual is held on two consecutive days. Each day lasts 4 hours 30 minutes, with no break. The weights below are those stated in the notice.

The essay is both eliminatory and classificatory. Only the essays of candidates who reach at least the median score in every objective test are marked.

Marking and results

A candidate is eliminated from the contest if they fall below the median score in any of the tests, or are rated "unfit" on the essay. The final exam score (NFEI) puts candidates in rank order, and the result is published as eight lists: men and women, each split into open competition and the three quota groups. Ties are broken by the highest mark in Portuguese first, then Mathematics, Physics, English, essay, Chemistry, History and Geography.

Important dates

For the 2026/27 contest:

• Registration: 27 April to 29 May 2026.

• Exame Intelectual: 12 and 13 September 2026.

• Provisional answer key: 14 September 2026; final answer key and review decisions: 6 October 2026.

• Objective scores and medians: 9 October 2026; essays marked 9 to 26 October 2026.

• Result of the EI and first call list: 27 November 2026.

• Candidates called to the second stage report in Campinas-SP on 19 January 2027.

Fees

For 2026/27 the registration fee was R$ 100.00, with no refund. Fee exemption was available to bone-marrow donors registered with bodies recognised by the Ministry of Health and to candidates from low-income families who met the notice's conditions.

How to apply

Register through the online system run by the contracted exam board (VUNESP), which is linked from the EsPCEx website, using a gov.br login. The registration is only valid once the fee is confirmed as paid by the due date. Choose the exam city on the form, and print the confirmation card for exam day.

After the exam

Candidates who clear the EI are called, in rank order, for the second stage held at the EsPCEx in Campinas, São Paulo. The physical fitness test has minimum standards for each task, and a failed task can be retaken in the limited ways the notice allows. Those who clear every phase and fall within the number of places are enrolled in the course.

Preparation tips

• Study to the subject list in the notice and the candidate manual; the exam covers eight subjects over two days.

• Portuguese and Mathematics carry the highest weight (2 each), then Physics and English (1.5 each).

• Practise the essay, since a poor essay or a low objective score in any one subject can eliminate you.

• Prepare for the physical test early, because it is a separate eliminatory phase.