COM/AD/111/2026: the AD6 generalist internal competition

Last checked against sources: 26 October 2026. The notice is published on the Commission's intranet only, so the facts below come from vendors who quote it. Each carries a label: reported (a vendor or staff union gives it) or estimated (our inference, with the reasoning).

Status at a glance

Who can apply

As reported by EPSOHQ, the competition is open to AD officials and temporary agents, to officials and temporary agents at AST4 and above, and to contract agents in function group IV. Candidates need six consecutive months in those categories and twelve months in the Commission; contract agents need 36 months in total. There are four qualification routes: a three-year degree plus two years' experience, a four-year degree plus one, Commission certification plus two years at AD level, or equivalent vocational training plus two.

Every test is sat in language 2: English, French or German, which must differ from the main language recorded in Sysper (reported). Check the binding wording in the notice itself before you apply.

The EU knowledge test

Thirty four-option questions in 30 minutes: one minute a question. AST candidates get 40 minutes for the same 30, which is why the AD and AST timers should never be mixed up in practice. In the 2026 competitions, the Commission's guidance to candidates has described a forward-only screen: questions answered in order, no going back, and no moving on without choosing an option. A wrong answer scores zero, the same as a blank.

The pass mark is 15/30, but passing does not decide much on its own. Only the highest scorers, up to 2.5 times the 100 places, have their written test marked (reported). No score distribution has ever been published, so the mark that reaches the top 250 is unknown. How scoring and the 2.5x rule work sets out the arithmetic, including what pure guessing scores.

What is in scope: the content cut-off

The 2026 rule, from the Commission's guidance to candidates, is publicly available official EU sources only, and nothing published after the application period opened. No public source gives the day this notice opened; the first public reports are dated 6 October 2026, so we estimate a cut-off of about 5 to 6 October 2026. That brings in documents that earlier 2026 competitions could not use, such as Omnibus XI and XII (presented on 24 June 2026) and the customs reform adopted on 16 September 2026.

The content cut-off guide lists what changed between the 2026 cut-offs, and the source register can be filtered to this competition. The three syllabus areas are mapped in the topic hubs.

Dates that are not public yet

Neither the cognitive test nor the knowledge test has a date. We estimate the cognitive test for 7 to 18 December 2026 or, more likely, 11 to 29 January 2027, and the knowledge test and written test five to seven weeks later, in February to April 2027. A Commission staff union reports that HR has committed to announce each test at least two weeks ahead. The Commission has also said it will publish guidance and sample questions on Staff Centre before the test (reported by EPSOHQ).

Before and after the knowledge test

Before: the cognitive gate at the 60th percentile. Our sister site epsoshlprep.com offers practice for that test.

After: the written test, sat the same day (90 minutes, pass 30/50), then an oral with a pass mark of 25/50 (reported). The whole journey is in the AD6 and AST2 guide.

Practise in the right format

Our free 30-question test runs on the Commission's forward-only rules with the 30-minute AD timer, in English, French or German, and shows the official source behind every answer. Read how the EU knowledge test works for the full format. If we correct a question or this page, it goes in the corrections log.