EPSO/AD/427/26: the EU knowledge test in EPSO's open AD5 competition

Last checked against sources: 26 October 2026. Unlike the Commission's internal competitions, this notice is public, so most facts below are confirmed from EPSO's own documents. Where we infer, we say estimated.

Status at a glance

What the notice says about the test

EPSO's FAQ adds that those references will be published approximately two months before the testing session. On 30 June 2026 EPSO announced that Part 2 (the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the written essay, EUFTE) will take place in 2027, on dates to be announced. We estimate April to June 2027, because Part 1 results are unlikely before January and the source list must come out about two months ahead.

Who sits Part 2

Everyone who passes Part 1 is invited to Part 2: at least 10/20 in verbal reasoning and a combined 10/20 in numerical and abstract reasoning. Part 2 is sat in language 2, and EPSO notes that the three tests may be delivered in a different order from the one listed. With 174,727 applications, the Part 2 field will be far larger than any Commission internal competition, though no forecast of its size has been published.

How the knowledge test counts

The knowledge test is scored first. Only candidates who reach 15/30 have their digital skills test (40 questions, 30 minutes, pass 20/40) scored. Those who pass everything are ranked on a preliminary score: verbal reasoning 40%, EU knowledge 30%, digital skills 30%. The EUFTE is then marked, and eligibility checked, for a limited number from the top of that ranking, in principle no more than 1.5 times the places. The final score weights verbal reasoning 35%, EU knowledge 25%, digital skills 25% and the EUFTE 15%. Results are notified only at the end of the competition.

So the knowledge test is a ranked score, not just a gate: each mark above 15 carries weight to the reserve list. Compare the Commission's internal test (how the EU knowledge test works covers both), where the knowledge score only filters who has their written test marked. How scoring works sets the two side by side.

The screen, and what to do about a faulty question

EPSO's testing instructions (March 2026) let candidates move freely between questions within a test part and flag any question for later review, and the platform warns before submitting a part with unanswered questions. That is the opposite of the Commission's internal format, where each question must be answered before moving on and there is no going back. The AD vs AST timing guide compares the timers.

If you think a question contained an error, the notice's general rules give you 3 calendar days from the day after your test to complain through your candidate account. The Selection Board may neutralise the question. No request for review is possible against knowledge-test results.

How to prepare before the source list

Until EPSO publishes its references, the safest ground is the institutions and their procedures, which the notice names. Our EPSO AD5 Part 2 guide sets out what to read first, and the topic hubs cover the institutional set-up. The content cut-off guide explains why internal-competition dates do not apply here, and our source register will be mapped to EPSO's list once it is out.

Our free 30-question test can be set to open-competition rules (40 minutes, flag and return), in English, French or German, and shows the official source behind each answer. For the Part 1 reasoning tests that come first, our sister site ad5practice.com offers practice. Changes to this page are logged in the corrections log.