APPSC Group 1 notification 2026: posts, dates, eligibility and exam pattern

Key numbers at a glance

We read all 66 pages of the notification on the day it came out and compared it line by line with the brief notification of 15 September. Three posts were added, and the Prelims date was fixed. The scheme and the syllabus did not change. Everything below is taken from the notification itself. The official PDF is here: APPSC Notification 07/2026 (psc.ap.gov.in).

What are the important dates?

The APPSC Group 1 form is open for 22 days, from 6 to 27 October 2026. After the last date, the commission opens a correction window for 7 days. The Prelims is on 24 January 2027, which is 110 days from the day of the notification. The commission has not given the Mains date.

Status as of 6 October 2026. The marked row is the next date to act on.

Hall tickets for the Prelims and the Mains are put on the commission's website. The notification asks candidates to check the website regularly, because the website is the final word for all communication.

How many posts are there, and what do they pay?

APPSC Group 1 2026 has 166 vacancies in 13 posts. The largest groups are DSP (Civil) with 36 and Divisional Development Officer with 35. Together they make 71 of the 166. The highest pay scale is for Divisional Development Officer: Rs 65,360 to 1,54,980.

The two marked posts hold 71 of the 166 vacancies.

"Carried forward" means a reserved seat that was not filled in an earlier recruitment. These are filled first, before the fresh vacancies.

The number moved twice before this. The government order of 22 August 2026 sanctioned 149 posts. The brief notification of 15 September listed 163. The detailed notification lists 166: one more Deputy Collector (11 to 12), one more Deputy Registrar (15 to 16) and one more Assistant Audit Officer (14 to 15). The notification says the count can still change, and added vacancies are accepted only before the Prelims date.

To see how the posts divide by zone and district, see Group 1 posts by district.

Is 166 a lot for APPSC Group 1?

It is the second-largest APPSC Group 1 count since 2016. We read every Group 1 notification since then: 78 posts in 36/2016, 169 in 27/2018, 92 in 28/2022 and 81 in 12/2023. Only 27/2018 had more than 166.

Who can apply?

For APPSC Group 1 you need a degree from a recognised university and must be within the age limit on 1 July 2026. The degree must be in hand on 6 October 2026, the date of the detailed notification. DSP (Communications) needs a B.E. or B.Tech in Electronics and Communication, Electronics and Telecommunication, or Radio Engineering. All other posts take any degree.

Age. The minimum is 18, except DSP (Civil), where it is 21. The maximum is 44, except the two DSP posts, where it is 30. The upper limit is raised for these groups:

Our age limit guide works through examples.

Distance and open-university degrees count only if the Distance Education Council recognised them. A distance B.Tech counts only if AICTE approved it. If there is a doubt, the candidate must prove the recognition.

DSP posts have physical standards. Men: height at least 167.6 cm, chest at least 86.3 cm with 5 cm expansion. ST men: 164 cm and 83.8 cm. Women: height at least 152.5 cm and weight at least 45.5 kg. There are eye-sight standards too, without contact lenses. These apply to post codes 03 and 04 only.

How does reservation and local status work?

In APPSC Group 1, the rule is that 95% of the posts in each multi-zone go to local candidates of that zone. The other 5% are open to everyone on merit, locals and non-locals together. This rule applies to every post except DSP (Communications), which is a State-level post with no local quota. In this notification, 24 of the 166 posts are open to everyone, including the 3 DSP (Communications) posts.

Posts 01 to 03, 05 to 11 and 13 are filled by multi-zone:

Post 12 (Assistant Audit Officer) is filled by the six zones instead.

Who is a local candidate? You are local to the area where you studied for at least four years in a row, up to and including the year you took the Class 7 exam. If you studied in a school in those years, you must show study certificates. A residence certificate is accepted only from someone who did not study in a school up to Class 7, for example an open-university graduate.

Other reservations. Women get 33 1/3% and meritorious sports persons get 3%, both across all categories. Persons with Benchmark Disabilities get reservation in all posts except the two DSP posts. For State Tax it is limited to hearing and orthopaedic disability, for Transport to hearing, and for Treasury to orthopaedic. BC-E reservation depends on the cases pending in court.

Candidates of SC, ST, BC or EWS from other States get no reservation and no fee exemption.

Which certificates must be ready, and with what date?

For APPSC Group 1, the BC non-creamy-layer certificate and the EWS certificate must be issued on or after 1 April 2026 and not later than 27 October 2026. An older certificate will not do. The EWS certificate must be in digital form, from a Tahsildar, based on income for 2025-26. EWS means a family income below Rs 8 lakh a year.

A list to keep ready. The commission's website has a format for most of them (Annexure III, A.8):

• degree certificate
• community, nativity and date of birth certificate (SC, ST, BC: from a Tahsildar or above)
• BC non-creamy-layer certificate, dated 1 April 2026 or later
• EWS certificate, dated 1 April 2026 or later
• school study certificates from Class 1 to 7, or a residence certificate if you did not study in a school
• declaration of unemployment, if you claim the fee exemption on that basis
• disability certificate (blind, hearing, or orthopaedic format), if you claim PBD
• local status certificate, if you moved from Telangana to AP between 2 June 2014 and 1 June 2024

You must produce these when the commission calls for them. If you cannot, the commission rejects the candidature, and a BC candidate without the non-creamy-layer certificate on the day of verification loses the reservation. A candidate who needs a scribe must also upload the disability certificate with the form.

How do I apply, and what is the fee?

You apply to APPSC only online, at psc.ap.gov.in. First create your One Time Profile Registration (OTPR). Then log in, open "Online Application Submission" and click "Fill Application" against notification 07/2026. Upload your own scanned photo and signature in JPG format. The form is submitted only when you click "Save & Submit" and pay. Clicking "Save" alone does not submit it. Do not change your appearance much until the recruitment ends, because the photo is matched at verification.

Fee. Rs 250 application processing fee for everyone, plus Rs 120 exam fee. These groups do not pay the Rs 120:

• SC, ST, BC, Persons with Benchmark Disabilities and ex-servicemen
• families with an AP white ration card
• unemployed youth, who give a declaration later

Candidates from other States pay both, except PBD candidates and ex-servicemen, who keep the exemption. The fee is paid online by net banking, credit card or debit card. It is not refunded.

Exam centres. For the Prelims, choose three centres, in order, from the 26 district centres. For the Mains, choose one of four: Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, Ananthapuramu. You choose both in the same form.

Mistakes you cannot fix later. In the 7-day correction window you can change most fields for Rs 100 each. You cannot change your name, anything that sets the fee, or your age relaxation. Your community cannot be changed after the window. The details from your OTPR on the day you apply are the ones used, so correct your OTPR before you apply. A false declaration can bar you from all APPSC exams for up to five years.

What is the exam pattern?

APPSC Group 1 has three stages: the Prelims (Screening Test), the Mains (written, descriptive) and the Interview. The Prelims only decides who goes to the Mains. The final rank comes from the Mains and the Interview, 825 marks in all.

Prelims (Screening Test).

Both papers are compulsory. Missing one can disqualify you. Each wrong answer takes away one third of the marks for that question. The papers are degree standard.

Mains.

The Telugu and English papers must be passed but are not added to the rank. The pass mark in each is 40% for OC, sports persons and EWS; 35% for BC; 30% for SC, ST and PBD. The five main papers can be written in English, Telugu or Urdu. All five must be in the same medium.

How many go from the Prelims to the Mains, and then to the Interview?

APPSC sends 50 times the number of vacancies to the Mains, counted for all communities together. With 166 vacancies, that is 8,300 candidates. The commission also fixes a minimum qualifying mark in the Prelims, and it may relax the standard for SC, ST, BC and disabled candidates if too few qualify.

After the Mains, candidates are called to the Interview at 1:2, which means two candidates for each vacancy: about 332 for 166 posts. To be selected, a candidate needs a minimum aggregate of 40% (OC, sports, EWS), 35% (BC) or 30% (SC, ST, PBD). There is no waiting list.

If two candidates have the same Mains total, the older one is ranked higher. If the age is also the same, the one who got the qualification earlier is ranked higher.

What happens after the Prelims?

APPSC publishes an initial answer key on its website. You can object within three days, at Rs 100 per objection, using the form on the website. Three subject experts look at the objections. If your objection is accepted, your Rs 100 is refunded. The final key cannot be challenged again.

Two rules matter for Telugu-medium candidates and for everyone:

• The question paper is set in English and translated into Telugu. If the two differ, the English version is used for marks.
• If a question is deleted, the marks of that part are scaled up to its full marks.

Before the Mains, the commission takes your post preferences, zone preferences and Mains medium online. You give post and zone preferences again at certificate verification, and that second list is final.

What are the rules in the exam hall?

The APPSC Prelims answer sheet is read by a machine, so small mistakes cancel it.

The OMR answer sheet

123

1. 1Booklet series: bubble it correctly. A wrong or blank booklet series cancels the sheet.
2. 2Top sheet: hand it in.
3. 3Bottom copy: you may take it home. Keep it to check your answers against the key.

• Use a ball point pen, blue or black, only. Pencil, ink pen and gel pen are not allowed.
• Bubble your booklet series correctly. A wrong or blank booklet series cancels the sheet.
• No whitener, eraser or blade. Any change made this way cancels the sheet.
• Hand in the top sheet. You may take the bottom copy home. Keep it to check your answers against the key.
• Phones are banned even when switched off. So are smart watches, calculators and Bluetooth devices. The commission cannot keep your phone safe, so leave it at home.
• Totally blind candidates get a scribe and 20 extra minutes per hour. They may bring their own scribe after telling the commission. Candidates with at least 40% locomotor disability or cerebral palsy affecting the writing hand get 20 extra minutes per hour without a scribe.

What should I do this week?

The one thing to keep from this page: the APPSC Prelims is on 24 January 2027, and its marks only open the door to the Mains. Your rank is made in the Mains and the Interview.

1. Check your age on 1 July 2026 against your post, with any relaxation that applies to you.
2. Check that your degree was in hand on 6 October 2026.
3. If you are BC or EWS, get a certificate dated 1 April 2026 or later, before 27 October.
4. Collect your Class 1 to 7 study certificates.
5. Correct your OTPR, then fill the form and click "Save & Submit". Do not wait for the last day.
6. Download the filled form PDF and keep the payment reference.

Questions people ask