TNPSC Combined Civil Services Examination IV (Group 4): syllabus and eligibility

Last checked 24 September 2026. Sources

About TNPSC Group 4

TNPSC Group 4 (Combined Civil Services Examination IV) fills Class 10-level jobs in Tamil Nadu government departments, boards and corporations, such as VAO, Junior Assistant, Typist, Steno-Typist and forest posts. Notification No. 07/2025, dated 25 April 2025, opened with 3,935 vacancies. Addenda 7B/2025 and 7C/2025 added posts and raised the notified total to 5,307, and addendum 7D/2025 (12 December 2025) revised a few more post counts. Everyone writes the same objective paper, and your rank in it decides when you get to pick a post at counselling.

Eligibility

Age limit

General category: 18–32 years, counted on 1 July 2025.

Age relaxation

• OBC: 2 years
• SC: 5 years
• ST: 5 years
• PwBD: 10 years
• Limits above are for the Others category. BC, BCM and MBC/DC candidates can be up to 34, and SC, SC(A) and ST candidates up to 37, for most posts.
• VAO and all forest posts need a minimum age of 21. For VAO, reserved categories can be up to 42; for forest posts, up to 37.
• BC, BCM, MBC/DC, SC, SC(A) and ST candidates who hold a qualification higher than the minimum have no upper age limit (they must be under 60), except for VAO and forest posts.
• Ex-servicemen and destitute widows get separate limits listed in the notification.

Qualification

SSLC (Class 10) pass for VAO, Junior Assistant, Junior Revenue Inspector, Field Assistant and Forest Watcher. Forest Guard needs a Higher Secondary pass with physics, chemistry, biology, zoology or botany as a subject. Typist and Steno-Typist also need Government Technical Examination passes in typewriting (and shorthand for Steno-Typist), and a few posts in boards and corporations ask for a degree.

Other conditions

• You need adequate knowledge of Tamil, shown by studying Tamil as a language in SSLC, HSC or degree, studying in Tamil medium, or passing TNPSC's Second Class Language Test in Tamil.
• Forest Guard and Forest Watcher candidates must meet physical standards and complete an endurance walk of 25 km (men) or 16 km (women and third gender) within four hours.

Selection process

1. Written exam (one objective paper on an OMR sheet)
2. Onscreen certificate verification
3. Physical Standards Test and Endurance Test (forest posts only)
4. Physical certificate verification and counselling

Exam pattern

TNPSC Group 4 syllabus

What they ask

The Group 4 paper has 200 questions for 300 marks in three hours, all at SSLC level. Part A is a 100-question Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test set only in Tamil, and you need 60 of its 150 marks or Parts B and C are not evaluated. Part B has 75 General Studies questions, with the largest shares from the Tamil Nadu economy and development administration unit and the Tamil Nadu history and culture unit (20 questions each). Part C has 25 aptitude and reasoning questions. Marks from all three parts count for your rank, and you need at least 90 in total to be considered.

How to prepare

• Treat Part A as a scoring section, not a hurdle: it carries 150 of the 300 marks. Start with grammar (25 questions), reading comprehension and the literature unit.
• The notification ties the Part A literature unit to school Tamil textbooks up to SSLC, so read the Tamil Nadu state board Tamil books up to Class 10 closely.
• In Part B, spend most of your time on Unit V (economy and development administration in Tamil Nadu), Unit VI (Tamil Nadu history, culture and Thirukkural) and Unit IV (Indian polity). Together they make up 55 of the 75 questions.
• Part C's 25 questions come from a short, fixed list: percentage, HCF and LCM, ratio, simple and compound interest, area, volume, time and work, and basic reasoning. Daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app keep these topics fresh.
• If you want a forest post, choose 'All the Posts' in the application, and start walking practice early for the 25 km (men) or 16 km (women and third gender) endurance test.

How to apply

1. Register once on TNPSC's One Time Registration (OTR) platform at www.tnpscexams.in. Registration costs Rs 150 and stays valid for five years.
2. Fill the Group 4 online application and choose your post option: all posts, or posts other than the forest posts.
3. Use the three-day correction window after the last date if you need to fix any details.
4. Download the hall ticket and carry a photocopy of your Aadhaar, passport, driving licence, PAN card or voter ID to the exam.

Documents checklist

• SSLC or HSC mark sheet for date of birth
• Proof of Tamil knowledge (mark sheet with Tamil as a language, or Second Class Language Test pass)
• Community certificate and age-concession documents, if you claim them

Tick off your TNPSC Group 4 documents with the checklist tool

Photo and signature

• Photo: Colour passport-size studio photo on a white background, taken on or after the notification date, with your name and the date of photography printed at the bottom. Size 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm (170 x 130 pixels); the OTR upload should be 20-50 KB.
• Signature: Scanned signature of 10-20 KB at 200 DPI.

Source: official instructions ↗

Resize your photo and signature for TNPSC Group 4

Previous papers and answer keys

• Answer keys on the official website ↗

TNPSC Group 4 FAQs

Sources

• TNPSC Notification No. 07/2025, CCSE IV (Group IV Services) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• TNPSC Addendum 7B/2025 to Notification 07/2025 (revised vacancies) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• TNPSC Addendum 7C/2025 to Notification 07/2025 (total 5,307 vacancies) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• TNPSC Addendum 7D/2025 to Notification 07/2025 ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• TNPSC answer keys and previous question papers ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)
• TNPSC home page (latest Group IV updates) ↗ (official, checked 24 September 2026)

Checked against official sources on 24 September 2026. Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.

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