Candidates can take the tests from anywhere in the world as long as the environment requirements as laid out in the instructions for online testing are fulfilled.

Please note that the timing of the tests cannot be modified, so candidates in other time zones might have to take the tests during the night.

Candidates in other time zones also have to make sure that their computer’s date and time settings match their current time zone in order for the TestWe application to show the correct timing of the tests.

When relevant, the field-related tests questions are based on the official texts in force on the date of publication of the notice of competition.

For the identification process during the online tests, you can use any other ID document as long as it is a valid official identity document that bears your name and photo on the same side (if not, please read this FAQ).

Please make sure that a copy of this document is uploaded in your EPSO account.

EPSO tests are organised on specific dates and times to ensure equality and fairness among all candidates. 

According to EPSO’s Candidate Complaint Resolution Policy for Testing Events, professional commitments (meeting, conference, business trip) are NOT considered as exceptional circumstances or circumstances beyond the candidate's control. 

Therefore, it is not possible to reschedule your test based on professional travel commitments.

EPSO tests are organised on specific dates and times to ensure equality and fairness among all candidates.

According to EPSO’s Candidate Complaint Resolution Policy for Testing Events, personal travel commitments are NOT considered as exceptional circumstances or circumstances beyond the candidate’s control.

Therefore, it is not possible to reschedule your test based on personal travel commitments.

Should you have a serious doubt about the content of a test (WT or FRMCQ), please contact us only via the contact form within 3 calendar days of the date of your tests, by describing what the question or test part was about (content) in order to identify the question or part concerned and explain the nature of the alleged error as clearly as possible. Please also mention your candidate number (see the respective Annex of the Notice of Competition).

If the identified test content does not comply with EPSO´s strict quality criteria despite thorough quality controls in place, corrective measures will be taken.

You will receive a reply to your complaint about the test content shortly before the publication of the test results in the candidates’ EPSO accounts. 

No, candidates are no longer required to book a testing appointment in advance. With EPSO’s new external test provider, all candidates will be invited to sit their tests on the same day and at the same time.

The exact date and time of the tests are published on the relevant competition page as soon as they are available. Please note that it is not possible to modify the time or date of your tests.

Under the term 'Written test', there are three different types of tests that EPSO will use according to the needs expressed by the recruiting services, in line with the relevant notice of competition:

1. Written test (WT) related to the field(s) of the competition, assessing only written communication skills.
2. Field-related written test (FRWT), assessing written communication skills and knowledge in the relevant field of the competition.
3. Free-text Essay on EU matters (EUFTE), assessing only written communication skills.

Candidates will be required to respond to the test assignment(s) based on the documentation provided by EPSO and related to the field(s) of the competition.

The written test is not a language test. Candidates will be assessed on the basis of the specific ‘anchors’ listed below (‘anchors’ are the elements taken into consideration by test markers (i.e. assessors) when assessing a given competency).

‘Anchors’ for written communication skills:

The candidate:

1. structures the written communication with a logical flow of ideas.​
2. writes concisely without use of unnecessary words and sentences.​
3. presents subject-matter in an understandable way.​
4. adapts/tailors their writing to match the intended audience and purpose.​
5. uses the information provided to deal with the assignment.

In the context of EPSO’s selection procedures (competitions) a subject matter expert, or SME for short, is someone whose job is to participate in the process of creating certain types of written tests, such as field-related questionnaires.

SMEs are officials from the EU institutions and bodies served by EPSO. They take on this task for a limited period of time, in parallel with their usual work. Officials become SMEs on a voluntary basis, following a dedicated call for interest. They are nominated formally by their organisation of origin and must have a relevant profile in terms of knowledge or expertise in order to participate in the process of test development. They must have no conflict of interest as regards their competition in order to be confirmed as SMEs.

Nominated SMEs are trained by EPSO on test development methodologies before they take up their duties and continue to receive specific support from EPSO throughout their assignment.

Every test development process is analysed by EPSO’s team of psychologists in order to detect any possible bias. EPSO ensures that the process follows the agreed standards for large-scale selection procedures such as the ones organised by EPSO.

In the context of EPSO’s selection procedures (competitions) a marker is someone whose job is to assess the quality of the candidates’ performance as regards free-text selection tests (e.g. case study, translation and linguistic revision tests, essay), by attributing a corresponding mark (value). Another word for marker could be assessor or evaluator.

Markers are officials from the EU institutions and bodies served by EPSO. Officials become markers on a voluntary basis, following a dedicated call for interest. They are nominated formally by their organisation of origin and must have a relevant profile in terms of knowledge or expertise in order to mark EPSO selection tests. They must have no conflict of interest as regards their competition in order to be confirmed as markers.

EPSO’s assessment process always involves at least one selection test requiring two markers, with a view to improving the objectivity and fairness of the process. Marking is a double-blind process, i.e. markers are not informed about the identity of the author of the scripts, and do not know the mark provided by the other marker. Every marking exercise is analysed by EPSO’s team of psychologists in order to detect any possible bias or inequality of treatment. In case of significant discrepancies between the two markers, a third marker is called in by EPSO to assess the tests in question and to provide a definitive mark.

Nominated markers are trained by EPSO on assessment methodologies before they take up their duties and continue to receive specific support from EPSO throughout their assignment.

Please check the Notice of Competition or Call for Expression of Interest of your selection procedure for the number of questions, duration and pass scores for the tests.

All EPSO test are organised online. Please check the IT and technical requirements for online testing with EPSO’s new provider. Specific information on the use of Corporate computers for online tests is also available. Detailed instructions for the online tests are sent together with the invitation for the tests via the candidates’ EPSO Accounts and afterwards via the external contractor through email.

Transition to online testing for all EPSO competitions is a strategic choice endorsed by its Management Board (EPSO’s interinstitutional governing body). Our objective is to be faster and more modern, while contributing to the EU’s ‘green policy’ and ensuring cost efficiency. This is an evolutionary development bringing EPSO in line with current international standards for large-scale staff selection procedures.

EPSO understands that online testing is new to many people. We want to make sure that all candidates can become familiar with the way online testing works in practice. For that reason we have created a number of public notes aimed at giving you as much information and guidance as possible, before you even apply to our selection procedures and are invited to test.

Since 2023, all competitions have been run via online tests as decided by EPSO’s management board. This brings a significant gain cost and efficiency-wise, and it is also more environmentally friendly.

Online testing via our external contractor enables candidates to sit the tests from any location while maintaining the integrity of the tests.

Online testing allows EPSO to progress faster with competition organisation.

The online tests require a third party – an external contractor – to take control of your computer while you take the test. Among other things, this prevents candidates from browsing the internet or running applications outside the remit of the tests.

In order to enable online selection tests to run on a corporate computer – including those made available to staff of EPSO’s institutional clients (e.g. the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and others) – multiple security controls would have to be disabled, relaxed or changed by an authorised administrator.

Understandably, corporate stakeholders must ensure that the risks to their digital environment are reduced to a minimum and that’s why candidates can usually not use their corporate PC for the remotely proctored tests.

To learn more about the security constraints involved, read Why can't I use my corporate computer for EPSO's online selection tests? | EU Careers (europa.eu).

Your test results in an open competition can only be taken into account for the relevant competition, not for other competitions or CAST/P selection procedures. Exception: under certain conditions, your test results for a CAST/P selection procedure can be valid in the context of other CAST/P selection procedures.

All competitions are run via online tests. EPSO started this transition during the pandemic, and the vast majority of candidates have welcomed the flexibility provided.

Online testing via our external contractor allows candidates to sit the tests securely in a remote location with their own computer.

When taking an online test, candidates will be continuously monitored using various monitoring tools.

Exams are continuously monitored for suspicious activity or behaviour by video and audio recordings.

The Competency Framework defines the competencies that are considered essential to perform effectively in any given job, by the EU institutions and bodies that EPSO serves. Some of those competencies are assessed by EPSO during the selection phase, others are assessed by the EU institutions and bodies themselves during the recruitment phase. Please keep in mind that for the more specialised profiles, the EU Institutions are looking for candidates that are highly qualified in their field of expertise. Information on the field-related competencies, as well as on the tests evaluating both the general and field-related competencies, can always be found in the Notice of Competition, the only official document that contains detailed information about the actual tests used by EPSO for a given competition. All notices are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Please consult the general competencies and their respective anchors (‘anchors’ are the elements taken into consideration by test markers (i.e. assessors) when assessing a given competency).

The main objective of EPSO's reasoning tests is to measure key reasoning abilities for all future EU officials, not to cut down candidate numbers. Based on well-established scientific studies, these tests have the highest predictive value of future job performance (compared to purely knowledge-based tests). Even though candidates within the same competition do not receive the same questions, the level of difficulty of the individual tests delivered to each candidate is identical, thereby ensuring equal treatment. The validity and reliability of multiple-choice computer-based tests has been confirmed by European Court of Justice case-law, and the Court also confirmed that these tests comply with the principle of fair and equal treatment. At the same time computer-based tests allow EPSO to test huge numbers of candidates in a very short time in an efficient and user-friendly manner.

EPSO's tests are developed and monitored carefully by its team of in-house occupational psychologists together with carefully selected Selection Board Members from across the EU Institutions. EPSO consistently monitors the latest innovations in test development based on scientific research and has in recent years introduced online testing in its selection procedures.

As only a set number of candidates can go through to the next stage, only those with the highest scores are invited.  These candidates have a score equal to or above the threshold.

A list of successful candidates is drawn up by the Selection board in descending order of the total score obtained.  

The complete list of tests for a specific selection procedure is available in the notice of competition/call for expression of interest.

You can find some samples of the different tests on our website on the dedicated page.

With the exception of the sample tests, EPSO does not provide any preparatory learning material or guidance regarding taking the tests. Some Member States organise courses for training EU nationals for the European Institutions' open competitions. To find out more, please check the information on the same page.