EPSO/AST/158/26 · Assistants (AST 3) · published 6 October 2026
Four tests can only knock you out. One of them decides your place.
EPSO/AST/158/26 opens 964 AST 3 places across three fields, and you may apply for exactly one of them. Verbal reasoning, numerical and abstract reasoning and the EUFTE essay are pass-or-fail hurdles: clearing them keeps you in and earns you no position. The 30-question field-related MCQ test is the only test that ranks you. This page sets out what the notice says, and how each of its five tests is trained here.
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The official facts, as the notice states them
Everything in this table is from the notice of open competition published in the Official Journal on 6 October 2026, except the duty stations, which the notice does not name and which are quoted from EPSO's own competition listing instead. Where the notice says nothing, this page says nothing.
| Competition | EPSO/AST/158/26 — Official Journal C/2026/4963, 6 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Grade | AST 3 |
| Nature of the post | Open competition based on qualifications and tests, to draw up reserve lists from which the EU institutions, bodies and agencies may recruit new members of the civil service as assistants (grade AST 3) |
| Fields | Three. Field 1 Data processing, analytics and statistics; field 2 Librarianship and information science; field 3 Records and archives management. A candidate may only apply for one of them. |
| Successful candidates sought | 423 in field 1, 243 in field 2, 298 in field 3 — 964 in total |
| Duty stations | Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, per EPSO's competition listing. The notice itself names no place of employment. |
| Languages | A thorough knowledge (minimum C1) of one of the 24 official EU languages (language 1) and a satisfactory knowledge (minimum B2) of a different one chosen among the remaining 23 (language 2). The minimum level applies to each linguistic ability. |
| Which language for which test | Application in any of the 24 official EU languages. Reasoning tests in language 1. Field-related MCQ test and EUFTE in language 2. |
| Testing arrangements | The tests are held and proctored remotely. The order in which they are organised may differ from the order in the notice. |
| Application deadline | 11 November 2026 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time |
| Identity document | A scanned copy of a valid identity card or passport, uploaded by 11 November 2026 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time |
| All other supporting documents | Uploaded by 11 March 2027 at 12.00 (midday), Brussels time |
| Test dates | The notice communicates none. |
What each mark decides
Five tests, four thresholds and one ranking. The notice is explicit about which is which, and the difference is the whole strategy of this competition: a hurdle you clear by one point is worth exactly as much as one you clear by nine.
Verbal reasoning — 10/20 to survive, nothing more
20 questions in 35 minutes, in language 1, scored 0 to 20. You need at least 10/20. The notice says this test is scored “to determine if the candidate obtained at least the required pass scores” — it does not rank you. Below 10/20 your participation ends and nothing else you sat is even looked at.
Numerical + abstract reasoning — one combined 10/20
Numerical reasoning is 10 questions in 20 minutes; abstract reasoning is 10 questions in 10 minutes. Both are in language 1 and each is scored 0 to 10. There is no separate pass mark for either one: the notice sets a combined pass score of 10/20 for the two together. A 4 in numerical is survivable on a 6 in abstract, and neither test ranks you.
Field-related MCQ test — 15/30, and then a ranking
30 questions in 40 minutes, in language 2, specific to the field you chose, scored 0 to 30. To go on you must obtain at least 15/30 and be amongst the candidates who score the highest. This is the only test whose scores create a ranking “according to candidates’ performance”, and that ranking is what decides who reaches the end of the competition.
EUFTE — 5/10, pass or fail
A free-text essay on EU matters, 40 minutes, in language 2, scored 0 to 10, pass mark 5/10. It assesses written communication. EPSO states it is neither a language test nor a test of factual knowledge, and that it is marked against the anchors published on EPSO’s website. The documentation the assignment is based on is released ahead of the test date and handed to you again during it.
The order the marking happens in, and why it matters
The reasoning tests are scored first, and only for candidates who completed every test. Candidates who cleared them have the field-related MCQ test scored next, and those who reach 15/30 are ranked in descending order of that score. Only then, and only for a limited number of candidates taken from the top of that ranking, are the EUFTE scripts marked and eligibility checked. The notice says that number “will in principle not exceed 1,5 times the number of successful candidates sought”, and that the Selection Board may increase it where candidates have equal scores. Results are notified only at the end of the competition, whichever step you reached.
So the reasoning tests cannot win you a place and can certainly lose you one, and your EUFTE script is only read if your field-related score put you near the top. Train the reasoning tests until they stop being a risk, and treat the field test as the one you are actually competing on.
The three fields, and what each one asks of you
The education and experience requirement has the same two-route shape in all three fields. What changes is the list of subject areas a diploma must fall in, and what counts as relevant experience.
The two routes, identical in every field
- Post-secondary studies of at least two years, attested by a diploma in one of that field’s listed areas, plus at least three years of relevant professional experience acquired after the date of the final decision to award that diploma.
- Or: secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post-secondary education, plus at least six years of relevant professional experience acquired after the date of the final decision to award that diploma.
- The first route also counts where, after a bachelor’s programme in any field, you obtained a diploma in one of the listed areas — a postgraduate certificate, graduate diploma, Master’s, PhD or any other qualification requiring a prior bachelor’s degree for admission — whatever the length of those studies.
- On the first route you must state the standard duration of the programme and provide a letter, certificate or equivalent document from the awarding institution. All eligibility conditions are assessed on the closing date for applications.
Field 1 — Data processing, analytics and statistics
423 places
Diploma in mathematics, statistics, actuarial science or data science; computer science and informatics including AI; engineering, any field; economics, applied economics, business administration or finance; geography including geographical information systems, or geoinformatics; physics, chemistry or biology; social sciences with a specialisation in quantitative methods, survey methodology, computational social science or data analysis; or linguistics with a specialisation in corpus linguistics, computational linguistics or text/data analysis.
Three years on the diploma route, six on the secondary-education route. The notice accepts the field 1 duties in Annex II or thirteen named areas, among them programming and software development, analysis of large or unstructured data sets, statistical and machine-learning modelling, high-performance computing for data processing, applied statistics or applied mathematics in a professional context, database management, business or policy research, data governance, data validation and analysis, presenting results to technical and non-technical audiences, dashboards and data visualisation, and geospatial information systems.
Field 2 — Librarianship and information science
243 places
Diploma in librarianship; information science or studies; information management; documentation science; information systems and computer science; media studies; or book and/or cultural heritage studies.
Three years on the diploma route, six on the secondary-education route. The notice defines relevant experience for this field only by reference to its Annex II duties: acquisitions, cataloguing and classification, bibliographic searches, running the library services platform, lending and interlibrary loans, collection management, promoting services and training users, literature reviews and subject guides, reference requests, electronic resources and licensing, and controlled vocabularies, thesauri and ontologies.
Field 3 — Records and archives management
298 places
Diploma in archival sciences and/or records management; information or documentation science or management; digital humanities; history; cultural and/or digital heritage. Also business, administration or organisation studies, law, linguistics or literature, international relations or social sciences — but only if the studies included a specialisation in one of the areas just listed.
Three years on the diploma route, six on the secondary-education route. The notice defines relevant experience for this field only by reference to its Annex II duties: records and archives management policies, classification and metadata schemes and disposition authorities, managing records across the lifecycle including digital curation and preservation, appraisal of business processes and retention, technical requirements for records systems, archival description and finding aids, storage risk and business continuity, access controls and confidentiality markings, handling information requests, and guidance and training for staff.
Annex III of the notice lists examples of minimum qualifications country by country, and Annex II lists the duties in full — 17 for field 1, 12 for field 2 and 12 for field 3. Read the notice before you decide which field to enter: you get one choice and it cannot be changed after the deadline.
What you can train here today
Every test in this competition is one you can train here. The reasoning block and the EUFTE are shared across EPSO competitions and are already built, calibrated and explained here, in the 24 official EU languages; the field-related MCQ test has its own bank for each field, written from Annex II of the notice. The counts and clocks below are the ones the AST/158/26 notice sets, and they are what your practice is timed to.
Verbal reasoning
20 questions in 35 minutes in language 1, pass mark 10/20. Timed sets of four options, a worked explanation on every item, and a record of what you got wrong that decides what you see next.
Numerical reasoning
10 questions in 20 minutes in language 1, counted towards the combined 10/20. Data-interpretation items with five options, each one explained step by step, with an on-screen calculator and scratchpad that behave the way EPSO’s testing platform does.
Abstract reasoning
10 questions in 10 minutes in language 1, counted towards the same combined 10/20. Five panels and a sixth to find, with the method for reading a sequence under a one-minute budget written out in every explanation.
And the tools that come with them
- EUFTE writing coach — the 40-minute free-text essay on EU matters, written in your language 2 on a background document and graded against the five anchors EPSO publishes. Part of Advanced (10 graded drafts a month) and All-In; not part of Starter and not part of Free.
- Full exam simulation — the reasoning block and your field block end to end on one clock, in the counts and times the AST/158/26 notice sets.
- Score Predictor — a free diagnostic across the three reasoning tests, before you pay for anything.
- Ask Peter — an AI tutor that answers on the question in front of you rather than in general. Part of Advanced and All-In.
The field-related MCQ test: a question bank written for your field
Choose your field once and your account opens a question bank written for it. You train the test that ranks you in its own shape, 30 questions in 40 minutes, each question explained from the duties that Annex II of the notice lists for your field. The field-related bank starts at 30 questions per field, written from Annex II of the notice, and grows progressively.
- One field per candidate, exactly as in the notice: you choose data processing, analytics and statistics, librarianship and information science, or records and archives management, and every field question you see is written for that choice.
- The full exam simulation adds your field block to the reasoning block: 30 questions in 40 minutes on one clock, in the count and time the notice sets for the test that ranks you.
- Every field question carries an explanation anchored in Annex II, so a wrong answer tells you which duty area to reread before the next paper.
Plans
One payment, VAT included, no subscription. The same three plans as every other competition on PassEPSO, at the same prices.
What you get for AST/158/26 is all five tests: verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning, the field-related MCQ bank for your field and the EUFTE essay.
Applications close on 11 November 2026 at 12.00 Brussels time, and every candidate who applies sits the reasoning tests.
Questions candidates ask about this competition
Can I apply for more than one field?
No. The notice says the competition covers three fields and that a candidate may only apply for one of them. You also cannot change the choice after the deadline, and a candidate may apply to the same competition only once.
How many places are there in my field?
423 for data processing, analytics and statistics, 243 for librarianship and information science, and 298 for records and archives management. 964 across the three.
Do I need a university degree?
Not necessarily. Two years of post-secondary study with a diploma in one of your field’s listed areas plus three years of relevant experience is one route; secondary education giving access to post-secondary study plus six years of relevant experience is the other. The experience must have been acquired after the diploma was awarded, and everything is judged as at the closing date.
Which test decides whether I get on the reserve list?
The field-related MCQ test. Verbal reasoning, the combined numerical and abstract pair and the EUFTE are scored only to see whether you reached their pass marks. The field-related MCQ scores are the ones used to build a ranking, and that ranking decides who has their EUFTE marked, whose eligibility is checked and who ends up on the list.
Does PassEPSO have practice questions for my field?
Yes. Choose your field once and your account opens a question bank written for it, each question explained from the duties Annex II of the notice lists for that field. The field-related bank starts at 30 questions per field, written from Annex II of the notice, and grows progressively. The reasoning tests and the EUFTE essay are trained alongside it.
When are the tests?
The notice communicates no test dates. It says only that the tests are held and proctored remotely, that all candidates who applied by the deadline are invited, and that the order may differ from the order in the notice. EPSO informs candidates of the arrangements at the latest when it invites them.
In which language do I sit each test?
The reasoning tests are in language 1, your C1 language. The field-related MCQ test and the EUFTE are in language 2, your B2 language. You choose both in the application form, and the application itself may be in any of the 24 official EU languages.
What happens if I fail one test?
Your participation comes to an end. The notice is explicit: a candidate who misses a required pass score has no further answers or scripts processed and no eligibility check. The same applies if you fail to sit or complete any of the tests.
When do I find out my results?
At the end of the competition. The notice states that test results are notified to candidates only then, whichever step of the competition you reached.
Does being on a reserve list mean I am recruited?
No. The notice says inclusion on a reserve list confers no right to or guarantee of recruitment. The lists are alphabetical and are made available to the recruiting services.
PassEPSO is an independent preparation platform and is not affiliated with EPSO, EU Careers or any EU institution. The figures and rules on this page are taken from the notice of open competition EPSO/AST/158/26 published in Official Journal C/2026/4963 on 6 October 2026, and from EPSO’s own competition pages where stated. The notice and its annexes are the legally binding framework for this competition: always read them before you apply.