EPSO AD5 2026: The Questions Candidates Are Asking, Answered With Sources

The AD5 2026 competition (EPSO/AD/427/26) is in the gap between a closed application and a first test session, which is exactly the period that generates the most questions and the most rumours. Below are the questions AD5 candidates are asking most in August 2026, answered in our own words, with a link to the official source for every factual statement.

Two things to be clear about before we start. First, Pass EPSO is an independent preparation platform — we are not EPSO, we do not speak for EPSO or EU Careers, and nothing here is an official communication. Second, where we add something the official texts do not cover — how to prepare a given test, where candidates lose marks — we say so explicitly, and you should weigh it as our opinion rather than as a rule.

Will the AD5 2026 tests be online?

Yes, and remotely proctored. The notice of competition states that the tests are held and invigilated remotely, and that EPSO informs candidates of the testing modalities at the latest when it invites them to the tests (EPSO/AD/427/26, section 4.3.2(a)).

The practical requirements are published by EU Careers on its online testing instructions page: the tests run on the TAO platform with the Proctorio extension for remote proctoring; you need administrator rights on the machine, a camera and a microphone, and a stable internet connection; you must be alone in a quiet, well-lit room and not interrupted; you must not move out of camera view or read aloud; and a valid photo ID is checked at the start. Mobile phones, headphones and earbuds, writing materials, books and notes, and other people or pets in the room are all listed as prohibited.

What we would add. The corporate-laptop problem catches people every year: the same page notes that administrator rights are usually not available on company machines, and antivirus or firewall software has to be disabled. That is not a five-minute fix on the morning of the test. Do the technical prerequisite check on the exact machine, in the exact room, on the exact connection you intend to use — and if the room is shared, book it now. Nothing in your preparation matters if the environment check fails.

Can I choose or change my test date?

No. EPSO assigns the slot. Its news item of 30 June 2026 states plainly that rescheduling of tests will not be possible, that each candidate sits Part 1 in a single session on one day, and that candidates are scheduled on different dates across the testing period and receive an individual invitation letter several weeks in advance with the exact date and time and the practical details (EU Careers, "AD5 Graduates testing split into two parts", 30 June 2026).

The nuance worth knowing. "Not possible" refers to rescheduling for convenience. EPSO separately publishes a test rescheduling policy for medical or family emergencies, which allows a candidate who cannot attend because of a documented medical issue or an emergency affecting a close relative to request a new date, with supporting documents, via the contact form and no later than the deadline for technical complaints set in the notice. It is a narrow, evidence-based route, and it is not a way to move a date that is merely inconvenient — but it exists, and candidates who assume otherwise have written themselves off unnecessarily.

When will the AD5 2026 tests take place?

The only officially stated timing, from the same 30 June 2026 news item:

• Part 1 — the reasoning tests (verbal, numerical, abstract): expected as of October/November 2026.
• Part 2 — the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the EUFTE: in 2027, on dates to be announced later.

To move from Part 1 to Part 2 a candidate needs at least 10/20 in verbal reasoning and a combined 10/20 in numerical and abstract reasoning, as set out in the notice (EU Careers, 30 June 2026; EPSO/AD/427/26, Table 2).

Any more precise date circulating online does not come from EPSO. Your own date arrives in your individual invitation letter and nowhere else.

What we would add. The split changes the shape of your preparation more than most candidates have absorbed. Everything that decides whether you continue in the coming months is reasoning: verbal, numerical, abstract. EU knowledge, digital skills and the EUFTE are a 2027 problem for anyone who passes. If you are studying EU institutions in August 2026 instead of drilling verbal reasoning under time pressure, you are preparing the right competition in the wrong order. We wrote about the sequencing in the Part 1 reasoning tests guide.

Can I still change the languages I take my tests in?

No. The notice states that once the application deadline passed, candidates can no longer make any changes to their application (EPSO/AD/427/26, section 4.3.1(c)). The language choices were part of that application.

What you can do is check what you selected. The notice sets out which language is used where (EPSO/AD/427/26, Table 1):

• Language 1 — the reasoning tests (verbal, numerical, abstract).
• Language 2 — the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the EUFTE.

Language 2 must be a different official EU language from language 1, at minimum B2 across each linguistic ability, chosen among the remaining 23 official languages.

What we would add. Candidates who picked a second language they are competent but not fluent in tend to under-prepare for the wrong reason: they assume the barrier is vocabulary. In practice the pressure shows up as reading speed on a timed test. If your language 2 is not the language you read fastest in, start doing your EU knowledge and digital-skills practice in that language now, so that the reading cost is paid before 2027 rather than during the test. Our breakdown of which tests use which language goes through the combinations.

By when do I have to upload my supporting documents?

7 October 2026, 12.00 midday Brussels time. By that moment, candidates must have uploaded scanned copies of all the documents supporting the declarations made in their application form (EPSO/AD/427/26, section 4.3.1(e)). The same deadline appears on the competition page.

The identity document was a separate and earlier obligation: a scanned copy of a valid identity card or passport had to be uploaded by 10 March 2026 (EPSO/AD/427/26, section 4.3.1(d)), and it had to be valid on the closing date for applications.

What happens if you miss it. The General Rules governing open competitions, published with the notice, state that failure to provide supporting documents by the deadline may result in a candidate being considered ineligible, or in their specific qualifications or experience not being taken into account (section 2.4(2)). In other words the risk is not only elimination; it is also silently losing the credit for an entry you actually earned.

What documents do I actually need to upload?

The requirement is evidence for what you declared. From section 2.4 of the General Rules:

• Identity: a copy of the identity card or passport, valid on the application closing date. An original may have to be presented when requested.
• Education: a copy of the diploma or certificate giving access to the competition. Where no official diploma exists, a statement of award or equivalent document confirming completion and conferral of the title is accepted. For diplomas issued outside the EU, a statement of equivalency from a competent authority of a Member State. Plus a letter or certificate from the institution attesting the standard duration in years of the completed programme.
• Professional experience: for each period, employment contracts showing start and end dates and/or first and last pay slips. These must indicate the nature, level and a detailed description of the duties, and carry the employer's official header and stamp and the name and signature of the person in charge. For self-employed and liberal professions: invoices or order forms specifying the nature and period of the work. Freelance translators evidence periods worked and pages translated; freelance interpreters, days worked and language combinations.
• Languages: supporting documents are not usually required for language skills — check the notice for exceptions (EU Careers, how to apply, step 6).

The requirement candidates most often miss: EU Careers states that each entry in the "Work experience" and "Education and training" sections must have at least one supporting document attached, and that entries without supporting documents will not be considered (same source). One combined PDF for a whole career does not satisfy that. Go entry by entry.

Our full supporting documents checklist for 7 October works through the awkward cases — internships, part-time work, programmes that changed name, degrees still in progress.

How do I upload my supporting documents?

Through your Single Candidate Portal account. EU Careers describes the mechanism on its how to apply page: documents are attached to the individual entries in the "Education & Training" and "Work experience" sections using the paper clip symbol in the top right corner of the entry.

The distinction that decides whether it counts. The same page draws a line that is easy to miss:

• Uploading before submitting your application and before the application deadline: attach the documents in the relevant section of your CV.
• Uploading after submitting your application and after the application deadline — which is where every AD5 2026 candidate is now: attach them in the relevant section of your application, not your CV.

That is the failure mode to avoid: uploading a perfectly good set of diplomas into the CV in August 2026 and assuming the job is done. At this stage of the competition the documents belong on your submitted application. Your submitted applications are reachable from the "My applications" area of the portal.

My ID has expired. What do I do?

The rule in the General Rules is about validity at a fixed point: the identity card or passport had to be valid on the closing date for applications (section 2.4(4)), and an original may have to be presented when requested. So an identity document that has expired since March 2026 does not invalidate what you uploaded then.

What it does affect is the day of the test. The online testing instructions require a valid ID with your name and photo on the same side, clearly legible during check-in. That is a live document requirement on the test date, not a historic one. If yours has expired, renew it in time for your Part 1 session, and keep a copy of the current document in your candidate account — EU Careers describes uploading the identity document through "My account" → "My CV". If your situation is unusual, the portal's contact form is the channel that produces an answer you can rely on; we cannot give one on EPSO's behalf.

What are the tests, and what is the pass mark for each?

All of this is from the consolidated notice (EPSO/AD/427/26, Tables 2 to 5):

• Verbal reasoning — 20 questions, 35 minutes, scored 0–20, pass 10/20. Language 1.
• Numerical reasoning — 10 questions, 20 minutes, scored 0–10. Language 1.
• Abstract reasoning — 10 questions, 10 minutes, scored 0–10. Language 1. Numerical and abstract share a combined pass score of 10/20.
• EU knowledge — 30 questions, 40 minutes, scored 0–30, pass 15/30. Language 2.
• Digital skills — 40 questions, 30 minutes, scored 0–40, pass 20/40. Language 2. Built on the areas of the European Digital Competence Framework: information and data literacy; communication and collaboration; digital content creation; safety; problem solving.
• EUFTE — a free-text essay on EU matters, 40 minutes, scored 0–10, pass 5/10. Language 2. It is not a language test and not a test of factual knowledge; it is assessed against anchors published by EPSO, and the documentation the assignment is based on is published ahead of the test date.

The competition seeks 1 490 successful candidates for the reserve list (EPSO/AD/427/26, section 1(d)). For scale: EU Careers published on 8 May 2026 that 174 727 applications were submitted before the 10 March 2026 deadline, and that 90% of applicants were not working for the EU institutions at that time (EU Careers, "AD5 Graduates – Final number of candidates").

How do you prepare each test, and where do candidates lose marks?

This section is ours, not EPSO's — it is what we see in practice data and in candidate questions, and it is the part the official channels do not cover.

Verbal reasoning

The scoring makes this the test to protect: 20 questions in 35 minutes is under two minutes each, and it is the one reasoning test with its own separate pass mark. The recurring error is not comprehension, it is over-reading: candidates import outside knowledge or plausible inference into a question that only asks what the passage states. Train the discipline of answering strictly from the text, and train it against the clock, because the failure appears when time gets short.

Numerical and abstract reasoning

They are scored together, which means the strategy is portfolio-level: 10 minutes for 10 abstract questions is a minute each, and points there are cheaper than points won by grinding a hard numerical table. Candidates lose marks by spending four minutes rescuing one numerical item and then meeting the abstract section with no time. Practise both under their real, separate clocks, then decide in advance where you will cut your losses. Our abstract reasoning pattern strategy and numerical reasoning study strategy go into the mechanics.

EU knowledge

The systematic failure here is not ignorance, it is confusion between neighbouring entities: the Commission where the Council acts, a national supervisory authority where the EDPB is named, the DSA where the DMA applies. We measured how strong that effect is in our own bank and published the numbers and the method in why EU knowledge mistakes cluster on one option. Study confusable pairs, not isolated facts.

Digital skills

40 questions in 30 minutes is the tightest ratio in the competition — 45 seconds per item. Non-technical candidates tend to over-prepare on tools they already use and under-prepare on safety and on information and data literacy, which are the areas of the framework where the questions are less intuitive. See scoring and what to study.

EUFTE

Because the documentation is provided and the test is explicitly not a knowledge test, the marks go to structure, relevance and the discipline of answering the assignment that was actually set, within 40 minutes. The common loss is writing an essay about the topic instead of a response to the instruction. Our guide to the EUFTE source document, assignment and scoring breaks down what the anchors reward.

Official sources used in this article

• Notice of open competition EPSO/AD/427/26 — Official Journal C/2026/711 (and the consolidated version published by EU Careers, which includes the General Rules).
• EU Careers — important information for AD5 candidates, including "AD5 Graduates testing split into two parts" (30 June 2026) and "AD5 Graduates – Final number of candidates" (8 May 2026).
• EU Careers — online testing: what you must know.
• EU Careers — how to apply, step by step.
• EU Careers — test rescheduling policy for medical or family emergencies.
• EU Careers — graduate administrators (AD5) competition page.

Where this article states a fact, the link next to it is the source. Where it gives advice, the advice is ours. If EPSO publishes something that contradicts anything here, EPSO is right and we will correct the page.

Practising before your invitation arrives

The one thing entirely within your control right now is arriving at the Part 1 session having already sat that exact test, under that exact clock, more than once. That is what our practice sections are for — the free diagnostic is a reasonable place to find out where you actually stand — and the mock test guide explains how to build a session that resembles the real timing rather than a comfortable one.

Pass EPSO is an independent preparation platform. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to EPSO, EU Careers, the European Commission, or any European Union institution, body or agency. All official information is linked to its source. Last verified 13 August 2026.