EPSO No Longer Uses Situational Judgement Tests — Here's What They Test in 2026

If you landed here looking for advice on preparing for the EPSO Situational Judgement Test, here's the most important thing first: EPSO no longer uses Situational Judgement Tests in any of the competitions open in 2026. Not in AD5, not in AD7 Audit, not in AD7 ICT. SJTs are out.

So before you spend hours rehearsing "rank these four responses from most to least effective", let's look at what EPSO actually evaluates today, and where SJT-style judgement still shows up in the format candidates will sit this autumn.

A Quick Recap: What SJTs Used to Be

For years, EPSO included SJTs as a behavioural screen. Candidates were shown a workplace scenario — a deadline conflict, an ambiguous instruction from a supervisor, a colleague behaving inappropriately — and asked to rank possible responses from most to least effective. The intent was to measure alignment with the EPSO competency framework (Analysis and Problem Solving, Communicating, Working with Others, Resilience, and so on).

EPSO has now moved away from this format. The competency framework still exists — recruitment boards still look for these qualities — but they are no longer measured through ranked-response scenarios on the screening test.

What EPSO Actually Tests in 2026

Three competitions are currently open under the new format. Each one tests a fixed set of areas — and none of them include SJT.

AD5 (EPSO/AD/427/26) — Generalists, 1,495 places

• Verbal Reasoning — reading comprehension on dense EU-style passages.
• Numerical Reasoning — graph and table interpretation under time pressure.
• Abstract Reasoning — figure-pattern recognition, no language involved.
• EU Knowledge — institutions, treaties, policies, decision-making procedures.
• Digital Literacy — digital concepts, security, data handling, productivity tools.
• EUFTE (EU Field-Test Essay) — a written test on an EU policy scenario, evaluated against a structured rubric.

AD7 Audit (EPSO/AD/428/26) — 448 places

• Verbal, Numerical, Abstract Reasoning (same format as AD5).
• Field-specific Audit MCQ — auditing standards, EU financial regulation, internal control frameworks.
• EUFTE.

AD7 ICT (EPSO/AD/429/26) — 782 places across 4 fields

• Verbal, Numerical, Abstract Reasoning.
• Field-specific ICT MCQ — chosen from one of four specialisations: ICT Infrastructure, ICT Project Management, Clouds & Networks, or Data Science.
• EUFTE.

That's the full picture. No section in any of these three competitions asks you to rank four workplace responses.

Where SJT-Style Judgement Still Matters

EPSO didn't remove judgement from the exam — they moved it into a more structured format. The closest spiritual descendant of the SJT is the EUFTE.

In the EUFTE you receive a short EU policy scenario — a proposal under discussion, a regulatory dilemma, a Commission position to evaluate — and you write a structured response. Correctors score it against a rubric that explicitly rewards things SJTs used to measure indirectly: clarity of reasoning, awareness of institutional process, balanced judgement, and the ability to weigh trade-offs without falling into extremes.

If you came here hoping the SJT competency framework wouldn't be wasted preparation: it isn't. The values it measured — collaboration, transparency, awareness of process, resilience — are exactly what gets you marks on the EUFTE. The format changed; the underlying judgement did not.

What to Do Instead

Practical advice for anyone who arrived at this page expecting SJT prep:

1. Identify which competition you're applying to. AD5, AD7 Audit, and AD7 ICT have different field-specific sections. Make sure you're preparing for the right one.
2. Build a reasoning base. Verbal, Numerical and Abstract appear in all three competitions and account for a large share of the screening score. They reward repetition more than any other section.
3. Don't skip EUFTE. It's the section most candidates underestimate. Structure matters as much as content — correctors follow a clear rubric.
4. Train under time pressure from the start. The EPSO format is unforgiving on timing. Untimed practice builds bad habits.

Preparing for the Real 2026 Format

PassEPSO is a training platform built around the actual 2026 format. Candidates train on Verbal, Numerical, Abstract, EU Knowledge, Digital Literacy, EUFTE, and the field-specific sections for AD7 Audit and AD7 ICT — under realistic timing, with translated content in every official EU language.

If you want to know what your actual exam will look like, start with the diagnostic: it identifies your weakest area in about 20 minutes and tells you where to focus first.

Start with the free diagnostic at passepso.com →

— The PassEPSO Team