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When are the EPSO AD5 2026 tests?

Last updated 14 October 2026. Every figure on this page links to its official source.

EPSO split the AD5 2026 competition into two testing parts, which is why there is no single exam date to look up. The first part now has a named week; the second has nothing beyond “later”. Below is what EPSO has actually published for each part, with the source for every date.

Part 1 — reasoning tests, the week of 9 to 13 November 2026

Part 1 is the reasoning stage: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and abstract reasoning. EPSO's news item of 13 October 2026 states that the first part of the AD5 competition testing will take place during the week of 9 to 13 November 2026. That supersedes the single-month wording of 18 September 2026, which had itself superseded the October/November wording of 30 June 2026.

EPSO invites candidates individually through the Single Candidate Portal. A week named in a news item is not a personal convocation — the date and time that bind you are the ones shown on the TAO testing platform for your own session.

Sources: EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Competition: Testing in the Second Week of November 2026”, 13 October 2026 · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Testing – more details about timing and roll-out”, 18 September 2026 · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates testing split into two parts”

How you are invited, and when you learn your exact date and time

Everything EPSO sends about your session goes through the portal, so an account you cannot log into is the one failure that no amount of preparation fixes. The pre-requisite test is not the exam: it is the step that opens the platform, and it is also where your own date and time become visible.

• 19 October 2026: an invitation letter reaches your Single Candidate Portal account. It confirms the week in which you sit the tests and carries further instructions.
• That letter does not give your individual date or time.
• 20 October to 6 November 2026: you can access the testing platform and complete the required pre-requisite test.
• Once on the TAO platform you also see the precise date and time of your own test session. That is the slot that binds you.
• 9 to 13 November 2026: the first part of the testing takes place.
• Make sure now that you have access to your Single Candidate Portal account and are able to log in.
• An information letter with the details of the AD5 testing has been in your Single Candidate Portal account since 30 June.

Sources: EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Competition: Testing in the Second Week of November 2026”, 13 October 2026 · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Testing – more details about timing and roll-out”, 18 September 2026

Part 2 — the remaining tests, no dates communicated

Candidates who pass Part 1 are invited to Part 2, which covers the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the free-text essay on EU matters (EUFTE).

EPSO states that further information on this second part will be provided at a later stage, and has communicated no dates for it. The references used to develop the EU knowledge test will be provided approximately two months before that test. The news item of 13 October 2026 repeats only that further information on the second part will be provided at a later stage, so the dates of Part 2 are yet to be announced by EPSO.

Sources: EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Competition: Testing in the Second Week of November 2026”, 13 October 2026 · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates Testing – more details about timing and roll-out”, 18 September 2026 · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates testing split into two parts” · EU Careers — “AD5 Graduates selection process: how you are assessed”

The other facts of the competition that are already fixed

Neither figure moves with the test calendar: both come from the notice of competition, not from the testing news items.

• Places on the reserve list: 1,490.
• Competition reference: EPSO/AD/427/26.

Source: EPSO/AD/427/26, Official Journal C/2026/711 of 5 February 2026

PassEPSO is not EPSO, EU Careers, the European Commission or any EU institution, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. The notice of competition published in the Official Journal of the European Union and the messages in your EPSO account are the only authoritative sources for dates, eligibility and format.