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EPSO AD5 & AD7 — Frequently Asked Questions

Answers based on official EPSO Notices of Competition (EPSO/AD/427/26, EPSO/AD/428/26, EPSO/AD/429/26) and EU regulations. Last updated May 2026.

EPSO AD5 2026 — basics

When is the EPSO AD5 2026 exam?

EPSO has officially confirmed that testing for EPSO/AD/427/26 (AD5 2026) starts in autumn 2026. Specific dates are published on rolling basis during summer 2026 on eu-careers.europa.eu. Supporting documents are due 7 October 2026.

Source: EPSO official communication on eu-careers.europa.eu.

How many positions are open in EPSO AD5 2026?

1,495 positions across the EU institutions.

Source: EPSO/AD/427/26 notice, Official Journal of the European Union C/2026/711.

How many candidates apply to EPSO AD5 2026?

For the 2026 round, approximately 170,000 candidates registered before the application deadline of 10 March 2026. Ratio: roughly 114 candidates per position, although attrition through the test stages reduces effective competition materially.

Is there a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) in EPSO AD5 2026?

No. AD5 2026 (EPSO/AD/427/26) does not include an SJT. The six test areas are:

• Verbal Reasoning
• Numerical Reasoning
• Abstract Reasoning
• EU Knowledge
• Digital Literacy
• EUFTE — EU Field-related Test (essay format)

What languages does EPSO AD5 require?

Two languages. Language 1: any EU official language at C1 level. Language 2: English, French, or German at B2 level. Verbal, Numerical, Abstract Reasoning and EU Knowledge are taken in Language 1; the EUFTE essay is taken in Language 2.

EPSO AD7 2026 — ICT & Audit

What is EPSO AD7 ICT 2026?

EPSO/AD/429/26 is the AD7 ICT competition opened in May 2026. 782 positions across 4 specialist fields:

• ICT Infrastructure — 204 positions
• ICT Project Management — 228 positions
• Clouds and Networks — 166 positions
• Data Science — 184 positions

Application deadline: 10 June 2026, 12:00 Brussels time. Supporting documents due 1 October 2026. Testing autumn 2026.

Source: EPSO/AD/429/26 Notice of Competition, OJ C/2026/2425.

How many years of experience does EPSO AD7 ICT require?

5 to 9 years of documented professional ICT experience, varying by field. AD7 is not a graduate-entry competition.

Is there an EPSO AD7 Audit competition in 2026?

Yes. EPSO/AD/428/26 is the AD7 Audit competition with 448 positions. Application deadline: 19 May 2026, 12:00 Brussels time. Testing autumn 2026. Profile: 5+ years of public sector, financial, or IT audit experience.

Test preparation

How long does it take to prepare for EPSO AD5?

Approximately 250 hours over 6 months for a candidate starting from zero with average reasoning skills. Indicative breakdown:

• ~60 hours Verbal / Numerical / Abstract Reasoning
• ~50 hours EU Knowledge
• ~30 hours Digital Literacy
• ~30 hours EUFTE practice
• ~60 hours full mock exams
• ~20 hours buffer

Condensed plans of 100-120 hours over 8-10 weeks are feasible for candidates with strong reasoning baselines.

What is the EUFTE test?

EUFTE stands for EU Field-related Test. A 35-minute essay on a question of EU policy. Candidates are expected to: take a clear position, support it with citations of official EU documents (treaties, regulations, Council conclusions, Commission communications), and propose realistic policy. Graded by EPSO assessors against a multi-criterion rubric covering structure, sourcing, policy realism, and language quality.

What is DigComp and why does it matter for EPSO Digital Literacy?

DigComp 2.2 is the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens maintained by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission. EPSO's Digital Literacy test (AD5 only) is calibrated to DigComp's 5 areas — information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, problem solving — and its 21 competencies. Test items are pitched at intermediate to advanced levels (3-5 of 8 on the DigComp scale).

Which EU documents do I need to know for EU Knowledge?

The 13 core documents are:

• Founding treaties: Schuman Declaration (1950), Treaty of Paris (1951), Treaty of Rome (1957), Maastricht (1992), Lisbon (2007/2009).
• Current base: TEU (consolidated), TFEU (consolidated), Charter of Fundamental Rights.
• Current policy framework: MFF 2021-2027 (Reg. 2020/2093), NextGenerationEU (Reg. 2020/2094), reformed Stability and Growth Pact 2024, European Climate Law (Reg. 2021/1119), AI Act (Reg. 2024/1689).

PassEPSO platform

How much does PassEPSO cost?

Free tier with diagnostic and sample questions across all six AD5 areas. Paid tiers, one-time, lifetime access (VAT included for EU consumers):

• Starter — EUR 39: full Verbal, Numerical and Abstract Reasoning bank for AD5
• Advanced — EUR 59: adds EU Knowledge, Digital Literacy, EUFTE prompts
• All-In — EUR 99: adds AI-graded EUFTE essay feedback against the official EPSO rubric

Same tiers apply to AD5 and AD7 verticals.

What languages does PassEPSO support?

All 24 official EU languages for question content and explanations across the four reasoning sections, with a Unicode-block-guarded translation pipeline (verified clean across Latin-script languages). Original questions are written in English; translations preserve numerical signatures and structural parity.

How is PassEPSO different from older EPSO prep platforms?

Three concrete differences:

1. Question difficulty is calibrated empirically — as the percentage of mature users who answer the question correctly — not arbitrarily labelled by content authors.
2. Per-question feedback explains which specific trap each wrong option was triggering (verbal pattern, quantifier shift, hidden negation, etc.), not just whether you got it wrong.
3. The EUFTE essay is graded by AI against the official EPSO rubric, with paragraph-by-paragraph feedback, returning in seconds rather than via slow human-tutor cycles.