TNPSC Group 4 · Notification No. 11/2026

TNPSC Group 4 2026: exam date, posts and eligibility

குரூப் 4 தேர்வு 10 ஜனவரி 2027 அன்று நடைபெறும் — 6,574 பணியிடங்கள்.

Last checked on 9 November 2026 against TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026 (Advertisement No. 747), Addenda 11A and 11B, and the amendment to the age limits.

The 2026 exam at a glance

Exam: Combined Civil Services Examination-IV (Group IV Services), TNPSC
Notification: No. 11/2026, dated 6 October 2026
Exam date: Sunday, 10 January 2027, 9.30 am to 12.30 pm
Posts: 6,574 (tentative), including 291 Village Administrative Officer
Applications: Closed on 8 November 2026, 11.59 pm (extended from 5 November by Addendum 11B)
Correction window: 9 to 11 November 2026, 11.59 pm
Age: As on 1 July 2026. Maximum 35 for most posts outside the reserved communities, after a 5-year rise on 30 October 2026
Qualification: SSLC pass at least; some posts need HSC, a degree or typewriting
Hall ticket: Not released yet; date not announced
Paper: 200 questions, 300 marks, 3 hours, OMR

The notification is the authority, not this page. Read Notification No. 11/2026 and the changes listed below on tnpsc.gov.in before you act on any date here, and watch tnpsc.gov.in for further addenda and the hall ticket.

Changed since the notification

Addendum 11A/2026, 29 October 2026. Destitute widows in the Others category have no maximum age if they hold a qualification higher than SSLC (not for VAO and the Forest posts). It also adds an age concession for released bonded labourers and their children. Read Addendum 11A
Age limits raised by 5 years. TNPSC renotified para 4.1 under G.O.(Ms) No.68, Human Resources Management (S) Department, dated 30 October 2026, and announced it in press release 127/2026 on 4 November 2026. Every maximum age is now 5 years higher. Read the amendment
Addendum 11B/2026, 4 November 2026. The last date to apply moved from 5 November to 8 November 2026, 11.59 pm. Read Addendum 11B

Key dates

EventDate

Notification published, applications opened6 Oct 2026

Original last date to apply (11.59 pm)5 Nov 2026

Extended last date, Addendum 11B (11.59 pm)8 Nov 2026

Application correction window (till 11.59 pm)9–11 Nov 2026

Hall ticket downloadNot announced

Written examination (9.30 am to 12.30 pm)10 Jan 2027

From the end of the correction window, that leaves about eight weeks to the paper. The syllabus does not change between now and then; what changes is how much of it you can answer in three hours.

Posts and vacancies

The notification lists 6,574 vacancies across 46 post entries in Tamil Nadu government departments, boards and corporations. The biggest groups are Junior Assistant, Typist and Steno-Typist; there are 291 Village Administrative Officer posts, and smaller numbers of Bill Collector, Tax Collector, Revenue Assistant, Executive Officer (Grade IV), Forest Watcher and others. TNPSC states that the number is tentative and may change before counselling, and that the department-wise split will be announced later.

You do not pick VAO or Junior Assistant in the application. The only choice (para 1.3.3) is whether to be considered for the Forest Guard with Driving Licence and Forest Watcher posts as well as the others. Posts are allotted by rank at counselling.

Salary and pay level

Most Group 4 posts, including VAO and most Junior Assistant posts, are on Level 8 of the Tamil Nadu pay matrix, Rs.19,500 to Rs.71,900. Steno-Typist, Personal Clerk and Junior Inspector of Co-operative Societies are on Level 10 (Rs.20,600 to Rs.75,900). Some corporation and board posts follow their own scales. The post-by-post list is on the Group 4 salary page.

Who could apply

Education, held on 6 October 2026. A pass in SSLC (10th standard) is the minimum general educational qualification, and many posts need only that. Some need more: HSC (for example Junior Assistant cum Typist), HSC with science (laboratory posts and Forest Guard), a degree or B.Com (several corporation Junior Assistant posts), or the Government Technical Examination in Typewriting, plus Shorthand for Steno-Typist posts. Check your post’s row in para 4.2 of the notification.
Age, as on 1 July 2026. The limits were raised by five years after the notification came out. The table below has the main figures; the age limit page has every category.
Government service. Candidates in the Others category who have five or more years of government service cannot apply, even within the age limit.
Fees. Rs.150 for One Time Registration (valid five years) and an examination fee of Rs.100. SC, SC(A), ST, persons with benchmark disability and destitute widows are fully exempt from the examination fee; BC, BCM, MBC and DC candidates get three free chances, and ex-servicemen two.

Age limit after the amendment

For most Group 4 posts, a candidate outside the reserved communities must be at least 18 and must not have completed 35 on 1 July 2026. The amended para 4.1 sets these limits:

Who and which postAge

Minimum, most posts18

Minimum, VAO and the Forest posts21

Minimum, Executive Officer (Grade IV)25

Maximum, Others, most posts including VAO35

Maximum, Others, Executive Officer (Grade IV)40

Maximum, all reserved communities, VAO45

Maximum, BC(OBCM), BCM, MBC/DC, most other posts37#

Maximum, SC, SC(A), ST, most other posts40#

# means there is no maximum age if you hold a general educational qualification higher than SSLC. That relaxation does not apply to VAO or the Forest posts. “No maximum” still means you must not have completed 60. Persons with benchmark disability, ex-servicemen and destitute widows get higher limits, and some corporation posts have no maximum at all. The original limits printed in the notification (30 for Others) are out of date.

The exam pattern

One paper of 200 questions for 300 marks in three hours. Part A is the Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test (100 questions, 150 marks, in Tamil only). Part B is General Studies (75 questions) and Part C is Aptitude and Mental Ability (25 questions), set in Tamil and English. Unless you score at least 60 of 150 in Part A, Parts B and C are not evaluated. The minimum qualifying mark is 90 of 300, and the three parts together decide your rank. The full breakdown is on the syllabus and pattern page.

Blank answers and negative marking

There is no deduction for a wrong answer, but a question left blank costs half a mark. The notification says that if no answer bubble is darkened for a question, 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total. Each question has a fifth option, [E], for “answer not known”. Darken it, or guess, but never leave the bubble empty. The other OMR deductions are on the negative marking page.

Hall ticket

The hall ticket has not been released, and TNPSC has not announced a date (as of 9 November 2026). The notification says it will be available for download on www.tnpscexams.in and will not be sent by post. In 2022 it came out 10 days before the exam; that is a past pattern, not a promise. Updates go on the hall ticket page.

Answer key

TNPSC publishes the tentative answer key on tnpsc.gov.in within six working days of the exam. You can challenge it online, through “Answer Key Challenge”, within seven days; the final key comes after expert review. How past keys were released is on the answer key page.

Previous year question papers

TNPSC’s own past Group 4 papers are inside the tentative answer key PDFs on its answer keys page. Papers before 2026 follow the old syllabus, so some units differ. The links for 2022, 2024 and 2025 are on the previous year question papers page.

Questions people ask

When is the TNPSC Group 4 exam?

On Sunday, 10 January 2027, from 9.30 am to 12.30 pm, as one offline OMR paper. This is the date in TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026, dated 6 October 2026.

How many vacancies are there in TNPSC Group 4 2026?

6,574 posts across 46 post entries, including 291 Village Administrative Officer posts, Junior Assistant, Typist, Steno-Typist, Bill Collector and others. TNPSC says the number is tentative and may change before counselling.

Can I still apply for TNPSC Group 4 2026?

No. Addendum 11B/2026 extended the last date from 5 November to 8 November 2026, 11.59 pm, and applications are now closed. Candidates who applied can edit their application in the correction window from 9 November to 11 November 2026, 11.59 pm.

What is the qualification for TNPSC Group 4?

A pass in SSLC (10th standard) is the minimum general educational qualification, and many posts need only that. Some posts need more: HSC, a degree, or typewriting and shorthand qualifications. Check your post's row in para 4.2 of the notification. You must have held the qualification on 6 October 2026.

What is the age limit for TNPSC Group 4 2026?

Age is counted as on 1 July 2026. The minimum is 18 for most posts, 21 for VAO and the Forest posts, and 25 for Executive Officer (Grade IV). After the amendment under G.O.(Ms) No.68 dated 30 October 2026, the maximum for candidates outside the reserved communities is 35 for most posts, including VAO. Reserved communities can apply up to 45 for VAO, and up to 37 (BC, BCM, MBC/DC) or 40 (SC, SC(A), ST) for most other posts; those two limits do not apply if they hold a qualification higher than SSLC.

When will the TNPSC Group 4 hall ticket be released?

TNPSC has not announced a date yet (as of 9 November 2026). The notification says the hall ticket will be available for download on www.tnpscexams.in and will not be sent by post. In 2022 it came out 10 days before the exam; that is a past pattern, not a promise.

Is there negative marking in TNPSC Group 4?

Not for a wrong answer. But the notification says that if no answer bubble is darkened for a question, 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total. Darken option [E] when you do not know the answer, and never leave a question blank.

Two months, used well

Sit full papers under real timing, and spend the hours between them on what the last paper showed you got wrong. Each test here ends with a report that names the sub-topics costing you marks and whether the problem is knowledge, speed or nerves.

Take a free Group 4 test Syllabus and pattern →