Is there negative marking in TNPSC Group 4?
தவறான விடைக்கு மதிப்பெண் குறைப்பு இல்லை; விடை தெரியாவிட்டால் வினாவை விட்டுவிடாமல் [E] ஐ நிரப்புங்கள்.
Last checked on 9 November 2026 against Annexure IV of TNPSC Notification No. 11/2026.
The marking rules at a glance
- Wrong answer
- No deduction. The notification lists none
- Question left blank
- 0.5 mark deducted from your total (para 1.10.2.2)
- Option [E]
- Darken it when you do not know the answer (para 1.6.2.5)
- Correct answer
- 1.5 marks: 200 questions carry 300 marks
- Two bubbles darkened
- That answer is not evaluated (para 1.6.2.4)
- Every question blank
- The whole answer sheet is invalidated (para 1.10.1.16)
- No thumb impression
- 0.5 mark deducted (para 1.10.2.3)
What the notification says, word for word
Five paragraphs of Annexure IV decide how a blank, a double mark or a missing detail is treated. Here they are exactly as printed, with their paragraph numbers.
1.6.2.5. “No answer bubble should be left blank in the OMR Answer Sheet. Option [E] should be darkened if the answer is not known to the candidate. If the candidates darkened the respective answer bubble for all 200 questions, they should darken the circle Yes. If not darkened the respective answer bubble for one or more questions i.e., left blank, they should darken the circle No. The candidates should write the total number of questions not darkened at the box provided in Part-I(IV)”
1.6.2.4. “Candidates must darken only one of the answer bubbles in the OMR answer sheet, for each question. In case more than one bubble is darkened for a particular question, that answer shall not be evaluated.”
1.10.2.1. “In case of non-personalised OMR answer sheet, two marks will be deducted for writing the register number incorrectly.”
1.10.2.2. “If none of the respective answer bubble is darkened for any of the question, (i.e., if left blank) 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total marks obtained by the candidate.”
1.10.2.3. “If Left Hand Thumb Impression is not affixed at the space provided at part 1 of page 1 of the OMR answer sheet, 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total marks obtained by the candidate.”
Para 1.10.2.2 does not spell out “per question”. We read it as half a mark for each question left blank, because para 1.6.2.5 asks you to write down how many questions you left blank. That reading is ours; the quoted text is TNPSC’s.
Why some sites say “no negative marking”
They are right about wrong answers, and wrong about blanks. Some sites say there is no negative marking in Group 4. The notification lists deductions for a blank question, a missing thumb impression and a wrongly written register number, and none for a wrong answer. So a wrong answer costs you nothing beyond the 1.5 marks you did not earn.
But a blank is not free. The notification says that if no bubble is darkened for a question, 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total marks obtained. If a site tells you “no negative marking, so skip what you don’t know”, the second half of that advice costs marks.
A worked example
Twenty blanks cost you 10 marks; the same twenty darkened as [E] cost nothing. Take a candidate who answers 150 questions correctly, gets 30 wrong and does not know 20:
If the same candidate had guessed those 20 instead, and 5 of the guesses happened to be right, the total would be 225 + 7.5 = 232.5. The example assumes the candidate clears Part A (at least 60 of 150); below that, Parts B and C are not evaluated at all.
Guess, or darken [E]?
Under these rules, a guess never scores less than [E]. A wrong guess scores 0 and [E] scores 0; a right guess scores 1.5. Only a blank loses marks. This is arithmetic from the rules above, not advice from TNPSC.
- Can rule out one or two options? Your guess is between fewer choices, so it is more likely to be right.
- No idea at all? A blind pick among four options is right about one time in four. [E] is the honest answer and costs nothing.
- Either way, darken something. A blank is the one choice the rules punish.
- Leave time to check. Before you hand in the sheet, look for any question with no bubble darkened, and fill in the Yes/No circle and the count of blanks that para 1.6.2.5 asks for.
Other OMR rules that cost marks or the whole sheet
Some mistakes invalidate the whole answer sheet, which is worse than any deduction. From Annexure IV:
- Black ink ball point pen only. Using a pencil, or any pen other than a black ink ball point pen, invalidates the answer sheet (paras 1.6.1, 1.10.1.1, 1.10.1.2).
- One bubble per question. If you darken more than one, that answer is not evaluated (para 1.6.2.4).
- Left hand thumb impression. Affix it in the space on page 1 of the OMR sheet; without it, 0.5 mark is deducted (paras 1.6.2.7, 1.10.2.3).
- Signature. If you do not sign in the space provided, the sheet is invalidated (para 1.10.1.5).
- Register number. OMR sheets are normally pre-printed with your photo, name and register number (para 1.6.2.1). If you are given a non-personalised sheet, writing the register number wrongly costs 2 marks (para 1.10.2.1).
- Question booklet number. Write it and darken its bubbles correctly; a wrong or blank booklet number invalidates the sheet (paras 1.10.1.13, 1.10.1.15).
- Nothing in the question booklet. Do not tick or mark answers in the question booklet; the notification says this will result in rejection of candidature (para 1.6.3.3).
- All blank. If no question is darkened at all, the answer sheet is invalidated (para 1.10.1.16).
What you may carry into the room, and when to arrive, is on the hall ticket page.
Questions people ask
Is there negative marking in TNPSC Group 4?
Not for a wrong answer: the notification lists no deduction for one. But it does deduct 0.5 mark from your total if you leave a question blank, so darken option [E] when you do not know the answer.
What is option [E] in TNPSC Group 4?
It is the bubble to darken when you do not know the answer. Para 1.6.2.5 of Annexure IV says no answer bubble should be left blank, and that option [E] should be darkened if the answer is not known to the candidate.
What happens if I leave a question blank in TNPSC Group 4?
Marks come off your total. Para 1.10.2.2 says that if no answer bubble is darkened for a question, 0.5 mark will be deducted from the total marks obtained by the candidate. If every question is left blank, the answer sheet is invalidated.
Does option [E] give any marks?
No. The notification gives no marks for [E]; it is the bubble for an answer you do not know. What it does is stop the question counting as blank, which would cost 0.5 mark. A correct answer earns 1.5 marks.
Should I guess or darken [E] in TNPSC Group 4?
Under these rules a wrong guess and [E] both score 0, and a right guess scores 1.5, so a guess cannot cost you marks. That is our reading of the rules, not advice from TNPSC. Either way, never leave the bubble blank.
What if I darken two bubbles for one question?
That answer is not evaluated. Para 1.6.2.4 says you must darken only one answer bubble for each question, and if more than one is darkened, that answer shall not be evaluated.
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