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Practice using our FREE Civil Service Practice Tests

Our practice tests cover Civil Service Exam topics for you to practice.

Results are provided with an answer key, solution, and explanation

What is the Civil Service Exam?

The Career Service Examination, commonly known as the Civil Service Exam, is what the Philippine government uses to screen and select prospective civil servants in the country.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) creates and administers the exam to determine which applicants are fit for a government job.

If you want to pursue a career in government service, passing the civil service exam is a REQUIREMENT.

Types of Civil Service Exams

In the Philippines, there are two types of civil service exams:

1. Professional Civil Service Exam
2. Sub-Professional Civil Service Exam

Passers of the exam for the professional civil service level may be accepted for both clerical (first-level) and technical, executive, or managerial (second-level) positions in the government.

However, those who pass the exam at the sub-professional civil service level may only be hired for clerical or first-level government employment.

Modes of Taking the Civil Service Exam

There are two ways to take the civil service exam: (1) the manual pen-and-paper test (PPT), or (2) the computerized examination (COMEX).

With the PPT, you take the test using a text booklet and an answer sheet. On the other hand, the COMEX is conducted online and through a computer, as the name implies. 

The two modes are different in terms of how the application is filed, the examination fee amount, when the test is scheduled, as well as the speed of test result release.

Despite their differences, however, the PPT and COMEX have the same difficulty level. In addition, they also have the same time limit and number of test questions.

Civil Service Exam Coverage

The Civil Service Exam is similar to the scope of college entrance exams.

Given in English and Filipino, the examination covers the following subjects for both professional and sub-professional levels:

Numerical Reasoning:

• Basic Operations
• Word Problems

Verbal Reasoning:

• Vocabulary (i.e. synonyms, antonyms, etc.)
• Grammar and Correct Usage
• Paragraph Organization
• Reading Comprehension

For the Professional Level, the exam also includes the following:

Analytical Ability:

• Word Association
• Identifying Assumptions and Conclusions
• Logic
• Data Interpretation

On the other hand, the Sub-Professional Level will also include these areas:

Clerical Ability:

• Filing
• Spelling

In addition to the above, the Civil Service Exam also covers general information items such as the following:

• The Philippine Constitution
• Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. 6713)
• Peace and Human Rights Issues and Concepts 
• Environment Management and Protection

Civil Service Exam Passing Rate

In order to pass the Civil Service Exam, you need to get a exam score of at least 80%.

For the Civil Service Exams held last March 2024, there were 335,385 people who took the exams. A total of 57,683 (17.20% of total) examinees passed the Career Service Examination-Pen and Paper Test (CSE-PPT).

The Professional Level logged 51,311 passers out of 297,952 examinees or a passing rate of 17.22%. On the other hand, 6,372 out of 37,433 examinees or 17.02% passed the Subprofessional Level.

Civil Service Exam Review Techniques

Consider the following techniques to adequately prepare yourself for the exam and increase your chances of success:

1. Mental Conditioning: Start by conditioning yourself to prepare comprehensively for the exam. This will boost your confidence and chances of passing the exam.
2. Official Exam Coverage: Obtain the official list of exam topics and issues. Use this list as a guide to gather relevant review materials and practice tests. This will help you maximize your potential to pass.
3. Study Blocks: Divide your review materials into reasonable-sized study blocks that can be completed in a single-study session setting. Two to three-hour study sessions are the most effective way to review. This time frame maximizes your attention span without causing too much mental fatigue. Limit study sessions to twice a day (one morning and another one in the afternoon or evening) with quick breaks in between.
4. Review Duration: Plan to review for at least a month. Stop reviewing a few days before the exam so you can relax and recharge.
5. Self-Assessment: Reserve some study block time periods for self-assessment using our free practice tests to evaluate your knowledge and preparedness.
6. Key Subjects: Focus on reviewing verbal, numerical, and analytical skills as these subjects form a substantial 80% of the Civil Service Exams.
7. Nutrition and Sleep: Eat brain-boosting food for good memory retention and get adequate sleep before the exam. Cramming the night before the exam is not recommended.
8. Divine Guidance: Finally, don’t forget to pray and ask for divine guidance, assistance, and strength as you go through your review and preparations.

Who Are Eligible to Take the Civil Service Exam?

The following are the civil service exam eligibility requirements:

• Filipino citizen
• At least 18 years old upon filing of application
• Of good moral character
  • No conviction of an offense or crime involving moral turpitude, examination irregularity, addiction to drugs, disgraceful or immoral conduct, dishonesty, or drunkenness
  • No dismissal from military or government service
• Should not have taken same level of civil service exam within three months before the examination date (whether PPT or COMEX)

Given the above requirements, you do not need to be a college graduate in order to take the civil service exam. Since the CSC has no educational requirement for CSE applicants, you can even take the civil service exam as a high school graduate.

Exemptions to the Civil Service Exam

The CSC considers the following individuals as already eligible for civil service and thus, do not need to take the examination anymore:

• Bar Exam passers
• Board Exam passers
• Honor graduates  (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude) in state colleges and universities, private higher education institutions with CHED-recognized degrees, and foreign schools)
• Barangay health workers
• Barangay officials
• Sanggunian members
• Barangay nutrition scholars
• Electronic Data Processing Specialist eligibles
• Scientific and Technological Specialist eligibles 
• Veteran Preference Rating eligibles

NOTE: Even though the above individuals are exempted from taking the civil service exam, they are still required to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility at a CSC Regional Office or Field Office.

Civil Service Exam Requirements

The Civil Service Exams are scheduled annually by the CSC.

Before the deadline, you must accomplish the following requirements in order to take the next scheduled Civil Service Exam:

• Completely filled out application form (available at the CSC website or any CSC Regional Office or Field Office)
• Four pieces of colored passport-sized photos (1.8 in x 1.4 in) on a white background. It should be taken within three months before the application date and show the applicant’s bare face and a handwritten signature above the printed full name. 
• Original and photocopy of valid government-issued ID (passport, driver’s license, UMID, PhilHealth ID, postal ID, etc.)
  • The CSC might also ask for additional requirements, including NSO birth certificate if the valid ID presented does not indicate the date of birth.

Civil Service Exam Schedule 2024

The Civil Service Commission releases the civil service exam and application timetable on its official website.

Every year, the agency administers the pen-and-paper test for professional and sub-professional levels twice or three times.

For 2024 specifically, the Career Service Examination-Pen and Paper Test Batch 1 was conducted last March 3, 2024. For Batch 2, you can apply from May 13, 2024 until June 13, 2024; the exam will be on August 11, 2024.