EPSO would like to inform candidates of the decision taken by the EPSO Management Board – gathering all 10 EU institutions that EPSO works with – on the 20^th of October 2026. This decision 1/2026 consolidates and clarifies the rules and procedures regarding the use of automated decision-making in the context of online tests for EU selections organised by EPSO. 

The main elements and principles of this decision are as follows: online tests may face breaches of testing rules or present risks to the test session’s integrity or security; if these risks cannot otherwise be prevented, a testing session can be terminated automatically. Automatic termination can significantly affect a candidate and is therefore only to be used in clearly defined and verifiable cases where it is necessary and proportionate to protect the test’s integrity, security, or fairness. Candidates are informed accordingly about the purpose of automated decision-making, the circumstances, consequences, and possibilities of contestation and a human review; automatic termination of a test session alone will not automatically exclude them from a competition.

The decision has been published in the EU Official Journal and it enters into force on 6 November 2026.

The first part of the AD5 competition testing will take place during the week of 9 to 13 November 2026. 

On 19 October, candidates will receive an invitation letter through the Single Candidate Portal (SCP), confirming the week in which they will sit the tests and providing further instructions. The letter will not include their individual testing date and time. Candidates should therefore make sure that they have access to their Single Candidate Portal account and can log in to view all the information. 

From 20 October until 6 November, candidates will be able to access the testing platform and complete the required pre-requisite test. This will help candidates to check that their technical setup works correctly and that they are ready for the real test. Once on the TAO platform, they will also see the precise date and time of their individual test session.  

Further information on the second part of the AD5 Graduates testing will be provided at a later stage.

On Sunday, 11 October, EPSO’s test provider was operationally preparing for the AD5 graduates’ competition, including temporarily simulating test sessions. On their TAO platform, some candidates could therefore see some of those simulations which have now been deactivated. 

We remind candidates that EPSO will send a formal individual invitation letter to all candidates to inform them about official testing slots and the pre-requisite testing phase. EPSO will also separately provide more information to candidates on the EPSO website in the course of this week.

Testing for the AD5 graduates competition, as announced earlier, will be organised in two parts. The first part (reasoning tests: verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning) is planned to start in November 2026. 

Approximately three weeks before the first testing session, candidates will receive an invitation letter through their Single Candidate Portal account, informing them of the week in which they will take their tests. 

The letter will not include the exact date and time of testing assigned to the candidate within the indicated testing week. Candidates will be able to find these details at least two weeks before their test by accessing the testing platform, following the instructions provided in the invitation letter.

Candidates should therefore make sure that they have access to their Single Candidate Portal account and are able to log in to view all the necessary information. 

Further information on the second part of the testing, which includes the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the free-text essay on EU matters (EUFTE), will be provided at a later stage. References to the sources used to develop the EU knowledge test will be provided approximately two months before the test date.

We refer to our previous communication and to the information letter available in your Single Candidate Portal account since 30 June for all the details on the AD5 testing.

More than 170 000 people have applied to the AD5 Graduate competition which closed for applications on 10 March 2026 at 12h00 midday.

Here is the final breakdown per Member State:

Of this total, 90% of the applicants is currently not working for the EU institutions. 

As announced earlier, testing will start in Autumn.

We know many of you have been waiting for updates on the AD5 Graduates selection procedure, and we are pleased to share the next step.

Testing for the AD5 Graduates selection procedure will start in autumn 2026.
The exact dates will be communicated to candidates in due time in the coming months. 

Please do not contact us for further details on the timing, not to overload our contact service: you will be informed when more details are available.

We thank all candidates for their continued interest in EU Careers.

Many candidates in the AD5 graduate competition are contacting us or their Member States authorities to ask about the next steps of the competition, especially given the unprecedented number of applicants. At EPSO, we are committed to ensuring a fair and smooth testing process. We are actively reviewing different scenarios for organising the tests, as well as alternative timelines, to ensure the process works well for everyone.

We understand that candidates are eager for information, and we will provide further updates as soon as arrangements are finalised. Updates will be published here on our website and via our social media channels.

We sincerely thank all candidates for their patience and understanding as we work to deliver a well-organised and fair testing experience for all.

The EU knowledge test consists of a multiple-choice questionnaire covering the European Union, its institutions, procedures, and main policies. 

References to the sources used to develop this test will be made available on the EPSO website approximately two months before the test date.

More than 170 000 people have applied to the AD5 Graduate competition which closed for applications on 10 March 2026 at 12h00 midday. This number has surpassed all expectations.

Breakdown per Member State:

Austria 1,706
Belgium 8,013
Bulgaria 1,467
Croatia 1,210
Cyprus 671
Czechia 1,718
Denmark 992
Estonia 382
Finland 2,702
France 10,939
Germany 11,705
Greece 10,087
Hungary 1,277
Ireland 1,733
Italy 79,450
Latvia 537
Lithuania 724
Luxembourg 630
Malta 299
Netherlands 2,734
Poland 5,782
Portugal 5,037
Romania 7,430
Slovakia 1,661
Slovenia 434
Spain 13,796
Sweden 1,806

Total 174.922 – Of this total, more than 91% of the applicants is currently not working for the EU institutions.
Please note that the numbers in this table are still rough figures, subject to change.

For background information, these are the numbers of applicants for similar competitions (AD5 grade) in previous years:

2019: 22000+

2018: 22000+

2017: 23000+

2015: 31000+

2014: 27000+

2013: 21000+

2012: 45000+

2011: 41000+

2010: 51000+

We will inform candidates about the next steps as soon as possible.