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TNPSC Group 4

Evidence status: 🟢 official. Every number below is from TNPSC Notification No. 07/2025 (Combined Civil Services Examination – IV, dated 25.04.2025), Addendum 7B/2025 (dated 26.09.2025), the commission's scheme-of-examination page, syllabus code 496, and the 2026 Annual Planner — all fetched from tnpsc.gov.in on 2026-09-28.

TNPSC Group 4 (CCSE-IV) recruits Village Administrative Officers, Junior Assistants, Typists, Steno-Typists (Grade III), Forest Guards and Forest Watchers, and similar posts across Tamil Nadu. Selection is through one objective written exam plus certificate verification and counselling. There is no mains and no interview.

At a glance
Conducted by Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission
Posts Village Administrative Officer, Junior Assistant, Typist, Steno-Typist Grade III, Forest Guard / Forest Watcher and others — 3,935 vacancies in Notification 07/2025; Addendum 7B/2025 revised several counts upward and added new posts (see the addendum for final post-wise totals)
Stages Single OMR written exam → onscreen certificate verification → physical certificate verification and counselling; forest posts additionally face a Physical Standards Test and an endurance walk. No mains, no interview
2025 cycle (per notification) Notified 25.04.2025; online applications till 24.05.2025 (correction window 29–31.05.2025); exam 12.07.2025, 09:30 A.M.–12:30 P.M.
Next cycle (tentative, per 2026 Annual Planner) Notification 06.10.2026; exam 20.12.2026; vacancies announced in the notification
Qualification SSLC (Class 10) pass minimum for VAO, Junior Assistant, Typist, Steno-Typist and Field Assistant; a degree and/or typewriting–shorthand and computer qualifications for the other posts; adequate knowledge of Tamil required for all posts — post-wise details in the notification
Age (as on 1 July of the notification year) Minimum 18 for most posts (21 for VAO and forest posts); maximum 32 for unreserved candidates, higher or lifted for reserved categories, persons with benchmark disability, ex-servicemen and destitute widows — see the notification's age tables
Fee Rs.100 examination fee plus Rs.150 one-time registration; fee concessions per Annexure II of the notification

Official sources

Exam pattern

One OMR paper at SSLC standard: 200 questions, 300 marks, 3 hours.

Part Subject Questions Marks Medium
A Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test 100 150 Tamil only
B General Studies 75 150 (Parts B and C together) Tamil and English
C Aptitude and Mental Ability 25 Tamil and English
  • Parts B and C are evaluated only if the candidate scores at least 40% (60 of 150) in Part A.
  • Minimum 90 of 300 overall to qualify for selection (all communities).
  • The notification prescribes no negative marking.
  • Merit is the total of Parts A, B and C. Ties are broken by higher qualification (higher typewriting/shorthand grade first for Typist/Steno-Typist posts), then seniority in age, then the earlier-submitted application.
  • Differently-abled candidates who studied only English may take General English (SSLC, 100 questions) instead of the Tamil test, with the same 40% rule.

Syllabus

  • General Studies (75 questions): General Science 5 · Geography 5 · History, Culture of India and Indian National Movement 10 · Indian Polity 15 · Indian Economy and Development Administration in Tamil Nadu 20 · History, Culture, Heritage and Socio-Political Movements of Tamil Nadu 20 (includes Thirukkural and the Tamil freedom movement).
  • Aptitude and Mental Ability (25 questions): aptitude 15 — simplification, percentage, HCF, LCM, ratio and proportion, simple and compound interest, area, volume, time and work; reasoning 10 — logical reasoning, puzzles, dice, visual reasoning, alphanumeric reasoning, number series.
  • Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test (100 questions): grammar (இலக்கணம்) 25, vocabulary (சொல்லகராதி) 15, writing skills (எழுதும் திறன்) 15, literature and Tamil scholars (இலக்கியம் — Thirukkural, didactic works, Tamil savants) 15, plus comprehension, translation and official-usage units — see the syllabus PDF for the full unit-wise split.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Secure Part A Tamil first: it gates the rest of the paper (40%) and carries half the marks. Use SSLC Tamil textbooks.
  2. Cover General Studies from NCERT Class 6–10 plus Tamil Nadu state-board books — the two Tamil Nadu-specific units alone carry 40 of the 75 GS questions.
  3. Practise aptitude and reasoning daily with the shared modules below; then solve the commission's own previous papers from tnpsc.gov.in in 3-hour timed sittings (there is no negative marking, so attempt all 200).

Free resources