Patna High Court Eligibility 2026: Qualification, Age Limit and Reservation

Before you apply to Patna High Court, the first thing to settle is whether you meet the conditions for your post. The Patna High Court eligibility criteria are not the same for every recruitment: each advertisement sets its own qualification, experience, typing and age rules. This page explains them post by post for the four 2026 recruitments: Technical Assistant, Computer Operator-cum-Typist, Ex-Cadre Assistant and District Judge (Entry Level).

The details for the first three posts come from the court's own advertisements (PHC/01/2026, PHC/02/2026 and PHC/03/2026). The District Judge advertisement is available only as a scanned file, so its conditions are marked as reported and should be checked against the notice. Applications for the staff posts have closed, but the rules below still help you judge your position and plan for future recruitments, which usually follow the same format.

Table of contents

• Patna High Court eligibility at a glance

• Technical Assistant eligibility

• Computer Operator-cum-Typist eligibility

• Ex-Cadre Assistant eligibility

• District Judge (Entry Level) eligibility

• Age limit and relaxations

• Reservation, domicile and certificates

• Documents to keep ready

• Common reasons for rejection

• Quick self-check before you apply

• Official source

Patna High Court eligibility at a glance

Two conditions apply across the staff posts. You must meet the qualification and experience conditions by the date the advertisement fixes, and your age is counted on 1 January 2026. A degree awarded after the cut-off date, or a certificate that is shorter than the stated duration, will not be accepted.

Technical Assistant eligibility

Technical Assistant is the most specialised of the staff posts, so its conditions are narrower. The court advertised 53 posts under PHC/01/2026.

Qualification and experience

• Degree route: A BCA degree.

• Diploma route: An ITI or polytechnic diploma in Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunication, or Electronics and Communication.

• Experience: At least 1 year of relevant experience in addition to the qualification.

The advertisement asks for relevant experience, so your certificate should show the nature of the work and the period. A generic letter that does not describe the work can be questioned at verification. If you are unsure whether your branch matches the list, compare its exact name with the advertisement instead of assuming that a similar title is accepted.

Preference

Preference is given to candidates with two years of Territorial Army service or an NCC "B" certificate. This is a preference, not a requirement, and it does not replace the qualification or experience.

Computer Operator-cum-Typist eligibility

This post is open to graduates in any discipline, which makes it the widest of the staff posts. The court advertised 48 posts under PHC/02/2026 (47 posts and 1 backlog post).

Typing speed is a stage of the exam, not just a condition on paper. You must pass computer typing tests in English and Hindi, with 90 per cent accuracy in English and 85 per cent in Hindi. So meeting the eligibility line on the form is the start, and the speed has to be proved on the day.

Computer certificate: what to check

• Duration: The course must be at least 6 months long. A short crash course will not qualify.

• Subject: It should be in Computer Application or an equivalent area as the advertisement describes.

• Proof: Keep the certificate and mark sheet ready, because the court can ask for the original at verification.

Ex-Cadre Assistant eligibility

The court advertised the Ex-Cadre Assistant recruitment under PHC/03/2026, with around 68 posts reported. Applications closed on 27 August 2026. Candidates need graduation and a computer diploma or certificate of at least 6 months. Other conditions, including the age limit, are set out in that advertisement, so read it carefully instead of assuming that the Technical Assistant or Computer Operator-cum-Typist limits apply.

The preliminary computer-based test admit card was released on 12 September 2026 and a model answer notice followed on 22 September 2026. If you applied, your focus now is the exam stages and not eligibility, but keep your documents ready because verification follows the results.

District Judge (Entry Level) eligibility

This is a direct recruitment from the Bar, so it follows judicial service rules and not the staff-post rules. The 2026 advertisement is BSJS/1/2026. Because the file is scanned, the points below are reported and drawn partly from earlier official District Judge advertisements.

Confirm every number in the notice. The practice period and the case record are exactly the kind of conditions that are checked closely during scrutiny, so keep case lists, vakalatnamas or certificates from the courts where you appeared.

Age limit and relaxations

For the staff posts, age is counted as on 1 January 2026. The minimum age is 18 years. The upper limit depends on category and gender.

Further relaxation applies as follows.

• Government employees: Central or Bihar government employees get 5 years of relaxation.

• Locomotor disability: Candidates with locomotor disability get 10 years of relaxation.

• Domicile condition: Category relaxation is available to candidates with Bihar domicile.

A worked example

Take a candidate born on 15 March 1988. For a male unreserved candidate the earliest allowed birth date is 2 January 1989, so he is over age. For a female unreserved candidate the earliest allowed date is 2 January 1986, so she is within the limit. Same birth date, different result: this is why you should look up the correct row for your gender and category.

The table applies to the staff posts. For the District Judge post, the reported range is 35 to 50 years. For Ex-Cadre Assistant, follow the age rule in its own advertisement.

Reservation, domicile and certificates

Reservation is available to candidates who meet the domicile condition and hold the right certificate. This is where many applications fail, so read each point.

• SC and ST: A caste certificate issued by the competent authority is needed.

• BC and EBC: Candidates need a caste certificate and, where the rules require it, a non-creamy layer certificate that is valid for the relevant period.

• EWS: An EWS certificate in the prescribed format is needed. Check the financial year it covers.

• Women: A 35 per cent reservation for women applies only to residents of Bihar. For example, 17 of the 53 Technical Assistant posts and 15 of the Computer Operator-cum-Typist posts are set aside for women.

• Locomotor disability: A 4 per cent reservation applies, again only for Bihar residents. Two Technical Assistant posts and three Computer Operator-cum-Typist posts are reserved.

• Application fee concession: The lower fee for SC, ST and locomotor disabled candidates (Rs. 550 against Rs. 1,100 for the staff posts) is for permanent residents of Bihar.

A candidate who does not belong to Bihar can still apply, but is considered in the unreserved group and does not get these benefits. If you hold a certificate from another state, do not assume it will be accepted for reserved seats.

Other conditions

The advertisements also list conditions on nationality, character and conduct. Read that clause in your post's advertisement. Whatever you declare must be genuine, because the court can cancel candidature at any stage if a statement or document turns out to be false.

Documents to keep ready

The upload sizes differ between the two staff posts. Technical Assistant asks for a photograph of 50 to 100 KB and a signature of 10 to 20 KB, while Computer Operator-cum-Typist asks for 50 to 80 KB for both.

Common reasons for rejection

• Wrong category or certificate: Applying under a reserved category without a valid, current certificate.

• Qualification mismatch: A branch or course name that is not in the advertisement's list.

• Short computer course: A certificate of less than 6 months.

• Age error: Counting age on the wrong date instead of 1 January 2026.

• Claiming benefits without domicile: Women, disability or fee benefits claimed by candidates who are not Bihar residents.

• Unclear experience proof: An experience letter that does not state the work or the period.

The court states that candidature is provisional until documents are verified, so an error found late can still end your candidature.

Eligible is not the same as selected

Meeting the eligibility criteria only lets you sit the exam. Each stage then shortlists a fixed multiple of the vacancies, so many eligible candidates do not reach the interview. Eligibility is the entry ticket, and the result depends on your marks at each stage. The Patna High Court cut-off page explains how this shortlisting works.

If you are not eligible yet

Many candidates miss a post by a small gap: a missing six-month computer course, one year short of experience, or a typing speed that is still below the line. Court recruitments recur, and they tend to keep similar conditions. Closing the gap now, for example by finishing a recognised computer course or building typing speed, puts you in a position to apply when the next advertisement is released.

Quick self-check before you apply

1. Read the advertisement for your post: Note the exact qualification and the reference date.

2. Check your age: Use your category row and the 1 January 2026 reference date.

3. Match your certificates: Course duration, branch name and experience letter should line up with the advertisement.

4. Confirm your domicile: Bihar domicile affects age relaxation, reservation and fee.

5. Test your typing: If you are applying for Computer Operator-cum-Typist, measure your speed and accuracy now, not after applying.

Official source

Eligibility rules can change between advertisements, and the court's notice is the final word. Read the advertisement for your post on the official Patna High Court recruitments page before you apply.