Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission Group 2
TNPSC Group 2 is a recruitment exam conducted by Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, relevant to candidates preparing for state government department recruitment.
The Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) conducts the Combined Civil Services Examination II, better known as TNPSC Group 2, to recruit graduates into Group II and Group IIA posts across Tamil Nadu government departments. Group II covers executive posts such as Sub Registrar, Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Probation Officer and Assistant Section Officer. Group IIA covers Assistant, Accountant, Inspector and similar office posts.
TNPSC released Notification No. 07/2026 on 11 August 2026 and later raised the vacancy count to 846 through Addendum 7A/2026. The common preliminary examination is on 1 November 2026. This page covers the dates, vacancies, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, salary and selection process, and explains what changed from older cycles so you can plan your preparation with the right information.
Table of Contents
TNPSC Group 2 2026
Particular | Details |
|---|---|
Conducting body | Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) |
Exam name | Combined Civil Services Examination II (Group II and IIA Services) |
Notification | No. 07/2026, Advertisement No. 740, dated 11 August 2026 |
Total vacancies | 846 (Group II: 43, Group IIA: 803) after Addendum 7A/2026 |
Qualification | A degree from a UGC-recognised university (some posts need specific degrees) |
Age limit (Others) | 18 to 32 years for most posts, as on 1 July 2026 |
Selection stages | Common prelims, separate mains for Group II and Group IIA, certificate verification, counselling |
Interview | Not part of the 2026 scheme |
Prelims date | 1 November 2026, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM |
Pay levels | Level 9 to Level 18 of the Tamil Nadu pay matrix, depending on the post |
Official websites | tnpsc.gov.in and tnpscexams.in |
What Is New in the TNPSC Group 2 Notification 2026
Several details in the 2026 notification differ from what many older guides still show. Check these points before you rely on any preparation material.
No interview: Final ranking depends only on marks in Paper II of the main examination. Group II candidates go to certificate verification and counselling, not an oral test.
Revised vacancies: The notification listed 821 posts (41 Group II and 780 Group IIA). Addendum 7A/2026, dated 3 September 2026, added 25 more, taking the total to 846.
Different mains for Group IIA: Group IIA Paper II is a computer-based objective test, while Group II Paper II is a descriptive written paper.
Prelims is only a screening test: Prelims marks are not counted in the final merit list.
Older pages may still show an interview for Group II posts, so follow the official notification on the TNPSC website.
TNPSC Group 2 Exam Date 2026
Event | Date |
|---|---|
Notification released | 11 August 2026 |
Last date to apply online | 9 September 2026 (11:59 PM) |
Addendum 7A/2026 (additional vacancies) | 3 September 2026 |
Application correction window | 13 to 15 September 2026 |
Preliminary examination | 1 November 2026, 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM |
Main examination | To be announced with the prelims result |
The hall ticket is released for download on tnpscexams.in before the exam; it is not sent by post. Dates after the prelims can change, so track the official TNPSC website and your registered email and mobile number.
TNPSC Group 2 Vacancy 2026
Service | As notified (11 August 2026) | After Addendum 7A/2026 |
|---|---|---|
Group II Services | 41 | 43 |
Group IIA Services | 780 | 803 |
Total | 821 | 846 |
TNPSC treats the vacancy count as tentative until the prelims result is published, so it can change again.
Group II Posts in the Original Notification
Post | Department | Vacancies | Pay level |
|---|---|---|---|
Assistant Inspector | Labour | 7 | Level 18 |
Special Branch Assistant | Greater Chennai Police (6), Criminal Investigation (3) | 9 | Level 18 |
Probation Officer | Prisons and Correctional Services | 5 | Level 18 |
Jailor (Men) and Jailor (Special Prison for Women) | Prisons and Correctional Services | 4 | Level 18 |
Sub Registrar, Grade II | Registration | 3 | Level 18 |
Special Assistant | Vigilance and Anticorruption | 2 | Level 18 |
Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Junior Employment Officer | Commercial Taxes, Employment and Training | 1 each | Level 18 |
Assistant Section Officer (including ASO cum Programmer) | Law, Legislative Assembly, TNPSC | 9 | Level 16 |
Largest Group IIA Recruiters
Most Group IIA posts are Assistant posts in the Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service. The biggest openings in the original notification were:
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj: 122 Assistant posts spread across districts.
School Education and Medical and Rural Health Services: 83 and 80 Assistant posts.
Highways, Police and Revenue: 50 and 45 Assistant posts, plus 45 Senior Revenue Inspector posts across districts.
Accounts roles: 25 Accountant posts in Treasuries and Accounts, plus Accountant and Junior Accountant posts in state corporations.
TNPSC Group 2 Eligibility Criteria
Educational Qualification
Every post needs at least a bachelor's degree from a university recognised by the UGC. The degree must be held on the date of notification (11 August 2026) and earned in the order SSLC, HSC or Diploma, then degree. Some posts add conditions:
Post | Additional requirement |
|---|---|
Assistant Section Officer (Law) and Assistant (Law) | B.L. degree |
Assistant Section Officer cum Programmer | MCA or M.Sc in IT or Computer Science |
Assistant Section Officer (TNPSC) | Master's degree, or bachelor's degree with B.G.L., or first class in any part (a bachelor's degree is enough for reserved categories) |
Deputy Commercial Tax Officer | B.A., B.Sc or B.Com |
Special Assistant | Higher Grade typewriting in both English and Tamil |
Assistant (Finance) | Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Economics or Statistics |
Accountant (corporation posts), Junior Accountant | B.Com or a degree in Commerce |
Age Limit
Age is counted as on 1 July 2026. Candidates from SC, SC(A), ST, MBC/DC, BC(OBCM) and BCM categories have no maximum age limit for most posts, which means they must not have completed 60 years.
Post | Minimum age | Maximum age (Others) |
|---|---|---|
Most Group II and Group IIA posts | 18 | 32 |
Sub Registrar, Grade II | 20 | 32 |
Probation Officer (Prisons) | 22 | 32 |
Deputy Commercial Tax Officer | 18 | 32 (34 with a law degree); 37 for reserved categories (39 with a law degree) |
Jailor (with a Master's in Criminology or Social Work) | 18 | 37 |
Executive Officer, Grade III | 25 | 37 |
For the Others category, persons with benchmark disability get up to 10 extra years where the post is open to them, ex-servicemen can apply up to 50 for most posts, and destitute widows have no maximum age limit.
Other Conditions
Knowledge of Tamil: You must have passed SSLC, HSC or a degree with Tamil as a language, studied in Tamil medium, or passed TNPSC's Second Class Language Test (Full Test) in Tamil.
Service restriction: Candidates in the Others category who have already put in five or more years of service under a central or state government cannot apply, even if they are within the age limit.
Post-specific rules: Audit Inspector, Executive Officer Grade III and Assistant (HR and CE) are open only to Hindus. Jailor (Men) and Male Warden are for men only, and Jailor (Special Prison for Women) is for women only.
Physical standards: Jailor posts have height, chest and vision standards, and some Inspector posts disqualify candidates with colour or night blindness.
Application Fee and How to Apply
Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
One Time Registration (valid for five years) | Rs. 150 |
Preliminary examination fee | Rs. 100 |
Main examination fee (if shortlisted) | Rs. 150 (Rs. 300 if shortlisted for both Group II and Group IIA mains) |
SC, SC(A), ST, persons with benchmark disability and destitute widows get full fee exemption. Ex-servicemen get two free chances, and other eligible categories get free chances as listed in the notification.
The 2026 application window has closed. In future cycles, you apply on tnpscexams.in after One Time Registration with Aadhaar linking, upload a studio photograph with your name and date printed on it, choose two prelims centres and pay the fee online.
TNPSC Group 2 Exam Pattern
Preliminary Examination (Common for Group II and IIA)
Subject | Standard | Questions |
|---|---|---|
General Studies | Degree | 75 |
Aptitude and Mental Ability | SSLC | 25 |
Language (General Tamil or General English) | SSLC | 100 |
Total | 200 questions, 300 marks, 3 hours |
The prelims is an objective OMR test. The minimum qualifying mark is 90 out of 300 for all communities. General Studies questions are set in both Tamil and English.
Main Examination for Group II
Paper | Standard | Marks | Time | Qualifying marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Paper I: Tamil Eligibility Test (descriptive) | SSLC | 100 | 3 hours | 40 |
Paper II: General Studies (descriptive) | Degree | 300 | 3 hours | 90 |
Group II Paper II is held only at Chennai.
Main Examination for Group IIA
Paper | Format | Marks | Time | Qualifying marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Paper I: Tamil Eligibility Test | Descriptive, SSLC standard | 100 | 3 hours | 40 |
Paper II: General Studies (150 questions) and General Intelligence and Reasoning (50 questions) | Objective, computer-based test | 300 | 3 hours | 90 |
What this means for you:
Language decides the prelims: Half of the 200 prelims questions come from General Tamil or General English, so this paper deserves daily practice.
Paper I is a gate: Paper II is evaluated only if you score 40 in the Tamil Eligibility Test. Differently abled candidates can claim exemption from Paper I in the application.
Paper II is your rank: Neither prelims nor Paper I marks count in the final merit list, so mains Paper II is where your score matters most.
No negative marking is listed: The scheme of examination does not mention any deduction for wrong answers, so attempt every question you can reason out.
TNPSC Group 2 Syllabus Summary
Paper | Stage | Main areas |
|---|---|---|
General Studies | Prelims | General science, Indian geography, history and national movement, polity, Indian economy and development administration in Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu history, culture and socio-political movements |
Aptitude and Mental Ability | Prelims | Arithmetic aptitude and logical reasoning at SSLC level |
General Tamil or General English | Prelims | Grammar, vocabulary, writing skills, comprehension, translation and literary works |
Tamil Eligibility Test | Mains Paper I | Descriptive Tamil at SSLC level |
General Studies (descriptive) | Group II Mains Paper II | Modern Indian history, Tamil society and heritage, social issues, science and technology, polity, geography and environment, economy, all with reference to Tamil Nadu |
General Studies and Reasoning (CBT) | Group IIA Mains Paper II | Tamil Nadu history and culture, state administration, science and technology, Tamil Nadu economy and social issues, geography and environment, plus reasoning |
Selection Process
Preliminary examination: A screening test. Candidates who clear 90 marks are shortlisted for the mains at about 10 times the number of vacancies, community-wise, with ties at the cut-off also admitted.
Main examination: Separate mains for Group II and Group IIA. Paper I is qualifying; the rank list is built on Paper II marks alone.
Onscreen certificate verification: Candidates upload documents in the ratio of 1:3 for General and 1:2 for reserved categories.
Physical certificate verification and counselling: In the ratio of 1:3 for General and 1:1.5 for reserved categories. You choose a post by rank during counselling.
A candidate selected for a Group II post in this recruitment is not considered for Group IIA posts in the same cycle.
TNPSC Group 2 Salary and Pay Levels
Posts | Pay level | Starting basic pay |
|---|---|---|
Group II posts such as Sub Registrar, Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Probation Officer, Jailor, Assistant Inspector | Level 18 | Rs. 36,900 |
Assistant Section Officer (Group II) | Level 16 | Rs. 36,400 |
Senior Inspector, Audit Inspector, Handloom Inspector (Group IIA) | Level 12 | As per pay matrix |
Supervisor or Junior Superintendent (Group IIA) | Level 11 | As per pay matrix |
Assistant, Senior Revenue Inspector, Accountant (Group IIA) | Level 10 | Rs. 20,600 |
Secretariat Assistants and Lower Division (Counter) Clerk (Group IIA) | Level 9 | Rs. 20,000 |
Pay levels come from Notification 07/2026, and the full pay ranges are set by the Tamil Nadu Revised Pay Rules, 2017. Dearness allowance, house rent allowance and other benefits are added to basic pay, so in-hand salary varies by post and city. This is not an official in-hand figure. Some corporation posts in Group IIA come under their own EPF-based schemes.
Qualifying Marks and Shortlisting
TNPSC fixes the same minimum qualifying marks for all communities: 90 out of 300 in the prelims, 40 out of 100 in Paper I and 90 out of 300 in Paper II. These are only the minimums. Because about 10 candidates per vacancy reach the mains, the actual prelims cut-off for each community is usually well above 90.
Treat earlier cut-offs as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass. Previous cut-off trends are on the TNPSC Group 2 cut-off page.
How to Prepare for TNPSC Group 2
For the Prelims
Start with the language paper: Practise grammar, vocabulary and comprehension daily, because 100 questions come from this one section.
Build Tamil Nadu depth: Tamil Nadu history, culture, economy and development administration carry a large share of General Studies. Samacheer Kalvi textbooks from Class 6 to 12 are a reliable base.
Keep aptitude steady: Spend 30 minutes a day on arithmetic and reasoning so the 25 aptitude questions become quick marks.
For the Mains
Group II: Start answer-writing practice early. Write timed answers on each Paper II unit and link national topics to Tamil Nadu examples.
Group IIA: Practise on a computer screen, since Paper II is a CBT. Speed in reasoning and accuracy in Tamil Nadu-specific GS decide the rank.
Paper I: Do not ignore the Tamil Eligibility Test. Practise translation, comprehension and short essays in Tamil until 40 marks feels safe.
TNPSC Group 2 rewards steady, Tamil Nadu-focused preparation and a strong language paper. Download the official Notification No. 07/2026 for post-wise rules, and keep checking the TNPSC website for the prelims result and mains schedule.