EPSO Practice Tests for the EU Institutions
The same three reasoning tests open every EU institution job, for graduates, assistants and contract staff alike. Practise all five EPSO multiple-choice tests on the real counts and clocks, with TAO's navigation, bookmarks and answer elimination.
Three clocks, two pass rules
Verbal 20 questions in 35 minutes, pass 10. Numerical 10 in 20 and abstract 10 in 10, which share one bar: at least 10 out of 20 across the two.
AD5 2026 timetable
Part 1, the reasoning tests, planned from November 2026 in weekly waves. Part 2 later, dates not yet announced.
Two languages
Reasoning in your Language 1. EU knowledge, digital skills and the essay in your Language 2. Our tests are in English.
EU citizens only
Every procedure requires EU nationality. Real tests run on TAO under Proctorio, on a laptop or desktop only.
Free Tests
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Premium Tests
EPSO Verbal Reasoning
Twenty passages, each with four statements, and one question every time: which statement is correct on the basis of the passage alone. 35 minutes on one clock with free navigation and bookmarks, at AD or AST level. The pass mark is 10 out of 20, and in the AD5 graduate competition this is the one reasoning score that counts toward the ranking.
EPSO Numerical Reasoning
Ten questions on EU-style tables and charts in 20 minutes, five options each, with "None of the above" standing as option E on many of them. The options sit close together, so an on-screen calculator is provided, and it ignores Enter the way EPSO tells you to. No pass mark of its own: EPSO adds it to abstract reasoning and needs 10 out of 20 across the two.
EPSO EU Knowledge Test
Thirty multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes on the EU, its institutions, procedures and main policies, as sat in the AD5 graduate competition and by secretaries. Pass mark 15 out of 30. Every question is written from the treaties and official EU sources and carries the date it was checked.
EPSO Digital Skills Test
Forty questions in 30 minutes, eight from each area of the EU's DigComp framework: information, communication, content creation, safety and problem solving. Mostly multiple choice, with a few click-on-the-screen items of the kind EPSO has illustrated. Pass mark 20 out of 40, and at 45 seconds a question it is EPSO's fastest test.
Which EPSO procedure are you in?
Graduates (AD5)
Part 1 is the three reasoning tests. Part 2 is the EU knowledge test (30 in 40 minutes, pass 15), the digital skills test (40 in 30 minutes, pass 20) and a 40-minute written essay. The 2026 competition drew 174,727 applications for 1,490 places. Verbal is 40% of the preliminary ranking and 35% of the final one; numerical and abstract never count toward the ranking.
Assistants and specialists (AST, AD6 to AD9)
The same reasoning tests, used as a pass or fail gate, then a field-related multiple-choice test that ranks you and a written test. Secretaries (AST/SC) also sit EU knowledge and digital skills. The field tests differ for every competition, so we do not simulate them.
Contract staff (CAST Permanent)
Reasoning tests only, pass or fail, since April 2023. A pass is valid for ten years for the same and lower function groups; a fail bars a retake at that level for four months. Choose AD level in our tests for FG IV and AST for FG I to III, a mapping that is ours rather than EPSO's.
How the EPSO tests work, and what we do not simulate
Each test is its own timed part, submitted on its own. Within a part you can move freely between questions, bookmark any of them, check an Overview of every question's status and strike options out. Handing a part in shows a warning if anything is blank and then a choice to review or submit, and submitting is final. Our tests reproduce that interaction, including the two warnings.
The score is a count of correct answers. Every EPSO scale runs from zero to the number of questions and no document describes a penalty, so our scores are plain number-correct too, with no bonus for speed or for finishing early. Our feedback reports your mark against EPSO's pass mark and, for numerical and abstract, what your score leaves the other test to find.
The numerical calculator ignores Enter, on purpose. EPSO tells candidates to press the equals sign for a result, and candidates at the first TAO sittings reported that Enter could clear the display. Practising on a calculator where Enter works would build the habit that loses a result on the day.
The knowledge tests are sourced and dated. Every EU knowledge and digital skills question carries the official page it was checked against and the date it was checked. EPSO publishes the references it used for the EU knowledge test about two months before the test date; revise from that list first when it appears.
We do not simulate the written tests. The EUFTE essay, the written tests in specialist competitions, the secretaries' short-text questionnaire, the field-related tests, the linguist tests and the interviews run by the institutions after the reserve list are all marked by people or specific to one competition, so we describe them rather than fake them.
The real test is laptop or desktop only. This practice is not. EPSO says phones and tablets are not supported, and the test runs in Chrome or Edge with Proctorio recording audio, video and screen. Our tests work properly on a phone, because revising on a train is a real thing people do, but a phone result is not comparable to a proctored desktop sitting. Do at least one full practice at a desk before the day.
We are not EPSO. EPSO says it does not offer preparatory courses and does not endorse any external training. It points candidates to its own sample tests and public TAO sessions, which are worth using alongside ours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions are in the EPSO reasoning tests?
Verbal reasoning is 20 questions in 35 minutes, numerical reasoning 10 in 20 and abstract reasoning 10 in 10. The counts and clocks are the same in the AD5 graduate competition, the AST assistant competitions and the contract staff procedure.
What is the EPSO pass mark?
At least 10 out of 20 in verbal reasoning, and at least 10 out of 20 across numerical and abstract reasoning combined. In the AD5 2026 competition you also need 15 out of 30 in EU knowledge, 20 out of 40 in digital skills and 5 out of 10 in the written essay.
Is there negative marking in EPSO tests?
EPSO scores each test as a count of correct answers, from zero to the number of questions, and no EPSO document describes a penalty for a wrong answer. Answer every question.
Can I use a calculator or paper?
TAO provides an on-screen calculator on the numerical test and, where enabled, an on-screen scratchpad. Paper, pens and physical calculators are forbidden and count as a breach. EPSO tells candidates to press the equals sign, not Enter, to get a result.
What language are the EPSO tests in?
The reasoning tests are sat in your Language 1. The EU knowledge test, the digital skills test and the written essay are sat in your Language 2. You choose both on the application and cannot change them after the deadline.
Can I take EPSO tests on a phone or at a test centre?
No. EPSO tests are taken remotely on the TAO platform under Proctorio, on a laptop or desktop with Chrome or Edge. EPSO says phones and tablets are not supported. Our practice tests work on a phone for revision, but a phone result is not comparable to the real sitting.
When are the AD5 2026 tests?
EPSO has said Part 1, the reasoning tests, is planned to start in November 2026 in weekly waves. You learn your week about three weeks ahead and the exact date and time at least two weeks ahead. Part 2 (EU knowledge, digital skills and the essay) follows later; EPSO had not announced its dates when this page was written.
Can UK citizens apply to EPSO competitions?
Not on UK nationality alone. Every current EPSO notice and the contract staff call require the nationality of an EU member state.
Are you affiliated with EPSO?
No. EPSO says it does not offer preparatory courses and does not endorse any external publications or training services. Our tests are independent practice built to EPSO's published formats, and our questions are our own.
Companies That Use EPSO
EPSO selects permanent officials and contract staff for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies, and they all recruit from the same reserve lists through the same tests. These are institutions that set EPSO up and use it.
European Commission
EU institutionThe largest recruiter from EPSO reserve lists: AD administrators, AST assistants and contract staff.
European Parliament
EU institutionRecruits officials and contract staff from EPSO competitions and calls.
Council of the European Union
EU institutionA founding party to EPSO, recruiting from its reserve lists.
Court of Justice of the European Union
EU institutionRecruits from EPSO competitions, including lawyer-linguist competitions.
European Court of Auditors
EU institutionA founding party to EPSO, recruiting from its reserve lists.
Interviews happen after the reserve list and are run by the recruiting institution, not by EPSO. EU citizenship is required in every procedure.
Guides and Tips
Read up before you practise: what the tests reward, what catches candidates out, and why shortcuts do not work.
Can You Cheat EPSO Tests? Recorded and Reviewed
Every sitting is recorded and reviewed after submission. Why getting through an EPSO test unchallenged is not the same as getting away with anything.
EPSO Tests: What the Pass Marks and the AD5 Weighting Actually Do
Every EU institution job opens with the same three reasoning tests, but the pass rules are not what most candidates assume, and in the AD5 graduate competition only one of the three ever ranks you. The arithmetic, the weights and the pace for each test.
Assessments in Germany, France and the Wider EU: Einstellungstest, EPSO and Your Rights
A German Einstellungstest is not an aptitude battery, French law gives you rights before the test rather than after it, and EPSO lets you choose which of 24 languages you reason in. Three systems with one legal floor underneath them.
Practice by Test Type
Compare the same format across every provider that uses it, and see what each one is really measuring.
Numerical Reasoning Test Practice
Tables, charts, percentages and ratios against the clock. The most common screening test on graduate schemes and analyst roles.
Verbal Reasoning Test Practice
Short dense passages and true, false or cannot say answers. Judged on what the text supports, never on what you already know.
Logical Reasoning Test Practice
Shapes, sequences and flowcharts instead of words or numbers. Inductive, deductive, abstract, diagrammatic and spatial in one place.
About CogniPrep EPSO Practice
CogniPrep provides independent simulations of the multiple-choice tests run by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), the interinstitutional office that selects permanent officials and contract staff for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies through open competitions and the CAST Permanent call. EPSO's tests are delivered remotely on the TAO platform from Open Assessment Technologies, with Proctorio recording the session, on a laptop or desktop only. Every current procedure opens with verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning at the same lengths, sat in the candidate's Language 1. Generalist competitions add an EU knowledge test and a digital skills test built on the DigComp 2.2 framework, sat in the candidate's Language 2, and a written essay marked by assessors.
- 5 practice tests: EPSO Verbal Reasoning, EPSO Numerical Reasoning, EPSO Abstract Reasoning, EPSO EU Knowledge Test, EPSO Digital Skills Test
- Verbal reasoning: 20 questions in 35 minutes, pass mark 10
- Numerical reasoning 10 in 20 minutes and abstract reasoning 10 in 10 minutes, with one combined pass mark of 10 out of 20
- EU knowledge: 30 questions in 40 minutes, pass mark 15
- Digital skills: 40 questions in 30 minutes, pass mark 20
- AD5 2026 ranking weights: verbal 40% preliminary and 35% final, EU knowledge and digital skills 30% and 25% each, essay 15% final
- Scored as a count of correct answers; no penalty for a wrong answer is described
- EU citizenship required in every procedure
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