EPSO reasoning tests: scoring, pass marks and what happens next

The three tests at a glance

These figures are from the notice of open competition EPSO/AD/427/26 (Administrators, AD 5), as amended in June 2026. All three tests are multiple choice and run online under remote proctoring.

In practice that means roughly 105 seconds per verbal question, 2 minutes per numerical question and 1 minute per abstract question. The abstract test is the tightest on time.

How the reasoning tests feed into your ranking

Passing is only the first gate. The notice then builds two combined scores, and the weights show which tests matter:

Candidates who pass every required score are ranked by the preliminary score. That ranking decides whose EUFTE essay is scored and whose eligibility is checked, a group limited in principle to 1.5 times the number of successful candidates sought. With 1,490 places, that is about 2,235 candidates. The final score then determines the reserve list.

Two consequences follow. First, a bare 10/20 in verbal reasoning gets you through the gate but puts you at a disadvantage in a competitive ranking, because the same score keeps counting at 40% and then 35%. Second, a strong numerical or abstract result brings no extra points. After you are comfortably above the combined threshold, more practice time is better spent on verbal reasoning.

What happens after the reasoning tests

1. Part 1: reasoning tests. You are told your results. If you miss a pass score, your tests are not processed further.
2. Part 2: EU knowledge test, digital skills test and the EUFTE essay. Only candidates who passed Part 1 are invited. EPSO has said more information on Part 2 will follow later.
3. Ranking and eligibility check, then the reserve list.

The notice does not mention an assessment centre for this competition. If you do not sit or complete every test in a part, your answers are not processed and your eligibility is not checked.

AD5 2026 timeline

• 19 October: invitation letters in your Single Candidate Portal account. They give the testing week, not the exact time.
• 20 October to 6 November: access to the testing platform and a required pre-requisite test to check your technical set-up.
• 9 to 13 November: Part 1, the reasoning tests. Your exact date and time appear on the testing platform.

Source: EPSO announcement of 13 October 2026, "AD5 Graduates competition: testing in the second week of November 2026".

What if you fail?

If you miss a pass score, your participation in this competition ends. There is no resit inside the same competition, and the general rules in the notice treat applying more than once to the same competition as a ground for disqualification.

That does not stop you from applying to future competitions, but every notice sets its own conditions, test formats and pass marks. Read the notice for each one. Pass marks shown here apply to AD5 2026 only.

How to use this when you practise

• Aim well above 10/20, not at it. A rule of thumb of ours, not an EPSO figure: stay a few points above the threshold in practice so a bad day on the real test does not end your competition.
• Practise to the real clock. 35 minutes for 20 verbal questions is a different pace from 10 questions with no tight limit.
• Treat practice scores as a trend. Practice tests are not standardised against real candidates, so use them to see whether you improve, not to predict a rank.

Our free verbal reasoning test is the place to start, since verbal is the test that carries into the ranking. For the language the tests are taken in, see Language 1 vs Language 2 explained. For how to read a practice score, see what is a good score on a reasoning test.

EPSO reasoning tests scoring: FAQ

Official sources

• Notice of open competition EPSO/AD/427/26 (OJ C/2026/711), sections 4.2 and 4.3
• Notice amending EPSO/AD/427/26 (OJ C/2026/3362)
• EPSO announcement of 13 October 2026

This site is not affiliated with EPSO or the European Union. Always check the notice of competition and your own EPSO account for the rules that apply to you.