EPSO AD5 2026: Two Separate Test Sessions, Two Rankings — and Verbal Decides Both

The 2026 EPSO AD5 generalist competition — 174,922 candidates for 1,490 reserve list places — now runs in two separate sittings on different dates. EU Careers confirmed the split on 30 June 2026. Part 1 brings reasoning tests in autumn 2026. Part 2, reserved for those who clear Part 1, follows in 2027 with EU Knowledge, Digital Skills and the EUFTE essay. Verbal reasoning is the only test that gates your entry to Part 2 and then drives both rankings inside it.

Two sittings, two different years

The original competition notice described a single testing flow. On 30 June 2026, EU Careers published an update splitting it into two parts with separate convocations.

Part 1 takes place in October or November 2026. It covers three tests only: verbal reasoning (20 questions, 35 minutes), numerical reasoning (10 questions, 20 minutes) and abstract reasoning (10 questions, 10 minutes). Every candidate who submitted a valid application receives an individual invitation. Each sitting takes place on a single day, with candidates scheduled across different slots throughout the testing window. Rescheduling is not possible.

Part 2 takes place in 2027, on dates to be announced later. It is open only to candidates who passed Part 1. It covers the EU Knowledge test (30 questions, 40 minutes), the Digital Skills test under the DigComp framework (40 questions, 30 minutes) and the EUFTE — a free-text essay on European affairs (40 minutes). Candidates receive their individual convocation through their eu-careers.europa.eu account.

What verbal reasoning does at each stage

Verbal reasoning is the only test that functions as both a pass/fail gate in Part 1 and a ranked scoring component in Part 2. In Part 1, the individual threshold is 10 out of 20: a candidate who falls below that score is out, regardless of their numerical or abstract result. In Part 2, the verbal score feeds directly into the two rankings that determine the reserve list.

Because there are two rankings in Part 2, not one.

After the Part 2 multiple-choice tests are scored, EPSO builds a preliminary ranking by weighting each score according to fixed percentages. That ranking decides whose EUFTE essay gets graded. The competition notice sets a ceiling of roughly 1.5 times the target number of successful candidates, which for EPSO/AD/427/26 means approximately 2,235 candidates at most out of the 174,922 who applied. Everyone else finishes the competition without their essay being read.

Once those 2,235 essays are graded and eligibility is checked, EPSO builds a final ranking using slightly different weightings. The reserve list flows directly from that final ranking.

The official weighting table, published in the competition notice, is as follows:

What numerical and abstract reasoning actually do — and what they don't

Numerical and abstract reasoning are eliminatory in Part 1. A candidate who does not reach a combined score of 10 out of 20 across both tests is out of the competition. But their scores count toward no ranking, neither preliminary nor final. This is stated explicitly in the weighting table of the official competition notice.

A candidate who scores 10 out of 10 on numerical reasoning gains the same number of ranking points as a candidate who scores 5 out of 10, provided both have cleared the combined threshold. The five-point gap between those two scores is worth exactly zero in the ranking. The same five-point gap on verbal reasoning is worth two points in the preliminary combined score.

That does not mean numerical and abstract preparation can be skipped. A score below the threshold ends the competition in Part 1, before the rest even begins. But treating them as ranking tests — and allocating preparation time accordingly — is the most common structural mistake candidates make going into EPSO/AD/427/26.

How verbal reasoning works on the day

Each question gives you a short passage and four answer options. The correct answer is the one the passage directly supports. The wrong answers are either contradicted by the text or left open — the passage does not settle them.

The core difficulty is over-inference. A candidate reads an option that seems true based on general knowledge or common sense, selects it, and loses the point because the passage in front of them never established it. The test measures the ability to stay within the text, not broader knowledge of the world. A statement can be entirely true in reality and still be wrong here, if the passage does not say it.

The pace makes this harder. Thirty-five minutes across twenty questions leaves under one minute and forty-five seconds per question, reading time included. A careful but slow reader loses points alongside a fast but careless one. The test demands both at once.

A worked example of the typical trap

A passage states that scientists predict an increase in hurricane intensity as the planet warms, but notes they remain divided on whether frequency will rise or fall. One answer option states that hurricane intensity will certainlyincrease. The passage uses “predict” — it does not claim certainty. The correct answer is the one that reflects the passage's hedged language, not the one that sounds like the most intuitive conclusion. The gap between a scientific prediction and a stated certainty is exactly what the test is measuring.

The EUFTE in Part 2: what the official notice says

The essay runs 40 minutes, is taken in Language 2, and is scored from 0 to 10 with a minimum of 5 required to pass. The source documents on which it is based are published on the EPSO website before the sitting date — candidates receive them again during the exam, but reading them in advance is a real advantage.

The competition notice is clear that the EUFTE assesses written communication, not language proficiency or factual recall. The quality of the argument matters more than the sophistication of the vocabulary. In the final ranking, the essay accounts for 15% of the combined score — enough to separate two candidates who are otherwise close after the multiple-choice tests.

What this structure means for how you prepare

The two-part format with two separate rankings points to a preparation priority that most generic guides do not make explicit. Verbal reasoning is the test that matters at every stage: it decides whether you pass Part 1 and reach Part 2, then drives 40% of the preliminary ranking and 35% of the final ranking inside Part 2.

Numerical and abstract reasoning are thresholds to clear in Part 1. EU Knowledge and Digital Skills each carry 30% of the preliminary ranking and deserve serious preparation for Part 2. The EUFTE requires weeks of practice in argumentative writing in Language 2, not a last-minute revision session before the Part 2 convocation.

Part 1 starts in October or November 2026. Individual invitations arrive through the eu-careers.europa.eu candidate account. The preparation window between now and then is the one that counts.