Of all the tests in EPSO/AD/427/26, the digital skills test is the one candidates know least about. Partly that's because it sits in Part 2, in 2027, so nobody feels the pressure yet. And partly it's the name: “digital skills” makes people brace for an IT exam. It isn't one. You will not configure a firewall, write a line of code, or explain how encryption works. What the test actually measures is whether you can use everyday digital tools sensibly in an office — and it carries more of your ranking than most people assume.
Where it sits, and why it matters more than it looks
The digital skills test belongs to Part 2, alongside the EU Knowledge test and the EUFTE essay. Part 2 runs in 2027, on dates to be announced, and only candidates who clear the Part 1 reasoning tests are invited to it. So it is a test for later — but not a test to dismiss.
The format is fixed: 40 questions in 30 minutes, which works out to about 45 seconds per question. You sit it in your second language. The pass mark set in the competition notice is 20 out of 40. And on the ranking, it is heavy: the digital skills test counts for 30% of the preliminary combined score and 25% of the final — the same weight as the EU Knowledge test, and more than the EUFTE essay, which contributes 15% of the final score. For a component worth a quarter of where you finish, treating it as a formality is a quiet way to give away ground.
The framework behind it: DigComp 2.2
The test is built on the European Digital Competence Framework — DigComp 2.2, the same reference the EU uses to describe digital skills across the wider population. Knowing the framework is genuinely useful here, because the “best” answers tend to echo its language. DigComp splits digital competence into five areas:
- Information and data literacy — finding data and content online, judging whether a source is reliable, and organising what you keep.
- Communication and collaboration — working with others through digital tools: shared documents, video calls, online etiquette, and managing your own digital identity.
- Digital content creation — producing and editing content, handling different formats, and the basics of copyright and licences.
- Safety — protecting devices, personal data and privacy, recognising threats, and being mindful of health and the environmental cost of technology.
- Problem solving — fixing routine technical problems, choosing the right tool for a task, and keeping your own skills up to date.
A later version, DigComp 3.0, renames some of these, but the competition notice points to 2.2, so that is the vocabulary worth learning.
What the questions actually look like
These are not trivia questions about which button does what, or which software version shipped when. They are scenario-based: you are given a short workplace situation and asked to pick the best response from the options. The situations are the kind you would meet in an EU office — a file that needs the right sharing settings, a message that looks like a phishing attempt, a document that has to be readable by colleagues using assistive technology, a piece of personal data that should not have gone where it went.
When two options both look technically reasonable, the deciding factor is usually judgement rather than knowledge. The answer EPSO is looking for tends to be the one a careful civil servant would choose: protect personal data first — the GDPR reflex — keep things secure, make content accessible, collaborate openly, and take the environmental footprint of technology into account. If one option is safer, more accessible or more privacy-preserving than another that is otherwise fine, that is usually the one they want.
What it is not
It is worth repeating, because it changes how you prepare: this is not a technical test. You are not expected to write code, configure a network, or explain the mathematics of encryption. The questions sit at the level of a competent professional user — someone who can handle email, shared drives, a browser, video calls and office documents, and who understands why data protection and security matter.
For most candidates, then, the gap is not skill. It is knowing which of two sensible-looking answers the framework treats as best. That is a preparation problem, and preparation problems are the good kind — they respond to practice.
How to prepare — and when
There is a clear sequence here, and the timing matters as much as the content.
- Read the DigComp 2.2 framework. It is published free by the EU's Joint Research Centre. You do not need to memorise it, but skimming it teaches you the five areas and, more importantly, the way the EU phrases a “good” digital habit. That phrasing is what the correct answers echo.
- Use EPSO's own sample questions. They are the closest guide to the real style and the safest calibration for how the scenarios are worded.
- Practise against the clock. Forty-five seconds per question leaves little room to re-read. The skill you are building is reaching the sensible answer quickly, not agonising over it.
- Don't start too early. This is a Part 2 test in 2027, and you only sit it if you pass Part 1 in autumn 2026. So there is no reason to touch it before the reasoning tests. Clear Part 1 first, then give digital skills a few focused weeks once you know you are through.
The bottom line
The digital skills test rewards judgement, not technical depth. Learn the five DigComp areas, get used to reading a scenario and deciding fast, and when two answers compete, lean towards the one that is safer, more accessible and more protective of personal data. For a test worth a quarter of your final ranking, a few structured weeks are a good trade — and they come after Part 1, not before.
When that time comes, you can practise the exact question style on EPSODrill. Start with the digital skills drill and get a feel for how the scenarios are put together.