CSS stands for Central Superior Service. It is a Competitive Examination conducted by Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to recruit new officers for the posts (BS-17) annually. The candidates who aspire to give the exam come from the entire country. Those passing with flying colors are recruited and assigned the key posts in various departments of the Civil Service. One of the following 12 Service Groups is allotted to the qualifiers according to the merit. 

  1. Pakistan Customs Services
  2. Commerce and Trade Group
  3. Foreign Service of Pakistan
  4. Inland Revenue Service of Pakistan
  5. Information Services of Pakistan
  6. Military Lands & Cantonment Group
  7. Office Management and Secretariat Group
  8. Pakistan Administrative Service
  9. Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service
  10. Police Service of Pakistan
  11. Postal Group
  12. Railways (Commercial & Transport) Group

The Candidate must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:


Gender: No gender discrimination i.e. both male and female candidates including special persons can apply.

Nationality: Candidate must be a citizen of Pakistan or a permanent resident of the State of Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.


Qualification

Minimum Bachelor’s degree in any discipline.

(i)     Second Division or Grade “C” Bachelor’s degree in any faculty of one of the Pakistani Universities or an equivalent degree or comparable educational qualifications of a foreign University recognized by Higher Education Commission, Islamabad.

Note:

(i)     A candidate who has obtained a Third Division (or `D’ grade) in his/her Bachelor’s Degree will be eligible for the Examination in cases where he/she has obtained a higher Division in Master’s Degree.

(ii)    The decision as to which foreign degrees or comparable educational qualifications are equivalent to corresponding Pakistani degree rests solely with the Commission.

Age Limit

As per rules age limit for CSS Examination is 21 to 30 years. Upper age limit will be same as 30 years and cut-off date for age calculation will be 31st December of the current year.

The upper age limit will be relaxed by two years up to the age of 30 years in respect of :


(a)    The candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Buddhist Community subject to production of a certificate (Annex-A of Application Form) to be issued by Political Agent/DCO/ District Magistrate in support of their claim.


(b)    The candidates belonging to the recognized Tribes who are permanent residents of the areas mentioned-below and whose families have been living in these areas. Such candidates must attach a certificate (Annex-B of Application Form) to be issued by Political Agent/ DCO/District Magistrate in support of their claim:

  1. Balochistan.
  2. Tribal Areas of D.I.Khan and Peshawar Divisions (including former Frontier States of Dir, Swat, Chitral and Amb).
  3. Former excluded (Baluch) area forming part of the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur Districts.
  4. Former Tribal Areas of Mardan and Hazara Divisions.
  5. Upper Tanawal Area of Hazara Division

(c)    The candidates who are permanent residents of Azad Kashmir Territory, subject to submission of a certificate (Annex-C of Application Form) to be issued by Kashmir Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad.


(d)    The candidates who are permanent residents of Gilgit – Baltistan including Gilgit, Diamir, Baltistan, Ghizar and Ghanche, subject to submission of a certificate (Annex-B of Application Form) to be issued by the Political Agent/DCO/ District Magistrate.


(e)    The candidates who are disabled namely, physically impaired, hearing/speech impaired (deaf & dumb) and visually impaired (blind), subject to submission of certificate of disability issued by the competent authority designated for the purpose by the Federal/Provincial Government.


(f)     In Service Government Servants, Armed Forces Personnel, Contract employees, including the Government servants of AJ&K, who possess a minimum of two years continuous Government service as on 31st December, 2013, subject to submission of Departmental Permission Certificate (Annex-E) from the competent authority. Employees of Nationalized Banks, State Bank of Pakistan, WAPDA, Regulatory Authorities, Autonomous bodies and other semi autonomous bodies are not entitled to age relaxation.

There are following 04 stages of the CSS Exam with 1500 marks in total:
  • Written Examination - 1200 marks
  • Medical Test
  • Psychological Test
  • Viva Voce - 300 marks

Written Exam

Written exam consists of compulsory and optional papers comprising of 1200 marks in total i.e., 600 marks for compulsory subjects and 600 marks for optional subjects (to be selected from the following groups).

Compulsory Subjects (100 x 6= 600 marks)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

1.

English Essays

100

2.

English (Précis and Composition)

100

3.

General Science and Ability

100

4.

Current Affairs

100

5.

Pakistan Affairs

100

6.

Islamic Studies OR Comparative Study of Major Religions (for Non-Muslims)

100


Optional Subjects
GROUP - 1 (To select one subject of 200 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

1.

Accountancy & Auditing

200

2.

Economics

200

3.

Computer Science

200

4.

Political Science

200

5.

International Relations

200


GROUP - 2 (A): (To select one subject of 200 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

6.

Physics

200

7.

Chemistry

200


GROUP - 2 (B): (To select two subjects of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

8.

Applied Mathematics

100

9.

Pure Mathematics

100

10.

Statistics

100

11.

Geology

100


GROUP – 3: (To select one subject of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

12.

Business Administration

100

13.

Public Administration

100

14.

Governance & Public Policies

100

15.

Town Planning & Urban Management

100


GROUP – 4: (To select one subject of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

16.

History of Pakistan & India

100

17.

Islamic History & Culture

100

18.

British History

100

19.

European History

100

20.

History of USA

100


GROUP - 5 (To select one subject of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

21.

Gender Studies

100

22.

Environmental Sciences

100

23.

Agricultural & Forestry

100

24.

Botany

100

25.

Zoology

100

26.

English Literature

100

27.

Urdu Literature

100


GROUP - 6 (To select one subject of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

28.

Law

100

29.

International Law

100

30.

Constitutional Law

100

31.

Muslim Law & Jurisprudence

100

32.

Mercantile Law

100

33.

Criminology

100

34.

Philosophy

100


GROUP - 7 (To select one subject of 100 marks only)

Sr.

Subject

Marks

35.

Journalism & Mass Communication

100

36.

Psychology

100

37.

Geography

100

38.

Sociology

100

39.

Anthropology

100

40.

Punjabi

100

41.

Pashto

100

42.

Sindhi

100

43.

Balochi

100

44.

Persian

100

45.

Arabic

100

Psychological + Interview
Candidates qualifying the written exam will be shortlisted for psychological test and viva voce. The minimum score required to qualify the written part is 600 marks.

Psychological assessment is the name given to a process of evaluating and assessing an individual. The psychologists integrate information collected from multiple sources such as Tests of Personality, Ability, Intelligence and Command task. The findings revealed from these tests are further supported and confirmed by relating them to background information, behavioural observation and one-to-one interview with the psychologists.


Types
Psychological tests for recruitment can be divided into two main categories: Ability Tests and Personality Tests.


1.      Ability Tests
The ability tests measure intellectual and reasoning abilities of the candidates. These consist of multiple choice questions (MCQs) or short Q&A format. These limited time tests can be passed only if you are speedy as well as accurate in your answers. The different types of ability tests can be categorized as follows: 

a.    Abstract Ability: These tests attempt to assess the ability of the candidate in identifying the underlying logic of a pattern and then determine the solution.


2.      Personality Tests
It is usually said that personality tests do not have any right or wrong answers. This is but only half true. No doubt you will not be given scores on the test but what you say reflects a lot about the personality you possess and your confidence, decision-making skills, leadership abilities, etc., will be assessed through personality tests. These can also be classified into two types:


a.    Non-projective Personality Tests: In these tests, the candidates are required to respond in true and false to a series of statements relating to their feelings, thoughts, emotions and behaviour in a variety of situations.
b.    Projective Personality Tests: The projective tests included in CSS exam usually include story writing and completion of sentences.


Autobiography
The candidates may be asked to write an autobiography in which they are expected to write as to who they are and what they aspire to be.


Questions Relating to the Candidate
In this part, the candidates may be asked several questions relating to their personality, experiences, relations with others, interests and attitudes.


Group Discussion
The main purpose of group discussion for selection is to assess the abilities of the candidates to work as a team.


Command Task
In command task, the candidates are given a task which they have to perform in conditions that are as near to the work environment as possible.


Interview with the Psychologists
In the end, the candidates are required to appear before the psychologists for a brief interview. It is more of a discussion with the psychologists