Twelve (12) civil service examinations are slated for 2020, with the Career Service Professional and Subprofessional Level examinations, which draws the biggest number of examinees, to be conducted twice.

The Career Service Examination (CSE) Pen and Paper Test (Professional and Subprofessional Levels) will be conducted on 15 March 2020, with application period from 16 December 2019 to 15 January 2020; and on 9 August 2020, with application period from 11 May to 10 June 2020.

The CSE is a general ability test designed to measure an individual’s preparedness to enter government service. Passing the CSE would result in the conferment of either Professional or Subprofessional eligibility that is needed, among others, for permanent appointment to corresponding career service positions in the government except those that involve the practice of profession or are covered by special laws.

The Career Service Examination for Foreign Service Officer (CSE-FSO) will be administered on 2 February 2020. The application period will run from 11 October to 25 November 2019. Conducted in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the CSE-FSO serves both as a qualifying test and an eligibility examination. As a qualifying test, it forms the first part of the five-part Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSOE). Thus, passing the CSE-FSO is a requisite to be able to proceed to the succeeding parts of the FSOE, which are the Preliminary Interview, Written Test, Psychological Test, and Oral Test, all administered by the DFA. The FSOE is being done to recruit candidates for the Foreign Service Officer, Class IV position.

As an eligibility examination, passers of the CSE-FSO shall simultaneously be conferred the Career FSO Eligibility. This eligibility is appropriate to first level (clerical) and second level (technical) positions in the government that do not involve practice of profession and are not covered by Bar, board and other laws.

The biennial Fire Officer Examination (FOE) and Penology Officer Examination (POE) will be conducted on 21 June 2020. Interested applicants may register from 31 March to 30 April 2020. The resulting Fire Officer Eligibility and the Penology Officer Eligibility are both second level eligibilities that are specific and appropriate for second level ranks in the fire protection and jail management and penology services, respectively, and other functionally related services. These eligibilities, however, are not appropriate for ranks under the Philippine National Police.

Coinciding with the FOE and POE is the Basic Competency on Local Treasury Examination (BCLTE). The BCLTE is part of the Standardized Examination and Assessment for Local Treasury Service (SEAL) Program of the Department of Finance (DOF). The civil service eligibility resulting from passing the BCLTE shall be called Local Treasurer Eligibility, a second level eligibility only appropriate for appointment to Local Treasurer and Assistant Local Treasurer positions, and to positions under the Financial Services that do not require practice of profession and are not covered by Bar/Board or special laws.

Four types of examinations will be administered on 11 October 2020: the Intermediate Competency on Local Treasury Examination (ICLTE), Pre-Employment Test, Promotional Test, and Ethics-Oriented Personality Test (EOPT). Applications for these tests will be accepted from 21 July to 20 August 2020.

The ICLTE is also part of the DOF’s SEAL Program. It forms part of the assessment of the DOF in the selection, appointment, designation, and promotion to higher positions in the local treasury service that do not require practice of profession and are not covered by Bar/Board and special laws. An applicant must be a holder of the Local Treasurer Eligibility and must possess a bachelor’s degree on the date/time of filing of application.

The Pre-Employment Test, Promotional Test, and EOPT are adopted by government agencies as part of their screening process on recruitment, placement, and promotion. The Pre-Employment Test serves as a mechanism to filter applicants; the Promotional Test allows objective evaluation of applicants’ readiness and competencies for promotion purposes; and the EOPT determines behavioral tendencies and personality profile of applicants.

Except for the CSE-FSO, the Commission will issue individual announcements on the said exams that would contain detailed information on the list of testing centers, qualification/admission requirements, application requirements and procedures, scope of examination, and important reminders for examinees.

The examination announcement for the CSE-FSO will be issued by the DFA.

The CSC advises interested individuals to regularly visit the CSC website at www.csc.gov.ph for updates.