APPSC Group-I Services: 166 Posts, Window Closes 27 October

The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has opened 166 Group-I Services posts under Notification No. 07/2026, dated 6 October 2026, and the application window closes on 27 October 2026 at 11:59 pm. The recruitment covers 13 categories, from Deputy Collector to Divisional Development Officer, and the commission said the Screening Test will be held on 24 January 2027. Applications are online only, through the commission's website, and a bachelor's degree is the entry qualification for 12 of the 13 posts.

At a glance

Notification	No. 07/2026, dated 6 October 2026
Posts	166 across 13 categories, including 5 carried-forward vacancies
Apply	Online only at psc.ap.gov.in, 6 October 2026 to 27 October 2026, 11:59 pm
Screening Test	24 January 2027, offline OMR
Main examination	Dates to be announced; 5 papers of 150 marks plus a 75-mark interview
Fee	Rs 370 (Rs 250 processing + Rs 120 examination); exempt categories pay Rs 250
Eligibility	Bachelor's degree, except DSP (Communications) which needs an engineering degree; age as on 1 July 2026
Citizenship	Citizens of India

Why it matters

Group-I is the senior tier of Andhra Pradesh's state civil services. The detailed notification of 6 October 2026 raised the total from 163 posts in the brief notice of 15 September 2026 to 166, with Deputy Collector moving from 11 to 12, Deputy Registrar from 15 to 16 and Assistant Audit Officer from 14 to 15. Five of the 166 are carried-forward vacancies, which the commission said will be filled before the fresh vacancies. The commission also said vacancy numbers may still change, but any addition will be accepted only before the Screening Test, through an addendum.

Key details

The largest shares are Deputy Superintendent of Police (Civil) with 36 posts, Divisional Development Officer with 35, Deputy Registrar with 16 and Assistant Audit Officer with 15. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax has 14, District Educational Officer 14, Deputy Collector 12 and Municipal Commissioner Grade-II 12. The smaller posts are Regional Transport Officer with 3, DSP (Communications) with 3, District Employment Officer with 3, Assistant Treasury Officer / Assistant Accounts Officer with 2 and District Tribal Welfare Officer with 1. Pay runs from Rs 54,060 to Rs 1,54,980 a month depending on the post: Deputy Collector, Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, both DSP posts and District Educational Officer sit in the Rs 61,960–1,51,370 band, while Divisional Development Officer tops the table at Rs 65,360–1,54,980.

Every post except DSP (Communications) needs a bachelor's degree from a recognised university, held as on 6 October 2026. DSP (Communications) needs a B.E. or B.Tech in Electronics and Communication, Electronics and Telecommunication or Radio Engineering. Age is reckoned as on 1 July 2026: 18 to 44 years for most posts, 21 to 30 for DSP (Civil) and 18 to 30 for DSP (Communications). The notification allows 5 years of relaxation for SC, ST, BC and EWS candidates and 10 years for persons with benchmark disabilities, but the relaxed age must not cross the post's maximum age. The two DSP posts also carry physical standards, including a minimum height of 167.6 cm and a chest measurement of 86.3 cm with 5 cm expansion. Most posts reserve 95 per cent of seats for local multi-zone or zone candidates; DSP (Communications) is a state-cadre post outside that rule, and women hold a 33⅓ per cent horizontal share.

The fee is Rs 250 towards application processing plus Rs 120 towards the examination, Rs 370 in total, payable online only. SC, ST, BC, persons with benchmark disabilities, ex-servicemen, Andhra Pradesh white-card families and unemployed youth are exempt from the examination fee and pay Rs 250. The commission said the fee, once paid, will not be refunded. Selection runs through an offline OMR Screening Test, a descriptive Main examination and an interview. The Screening Test has two papers of 120 marks each, General Studies and General Aptitude, and each wrong answer loses one-third of the question's marks. The Main examination has five papers of 150 marks each, and the interview carries 75 marks, for a total of 825. Telugu and English papers in the Main examination are qualifying only and their marks do not count towards merit. After the Main examination, candidates are called for interview at a ratio of 1:2 against the vacancies. The Screening Test will be held at district centres, while the Main examination will be held at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Ananthapuramu only.

How to apply

1. Register through One Time Profile Registration on the commission's website, if applying for the first time, and log in with the OTPR number.
2. Open the online application for Notification No. 07/2026 and fill in every column.
3. Pay the fee online through net banking or a credit or debit card, then Save and Submit. Registration alone is not an application, and a form saved but left unpaid counts as incomplete.
4. Check every field before submitting, because name, fee and age-relaxation fields cannot be corrected later. Other fields can be corrected for 7 days after the last date.
5. Watch the commission's website for hall tickets and Main examination dates.

Only the commission's website counts as the official channel. Anyone asking for money to secure one of these posts, or offering a form outside psc.ap.gov.in, is running a scam. The notification requires Indian citizenship, so readers in Nepal cannot apply for these posts; the value of this story for Nepali readers is as a warning against agents selling Indian government vacancies.

Background

The brief notice of 15 September 2026 listed 163 posts, and the detailed notification of 6 October 2026 is the document that fixed the final figure at 166 and set the Screening Test date. The commission said there will be no waiting list for this recruitment, and vacancies arising after the selection process will not be added to it. Hall tickets for both stages will be hosted on the commission's website.