What is CSS?

The Public Service Commission was set up for the first time in British India in 1926. After
independence, the Commission was established in Pakistan in 1947 under the provision of
Government of India Act, 1935. At present, the commission is functioning under article
242of the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It has been provided autonomy under
the Rules of Business, 1973 and FPSC Regulations, 1978 in its working. The Commission
has also been given administrative as well as, to some extent, financial autonomy to
perform its functions independently.

Who is eligible to appear for the exam?

To apply for CSS Examination, a candidate should be;

 A citizen of Pakistan.
 Must hold at least a Bachelors Degree with the second division in any
Faculty/Discipline from one of the Pakistani Universities or an equivalent degree or
comparable educational qualifications of a foreign University.
 No candidate who has obtained a Third Division (or ‘D’ grade where result is declared
under Semester System) in his Bachelor’s Degree will be eligible for the Examination
except in cases where he/she has obtained a higher Division in Master’s Degree.
 The age limit for admission in CSS Examination is 21-28 years, which is relaxable
upto 2 years for those who are already in Government Service and have completed 2
years service. The relaxation is also available to candidates belonging to certain
remote areas as defined by Government.

Whether females are eligible for the posts announced by the Commission?
For CSS - they are eligible.
What is the fee for the exam?
The current fee is Rs. 1000/.
How many subjects do I need to choose?
Subjects carrying 600 marks are compulsory while you have to choose subjects carrying
600 marks among optional subjects.
How many attempts can I make?
You can make not more than three (03) attempts for the CSS exam.
Would my subject combination affect my choice of any occupational group?
No, your subject combination does not affect your choice for any specific occupational
group. You can chose any subjects and be considered for any group according to your
marks and merit.

How should I select the subject?

For subject selection, keep in mind the following points:

 Try to have the subjects that you have studied before.

 Don’t ever go for “that easy subject”, try to find out its scoring value.
 Previous statistics show that subjects with 100 marks give more score than subjects
with 200 marks.
 Science subjects are more scoring than their arts counterparts.
 People even have scored 2 marks in some subjects like Constitutional Law because
they thought it was too easy.
 Languages are usually high scoring subjects.
 Indo-Pak History does not usually result in a high score--avoiding it as generally
helpful.
  However, other history subjects have better scoring averages.

What are the compulsory and optional subjects?

Compulsory Subjects Marks

1) Essay 100
2) English (precise and composition) 100
3) General Knowledge - 1 (everyday
100
science)
General Knowledge - 2 (current
100
affairs)
General Knowledge - 3 (Pakistan
100
Affairs)
4) Islamiat (optional for only non-
100
Muslims)

Subject
Optional Subjects Marks Rules
Code
Accountancy and Subject(s) carrying not
11 200
Auditing more than 200 marks
12 Economics 200 (Code No. 11- 14) can be
Business choosed.
13 100
Administration Note : Business
14 Public Administration 100 Administration can not be
opted in combination with
Public Administration.
15 Political Science 200
Subject(s) carrying not
16 Agricultural 100
more than 200 marks
17 Forestry 100
(Code No. 15- 19) can be
18 Sociology 100
choosed.
19 Journalism 100
20 Pure Mathematics 200 Subject(s) carrying not
21 Applied Mathematics 200 more than 200 marks
22 Computer Science 100 (Code No. 20-23) can be
23 Statistics 100 choosed.
24 Physics 200
25 Geology 200 Science subject(s)
26 Geography 200 carrying not more than
27 Chemistry 200 200 marks (Code No. 24-
28 Botany 200 29) can be choosed.
29 Zoology 200
Islamic history and
30 200
culture History subject(s)
31 Indo Pak History 200 carrying not more than
32 British History 200 200 marks (Code No. 30-
33 European History 200 34) can be choosed.
34 USA History 100
35v Law 200 Law subject(s) carrying
36 Constitutional Law 100 not more than 200 marks
37 Mercantile Law 100(Code No. 35-40) can be
Muslim Law and opted.
38 100
Jurisprudence Note : International Law
39 International Law 100 can not be opted in
combination with
40 International Relations 100
International Relations.
41 Philosophy 200 Philosophy/Psychology
subject(s) carrying not
more than 200 marks
42 Psychology 200 (Code No.41-42 ) can be
opted.
43 Sindhi 100 Regional languages not
44 Pushto 100 more than one of the 04
45 Punjabi 100 subjects (Code No. 43-
46 Balochi 100 46) can be opted.
47 English Literature 200 National/Foreign/Classical
languages not more than
48 Urdu 200
one of 04 subjects (Code
49 Persian 200 No. 47-50)can be opted.
Note : Urdu can not be
opted in combination with
50 Arabic 200 regional languages (Code
No. 43-Sindhi, 46-
Balochi)
NOTE: The candidates must select from the optional subjects
carrying a total of 600 marks.

At which centres exams are held?

CSS exams are held by the FPSC simultaneously at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar
and Quetta. There used to be a centre in London as well but it has been abolished.
When and for how many groups the exam is held?
Competitive Examination is held by the FPSC every year in October/November for induction
of officers in Basic Pay Scale 17 into the Civil services of the Federation, for the following 10
Groups/Services under the Federal Government.

 Accounts Group
 Commerce and Trade Group
 Customs and Excise Group
 District Management Group
 Foreign service of Pakistan
 Information Group
 Income Tax Group
 Police Service of Pakistan
 Postal Group
 Railways (Commercial and Transportation) Group

What is the format of the exam?

The Competitive Examination comprises of the following format;
  Written Examination
The Written Examination for CSS consists of 1200 marks (600 marks for compulsory
subjects and 600 marks for optional subjects). The examination is normally held
during the month of October/November every year in 5 main cities of
Pakistan.Qualification marks in written Examination:

The qualification marks in CSS written examination are as under:

o a) Compulsory Subjects – 40% in each subjects
o b) Optional Subjects – 33% in each subjects
o c) Aggregate Marks – 50%

 Medical and Psychological Test

The Candidates, who qualify the written examination as per criteria, have to appear
for their medical Test before central Medical Board, according to the schedule
prescribed by the Ministry of Health. Then the medically qualified candidates are
given psychological Tests, in individual as well as in Groups, to access their aptitude
and personality traits for different Groups/Services, before the Viva Voce.
 Viva Voce
The viva Voce tests consists of 300 marks and minimum qualification marks are 100.
No candidate is considered for appointment to any of the Group/Service for which
he/she is declared “not suitable” by the Viva Voce Board. The viva voce is conducted
by a larger board (mostly five members) headed by the chairman at Islamabad and
at all Provincial headquarters.

What sort of preparation is required for Psychological and are there any marks for
Psychological Assessment?
No preparation is required for Psychological Tests. Express your true feelings, opinions, and
judgments as they are and respond to the questions freely. There are NO MARKS for
Psychological Assessment, however the marks assigned to Viva Voce also reflect the
performance on Psychological test.
What is the Recruitment Policy?
The allocation of posts to merit and provincial / regional quota is made according to the
existing policy of the government as under:

 Merit 10%
 Punjab 50%
 Sindh 19% ( Urban 7.6%, Rural 11.4% )
Sindh (Urban) refers only to the city area of Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.
Cantonment areas are counted as part of the city. The areas under the Jurisdiction of
the District Councils of these districts are the rural areas.
 NWFP 11.5%
 Baluchistan 3.5%
 NAFATA 4%
 AJK 2%

What is the further procedure After selection?

After selection there is 9-month basic training at the Civil Service Academy, Lahore and
after this departmental training starts. In total this training period is of two years duration.
After this period, candidates are posted as grade-17 officers.
5-years are required for the first promotion i.e. to grade-18 provided there are vacant posts
available for it. Promotion to grade-19 further requires 7 years while promotion to grade-20
requires compulsory training at national Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) at
Lahore,Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. Five month training is required to be promoted to
grade-21. This training is conducted at AdministrativeStaffCollege,Lahore. Grade-22 is the
last rung in this ladder of grades.
What are the address, phone numbers and email address of FPSC, it's regional
branch offices and Information centres?
FPSC Head Office
Address: S-5/1 Aga Khan road, Islamabad.
Tel: +92-51-9207130, +92-51-9214181,2,4
Email: fpsc@comsats.net.pk

FPSC Regional Branch Offices:

Lahore:
Address: 321-upper Mall, Karachi:
Address: H.M.2 Bath Island.
Opposite gymkhana. Tel: +92-
Tel: +92-21-9250926
42-5751284 Fax: +92-21-9250159
Fax: +92-42-5759504
Peshawar: Quetta:
Address: H.No: 106, St. No: 6, Address: Sundaes Center, Opp.
Sector No: N-3, Phase-IV, Haji Sangeen Khan Hospital,
Hayatabad. Airport Road.
Tel: +92-91-9217337 Tel: +92-81-9202955
FPSC Information Centres:
University of Agriculture, Bahuddin Zakariya
Faislabad University, Multan
Dr. Muhammad Abdullah, Prof. Dr. Abdul Hafeez
Assistant Professor, Deppt. of Chaudhry, Department of
Livestock Management & Economics & Incharge.
Incharge. Tel: +92-61-224371-4 ext.
Tel: +92-51-9200161-69 220135
Islamia University, University of Sindh ,
Bahawalpur Jamshoro
Mr. Rahim Yar Abbasi, Dy. Mr. Allah Wasaya Rajar,
Registrar (Public Relation) & Assistant Professor of
Incharge. Economics & Incharge.
Tel:+92-621-80131 , +92-621- Tel:+92-221-771248 , +92-
875503 221-771681-90
Shah Abdul Latif University,
Khairpur (Sindh)
Syed Farzand Ali Shah, Head
Department of English &
Incharge.
Tel:+92-792-4693-4, +92-792-
4603, +92-792-4808

12. Regional office Nawabshah regoffns@hyd.paknet.com.pk