The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission has announced 686 Group-II Services vacancies through Brief Notification No. 37/2026, dated 13 October 2026. The online application window runs from 10 November to 30 November 2026.
This is one of the largest Group-II recruitments Andhra Pradesh has run in recent years, and Deputy Tahsildar alone accounts for 200 of the 686 posts. If you hold a bachelor's degree and you are under 42, you are very likely eligible for at least one post in this notification.
Brief notification vs detailed notification — do not confuse the two
What APPSC has released so far is a brief notification. It confirms the posts, the vacancy count and the application dates. It is not the document you apply from.
The detailed notification — the one carrying the full syllabus, the reservation roster, the exact age cut-off date and the screening test date — will be published on or before 10 November 2026, the same day applications open.
So there is nothing to fill in yet. What there is, is roughly three weeks of preparation time before the form goes live, and that is the real reason to read this page now rather than on 30 November.
Are you eligible?
Age. Most posts are open to candidates aged 18 to 42. The one exception is Prohibition and Excise Sub-Inspector, where the upper limit is 30. APPSC normally fixes the age cut-off as on 1 July of the recruitment year — confirm the exact date from the detailed notification before you assume you have missed out by a few months.
Qualification. For post codes 01 to 08 — Municipal Commissioner Grade-III, Sub-Registrar Grade-II, Deputy Tahsildar, Goods and Services Tax Officer, Assistant Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Deputy MPDO, Prohibition and Excise Sub-Inspector and Assistant Section Officer (GAD) — any bachelor's degree from a recognised university is enough. Your subject does not matter.
Four posts are subject-restricted:
- Assistant Section Officer (Finance) — degree with Mathematics, Economics or Commerce
- Assistant Section Officer (Law) — a law degree
- Senior Accountant and Junior Accountant — degree with Commerce, Economics or Mathematics, plus the prescribed computer certification
You apply once and choose the posts you are eligible for inside that single application. You do not submit a separate form per post.
How the selection actually works
Three stages, and the first one eliminates most people.
Stage 1 — Screening Test. Offline, on an OMR sheet. 150 questions, 150 marks, 150 minutes, covering General Studies and Mental Ability. This is purely a filter: the marks do not carry forward into your final ranking. Its only job is to cut the field down to roughly 1:50 per post before the mains.
Stage 2 — Main Examination. Two papers, 150 marks each, 150 minutes each.
- Paper I — Social History of Andhra Pradesh and the Indian Constitution
- Paper II — Indian and Andhra Pradesh Economy, Science and Technology
There is negative marking of one-third for every wrong answer in the mains. Three wrong answers wipe out one correct one, so blind guessing is actively expensive here.
Stage 3 — Computer Proficiency Test. Applies to the posts that require it, 60 minutes long, and it is qualifying only — it does not add to your merit position. The pass mark differs by category: 30 for SC/ST/PH, 35 for BC, 40 for OC.
Fee — and the part people get wrong
The APPSC fee comes in two separate pieces, which is why you will see both "Rs. 250" and "Rs. 330" quoted for the same recruitment:
- Application processing fee — Rs. 250. Everyone pays this. There is no exemption.
- Examination fee — Rs. 80. SC, ST, BC, Physically Handicapped and Ex-Servicemen candidates are exempt from this part.
So a General candidate pays Rs. 330 in total and a candidate in an exempt category pays Rs. 250. Neither amount is refundable, including if you later find you are not eligible.
How to apply, step by step
- Wait for the detailed notification on or before 10 November 2026 and read the post you are targeting in it.
- Go to psc.ap.gov.in and complete the OTPR (One Time Profile Registration) if you have never applied to APPSC before. This is the step worth doing in advance — your OTPR ID is what the application form pulls your details from, and fixing a mistake in it later is slow.
- Open the Group-II application, log in with your OTPR ID and date of birth.
- Select every post you are eligible for. Think about this before you click: you cannot add a post after submission.
- Upload your photograph and signature in the prescribed format.
- Pay the fee online and wait for the payment confirmation to appear on screen.
- Download the submitted application and keep a printout.
Problems candidates hit — and what to do
"My OTPR details are wrong and the form won't let me edit them." The application form is read-only for anything that comes from OTPR. Correct it in the OTPR profile itself first, then start the application. Do this well before 30 November, because OTPR changes are not instant.
"I am 42 — have I missed it?" Not necessarily. Check the cut-off date in the detailed notification, then check the relaxations. SC, ST and BC candidates get 5 years; Physically Handicapped candidates get 10; ex-servicemen deduct 3 years plus their length of service. Widows and divorced women have the upper limit raised to 48 (SC/ST) or 43 (others) under Rule 12(b)(iii).
"The payment was deducted but the application still shows unpaid." Do not pay a second time on the same day. Bank settlements to APPSC usually post within 24 to 48 hours. If it has not updated after two working days, raise it with the APPSC helpdesk with your transaction reference — and do it with days to spare, not on the last evening.
"My degree result is awaited." APPSC requires the qualification to be complete as on the date fixed in the notification. A pending final-semester result is usually not accepted. Read the exact wording in the detailed notification rather than assuming either way.
"Which post should I choose?" Look at the vacancy count, not just the pay scale. Deputy Tahsildar (200 posts) and Deputy MPDO (176) together are more than half the recruitment, so your statistical odds there are far better than on a post with 4 or 5 vacancies — even though ASO (Law) pays on a comparable scale.
How to prepare in the three weeks before the form opens
You cannot cover the full syllabus in three weeks, and you do not need to. The screening test is General Studies and Mental Ability, so the highest-return use of this window is:
- Andhra Pradesh-specific material — AP history, geography, economy and current affairs. This is the section where candidates from other states lose marks and where you can gain them, and it recurs in Mains Paper I and Paper II as well.
- Mental ability — the most scoring part of the screening test, and the only one you can improve measurably in a few weeks of daily practice.
- Previous Group-II screening papers — APPSC repeats question patterns heavily. Working through past papers tells you more about what to study than any syllabus list.
Complete your OTPR registration this week, while there is no deadline pressure. It takes twenty minutes now and it is the single most common reason people miss the window later.