What is CSS Eligibility? Everything You Need to Know (2020)

By Aleena Hussain

The craze among the students of Pakistan to appear for the CSS exam has led to an exponential growth in the number of CSS applicants over the years.

Due to the enormous number of applicants, some rules and regulations have been set by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to filter out the promising candidates and the average applicants.

Therefore we have listed below the CSS exam eligibility criteria for you!

CSS stands for Central Superior Services and the CSS exam is conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). This a bureaucratic post that has become popular over the years for the authority, good pay scale and dignity associated with this post.

People flock more towards the CSS exam as it paves the way for Grade-17 or above posts and eventually towards a better lifestyle.

CSS Exam Nationality Requirement:

The first and foremost important prerequisite of appearing for the CSS exam is that the candidate should have Pakistani nationality and citizenship. A candidate residing permanently in the Azad State of Jammu and Kashmir is eligible for the CSS exam.

CSS Exam Educational Eligibility:

The candidates having a minimum of second division in the Bachelor’s degree (B.Sc, BA, B.Com, BS Hons) from any recognized Pakistani or foreign institute are eligible for the CSS exam. However, the degree must be approved by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC).

Those who have a third division in their Bachelor’s degree but have scored a first division in the Master’s degree (MSc, MA, Phil) are also eligible to apply for the CSS exam.

CSS Exam Age Eligibility:

The minimum age limit for applying for the CSS exam is 21 years while the maximum age limit is 30 years.

CSS Exam Age Relaxation:

In certain circumstances, the age relaxation of 2 years is awarded by the providing a provision permission certificate by the following candidates belonging to the:

• Scheduled Caste or Buddhist community
• Recognized Tribes
• Permanent Residents of Azad Jammu and Kashmir
• Gilgit Baltistan
• Disabled
• In-Service Government Workers, Armed Forces Personnel and Contract Employees

CSS Exam Domicile Eligibility:

The candidates who apply on the provincial or regional Quotas, have to provide a domicile certificate of the respective region.

CSS Exam Merit Quota:

The overall merit for the CSS exam is 7.5%. We have gathered the following list of merit percentage quotas for different areas for the convenience of the candidates:

• Punjab: 50%
• Sindh: 19%
• Sindh (Urban): 7.6%
• Sindh (Rural): 11.4%
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 11.5%
• Balochistan: 6%
• Gilgit Baltistan/FATA: 4%
• Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 2%

CSS Exam Quota General Information:

The quota for women is reserved at 10% from the provinces or regions merit policy.

The quota for minorities or non-Muslims is reserved at 5% from the provinces or regions merit policy.

There is no fixed quota allocated for the disabled candidates for the CSS exam as it is maintained by the government recruitment policy.

[Excluded from the article:

1. https://www.ilmkidunya.com/css-pakistan/eligibility-criteria
2. https://www.eduvision.edu.pk/entry-test/css-eligibility-criteria-pattern-deadline-weightage-aggregate-merit ]