TNPSC Group 1 Exam Pattern 2025 for Prelims, Mains and Interview
The TNPSC Group 1 Exam Pattern is released by the authorities on TNPSC’s official website. TNPSC group 1 recruitment has 3 stages- Prelims, Mains and the Interview.
In TNPSC Group I Prelims, the maximum marks are 300 and the time duration is 3 hours. After that, in TNPSC Group I Main Exam there are 3 descriptive papers of 250 marks each and one qualifying paper of Tamil language. In the last stage of the exam i.e. Interview, the maximum marks are 100 marks.
Highlights of TNPSC Group 1 Exam Pattern
- TNPSC Group I Prelims will be an objective type paper of 300 marks and the duration is 3 hours.
- TNPSC Group I Main Exam will have 4 papers: 1 paper qualifying nature and 3 papers will be of descriptive nature.
- TNPSC Group I Interview will be of 100 marks and the final cutoff list will be out of 850 marks: 750 of Main exam and 100 of Interview stage.
Table of Contents
TNPSC Group 1 Exam Pattern 2025
TNPSC Combined Civil Services Examination - I (Group-I Services) comprises three successive stages:
- Preliminary Examination
- Main Written Examination
- Interview
TNPSC Group 1 Prelims Exam Pattern
The TNPSC Group 1 Prelims 2025 (single paper) consists of two sections- General Studies, and Aptitude and Mental Ability.
| Paper | No. of Qtns | Max Marks | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Studies (Degree Standard) | 175 | 300 | 3 Hours | |
| Aptitude and Mental Ability Test (SSLC Standard) | 25 | |||
| Total | 200 | |||
Important Points for TNPSC CCSE Group I Prelims 2025
- Mode of Papers: Offline
- Exam paper language: Tamil and English
- The paper is objective and will have multiple-choice questions of 1.5 mark each.
- All the questions will have 4 options. Candidates must select only one response for each question and mark it in the Answer Sheet.
- Negative Marking: No negative marking
- Prelims is meant to serve as a screening test only and the marks obtained in it by the candidates who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination will not be counted for determining their final order of merit.
- Minimum qualifying cutoff marks:
- SCs, SC(A)s, STs, MBCs/DCs, BC(OBCM)s and BCMs: 90 Marks
- Others: 120 Marks
- After qualifying the TNPSC CCSE (Group-I Services) Prelims exam, the candidates will be admitted to the Main Written Examination which will be about 20 times the approximate number of vacancies to be filled.
TNPSC Group 1 Mains Exam Pattern
There are four papers in the TNPSC Group 1 Mains exam 2025. Each paper consists of a variety of topics and the number of questions from each topic vary in every paper.
| Paper | Duration | Max Marks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper I: Tamil Eligibility Test (SSLC Standard) | 3 Hours | 100 (not considered for cutoff) | |
| Paper II: General Studies | 3 Hours | 250 | |
| Paper III: General Studies | 3 Hours | 250 | |
| Paper III: General Studies | 3 Hours | 250 | |
| Total Marks | 750 | ||
Important Points for TNPSC CCSE Group I Mains 2025
- Mode of Papers: Offline
- Exam paper language: Tamil and English
- Answer Sheet language: Tamil and English
- All the papers will be subjective.
- Minimum qualifying marks for Tamil Eligibility Test:
- SCs, SC(A)s, STs, MBCs/DCs, BC(OBCM)s and BCMs: 40 Marks
- Others: 40 Marks
- Minimum qualifying marks for Main Written Exam:
- SCs, SC(A)s, STs, MBCs/DCs, BC(OBCM)s and BCMs: 255 Marks
- Others: 340 Marks
- Marks obtained in the Main exams are added for the final cutoff list.
- After qualifying the Main Written exam, the candidates will be called for the Interview and it will be about twice the number of vacancies to be filled.
TNPSC Group 1 Interview
- The Interview will be of 100 marks (no minimum qualifying marks).
- Marks obtained in the Main Written exam, and Interview will be added. In the final cutoff marks will be given from 850 marks.
- There are no fixed topics from which the questions are asked in the TNPSC Group 1 Interview round. However, there are some important topics which the candidates must prepare as they are mostly discussed in the interview round.
- Personal interest
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Personal life experience
- Organization and Tamil Nadu state
- Current affairs of Tamil Nadu state
- Candidates’ resume
- Applied post
- Situational Questions
- General Knowledge
- The final selection will be made based on the total marks obtained by the candidates in the Main Written Examination Paper II, Paper III, Paper IV and Interview taken together, subject to the rule of reservation of appointments.
- Candidates will be allowed to participate in the counseling based on his / her rank.
- Candidates will be allotted to the various services considering their ranks in the examination and their preference for the various services/posts.
The candidates can download TNPSC Group 1 Syllabus PDF from the official website.
TNPSC Group 1 Exam Pattern 2025: FAQs
Ques. Is the TNPSC Group 1 exam bilingual ?
Ans. Yes, the TNPSC Group 1 exam is bilingual. The candidates can choose to write either in English or Tamil. However, the English language section has to be attempted in English and the Tamil language section in Tamil.
Ques. What type of questions are there in TNPSC Group 1 Prelims ?
Ans. TNPSC Group 1 Prelims consists of objective-type questions from General Studies, and Aptitude Mental Ability. There are 200 questions and each carries 1.5 marks.
Ques. Is there any negative marking in TNPSC Group I Prelims ?
Ans. No, there is no negative marking in TNPSC Group I Prelims. All the questions will be of 1.5 marks each. There will be 4 options for each question.
Ques. Is there any minimum qualifying marks for TNPSC Group I Prelims ?
Ans. Yes, there are minimum qualifying cutoff marks for TNPSC Group I Prelims. For SCs, SC(A)s, STs, MBCs/DCs, BC(OBCM)s and BCMs, 90 Marks and for others it is 120 Marks.
Ques. Is the Tamil Eligibility Test compulsory in TNPSC Group I Main Exam ?
Ans. Yes, the Tamil Eligibility Test is compulsory in TNPSC Group I Main Exam. However, it is only of qualifying nature and marks are not added for the main exam cutoff.
Ques. Can we write in Hindi language in TNPSC Group I Main Exam ?
Ans. No, only Tamil and English language is allowed in TNPSC Group I Main exam.
Ques. Are there any minimum qualifying marks for TNPSC Group I Interview stage ?
Ans. No, there is no minimum qualifying marks for TNPSC Group I Interview stage. However, marks of the Interview are added in the final cutoff list so one must score good marks for it.
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