The specialist AD competitions, explained
How the AD6 and AD7 field competitions are structured, and why the reasoning tests are only the gate
What a specialist AD competition is
Specialist AD competitions recruit officials for a named field rather than for general administration. Lawyers, economists, auditors, IT, security, statistics, external relations: each competition is published for one profile or a small group of them, and you apply to the profile, not to a grade.
They are usually run at AD6 or AD7, one or two grades above the AD5 graduate entry, and the difference is experience. These are not graduate competitions. They are for people who already do the work.
Each competition runs to its own notice and its own timetable. Unlike CAST there is no permanently open register, and unlike AD5 there is no single annual cycle you can plan around. The notice is published, the window opens, and it closes.
Who can apply
A degree plus experience in the field, and the exact requirement is set by each notice rather than being fixed across the procedure. This is the one part of a specialist competition you cannot look up in advance, and it is the part that eliminates most applicants before a single test is sat.
| Requirement | What it means |
|---|---|
| Citizenship | Citizen of an EU Member State. |
| Language 1 | One official EU language at C1. This is the language you sit the reasoning tests in. |
| Language 2 | A second official EU language at B2. The field test is sat in this one. |
| Education | A completed university degree, normally of at least three years, in or relevant to the field. |
| Experience | Several years of professional experience in the field, counted after the degree. AD7 competitions ask for more than AD6 ones. |
The reasoning tests
The same three tests that open every other EPSO procedure, sat in your language 1. Same question counts, same clock.
Here they are a gate and nothing else. No reasoning mark is carried into the ranking.
| Test | Questions | Time | Pass mark | Counts for ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | 20 | 35 min | 10/20 | No |
| Numerical reasoning | 10 | 20 min | 10/20 combined | No |
| Abstract reasoning | 10 | 10 min | 10/20 combined | No |
Try a question now
Pick a test and answer one real reasoning question.
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Answer options
The two pass marks
Two gates, and they are independent. Verbal reasoning is scored out of 20 and needs at least 10 on its own. Numerical and abstract are added together into a single score out of 20, and that combined total needs at least 10.
A strong verbal score cannot rescue a weak numerical and abstract total, and it does not need to: nothing here is ranked. Clear both gates and your reasoning marks are never looked at again.
That changes what good preparation looks like. In AD5, verbal is worth pushing as high as you can. Here, the only thing a mark above the gate buys you is margin for error on the day, which is still worth having and is not worth months.
The field test, and what decides your place
The reasoning tests get you past the cut. The field-related test is what puts you on the list and where on it.
It is a multiple-choice test on the subject matter of your profile, sat in your language 2, with a pass mark of 15 out of 30. Specialist competitions also include a free-text essay on EU matters, in language 2.
There is no shortcut here and no generic preparation for it. The syllabus is the field you claimed experience in.
| Test | Language | Pass mark |
|---|---|---|
| Field-related multiple choice | Language 2 | 15/30 |
| Free-text essay on EU matters | Language 2 | Set by the notice |
Where specialist AD sits among the other procedures
A specialist competition is the narrow door: fewer candidates than AD5, a much smaller reserve list, and an entry requirement that already filters the field down to people who do the job.
AD5 is the same institutions at a lower grade with no experience required and verbal reasoning ranked. The assistant competitions sit lower again and rank on professional-skills tests. CAST is permanently open and leads to contract agent posts rather than official ones.
Candidates often have a specialist competition and a CAST profile running at once. The reasoning practice covers both.
What this site does not cover
Laureo practises the three reasoning tests. In a specialist competition that is the gate in full, and none of what comes after it.
There is no field-related material here for any profile, and nothing for the essay. Those are what your ranking is built from, and you will need another source for them. We would rather say so plainly than let a candidate clear the gate here and assume the rest was covered.
What is here is unlimited, free, and scored the way the real reasoning stage is scored: both gates, the real timings, and no daily cap.
Specialist AD questions, answered
- How much experience do I need?
- It depends entirely on the notice. Each specialist competition names its own requirement in years and in field, counted after the qualifying degree, and an AD7 competition asks for more than an AD6 one. There is no figure that holds across the procedure, so the notice for your profile is the only answer.
- Are the reasoning tests ranked, like in AD5?
- No. In a specialist competition all three are pass or fail. You need 10 out of 20 in verbal and 10 out of 20 across numerical and abstract combined, and once you have them the marks are not used again. The ranking comes from the field-related test.
- Is the difficulty the same as AD5?
- EPSO calibrates item difficulty to the grade, and AD6 and AD7 sit at the top of the range alongside AD5. Practise at the hardest band available. You can set your target exam in settings here and the practice will serve the matching difficulty.
- What language is each stage in?
- The reasoning tests are in your language 1, the language you declared at C1. The field-related test and the essay are in your language 2. Practise verbal reasoning in the language you will actually sit it in.
- Is there an assessment centre?
- The current model is remote computer-based testing. Individual notices set their own stages, so check yours, but the assessment centre of the older competition format is not part of how these are run now.
- Can I apply to more than one specialist competition?
- Yes, where the windows overlap and you meet each notice on its own terms. The reasoning stage is the same in all of them, so preparing once covers every application you make.
Test counts, timings, pass marks and eligibility rules are taken from published notices of competition and from reporting on them, checked in September 2026. Specialist competitions vary by profile more than any other EPSO procedure: the notice for your competition is the authoritative source and it overrides anything on this page.