The assistant and secretary competitions, explained
How AST and AST-SC are structured, and why the reasoning tests are not what ranks you
What AST and AST-SC are
These are the two assistant function groups. AST covers assistants doing executive, technical and administrative support work. AST-SC covers secretaries and clerks. Both lead to a reserve list of officials.
They are separate competitions with separate notices, and they are not interchangeable: the grade, the work and the entry requirements differ. What they share is the shape of the selection, which is why one page covers both.
The procedure is run remotely under online proctoring. The reasoning tests come first and are eliminatory. The professional-skills tests come after and are what decide your place.
Who can apply
Lower than the AD competitions, and there are two routes in: a post-secondary qualification, or a secondary qualification plus relevant professional experience. The number of years is set by each notice.
| 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. |
| Education, route one | Post-secondary education in a relevant field. |
| Education, route two | Secondary education giving access to post-secondary study, plus relevant professional experience. The years are set by the notice. |
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.
They are scored separately precisely so they cannot compensate for one another. The combined gate is the one that helps you: a bad run on abstract can be carried by numerical, because only the sum of the two is checked.
Nothing here is ranked, so a mark above the gate buys you margin for error on the day and nothing else. That is worth having. It is not worth months.
The professional skills tests, and what decides your place
This is the part of an assistant competition that ranks you, and it is the part candidates underestimate because it has no obvious syllabus.
Accuracy and precision is a speed and exactness test: comparing records, spotting the one field that does not match, working fast without letting the error rate climb. Prioritising and organising presents a working situation and asks what you would do first.
Both are sat alongside the reasoning stage under the same remote proctoring, and both are scored. The pass marks and weightings are set by the notice for your competition.
| Test | What it measures | Counts for ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy and precision | Working fast and exactly over records and data. | Yes |
| Prioritising and organising | Ordering competing work in a realistic situation. | Yes |
Where AST sits among the other procedures
AST and AST-SC are the support-staff route to an official post. The entry requirement is lower than the AD competitions and does not need a degree, and the work is executive and administrative rather than policy.
AD5 is the graduate route, no experience required, with verbal reasoning ranked. The specialist AD competitions want a degree plus years in a named field. CAST is permanently open and leads to contract agent posts rather than official ones, and it is the closest neighbour to AST: several CAST function groups cover comparable work.
If you are weighing AST against CAST, the reasoning practice is identical. Nothing you do for one is wasted on the other.
What this site does not cover
Laureo practises the three reasoning tests. In an assistant competition that is the eliminatory stage in full, and none of what ranks you.
There is no accuracy and precision practice here and nothing for prioritising and organising. Those are what your place on the list 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.
AST questions, answered
- What is the difference between AST and AST-SC?
- AST is the assistants function group, doing executive, technical and administrative work. AST-SC is for secretaries and clerks and sits at a lower grade. They are advertised as separate competitions with their own notices and their own entry requirements, but the selection is shaped the same way: reasoning tests as a gate, professional-skills tests for the ranking.
- Do I need a degree?
- No. Post-secondary education is one route in, and secondary education plus relevant professional experience is the other. The number of years of experience is set by the notice for your competition.
- Are the reasoning tests easier than in AD5?
- The format, the question counts and the timings are identical. EPSO calibrates item difficulty to the grade, so AST items sit in the middle of the range rather than at the top. You can set your target exam in settings here and the practice will serve the matching band.
- What actually decides my place on the list?
- The professional-skills tests: accuracy and precision, and prioritising and organising. The reasoning tests only decide whether you get that far. This is the single most common misunderstanding about the assistant competitions.
- What language do I sit the reasoning tests in?
- Language 1, the language you declared at C1 in your application. Practise verbal reasoning in the language you will actually be tested in.
- Should I apply for AST or CAST?
- AST leads to an official post and runs to a published timetable. CAST leads to a contract agent post, is permanently open, and you sit the tests when a department shortlists you. Many candidates do both. The reasoning preparation is the same either way, so the choice is about the job and the timetable, not about the tests.
Test counts, timings, pass marks and eligibility rules are taken from published notices of competition and from reporting on them, checked in September 2026. AST and AST-SC notices vary in the experience they require and in how the professional-skills tests are weighted: the notice for your competition is the authoritative source and it overrides anything on this page.