EPSO digital skills test
40 questions in 30 minutes. You need 20 correct answers to pass
The digital skills test is a multiple-choice test of digital literacy: the ability to understand and use digital technologies for everyday tasks. It is part of the AD5 graduate competition.
It rewards practical knowledge rather than reasoning. Each question has 4 options, and only one is correct.
Format and scoring
40 questions in 30 minutes, 45 seconds per question. The pass mark is 20/40.
In AD5 it counts for 30% of the preliminary ranking and 25% of the final one, the same weight as EU knowledge. You sit it in your second language, and it is only marked if you pass the EU knowledge test.
What it covers
EPSO’s notice lists the 5 areas of the European Digital Competence Framework (DigComp):
- Information and data literacy: searching, judging sources and managing files
- Communication and collaboration: email, video calls, shared documents and netiquette
- Digital content creation: office documents, file formats, copyright and basic programming
- Safety: passwords, phishing, malware, personal data and well-being
- Problem solving: fixing common technical problems and choosing the right tool
How to prepare
EPSO names the 5 areas but publishes no reading list. Our DigComp framework page sets out the 21 competences behind them.
Read EPSO’s sample questions first: they are short and practical, about everyday tools such as email, file formats and security. Then practise until you can answer well within 45 seconds, and read every explanation.
Our questions come in 6 languages, so you can practise in the language you will sit the test in.
What causes the most common mistakes
Rule or quick step
An Outlook rule acts on incoming messages by itself. A quick step only runs when you click it. EPSO’s own sample question turns on this difference.
The tool next door
A firewall filters network traffic, antivirus removes malware and a VPN encrypts your connection. Wrong options give each tool another one’s job.
Look-alike file types
PST is an Outlook data file, not an image, and PDF/A is a format for archiving. Learn the common extensions and what each one is for.
The clock
You have 45 seconds per question. Answer what you know straight away and come back to the questions you need to think about.