Common questions about the EPSO reasoning tests
The questions candidates ask us most about the EPSO reasoning tests, and about how this practice works.
The tests
- Which EPSO exams use verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning?
- Effectively all of them. The AD5 graduate administrators competition, the specialist AD6 and AD7 competitions, the assistant and secretary competitions, and CAST for contract agents all open with the same three tests: verbal 20 questions in 35 minutes, numerical 10 in 20 minutes, abstract 10 in 10 minutes. The notice of competition for your own procedure is always the authoritative source.
- I am sitting AD5. Is this the right practice?
- For Part 1 of AD5, yes. Part 1 is exactly those three tests, with a 10/20 gate on verbal and a 10/20 gate on numerical and abstract combined, which is what the free mock here simulates. From Part 2 we cover the EU knowledge test, but not digital competence or the free-text essay.
- Are the AD5 and CAST reasoning tests the same?
- The format, the question counts, the timings and the two pass marks are the same. Two things differ. EPSO calibrates difficulty to the grade, so AD5 items sit harder than CAST FG II items. And in AD5 your verbal reasoning mark is a ranked score that helps decide your place on the reserve list, while in CAST all three tests are purely pass or fail.
- I am sitting a specialist AD competition. Is this the right practice?
- For the reasoning stage, yes. AD6 and AD7 specialist competitions open with the same three tests at the same question counts and timings, and all three are pass or fail. What decides your place is the field-related test in your language 2, which is not covered here.
- I am sitting AST or AST-SC. Is this the right practice?
- For the reasoning stage, yes. The assistant and secretary competitions sit the same three tests, calibrated a little easier than the AD ones, and all three are pass or fail. Your ranking comes from the accuracy and precision and the prioritising and organising tests, which are not covered here.
- Do you cover EU knowledge, digital competence or the essay?
- EU knowledge, yes: you can practise it alongside the three reasoning tests, in all 6 languages. Digital competence, field-related tests and the free-text essay are not covered, so you will need another source for those.
- What is the CAST exam?
- CAST is the Contract Agents Selection Tool, the procedure the European Personnel Selection Office runs to select contract agents for the EU institutions, agencies and bodies. It is permanently open: you register in the EPSO database and are invited to sit the tests when a recruiting department shortlists your profile.
- What is in the CAST exam?
- Three reasoning tests: verbal (20 questions in 35 minutes), numerical (10 questions in 20 minutes) and abstract (10 questions in 10 minutes). Since the procedure was revised there is no EU-knowledge test, no situational judgement test and no essay.
- What is the CAST pass mark?
- There are two independent gates and you must clear both: at least 10 out of 20 on verbal reasoning, and at least 10 out of 20 on numerical and abstract reasoning combined. A strong score on one does not compensate for a weak score on the other.
- Is there negative marking?
- No. A wrong answer and an unanswered question score the same, so there is never a reason to leave a question blank when time is running out.
- What language do I sit the tests in?
- The reasoning tests are sat in your first language. Some recruiting departments assess your second language separately as part of their own process.
- How is CAST different from an EPSO open competition?
- An open competition selects officials, is run to a published timetable, and adds knowledge and written tests on top of the reasoning tests. CAST selects contract agents, is permanently open, and consists of the reasoning tests alone. The reasoning tests themselves are the same three in both.
- What is the difference between function group III and function group IV?
- They are different grades of contract agent post, with different qualification and experience requirements. The reasoning test formats are the same; what differs is the profile you register under and the posts you can be shortlisted for.
- How much notice do I get before the tests?
- Usually not much. The invitation arrives once a department searching the EPSO database shortlists your profile, and there is no published timetable to plan backwards from. This is the main practical argument for preparing before you are invited rather than after.
This practice
- Is it really free?
- Yes. Every practice question and the full mock exam are free, with no daily cap and no card needed to sign up. Pro adds the worked explanations, the mistake bank and every guided lesson on top.
- Do I need to create an account?
- Not to start. Practise straight away and we only ask after fifteen questions or so, by which point the answers you have already given carry over into the account rather than being lost. An account is free, by Google or by email and password, and it is what keeps your progress, streak and history attached to you rather than to one browser. The full mock exam and the progress page need one.
- How many practice questions are there?
- The numerical and abstract banks are procedurally generated, so they do not run out and a second sitting is a genuinely different paper. The verbal bank is a written collection of several hundred passages; practice tracks what you have already seen and serves every unseen item before repeating any.
- Are these real CAST questions?
- No, and deliberately so. Every item is originally written or procedurally generated. Nothing is reproduced or derived from a real EPSO paper. What is reproduced is the format, the timing and the scoring.
- Do the practice questions come with explanations?
- Yes, with Pro. Every question has a written explanation saying why the correct answer is correct rather than just marking you right or wrong, and Pro reveals it the moment you answer. On the free plan you still get the verdict and the correct option on every question, without the worked reasoning.
- Does the mock test simulate real conditions?
- It runs all three tests back to back with a separate absolute clock per part, allows free navigation and flagging within a part, withholds every mark until the whole thing ends, and reports both CAST gates separately with the raw score behind each.
- Does it work on a phone?
- Yes. The layouts, the figure grids and the numerical tables are all built to be readable on a phone, and there is an on-screen calculator for the numerical questions.
- Is this site affiliated with EPSO?
- No. Laureo is an independent study tool with no affiliation to, endorsement from, or connection with EPSO, the European Personnel Selection Office, or any institution of the European Union.