The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has announced a major overhaul in its recruitment process, eliminating traditional written tests for general recruitment and replacing them with a multiple-choice question (MCQ) based examination system.
This significant decision was taken during the commission’s 175th meeting, as per an official document released on August 22, 2025.
According to the notification, the new system will come into effect from September 21, 2025.
The revised structure will apply to all posts filled through general recruitment in Basic Pay Scales (BPS) 16 to 21.
Under the new framework, candidates applying for BPS-16 and BPS-17 positions will sit for a single MCQ paper of 100 marks.
For positions in BPS-18 and higher, candidates will be required to attempt two separate MCQ papers.
The FPSC has set minimum qualifying criteria between 40 to 50 percent marks, depending on the post.
To discourage guesswork, a negative marking system will also be introduced, deducting 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer.
The commission clarified that this change will not affect the Central Superior Services (CSS) competitive examinations, which will continue to follow the existing format of written descriptive papers, interviews, and psychological assessments.
