China Opens Registration for 2027 Civil Service Exam

China will open registration for its 2027 national civil service examination on 14 October, with 35,700 positions planned across central government agencies and their directly affiliated bodies, the National Civil Service Bureau announced on Monday. The “guokao” (国考) is the country’s most competitive annual public-sector recruitment drive, routinely drawing millions of applicants.

According to Xinhua News, candidates may register and complete real-name authentication through the exam’s official portal from 08:00 on 14 October until 18:00 on 23 October, with applications submitted between 15 and 24 October. The public-subject written exam is scheduled for 29 November, held simultaneously across all municipalities, provincial capitals, autonomous-region capitals, and selected other cities nationwide.

A Tight Timeline for Millions of Applicants

The application process is tightly sequenced and governed by strict eligibility checks. Each candidate may select only one position, and qualification review runs from 15 to 26 October. Registration sequence numbers become available from 28 October, payment and confirmation run from 1 to 6 November, and admission tickets can be printed from 23 November until the afternoon before the exam.

Specialized and foreign-language subject exams will be held on 28 November for eight non-common-language posts—including roles at the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute, the Foreign Ministry, the Public Security Ministry, the Commerce Ministry, and the Culture and Tourism Ministry—as well as positions at the Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and public security police posts.

The written examination comprises two public subjects: the objective Administrative Aptitude Test in the morning and the subjective essay (“Shenlun”) in the afternoon. Results are expected in January 2027. The full details are set out in the bureau’s official announcement, and candidates register through the exam’s dedicated portal.

Grassroots Focus and Youth Employment

A centerpiece of the 2027 cycle is its grassroots orientation. According to the announcement, 26,900 positions—roughly three-quarters of the total—are allocated to county (district)-level agencies and below. More than 3,000 positions are reserved for applicants who have completed grassroots service programs and for college-graduate veterans who served five or more years in the military.

To support graduate employment, municipal and prefecture-level bodies of central agencies will mainly recruit 2027 fresh college graduates, with 24,600 positions set aside for them. The bureau described the overall recruitment scale as “basically stable.” Candidates must generally be between 18 and 38 years old, with fresh master’s and doctoral graduates eligible up to age 43.

Fairness and Political Standards Emphasized

The announcement frames the recruitment around four themes: political standards, fairness, grassroots orientation, and precise selection. The Administrative Aptitude Test will again include a dedicated “Political Theory” section designed to assess applicants’ ability to apply official theory to analysis and problem-solving.

Anti-fraud measures are also being strengthened. Candidates must verify their identity through an electronic social security card, a move aimed at preventing “exam-post hoarding” fraud. Latecomers arriving more than 15 minutes after an exam begins will be barred from entering the hall. Those who violate rules may have their subject scores or all exam results invalidated, or face restrictions on future applications.

The bureau cautioned that the exam does not publish or designate any preparatory books and does not authorize any training courses, urging candidates to “be vigilant and rational” about commercial tutoring materials to avoid fraud.

What’s Next

With registration opening, attention now turns to how many candidates will apply. The exam’s reputation for competitiveness—driven by sustained pressure in the youth labor market—makes the guokao a closely watched barometer of graduate employment sentiment. The written exam on 29 November and the results expected in January 2027 will determine who advances to interviews, with final hirings subject to physical exams, political vetting, a five-working-day public notice, and supplementary recruitment for any vacancies.