EPSO AD5 2026: what's actually confirmed about the autumn tests (and what isn't)

EPSO AD5 2026: what's actually confirmed about the autumn tests (and what isn't)

There's a lot of noise about AD5 test dates right now. Some of it is official, most of it is guesswork dressed up as news. Here's the clean split.

Testing starts in autumn 2026. That's official. No exact dates have been published yet — EPSO says candidates will be informed through the Single Candidate Portal. Two stages. Reasoning tests come first: verbal, numerical and abstract. EU knowledge, digital skills and the EUFTE written test follow in a second stage. Supporting documents deadline: 7 October 2026, 12:00 Brussels time. This deadline is fixed regardless of when testing happens. If any of your documents need translation or notarisation, start now — that process takes weeks, not days. The scale. 174,727 applications for roughly 1,490 reserve list places. Statistically, fewer than 1 in 100 candidates makes the list.

"Late October / early November" for AD5. This estimate circulates from preparation trackers monitoring EPSO's calendar. It's plausible. It is not official, and it can move. Any specific date you see in a Facebook group. If it's not in your Candidate Portal or on eu-careers.europa.eu, it isn't real yet.