CSS, explained from the beginning.

What CSS is

CSS stands for Central Superior Services. It is the competitive exam that recruits officers for the federal government of Pakistan. FPSC, the Federal Public Service Commission, is the government body that holds it, once a year.

Pass it, and you are placed in one of twelve groups and services. Each is a career: administration, police, tax, customs, audit, the foreign service and others.

Who can sit it

Age

21 to 30, counted on 31 December of the year before the exam. So for CSS 2027 your age is taken on 31 December 2026. Some candidates get 2 more years: government servants with two years of service, residents of Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the listed tribal areas, scheduled castes, and candidates with a disability.

Degree

A bachelor's degree with at least a second division (grade C). A third division is accepted if your master's degree has a higher one.

Nationality

A citizen of Pakistan, or of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Attempts

3 in all. An attempt is used the moment you sit any one paper, even if you hand in a blank sheet.

What happens, in order

1. 1

   The MPT, the screening test

   The MCQ-based Preliminary Test: 200 multiple-choice questions in 200 minutes, for 200 marks. You need 33 per cent to pass. Only those who pass may sit the written exam that year. There is no limit on how many times you sit the MPT, and it does not use up an attempt.

   The MPT's five sections

   Section	Marks
   Islamic Studies (a non-Muslim may sit Civics and Ethics)	20
   Urdu	20
   English	50
   General abilities: arithmetic, algebra, geometry and reasoning	60
   General knowledge: everyday science, current affairs and Pakistan affairs	50
   Total	200

2. 2

   The written exam

   Twelve papers of 3 hours each, 1,200 marks in all. Six are compulsory, which means every candidate sits them: Essay, English (Précis and Composition), General Science and Ability, Current Affairs, Pakistan Affairs and Islamic Studies, 100 marks each. The other 600 marks come from optional subjects you choose, 6 papers of 100 marks. A subject worth 200 marks has two papers.

   To pass you need 40 per cent in every compulsory paper, 33 per cent in every optional paper, and 50 per cent of all the marks together.

   40%in every compulsory paper

   33%in every optional paper

   50%of all the marks together

   Fail any one of these and the written exam is failed. Miss one paper and the whole attempt is over.

3. 3

   The medical examination

   A medical board checks that you are in good health, by FPSC's standards for each service.

4. 4

   The psychological assessment

   Written tests and group tasks, to judge your fitness for the services. It carries no marks of its own, but the interview board reads its report.

5. 5

   The viva voce, the interview

   A board interviews you on your record and your subjects. It carries 300 marks, and you need at least 100 of them. Your final place is your written marks plus your interview marks. Seats are then allotted by merit and by the government's quota for each province, which is read from your domicile, the province your papers say you belong to.

When it happens

1. FirstThe MPTA few months before the written exam (for CSS 2023, in October 2022).
2. ThenThe written examEarly in the year (for CSS 2023, the first nine days of February).
3. LastThe result, then the interviewsThe written result comes months later (for CSS 2023, in September). The medical, the assessment and the interviews follow it.

If the pattern holds, the written exam for CSS 2027 falls early in 2027, so the preparation year is now. FPSC announces each year's dates on its website, fpsc.gov.pk, and nowhere else.

How hard it is

In CSS 2023, 42,587 candidates passed the MPT. 28,024 applied for the written exam and 13,008 sat it. 401 passed, which is 3.06 per cent. In CSS 2022, 20,262 sat the written exam and 393 passed it; after the interview, 374 qualified.

So the written exam is where almost everyone falls. In Sir Waseem Khan's experience of marking, the English papers, the Essay and the Précis, are the ones most candidates fail. That is why this plan puts English first.

Choosing your optional subjects

You pick 600 marks' worth from FPSC's seven groups, following each group's rule. The choice is final once your form is in, and a wrong combination gets the form rejected. Choose what you can score in, not what sounds impressive. The ones marked are in the plan today.

Where this plan fits

• The MPT. 8 timed papers, set the way FPSC sets them, and every answer explained.
• The compulsory papers. Complete textbook chapters for 6 of the 6 papers.
• The Essay. A subject like the others, built from what an essay is up to a full timed paper. Most chapters have marked drills. Your essays are marked too: 12 checks on six months, 2 on a month.
• The optional papers. Gender Studies, Political Science and Town Planning and Urban Management are in. The rest are being added one by one, all by 14 October 2026, for the same price.
• Your questions. A live Q&A with Sir Waseem Khan every Saturday, 2:00 to 2:45 pm Pakistan time, on Google Meet. Ask about the exam, your preparation or the app.
• Not covered. The medical examination, the psychological assessment and the interview. The plan prepares you for the MPT and the written exam, which is where the odds are decided.