Section Officer Exam Pattern 2083: Stage I Guide (Lok Sewa)
Section Officer Stage I: 100 MCQs, 90 minutes, pass mark 45, −0.2 negative marking. See every unit, Stage II papers and the final stage.
The Section Officer (शाखा अधिकृत) Stage I exam is a 100-mark MCQ test in 90 minutes. It has 100 questions of 1 mark each. You need 45 marks to pass, and each wrong answer loses 0.2 marks. Stage I is a screening test, so its marks are not added to your final result.
The full exam has three steps and a final result out of 360 marks. This guide explains each step in simple English, with a full breakdown of the Stage I units. It uses the official PSC syllabus.
Section Officer Exam Pattern: Quick Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Post | Section Officer, Gazetted Third Class (राजपत्रांकित तृतीय श्रेणी) |
| Services | Administration, Audit and Parliament (Foreign Service has a separate track) |
| Minimum education | Bachelor's degree or equivalent |
| Age | 21 to 35 years (21 to 40 for women and persons with disabilities) |
| Stage I | 100 marks, 90 minutes, pass 45, screening only |
| Stage II | 3 papers of 100 marks each, minimum 40 in each paper |
| Final Stage | IT Skill Test 10 + Group Test 10 + Interview 40 = 60 marks |
| Final result | 360 marks (Stage II 300 + Final Stage 60) |
Visit the Section Officer exam page for the full details.
Stage I: Administrative Aptitude Test
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | General Awareness | 50 | 50 |
| B | Aptitude Test | 30 | 30 |
| C | English Language Competence | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
Each question carries 1 mark. A wrong answer loses 0.2 marks (20%). Unanswered questions lose nothing. Calculators are not allowed. Learn how to work out your score in our negative marking guide.
You need 45 out of 100 to move to Stage II. These marks do not count toward your final 360. Stage I is the biggest filter, so treat it as the exam within the exam.
Part A: General Awareness (50 Questions)
| Unit | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geography | 6 |
| 2 | History, Culture and Social System | 6 |
| 3 | Polity and Governance | 6 |
| 4 | Economic Development | 6 |
| 5 | Sustainable Development and Environment | 6 |
| 6 | Science and Technology | 6 |
| 7 | International Affairs and Institutions | 6 |
| 8 | Current Affairs | 8 |
| Total | 50 |
Current Affairs has the most questions (8). The other seven units have 6 each. This means no unit can be ignored: a weak unit costs you 6 marks.
Part B: Aptitude Test (30 Questions)
| Unit | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verbal Reasoning | 6 |
| 2 | Non-verbal Reasoning | 6 |
| 3 | Quantitative Aptitude | 6 |
| 4 | General Mental Ability | 6 |
| 5 | Data Interpretation | 6 |
| Total | 30 |
Every unit has 6 questions. Data interpretation and quantitative aptitude need regular math practice without a calculator.
Part C: English Language Competence (20 Questions)
| Unit | Topic | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Comprehension | 5 |
| 2 | Vocabulary | 7 |
| 3 | Syntactic Ability (grammar and sentence structure) | 8 |
| Total | 20 |
The English part is set at the level of an educated Class XII candidate. Grammar has the most questions (8), then vocabulary (7).
Stage II: Main Written Exam (300 Marks)
Stage II has three subjective papers. Each is 100 marks and 3 hours, with 10 questions of 10 marks each. You must score at least 40 in every paper, not only 120 in total.
| Paper | Name | Sections |
|---|---|---|
| Paper II | Governance Systems | State and governance; constitution and law; public service and management; resource management and planning |
| Paper III | Contemporary Issues | Social issues; economic issues; developmental issues; environmental issues |
| Paper IV | Service Group Subject | Public management; revenue administration; accounting and auditing; parliamentary process and federal system (for Administration, Audit and Parliament) |
Papers II and III are common to all services. Paper IV depends on your service group. Plan about 18 minutes for each 10-mark answer.
You may write in Nepali, English or both. The Foreign Service track is different: it replaces Paper IV with two extra papers written in English, so Stage II becomes 400 marks. The interview is then 50 marks, and the full total is 470.
Final Stage: IT Skill Test, Group Test and Interview (60 Marks)
| Part | Marks | Time | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT Skill Test | 10 | 20 minutes | Practical, on a computer |
| Group Test | 10 | 30 minutes | Leaderless group discussion, with an individual presentation |
| Interview | 40 | Oral | Panel interview |
What the IT Skill Test covers
| Task | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Devanagari typing | 2.5 | 5 minutes |
| English typing | 2.5 | 5 minutes |
| Word processing | 2 | 10 minutes shared |
| Electronic spreadsheet | 1 | |
| Presentation system | 1 | |
| Windows basics, email and internet | 1 |
Typing speed scoring
The PSC syllabus gives the marks and times above. Our Section Officer exam page also lists a speed scale: full 2.5 marks for 25 or more correct words per minute in Devanagari (150-word text) and 30 or more in English (200-word text). Lower speeds earn partial marks in steps of 0.25. Correct WPM is worked out as (words typed − wrong words) ÷ 5. This scale is not in the syllabus PDF, so confirm it in the latest PSC notice.
For more on this style of practical test, read our Computer Operator practical exam guide.
Who Can Apply
- Education: a Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a recognized university.
- Age: 21 to 35 years for men. 21 to 40 for women and persons with disabilities. Permanent civil servants have no upper age limit.
- How age is counted: on the last date of application in the advertisement, using your Bikram Sambat date of birth.
- Syllabus year: the syllabus was approved on 2081/03/20 and applies from advertisements of fiscal year 2081/82.
How to Study for Stage I
This is our suggestion, based on the marks above:
- Cover all 16 units. Every unit has at least 5 questions, so no unit is safe to skip.
- Start math and reasoning early. Aptitude is 30 marks with no calculator. Daily short sets work better than one long session.
- Build English steadily. Grammar and vocabulary are 15 of the 20 English marks.
- Keep a current affairs notebook. It is the largest unit in Part A (8 questions).
- Sit full 90-minute mocks and count your wrong answers, not only your score.
Quizmandu Lok Sewa Prep has Section Officer Stage I mocks that follow this 50 : 30 : 20 pattern. Quick Drills are free, and Section Officer has 10 free mocks. Your weekly readiness score shows which part is holding you back.
Start free Section Officer practice →
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Section Officer Stage I exam pattern?
Stage I is one paper of 100 MCQs worth 1 mark each, in 90 minutes. It has General Awareness (50), Aptitude Test (30) and English Language Competence (20). The pass mark is 45.
Is there negative marking in Section Officer Stage I?
Yes. Each wrong answer loses 0.2 marks, which is 20% of a 1-mark question. Unanswered questions lose nothing, and calculators are not allowed.
Do Stage I marks count in the final Section Officer result?
No. Stage I is a screening test. You need 45 out of 100 to move on, but those marks are not added to the final 360 marks.
How many marks is the Section Officer final result?
It is 360 marks: Stage II (three papers, 300 marks) plus the Final Stage (60 marks). The Foreign Service track is different and totals 470.
What are Paper II, III and IV in Section Officer?
Paper II is Governance Systems and Paper III is Contemporary Issues. Both are common to all services. Paper IV is the subject for your service group. Each paper is 100 marks and needs at least 40.
What is the age limit for Section Officer?
The age limit is 21 to 35 years for men and 21 to 40 for women and persons with disabilities. Permanent civil servants have no upper limit. Age is counted on the last date of application.
What is tested in the Section Officer IT skill test?
The test is worth 10 marks over 20 minutes. It covers Devanagari typing (2.5), English typing (2.5), word processing (2), spreadsheet (1), presentation (1), and Windows, email and internet (1).
Final Words
Section Officer is a long exam, and Stage I is the first gate. Cover every unit evenly, protect your marks from careless wrong answers, and practice a full 90 minutes before the exam.
Last checked: 1 November 2026, against the official PSC Section Officer syllabus: first paper and exam scheme (PDF) and second and third papers (PDF). Rules can change, so always read the latest notice at psc.gov.np. Quizmandu Lok Sewa Prep is an independent study app and is not part of Lok Sewa Aayog.