EPSO/AST/158/26 Records and Archives: Field 3 Guide

Records and archives management: choose Field 3

Checked 2 November 2026. Field 3 of EPSO/AST/158/26 is an AST 3 assistant competition for records and archives management. The EPSO field page shows applications open and 298 successful candidates sought. You may apply for only one field. The displayed deadline is 11 November 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time; EPSO has announced an extension; the amendment giving the new date is due to be published on 9 November 2026.

Check the records and archives eligibility route

Section 3.3.3 of the notice gives two education-and-experience routes: a diploma from at least two years of post-secondary study in an accepted area followed by at least three years of relevant experience, or a secondary diploma giving access to post-secondary study followed by at least six years of relevant experience. Experience is counted after the final decision awarding the qualifying diploma.

The 14 October clarification, updated on 20 October, also recognises a bachelor's degree in any field followed by a diploma in an accepted area that requires a prior bachelor's degree for admission, irrespective of that later programme's duration. The three relevant years must follow that later diploma. The Selection Board decides eligibility from the exact qualifications, dates, duties and evidence.

Accepted qualification areas include archival sciences or records management; information/documentation science or management; digital humanities; history; and cultural or digital heritage. Business, administration or organisation studies, law, linguistics or literature, international relations and social sciences can qualify when the studies include a specialisation in one or more of those first five areas. Relevant experience must correspond to one or more of the records and archives duties in Annex II.

Technical study should connect appraisal and authorised retention to capture, classification and disposition; digital preservation and fixity; preservation metadata and transfer packages; archival arrangement and description; access controls and confidentiality; storage risk and tested recovery; migration validation; information requests; and staff guidance. PREMIS, BagIt, EAD and professional archival guidance support these topics. Foreign public-records guidance can illustrate methods but does not replace rules binding EU institutions.

Map the 12 Annex II duties

Annex II spans active records and historical archives. Group its 12 duties into four blocks:

• Governance: records policy, classification, disposition controls and retention analysis.
• Lifecycle: capture, digital preservation, system requirements and archival description.
• Protection and access: storage risk, continuity, confidentiality, access decisions and information requests.
• People: staff guidance, training materials, outreach and advocacy.

Editorial checklist of Annex II duties: These short labels help you check every numbered duty in the official notice. They are summaries, not the notice’s exact wording or a confirmed field-test syllabus.

1. Records policy
2. Classification and disposition controls
3. Lifecycle and digital preservation
4. Capture and retention analysis
5. Records-system requirements
6. Archival description
7. Storage risk and continuity
8. Access and confidentiality
9. Information requests
10. Staff guidance
11. Training materials
12. Outreach and advocacy

Separate rules that bind EU institutions from general archival practice. Annex II describes duties; it does not name a complete field-MCQ syllabus.

Two worked decisions

Case 1: mixed-retention files. A transfer contains records with different retention periods. Preserve the original context, identify the approved classification and retention rule for each series, record the decision and prevent premature disposal. This connects records policy, capture and disposition control.

Case 2: an access request containing personal data. An applicant requests a file with both disclosable material and personal information. Identify the governing access and data-protection rules, consult the responsible service, document any redaction and provide the lawful response. Do not release the full file or refuse it automatically. This connects information requests, confidentiality and archival access.

Official sources: EPSO Field 3 page, Notice C/2026/4963 and education clarification.

Application, languages and the announced extension

Official information checked 2 November 2026. EPSO still displays 11 November 2026 at 12:00, Brussels time, as the application deadline. Its education clarification announces an extension and says the amendment giving the new date will be published in the Official Journal on 9 November 2026. That is the announced publication date, not the replacement application deadline. Recheck the official field page and the amendment before acting. The currently published identity-document deadline is also 11 November 2026 at 12:00; the other supporting documents are due on 11 March 2027 at 12:00, Brussels time. Check whether the amendment changes either requirement.

You must meet the eligibility conditions by the applicable closing date: EU nationality and full citizen rights, compliance with military-service obligations where applicable, the standards of moral character required for the duties concerned, the education and experience route for your field, and two different official EU languages. Language 1 requires at least C1 and language 2 at least B2 in each ability requested in the application. Apply to one field only.

Use an EU Login linked to an email address you can keep throughout the selection. Complete and check the My CV section before submission: a snapshot is attached to the application when you submit. Check the candidate account at least every three calendar days and follow each invitation's deadlines. Applications cannot be changed after the applicable application deadline.

EPSO's 29 October portal announcement introduces profile, CV and application improvements from 2 November. If you already submitted, reopening, updating and resubmitting before the application deadline is optional. Your existing application remains valid if you leave it unchanged. If you edit a submitted application, complete the resubmission process and check its status.

Build a document file before the deadline

• Identity: upload the required valid identity card or passport by the applicable deadline.
• Qualification: retain the diploma, certificate or accepted statement of award. For a qualification issued outside the EU, obtain the required equivalency statement from a competent Member State authority. UK diplomas awarded by 31 December 2020 are accepted without equivalence; UK awards from 1 January 2021 require it. Annex III of the notice gives country examples; the name of a diploma alone does not show that its content covers an accepted area of study.
• Programme duration: the notice requires institution-issued evidence of the standard duration of the programme used for the post-secondary route. Request a letter, certificate or equivalent document showing that duration. For the post-bachelor specialist-diploma route, read the announced clarification alongside the forthcoming amendment; do not infer that duration evidence is waived.
• Employment: collect documents covering dates, nature and level of the work and a detailed description of duties. The general rules specify contracts and/or first and last payslips, bearing the employer's official letterhead and stamp, and the name and signature of the person in charge. Job title alone is insufficient to demonstrate relevant work.
• Self-employment: use invoices, orders or other official documents establishing the nature and period of the services. Match each period to the duties or other accepted activities for your field.
• Experience calculation: normal work must be genuine, effective and remunerated, subject to the exceptions in Annex I. Record the qualification award date, work dates, weekly hours and relevant-task proportion. Part-time work counts pro rata. Under Annex I, more than 75% relevant tasks counts at 100%; more than 50% up to 75% counts at 75%; 25% to 50% counts at 50%; below 25% does not count. Consult its specific rules for traineeships, voluntary work, doctoral study, parental leave and military service before including them.

The Selection Board checks the application against the supporting evidence. Missing documents can make qualifications or experience ineligible. Request evidence early and follow EPSO's document-upload instructions on the competition pages. The notice and its amendments govern any exceptional case.

The five tests and what each score does

The EUFTE assesses written communication. EPSO supplies the EU documentation before the test and provides it again with the assignment during the test. It is neither a factual EU-knowledge test nor a language test. This notice does not announce a separate EU-knowledge or digital-skills MCQ. Use the EUFTE guide for a writing method.

From test scores to the reserve list

1. Complete every required test. Missing or not completing a test normally ends participation; consult the notice's rules for circumstances beyond your control.
2. Reasoning is scored first for candidates who completed all tests. Both reasoning pass requirements must be met.
3. The field MCQ is scored for candidates who pass reasoning. Candidates reaching 15/30 are ranked by field score. Passing 15/30 alone does not secure a place.
4. EUFTE scoring and eligibility checks proceed in parallel for the highest-ranked candidates. In principle, that group is no larger than 1.5 times the number of successful candidates sought, with the Selection Board able to increase it for equal scores.
5. Eligible candidates who pass every threshold enter the relevant reserve list in field-score order until its target is reached or the qualifying pool is exhausted. Everyone tied for the last place is included. The published names are listed alphabetically.

EPSO communicates results at the end of the competition, subject to the notice's processing rules. Inclusion on a reserve list does not guarantee recruitment. Institutions may subsequently shortlist candidates for recruitment interviews; these are separate from EPSO's competition tests.

Prepare for remote testing

The notice provides for remotely proctored tests. EPSO announces test dates and operational details in the competition page and invitation; do not treat an estimated date as confirmed. Complete every technical prerequisite check by its deadline.

• Read the current EPSO technical requirements and clean-desk policy. Current TAO guidance uses Proctorio, a compatible desktop or laptop and browser, camera, microphone and the necessary installation permissions. A work-managed computer may prevent installation.
• Practise with the official sample tests. Prepare for on-screen tools and the permitted environment. The current policy permits a single screen and an identity document, and prohibits writing materials, notes, phones, headphones and other people in the room.
• Use the exact instructions in your invitation for technical incidents. Report testing problems immediately through the channel specified in your invitation. Also contact EPSO through your candidate account within three calendar days, counting from and including the day after your test. Describe the problem in detail and attach evidence of your attempts to resolve it. This EPSO notification is required even if the test provider has already followed up. Do not wait until results arrive to report a testing failure.
• If a disability or medical condition affects testing, indicate it in the application and follow EPSO's reasonable-accommodation procedure, with the supporting evidence it requests.

Choose a practical study order

Check eligibility and collect documents first. Establish a safe reasoning pass margin, then spend most technical study time on your chosen field because that score ranks candidates. Study and practise in language 2, including professional terminology. Schedule short EUFTE exercises and a technical setup rehearsal. Review errors by concept rather than memorising answer positions.

EPSOHQ's field-knowledge questions are original preparation material mapped to the typical duties and cited technical sources. They are distinct from the introductory Annex II duty-familiarisation drills. Neither the questions nor the study topics are an official EPSO question bank or a published detailed EPSO syllabus. The AST158 training hub shows the available language-specific banks and links to all three field guides.

Controlling sources: Notice C/2026/4963, especially Sections 3–5 and Annex I; education clarification; candidate-portal update; and EPSO testing guidance. EPSO lists a Swedish-only corrigendum dated 16 October 2026; candidates using that language should read the corrected notice.