A useful EPSO calendar must tell you three different things: what is fixed, what is provisional and what nobody knows yet.
Mixing those categories produces false certainty. A planned publication date becomes a promise. An indicative test window becomes an exam appointment. Candidates then build leave, travel and study plans around dates that EPSO never confirmed.
This calendar uses only official EU Careers competition pages, notices and updates. It was checked on 17 August 2026. Each entry carries an evidence label and a candidate action.
Evidence key
- Confirmed: a binding notice or competition page gives a deadline.
- Indicative: EPSO gives a period but warns that it may change.
- Planned: EPSO lists a future competition and marks its dates for confirmation.
- Unknown: no official date has been published. We do not estimate one.
What is open right now?
As of the latest official update on 31 July, there are no open EPSO competitions for permanent staff.
That does not mean nothing is happening. Several competitions are in progress. The official ongoing-competitions register includes:
- EPSO/AD/425/25 — Buildings, four fields
- EPSO/AD/426/25 — Data management and data knowledge
- EPSO/AD/427/26 — Graduate administrators, AD5
- EPSO/AD/428/26 — Audit administrators, AD7
- EPSO/AD/429/26 — ICT administrators, four fields
- EPSO/AST/157/25 — Communication assistants, three fields
- EPSO/AD/424/25 — Court of Justice lawyer-linguists
- CAST Permanent profiles
“Ongoing” is a status, not a timetable. If a competition page does not publish a next date, the honest calendar entry is unknown.
Verified calendar: August 2026 to January 2027
| Date or period | Competition or action | Status | What candidates should do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2026 | Planned publication of EPSO/AD/430/26, AD8 ICT experts in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity | Planned | Prepare portal access and evidence. Do not assume eligibility or test format before the notice appears. |
| End of September 2026 | EPSO/AD/428/26 Audit testing in one day | Indicative | Train for one complete testing event. Wait for the personal invitation before arranging leave. |
| 30 September 2026 | Audit AD7 supporting-document deadline | Confirmed | Attach evidence to the submitted application before the deadline shown in the portal. |
| 6 October 2026 | Planned publication of EPSO/AST/158/26, AST3 Data Management experts | Planned | Compare evidence across data analytics, librarianship and records or archives. Choose only after reading the notice. |
| 7 October 2026, 12:00 Brussels time | EPSO/AD/427/26 AD5 supporting-document deadline | Confirmed | Upload all documents supporting declarations in the application. Do not add them only to “My CV”. |
| 13 October 2026 | Planned application deadline for EPSO/AD/430/26 AI and cybersecurity | Planned | Keep a submission buffer. Confirm exact time and conditions in the published notice. |
| October/November 2026 | AD5 Part 1: verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning | Indicative | Prioritise reasoning now. Each candidate receives an individual date; EPSO says rescheduling will not be possible. |
| 21 October 2026 | Planned publication of EPSO/AD/431/26, CJEU lawyer-linguists in eight languages | Planned | Prepare qualification and language records. Confirm exact language and legal-degree rules in the notice. |
| 4 November 2026 | Planned publication of EPSO/AD/432/26, lawyer-linguists and legal revisers | Planned | Do not assume the 2025 competition structure will be copied unchanged. |
| 11 November 2026 | Planned application deadline for EPSO/AST/158/26 Data Management experts | Planned | Use the notice to build a claim-to-evidence table before submitting. |
| 25 November 2026 | Planned application deadline for EPSO/AD/431/26 CJEU lawyer-linguists | Planned | Confirm deadline time in the notice. Finish language-specific evidence early. |
| 8 December 2026 | Planned application deadline for EPSO/AD/432/26 lawyer-linguists and legal revisers | Planned | Avoid final-day portal work. |
| 9 December 2026 | Planned publication of EPSO/AD/433/26 lawyers in four fields | Planned | Wait for the notice before deciding between AI law, criminal law, procurement law and litigation. |
| 20 January 2027 | Planned application deadline for EPSO/AD/433/26 lawyers | Planned | Check whether the final notice confirms the date after the year-end period. |
| 2027, date unknown | AD5 Part 2: EU Knowledge, Digital Skills and EUFTE | Confirmed phase; date unknown | Do not abandon these skills. Keep a light maintenance session while Part 1 remains the priority. |
The planned 2026 publication dates above come from the official Upcoming opportunities page. EPSO marks every one of them as “to be confirmed”. Treat them as editorial watch dates, not contractual commitments.
The AD5 dates that matter now
EPSO/AD/427/26 has 174,727 candidates. Its first testing phase now contains only three reasoning tests:
- Verbal reasoning: 20 questions in 35 minutes; pass mark 10/20
- Numerical reasoning: 10 questions in 20 minutes
- Abstract reasoning: 10 questions in 10 minutes
- Combined numerical and abstract pass mark: 10/20
EPSO expects Part 1 to begin around October/November. Candidates will sit all three tests during one session, but on different dates across the testing period. EPSO says individual invitations will give the exact date and time and that rescheduling will not be possible.
Part 2 moves to 2027. It will contain EU Knowledge, Digital Skills and the EUFTE. No official test date exists yet. The official two-part testing update is the source for this structure.
The document deadline is separate from the test invitation. The consolidated notice fixes it at 7 October 2026 at 12:00 Brussels time. Use the EPSOHQ training planner for reasoning time, but reserve a separate administrative block for documents.
The audit dates that matter now
EPSO reports 7,112 applications for EPSO/AD/428/26. Testing is expected in one day at the end of September. The wording is indicative. The personal invitation remains decisive.
Supporting documents are due on 30 September. That is a separate risk from test preparation. A high field score cannot repair missing eligibility evidence.
Candidates can connect their preparation to the EPSOHQ Audit AD7 study route. Keep the official Audit competition page bookmarked for changes.
What EPSO has planned for 2027
The official forward plan currently names months, not full notices:
| Planned month | Profile | Known now |
|---|---|---|
| February | Law, four fields | AD; fields not yet published |
| March | Assistants in parliamentary work | AST; grade not yet confirmed |
| April | Security, Defence and International Affairs | AD; fields and grade not yet confirmed |
| May | Proofreaders and editors in Luxembourg, eight languages | AST; exact grade not yet confirmed |
| June | Translators in BG, DE, FI, GA, HR, PT, SL and SV | AD; exact grade not yet confirmed |
| July | Lawyer-linguists for Parliament, Council and Commission | AD; languages and grade not yet confirmed |
| September | Financial Management | AD; fields and grade not yet confirmed |
| November | ICT assistants | AST; fields and grade not yet confirmed |
This is enough for career direction. It is not enough for an eligibility decision or detailed syllabus.
Three action lanes
If you are already in AD5
- Finish document audit before September ends.
- Train reasoning as one combined testing event.
- Check the Single Candidate Portal at least every three calendar days. The AD5 general rules make this the candidate’s responsibility.
- Keep EU Knowledge, Digital Skills and EUFTE on light maintenance only.
If you are already in Audit AD7
- Prepare for a single testing day.
- Complete the formal technical prerequisite check when invited.
- Finish document upload before 30 September.
- Do not infer an exact test date from “end of September”.
If you want a future competition
- Create working Single Candidate Portal access.
- Collect diplomas, course lists and experience evidence now.
- Use Job Watch for adjacent EU roles while waiting.
- Read the actual notice before choosing a field or paying for preparation.
A calendar maintenance rule worth copying
Every date in your personal calendar should contain four fields:
- Source: direct link to the notice, competition page or EPSO update
- Status: confirmed, indicative, planned or unknown
- Checked: the date you last opened the source
- Action: the task the date triggers
A date without a source is a rumour. A date without a status is a risk.
Primary sources
- EU Careers — Open competitions for permanent staff
- EU Careers — Upcoming opportunities
- EU Careers — Ongoing competitions
- EU Careers — EPSO/AD/427/26 Graduate administrators
- EU Careers — AD5 testing split into two parts
- EU Careers — EPSO/AD/428/26 Audit administrators
Last source check: 17 August 2026. The notice of competition and personal candidate-account messages remain authoritative.
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