EPSO Digital Skills and the DigComp Framework

The official exam map

The notice of competition for EPSO/AD/427/26 defines the digital-skills test precisely. It is a multiple-choice test in Language 2 with 40 questions in 30 minutes, scored from 0 to 40, with a 20/40 pass mark. It assesses the ability to understand and use digital technologies for different tasks and purposes. The notice names five areas and, in footnote 4, cites DigComp 2.2 by Vuorikari, Kluzer and Punie (2022). That citation is the canonical study baseline for this course.

The amendment published on 30 June 2026 divides testing into two parts. Part 1 contains the three reasoning tests. Part 2 contains the EU-knowledge test, the digital-skills test and the EU-focused written test. The digital-skills result is scored only for candidates who pass the EU-knowledge test. The amendment changes the sequence and scoring conditions, but it does not change the digital-skills test format stated above.

The five areas are:

1. Information and data literacy — finding, evaluating and managing information and data.
2. Communication and collaboration — interacting, sharing, participating, collaborating, netiquette and digital identity.
3. Digital content creation — creating and reworking content, copyright and licences, and programming.
4. Safety — protecting devices, data, privacy, health, wellbeing and the environment.
5. Problem solving — resolving technical problems, choosing technological responses, using technology creatively and identifying competence gaps.

The order matters. A question about whether a report is reliable belongs mainly to Area 1. Choosing permissions on a shared document belongs to Area 2. Adding accessible headings to that document belongs to Area 3. Protecting the account that stores it belongs to Area 4. Diagnosing why it will not open belongs to Area 5.

DigComp is a reference framework, not a software manual, certification, or binding law. It describes digital competence in technology-neutral terms so it can be adapted to work, learning and participation in society. A legal question may involve GDPR or the Digital Services Act, but those laws do not replace DigComp. The framework helps identify the competence exercised in applying them.

Worked EPSO scenario

An administration receives a spreadsheet from a contractor. An officer must first decide whether its figures come from a reliable source, then place the verified file in the records system with suitable metadata. The reliability judgment maps to 1.2 Evaluating data, information and digital content. Organising the verified file maps to 1.3 Managing data, information and digital content. Encrypting the laptop would instead map to 4.1 Protecting devices.

In a single-best-answer item, identify the central action named in the question. Do not choose an area merely because a tool, such as a spreadsheet or cloud drive, appears in the story.

Common confusion

Current framework does not mean exam framework. DigComp 3.0 is the latest general framework, published in November 2025. EPSO/AD/427/26 nevertheless cites DigComp 2.2 explicitly. Study the 2.2 names and eight-level scale for that competition. Use 3.0 as current context and learn its differences, not as a reason to rewrite the notice.

Real tasks often span several competences. In a single-best-answer question, choose the competence most directly expressed by the action or goal.

Official sources

• EPSO/AD/427/26 notice of competition
• Amendment to the EPSO/AD/427/26 notice, 30 June 2026
• DigComp 2.2, Joint Research Centre
• EPSO digital-skills sample-test page

Twenty-one competences inside five areas

DigComp 2.2 retains the conceptual model established in DigComp 2.0 and the proficiency model developed in DigComp 2.1. Its five areas contain 21 competences. Learn their numbering as a map, not as an isolated recital.

Area 1 — Information and data literacy

• 1.1 Browsing, searching and filtering data, information and digital content
• 1.2 Evaluating data, information and digital content
• 1.3 Managing data, information and digital content

Area 2 — Communication and collaboration

• 2.1 Interacting through digital technologies
• 2.2 Sharing through digital technologies
• 2.3 Engaging in citizenship through digital technologies
• 2.4 Collaborating through digital technologies
• 2.5 Netiquette
• 2.6 Managing digital identity

Area 3 — Digital content creation

• 3.1 Developing digital content
• 3.2 Integrating and re-elaborating digital content
• 3.3 Copyright and licences
• 3.4 Programming

Area 4 — Safety

• 4.1 Protecting devices
• 4.2 Protecting personal data and privacy
• 4.3 Protecting health and wellbeing
• 4.4 Protecting the environment

Area 5 — Problem solving

• 5.1 Solving technical problems
• 5.2 Identifying needs and technological responses
• 5.3 Creatively using digital technologies
• 5.4 Identifying digital competence gaps

The framework also has five dimensions. Dimension 1 is the competence area. Dimension 2 is the competence title and descriptor. Dimension 3 is proficiency. Dimension 4 gives examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Dimension 5 supplies examples of use in employment and learning. A dimension is a way of describing a competence; it is not an additional competence area.

Knowledge means understanding facts, principles or processes: for example, knowing that a public edit link can be forwarded. A skill is the ability to perform an action: configuring a link so named recipients can only view it. An attitude is a disposition that guides responsible action: checking the permission before sending. DigComp 2.2 added more than 250 examples of knowledge, skills and attitudes, including examples involving AI-supported systems, without changing the 21-competence model.

Worked public-administration scenario

A policy team prepares a consultation report. Sofia knows why open formats aid reuse (knowledge), converts the final table to CSV (skill), and verifies that personal identifiers have been removed before publication (attitude expressed through responsible behaviour). The content conversion primarily exercises 3.1; combining colleagues' contributions exercises 3.2; privacy checking invokes 4.2. The same workflow can therefore create evidence for several competences.

If an EPSO question asks what the employee “can do,” look for a skill or proficiency outcome. If it asks what the employee “understands,” look for knowledge. If it asks about willingness, caution, openness or responsibility, look for attitude.

Common confusion

Do not equate a competence with a product. “Using Teams” could mean interacting (2.1), sharing (2.2), collaborating (2.4), applying netiquette (2.5), or solving a technical problem (5.1). The purpose of the action determines the competence.

Do not treat Dimension 5 examples as an exhaustive syllabus. They illustrate how a competence appears in a context. DigComp remains adaptable and non-prescriptive.

Official sources

• DigComp 2.2 publication record and report
• DigComp 2.1: eight levels and examples of use

Stable architecture, updated expression

The Joint Research Centre published DigComp 3.0 on 27 November 2025. It is the fifth version of the European Digital Competence Framework and the latest general reference. It does not, however, replace the edition named in a specific EPSO notice. For EPSO/AD/427/26, DigComp 2.2 remains the explicit assessment reference.

The JRC describes 3.0 as maintaining the overall framework structure: five areas and 21 competences remain, while four of the five area titles and several competence titles were revised. Area 2 remains Communication and collaboration in both editions. Dimensions 4 and 5 of DigComp 2.2 are not reproduced. DigComp 3.0 instead provides 362 competence statements and reports 523 learning outcomes. The JRC errata delete duplicated LO2.5.09; applying that correction gives 522 learning outcomes. That final total is this book's arithmetic inference from the published count and erratum, not a total stated by the JRC.

DigComp 3.0 was authored by Judith Cosgrove and Romina Cachia (JRC144121, EUR 40491). Riina Vuorikari, Stefano Kluzer and Yves Punie authored DigComp 2.2 (JRC128415) and contributed expertise to the later update.

Several labels became shorter or broader. Area 1 is “Information search, evaluation and management.” Area 3 is “Content creation.” Area 4 becomes “Safety, wellbeing and responsible use.” Area 5 becomes “Problem identification and solving.” Competence 4.4 is “Environmental impacts of digital technologies.” These are 3.0 labels; they should not be silently substituted when an item asks for the exact 2.2 terminology.

Source note: the JRC DigComp 3.0 web page still displays the old 2.2 title “Protecting the environment” for competence 4.4. The published framework PDF, including Table 2 and Annex 1 Table A2, uses “Environmental impacts of digital technologies”; this book follows the PDF.

The largest structural contrast concerns proficiency. DigComp 2.2 uses the eight levels introduced in 2.1: two Foundation, two Intermediate, two Advanced and two Highly specialised levels. DigComp 3.0 uses four levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced and Highly advanced. Annex 1 Table A3 maps the four new levels to the eight 2.2 levels, but presents the relationship as a suggested mapping that may be adapted, not a mechanical conversion.

AI is not a sixth area. In 3.0, AI-related knowledge, skills and attitudes appear across all 21 competences. For example, evaluating an AI-generated summary belongs with information evaluation; deciding what personal data may be entered into an AI tool relates to privacy; and improving an AI-assisted workflow can relate to problem solving. The same transversal treatment applies to themes such as cybersecurity, digital rights, wellbeing and information integrity.

Worked EPSO scenario

An officer reads two study notes. Note A says, “Level 7: highly specialised, resolving complex problems with limited solutions.” Note B says, “Highly advanced: resolving highly complex or specialised problems and creating or adapting solutions.” The question names DigComp 2.2. The officer should use Note A's eight-level architecture, even though Note B reflects the current 3.0 framework. If the question instead asks about the latest framework, the four-level formulation applies.

Start by identifying the named edition. Use its vocabulary, then answer the scenario. When no edition is named but the question clearly refers to EPSO/AD/427/26, follow the notice's cited 2.2 baseline.

Common confusion

“Newer” does not automatically mean “exam-correct.” Legal notices and assessment specifications control their own scope. Yet studying only 2.2 would leave a candidate unable to recognise current policy language. The book therefore separates the assessed baseline from current-framework context.

Do not create a one-to-one numerical conversion between four and eight levels. The broad bands resemble one another, but 3.0 revised the descriptors and learning outcomes. State the edition whenever precision matters.

Official sources

• JRC announcement of DigComp 3.0, 27 November 2025
• DigComp 3.0 publication and PDF
• JRC DigComp 3.0 errata
• JRC DigComp 3.0 framework web page
• DigComp 2.2 publication record

Retrieval under exam conditions

EPSO/AD/427/26 provides 45 seconds per question on average: 40 questions in 30 minutes. It confirms five subject areas, one point per question and a 20/40 pass mark. It does not publish a weighting per area or a target DigComp proficiency level. Treat any claimed distribution, such as “Area 1 appears most,” as a training hypothesis rather than an official fact.

Use a three-pass method for framework questions:

1. Find the action. What is the person trying to do: find, share, create, protect or solve?
2. Locate the area and competence. Match the main goal, not every fact in the story.
3. Test the distractors. Reject options that name a tool, law, or secondary action instead of the central competence.

Useful retrieval chains are short. “Find–judge–manage” recalls Area 1. “Interact–share–participate–collaborate–behave–identify” recalls Area 2. “Develop–integrate–license–program” recalls Area 3. “Devices–data–health–environment” recalls Area 4. “Technical–needs–creative–gaps” recalls Area 5.

Framework questions often vary one dimension while keeping the situation constant. A novice follows guidance to apply a filter; an autonomous employee selects and applies it; an advanced employee evaluates alternatives and advises colleagues. The task topic remains information search, while proficiency changes.