Every examination in TNPSC's official Programme of Examinations 2026 - Group 1, Group 2/2A, Group 4 and the three Combined Technical Services recruitments - with notification dates, exam dates and durations, plus the changes announced after the planner was published. Sourced from the official planner (published 3 December 2025 on tnpsc.gov.in) and the subsequent official addenda, not from guesswork.
Includes the revised Group 1 Prelims date · Last updated 29 July 2026| # | Examination | Notification date | Exam commences | Days | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Combined Technical Services Examination (Non-Interview Posts) | 20.05.2026 | 03.08.2026 | 7 | As per planner |
| 2 | Combined Civil Services Examination - I (Group I Services) | 23.06.2026 (published as planned) | 06.09.2026 27.09.2026 | 1 | Prelims postponed via Addendum 5A (16.07.2026) |
| 3 | Combined Technical Services Examination (Diploma / ITI Level) | 07.07.2026 | 20.09.2026 | 7 | As per planner |
| 4 | Combined Civil Services Examination - II (Group II and IIA Services) | 11.08.2026 | 25.10.2026 | 1 | Awaiting notification |
| 5 | Combined Technical Services Examination (Interview Posts) | 31.08.2026 | 14.11.2026 | 4 | As per planner |
| 6 | Combined Civil Services Examination - IV (Group IV Services) | 06.10.2026 | 20.12.2026 | 1 | Awaiting notification |
The Annual Planner (formally "Programme of Examinations") is TNPSC's official year-ahead calendar, published on tnpsc.gov.in under Recruitment. For each planned examination it gives three facts: the expected notification date, the exam commencement date, and the number of exam days. That is all it gives - by its own notes, vacancies are announced only in each notification, syllabus and scheme details remain changeable until notification, and the whole calendar is tentative. Treat the planner as your preparation compass and the notification as your contract.
Group 1 is the planner entry that has already come alive: Notification 05/2026 was published on 23 June 2026 exactly as scheduled, applications closed on 29 July 2026, and the Prelims - after the Addendum 5A postponement - is set for 27 September 2026, 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM. If this is your exam, the calendar question is settled; the only questions left are preparation questions. Everything you need is in one place: the complete Group 1 syllabus with weightage analysis and the full exam-date timeline FAQ.
Per the planner, the Group 2/2A notification arrives 11 August 2026 and the Common Preliminary exam follows on 25 October 2026 - roughly two and a half months later. Read that gap the way toppers do: it is a revision window, not a preparation window. The syllabus is already published and stable (Prelims code 495), so an aspirant who starts when the notification arrives is starting months behind those who used the planner. The complete unit-wise syllabus, the 100-question Language part, and both Mains formats are on our Group 2/2A syllabus page.
The planner closes 2026 with Group 4: notification on 6 October 2026, exam on 20 December 2026. Group 4 is TNPSC's highest-vacancy recruitment - the previous notification carried 3,935 posts - and its single-paper format means the December date is the whole battle: no second stage, no interview. With half the marks coming from the Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring part, the smart play for an October-to-December runway is Tamil-first preparation, exactly as laid out in our Group 4 syllabus page.
Alongside the civil services track, the 2026 planner schedules three technical recruitments: Non-Interview Posts (notification 20 May, exam from 3 August, spanning 7 days), Diploma/ITI Level (notification 7 July, exam from 20 September, 7 days) and Interview Posts (notification 31 August, exam from 14 November, 4 days). These cover engineering, technical and specialist posts across departments, each with post-specific qualifications - candidates from technical backgrounds should watch these notifications on tnpsc.gov.in, since the eligibility and syllabus vary by post far more than in the civil services exams.
The planner's real gift is the countback. Take your target exam's commencement date and count backwards: the final month belongs to full-length mock tests and revision, the two months before that to completing and consolidating the syllabus, and everything earlier to first-pass study. Applied to 2026: a Group 2/2A aspirant should be syllabus-complete by early September and in mock-test mode through October; a Group 4 aspirant should be Tamil-strong by October and fully test-ready through November and December. Aspirants writing multiple exams get a bonus from this calendar's spacing - Group 1 (September), Group 2/2A (October) and Group 4 (December) form a natural ladder where each preparation feeds the next, since the General Studies base overlaps heavily across all three.
Two habits make the calendar work: a daily current-affairs routine that never pauses between cycles (every exam's syllabus ends with current affairs - our free daily bilingual current affairs run year-round for exactly this reason), and scheduled testing that follows the real formats - which is what our test series exists for.
TNPSC announces changes through addenda on tnpsc.gov.in and through SMS/email to registered candidates - never by post. Practical routine: check the Commission's website weekly once your target notification is out, keep your One Time Registration mobile number and email active, and re-verify every date you see on any website (including this one) against the official source before building plans on it. We annotate this page whenever an official change is published, so bookmarking it gives you the planner and its live corrections in one view.
It is the official yearly calendar published by TNPSC on tnpsc.gov.in (under Recruitment, then Annual Planner) listing every planned examination with its expected notification date, exam commencement date and duration. The 2026 planner (Programme of Examinations 2026) was published on 3 December 2025 and lists six examinations, including Group 1, Group 2/2A and Group 4.
The planner originally listed 6 September 2026, and the notification (05/2026) was published on 23 June 2026 as planned. The Preliminary exam was then postponed to 27 September 2026 through Addendum 5A dated 16 July 2026 - a live example of why planner dates must always be checked against later official updates.
Per the Annual Planner 2026: notification on 11 August 2026 and the Combined Civil Services Examination II (Group II and IIA) commencing on 25 October 2026, as a single-day exam. Both dates are tentative until the notification itself is published.
Per the Annual Planner 2026: notification on 6 October 2026 and the exam commencing on 20 December 2026, as a single-day exam. Confirm the final dates in the notification when it is published.
No. The planner itself states it is tentative, that examinations may be added or deleted, and that syllabus and scheme details remain subject to modification until each notification is published. The Group 1 Prelims postponement in this very cycle shows how dates can move - always verify against the notification and later addenda on tnpsc.gov.in.
Not in the planner. The planner note states clearly that vacancies will be announced in each examination's notification. The planner only tells you when to expect that notification.
Three separate technical recruitments appear in the 2026 planner: Non-Interview Posts (notification 20 May 2026, exam from 3 August 2026, 7 days), Diploma/ITI Level (notification 7 July 2026, exam from 20 September 2026, 7 days), and Interview Posts (notification 31 August 2026, exam from 14 November 2026, 4 days). These cover technical posts recruited outside the Group 1/2/4 civil services track.
Count backwards from your target exam's commencement date: the notification typically arrives about two to three months before the exam, and applications close a few weeks after notification. Your serious preparation should not wait for the notification - by planner logic, a Group 2/2A aspirant targeting late October should already be deep into revision when the August notification lands.
No. Timings, centres, fees, eligibility and vacancies all come with each notification. The planner is a calendar, not a rulebook - pair it with the notification when it arrives.
TNPSC publishes a fresh planner for each year (the 2026 edition on 3 December 2025). Within a year, changes are made through addenda and website announcements rather than by reissuing the planner - which is why this page tracks both the planner and subsequent official changes.
ArivArk's bilingual test series is scheduled around these exact exam dates - syllabus-mapped tests in Tamil and English, video explanations for every paper, and an honest rank list so you always know where you stand.
