What is the exam pattern for the Kerala PSC 10th Level Prelims?

100 questions for 100 marks in 1 hour 15 minutes, on an OMR answer sheet. General Knowledge, Current Affairs and Renaissance in Kerala is 60 marks, General Science is 20 marks, and Simple Arithmetic and Mental Ability is 20 marks.

Is there negative marking in the Kerala PSC 10th Level Prelims?

Yes. Each correct answer gets 1 mark, one-third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer, and nothing is deducted for a question left blank.

Do 10th Level Prelims marks count in the final rank list?

No. In the last cycle Kerala PSC stated that prelims marks are used only to decide who may sit the main exam and are not considered for the final ranking. The rank list for each post is prepared from its main exam.

Is SSLC needed for the Kerala PSC 10th Level Prelims?

Not for every post. In the 2026 exam, Last Grade Servants needed only a pass in Standard VII and knowledge of cycling (women and differently abled candidates are exempt from cycling). Storeman and Lower Division Clerk needed SSLC or equivalent.

When was the 2026 Kerala PSC 10th Level Prelims held?

In four stages: Stage I on 18 July 2026, Stages III and IV on 1 August 2026, and Stage II on 22 August 2026, after the original 18 July afternoon sitting was cancelled.

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Kerala PSC 10th Level Prelims

The exam pattern, the official syllabus and who can apply — taken from Kerala PSC’s own notifications, syllabus and question papers, not from a coaching site.

Checked against the official documents on 11 September 2026. See the sources

Conducted by: Kerala PSC
Questions: 100 in 75 minutes
Wrong answer: −⅓ mark
Qualification: Standard VII or SSLC, by post

Exam pattern

Objective Test100 questions · 75 minutes · OMR answer sheet100

The prelims is a screening test. Kerala PSC then holds a separate main exam for each post, and the rank list is prepared from that main exam.

Inside the Objective Test

Section	Marks	Share
General Knowledge, Current Affairs and Renaissance in Kerala	60	60%
General Science — Natural Science, Physical Science	20	20%
Simple Arithmetic and Mental Ability	20	20%

Negative marking — one-third of a mark is deducted for every wrong answer, and nothing for a question left blank.
Medium — Malayalam, Tamil or Kannada. No English-medium paper was published for the 2026 exam.
Stages — The paper is sat in stages on different days, each with its own question paper. In the last cycle Kerala PSC drew the shortlist from marks after standardisation across the stages.
Confirmation — You must confirm through your One Time Registration profile within the confirmation period. Only confirmed candidates can download the admission ticket, and Kerala PSC rejects the applications of those who do not confirm.

Who can apply

Qualification

It depends on the post. In the 2026 exam, Last Grade Servants needed only a pass in Standard VII; Storeman and Lower Division Clerk needed SSLC or equivalent.

Last Grade Servants (Cat. No. 423/2025): a pass in Standard VII or equivalent, and knowledge of cycling. Women and differently abled candidates are exempt from the cycling requirement. SSLC is not required.
Storeman, Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (618/2025): SSLC or equivalent.
Lower Division Clerk, Kerala State Beverages Corporation, direct recruitment (619/2025): SSLC or equivalent.
Lower Division Clerk, Kerala State Beverages Corporation, by transfer (620/2025): SSLC or equivalent, and only for lower-grade employees already in the Corporation’s regular service.

Age

Age limits are set post by post. For three of the four 2026 posts it was 18 to 36.

Last Grade Servants, Storeman and Lower Division Clerk (direct): 18 to 36 — born between 02.01.1989 and 01.01.2007, both days inclusive.
Lower Division Clerk by transfer: no upper age limit.
OBC and SC/ST candidates get the usual age relaxation. The notifications do not print the number of years, so check Kerala PSC’s general conditions before relying on it.
Provisional staff of the organisation get a relaxation equal to their provisional service, up to five years.

The syllabus, topic by topic

This is Kerala PSC’s own detailed syllabus for the 2026 exam, published in April 2026 and unchanged since at least 2022. The original is in Malayalam; the English here is our translation. Kerala PSC adds that questions may also come from other topics suited to the qualification, and that not every topic is sure to appear. 41 topics across 5 subjects.

General Knowledge, Current Affairs and Renaissance in Kerala · 6 topics · 60 marks

Current events in India, especially Kerala — science and technology, arts and culture, politics, economy, literature and sports (10 marks)
India’s geography — physical features, borders, energy, transport and communication, major industries (10 marks)
India’s freedom movement and the major challenges faced by independent India (10 marks)
Citizens’ rights and duties; national symbols, flag, anthem and song; the Human Rights Commission and the Information Commissions (10 marks)
Basic facts about Kerala — rivers and backwaters, power projects, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, fisheries, sport (10 marks)
Kerala in the freedom struggle, and social reform in Kerala — Ayyankali, Chattampi Swamikal, Sree Narayana Guru, Pandit Karuppan, V.T. Bhattathiripad, Kumara Guru, Mannathu Padmanabhan and others (10 marks)

General Science — Natural Science · 7 topics · 10 marks

The human body
Vitamins and deficiency diseases
Diseases and pathogens
Health and welfare activities in Kerala
Kerala’s main food and agricultural crops
Forests and forest produce
The environment and environmental problems

General Science — Physical Science · 12 topics · 10 marks

The atom and its structure
Ores and minerals
Elements and their classification
Hydrogen and oxygen
Chemistry in daily life
Matter and mass
Work and energy
Energy and its transformation
Heat and temperature
Motion and forces in nature
Sound and light
The solar system

Simple Arithmetic · 8 topics · 10 marks

Numbers and basic operations
LCM and HCF
Fractions
Decimals
Squares and square roots
Average
Profit and loss
Time and distance

Mental Ability and Observation · 8 topics · 10 marks

Operations using mathematical symbols
Series
Analogies
Classification
Arranging words in a meaningful order
Finding the odd one out
Problems on ages
Position and ranking

The 2026 exam

One common test for four posts: Last Grade Servants (Cat. No. 423/2025), Storeman at the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (618/2025), and Lower Division Clerk at the Kerala State Beverages Corporation — direct (619/2025) and by transfer (620/2025). About 1.7 lakh candidates were admitted to each stage.

Confirmation period	22.04.2026 to 11.05.2026
Stage I	18.07.2026, 10.00 to 11.35 am
Stage III	01.08.2026, 10.00 to 11.35 am
Stage IV	01.08.2026, 1.30 to 3.05 pm
Stage II (re-held)	22.08.2026, 10.30 am to 12.05 pm
Shortlist for the main exam	Not yet announced

The original Stage II sitting, on the afternoon of 18.07.2026, was cancelled and held again on 22.08.2026.
In the last cycle the prelims ran on 28.12.2024, 11.01.2025, 25.01.2025 and 08.02.2025, and the shortlist was published on 09.04.2025 — about two months after the last stage.
Question papers and answer keys are published on Kerala PSC’s website after each stage.

Dates and notifications are published by Kerala Public Service Commission on its own website. Always check there before you apply or sit the exam — this page is kept up to date, but theirs is the official word.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these official documents, checked on 11 September 2026.

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