01
At a glance
The facts most likely to change your decision.
- Vacancies
- Not announced Vacancies will be added only after an official notice publishes them.
- Education
- Professional degree Recruitment is made under the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007. In the previous cycle (TNPSC Notification 12/2023) a practising advocate needed a law degree plus Bar Council enrolment and at least three years' practice, while a fresh law graduate needed an LLB obtained within three years of the notification with 50 per cent marks (45 per cent for reserved categories).
- Age
- In the previous cycle (TNPSC Notification 12/2023) practising advocates, pleaders and Assistant Public Prosecutors had to be 25 to 37 years old, or 25 to 42 for SC, SC(A), ST, MBC/DC, BC, BCM and destitute widows, while fresh law graduates had to be 22 to 29 in every category, with a further ten years for persons with benchmark disabilities; the current cycle's age band and cut-off date are not published yet. Relaxations and cut-off dates are category-specific.
- Application fee
- ₹150 one-time registration, ₹100 preliminary examination fee and ₹200 main examination fee in the previous cycle (TNPSC Notification 12/2023), with the Commission's standard concessions; the current cycle's fee is not published yet. Use the official payment instructions only.
- Pay
- Civil Judge scale of ₹27,700–770–33,090–920–40,450–1,080–44,770 in the previous cycle's notification (TNPSC 12/2023); the current cycle's scale is not asserted here. Gross and in-hand pay vary by posting and allowance.
- Recruitment cycle
- Next cycle State · Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service
02
Vacancies & reservation
What is known, what overlaps and what remains unreported.
Current published countNot announced
Check source ↗Category table not available here
Check the latest official notice for the post- and category-wise distribution.
How to read reservation: UR, EWS, OBC, SC and ST are vertical categories. PwBD, women, ex-servicemen and similar horizontal reservations can overlap them and must not be added again to the total.
03
Complete timeline
One record from notification to final outcome.
No current-cycle dates announced
This timeline will be dated only after the recruiting body publishes a schedule.
04
Who can apply?
A readable first check—not a legal eligibility decision.
Basic eligibility paths
- Direct recruitment to the Civil Judge cadre is governed by the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007 as amended, and is conducted by the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission.
- In the previous cycle (TNPSC Notification 12/2023) applicants entered either as practising advocates, pleaders or Assistant Public Prosecutors with at least three years at the Bar, or as fresh law graduates who obtained the LLB within three years of the notification.
- That notification also required adequate knowledge of Tamil, with candidates who lack it having to pass the Second Class Language Test in Tamil during probation, and physical fitness in the prescribed form.
- Age, qualification and language conditions for the current cycle will be restated in the next official notification; nothing above is asserted as the current cycle's requirement.
Relaxations & certificates
- SC/ST, OBC-NCL, PwBD and ex-servicemen relaxations follow the applicable notification.
- Always check the certificate format and cut-off date in the official notice.
If your degree title, age, domicile or category certificate is unusual, mark yourself “check required” and read the official wording.
05
Selection process & syllabus
Stage by stage, without mixing recruitment years.
Selection stages
- 1Preliminary examination (objective, OMR) used only to shortlist, at a ratio not exceeding ten times the vacancies — TNPSC scheme of examination
- 2Main examination (descriptive) of four papers
- 3Viva-voce test
- 4Certificate verification and appointment under the Tamil Nadu State Judicial Service (Cadre and Recruitment) Rules, 2007
Syllabus snapshot
- Preliminary examination in the previous cycle — one paper of 100 multiple-choice questions over three hours with 0.10 negative marking, its marks not counted for final merit.
- Preliminary Part-A — Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Negotiable Instruments Act 1881, Transfer of Property Act 1882, Indian Contract Act 1872, Specific Relief Act 1963, Constitution of India, and the Tamil Nadu buildings lease-and-rent and landlord-tenant statutes.
- Preliminary Part-B — Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, Indian Penal Code 1860, Indian Evidence Act 1872, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Acts and criminal minor Acts including the Information Technology Act 2000 and the POCSO Act 2012.
- Preliminary Part-C — General Knowledge at degree standard and a test of reasoning and mental ability at SSLC standard.
- Main examination — Translation Paper 100 marks (English to Tamil and Tamil to English from pleadings, depositions, orders, judgments and documents).
- Main examination — Law Paper-I 100 marks (CPC, CrPC, Indian Evidence Act, principles of pleading and the Constitution of India), Law Paper-II 100 marks (framing issues and writing judgments in civil cases) and Law Paper-III 100 marks (framing charges and writing judgments in criminal cases).
- Viva-voce 60 marks. This was the previous cycle's scheme; use the official current-cycle syllabus when it is published.
06
Application document checklist
Prepare before the portal gets busy.
Recent passport-size photograph and scanned signature
Government photo ID with the same name used in the application
Education certificates and marksheets
Category, EWS, PwBD or ex-serviceman certificate, if claimed
Domicile or language proof where the notification requires it
07
Official links & source record
Go straight to the recruiting body.
websiteTamil Nadu Public Service CommissionnoticePrevious cycle notification — Civil Judge (Notification 12/2023)
- Primary source
- Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission — official website and the previous Civil Judge notification 12/2023
- Published / changed
- Previous cycle notification dated 1 Jun 2023; official website checked 4 Aug 2026
- Last checked
- 4 Aug 2026, 18:30 IST
Official notices, corrigenda and recruiting-body pages have final authority. This page is a reading aid.