Andhra Pradesh raises age limit for government jobs to 44 years till 2027: how APPSC compares with Telangana, Kerala and UPSC

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Candidates prepare for competitive examinations at a study circle in Visakhapatnam. The Andhra Pradesh government raised the upper age limit for non-uniform government jobs from 42 to 44 years, 20 days before applications open for the 892 posts notified by the APPSC. | Photo Credit: K.R. Deepak

The Andhra Pradesh government has raised the upper age limit for direct recruitment to non-uniform government services from 42 years to 44 years and extended the relaxation up to September 30, 2027. The order comes weeks before applications open, on October 6, for 892 posts notified by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), 163 of them in Group-I Services.

The order, G.O. Ms. No. 187 of the General Administration (Ser.A) Department, covers recruitment to all non-uniform services through the APPSC and other recruiting agencies. The service rules set the upper age limit at 34 years. The government had already relaxed it to 42; the new order takes it to 44.

The government said the decision followed representations from Members of the Legislative Council, and through the offices of the Minister for HRD, IT, Electronics and Communications and Real-Time Governance and the Deputy Chief Minister, citing the limited recruitment opportunities available to unemployed youth over the past several years.

The new ceiling puts Andhra Pradesh second among the southern States, two years behind Telangana and 12 ahead of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

A separate order, G.O. Ms. No. 188, gives uniformed services another year. The two-year relaxation in their upper age limit was to lapse on September 30, 2026; it will now run until September 30, 2027, for uniformed posts notified through the APPSC and other recruiting agencies, over and above the concessions available under Rule 12 of the A.P. State and Subordinate Service Rules, 1996.

In practice, a general-category candidate can apply for a non-uniform post until the age of 44, 10 years beyond the limit in the rules. SC, ST and BC candidates get a further five years under the rules, taking their ceiling to 49. For uniformed posts, the limit prescribed for each post rises by two years, with the Rule 12 concessions on top. Both orders cover recruitments notified up to September 30, 2027.

Both orders cover recruitments notified up to September 30, 2027, so the window runs for a little over a year.

The APPSC on Monday (September 14, 2026) issued brief notifications for 892 posts across departments. The single largest block is 196 Assistant Statistical Officer posts in the A.P. Economics and Statistical Subordinate Service, followed by 163 Group-I Services posts, 104 Executive Officer Grade-III posts in the Endowments Department and 78 Industrial Promotion Officer posts. There are also 73 Hostel Welfare Officer Grade-II posts across the BC, Social and Tribal Welfare Departments, 73 posts in the forest services, 40 Assistant Environmental Engineer posts in the A.P. Pollution Control Board and 37 Horticulture Officer posts; the rest are spread across the legislature, factories, probation, women and child welfare and other services.

Applications open on October 6 (Group-I, environmental engineer, horticulture and forensic posts), October 9 (hostel and welfare officer posts), October 13 (statistical posts and one tribal welfare post) and October 16 (the rest), with the last window closing on November 5. The Commission has described the vacancies and qualifications as tentative and provisional; detailed notifications will follow on its website, psc.ap.gov.in.

Unemployed JAC State convenor Shaik Siddik thanked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister Nara Lokesh for responding to the demand for a higher age limit, and welcomed the recruitment schedule for the 892 posts under Phase-II. Unemployed candidates had faced difficulties because of limited recruitment in recent years, he said, and called the extension a significant relief.

AP Nirudyoga JAC State president S. Hemanth Kumar said unemployed youth across the State had welcomed the decision. He asked the government to extend a similar five-year age relaxation for Police Constable and Sub-Inspector recruitment through the Andhra Pradesh State Level Police Recruitment Board (APSLRB), and to announce the Group-II preliminary recruitment in a 1:100 ratio and issue the notification at the earliest.

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