Government jobs in Karnataka 2026 — exams, age limits and domicile rules

Karnataka carries a reservation that is written into the Constitution rather than into a state rule. Article 371(J) reserves a share of state posts for candidates of the Kalyana Karnataka region — the districts of the old Hyderabad-Karnataka area — and because it is a constitutional provision it survives challenges that ordinary state quotas do not.

We track 1 Karnataka recruitment on this site.

The exam, with last dates

Sorted by closing date. Ages shown are the General limits; relaxations for other categories are applied in the free check.

Article 371(J), and why it is not like other regional quotas

Several states operate regional preferences through executive orders, and those orders get struck down. Karnataka's does not sit on that footing: the Kalyana Karnataka reservation flows from a constitutional amendment, and it applies both to direct recruitment in the region and to a share of posts state-wide.

For a candidate from Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari or Vijayanagara, this is the most consequential fact about applying for a Karnataka government job, and it requires an eligibility certificate issued under the state's own rules. The certificate takes time to obtain and cannot be produced retrospectively at the appointment stage — get it before you need it.

The Kannada language test, and who has to sit it

A candidate who has not studied Kannada as a subject must qualify in the Kannada language examination the commission conducts. It is a qualifying requirement rather than a scoring one, which makes it easy to postpone and expensive to fail.

Karnataka also runs a horizontal reservation for candidates educated in the Kannada medium and for rural candidates, applied inside each vertical category rather than beside it. The rural quota in particular is claimed less often than it could be, because candidates assume schooling location is not something the form asks about.

What KAS actually recruits to

The Gazetted Probationers examination fills Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Commercial Tax Officer, Tahsildar and the allied Group A and Group B posts. It runs prelims, a descriptive mains and a personality test.

Karnataka's mains weights Kannada and English language papers as qualifying alongside the general studies papers, so a candidate strong in general studies and weak in language can still fail on a paper that carries no merit marks at all. That asymmetry is worth planning around.

The age bands step by category, not by a flat relaxation

Karnataka does not apply a single relaxation figure on top of a general ceiling. The notification sets a separate maximum for General, for the backward-class categories 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, and for SC, ST and Category 1 — three bands rather than one number plus adjustments.

The practical difference is that a candidate should read their own row rather than compute their ceiling. Adding a remembered relaxation figure to the General limit produces the wrong answer here more often than it produces the right one.

कर्नाटक में सरकारी नौकरी 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is the Article 371(J) reservation in Karnataka?

A constitutional reservation for candidates of the Kalyana Karnataka region — Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Ballari and Vijayanagara. Because it comes from a constitutional amendment rather than a state order, it stands where ordinary regional quotas have been struck down. It needs an eligibility certificate obtained in advance.

Do I need to pass a Kannada test for a Karnataka government job?

If you have not studied Kannada as a subject, yes — the commission conducts a qualifying Kannada language examination. It carries no merit marks, which is exactly why candidates leave it too late.

How is the KPSC age limit structured?

As separate maximums per category — General, the 2A/2B/3A/3B backward classes, and SC/ST/Category 1 — rather than one ceiling with relaxation added. Read your own row instead of adding a remembered relaxation figure to the General limit.

What posts does KPSC KAS recruit to?

Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Commercial Tax Officer, Tahsildar and the allied Group A and Group B posts, through prelims, a descriptive mains and a personality test.