How to apply

The City of New York (the City) fills most of its permanent jobs through a civil service exam. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) runs these exams, and it says this process fills more than 80% of City jobs.

Here is the basic pattern: you apply during a set time window, take the exam, and get a score. Your score puts you on a list for that job title. What happens next depends a lot on which job you want, so it helps to know the difference before you start.

Two ways this works

For many jobs, the list works like a line. Police Officer, Sanitation Worker, and Emergency Medical Specialist all work this way. You take the exam and get ranked by score. Agencies hire from the top of the list down. Your rank is almost the whole story, and mostly you just wait your turn.

For many other jobs, the list is more like a door than a line. Take Administrative Staff Analyst as an example. Passing the exam does not get you the job by itself. It puts you on a list, and being on that list is what lets you apply for jobs that need this title. You still have to apply, interview, and compete on your experience for each one. Without the exam, you could not hold these jobs on a permanent basis.

One rule affects both kinds of jobs: the one in three rule. Under New York State law, an agency can choose any of the top three scorers on a Certified List, not just the single highest name.

For jobs that hire often, like Police Officer, this rule rarely changes who gets reached. The agency moves through the list fast, so your score still decides most of it. For a single job opening, the rule matters more. Two candidates with close scores can both get an interview. Then the interview decides who gets the job.

Both paths come from the same system. You just see it from a different place, depending on the job. If you are not sure which one applies to you, ask someone who already works in that job rather than guessing.

The short version

Find an exam for the job title you want. Apply during its application period. This is the only time you can apply, and it usually lasts about three weeks. Take the exam and get your score. After that, you either wait to be called, or new job postings open up to you, depending on the title.

Step by step

1. Find an exam: The City publishes an exam schedule once a year. Most application periods open on the first Wednesday of a month. The front page of this site shows what is open now and what is coming soon. It is normal if nothing is open for the job you want. Some titles have an exam every year. Others have one every four or five years, or almost never.
2. Read the Notice of Examination: The Notice is the real document. It lists the minimum qualifications, the fee, what the test covers, and the dates. Nothing on this site replaces it. Where a Notice has been published, we link straight to the City's PDF.
3. Apply through OASys: The City's Online Application System, OASys, is at nyc.gov/examsforjobs. You apply through it, and you need an account there. DCAS says you can take most exams online, or in person at a testing center in any borough. There is usually a fee. DCAS can waive it if you receive public assistance. Apply before the last day rather than on it. The system gets busy and the deadline does not move.
4. Take the exam: Most exams are multiple choice. Some test a specific skill and are practical or physical. Others look at your background and work history instead of testing you in person. DCAS calls these Education and Experience exams.
5. Get your score and your list number: DCAS says it usually takes six to nine months to process results. When your results are ready, DCAS posts your score to your OASys dashboard and emails it to you. DCAS also posts the full list of everyone who passed, ranked by score. This is your civil service list, and your place on it is your list number. If two people tie, the one who applied first usually ranks higher. Veterans and some other groups can add points to a passing score. This can change your place on the list.
6. Be reachable, then be certified: When an agency has an open job, DCAS sends it a Certified List. This is your list, or the top part of it. Under the one in three rule, the agency can interview and choose any of the top three names it receives, not just the highest scorer. So being certified is not the same as being hired. Most lists last four years, and the City can extend them. How much your number matters depends on the title. For some jobs it decides almost everything. For others, just being on the list is what matters, and the hiring itself works like a normal competitive job interview.

Words the City uses

Open competitive: Anyone who meets the minimum qualifications in the Notice can apply. You do not need to already work for the City.
Promotion: Only for City employees. You must already have permanent Civil Service status in a related title. That means you were appointed from an earlier exam and finished your probation period.
Title: The job itself, as civil service law defines it. Each title has its own code, salary range, and union. Every title has a page on this site.
Application period: The time when the City accepts applications for an exam. If you miss it, you wait for the next exam. Some older Notices call this the filing period. Same thing.
Civil service list: Everyone who passed a given exam, in score order.
Certified list: Your list, or the top part of it, after DCAS sends it to an agency. The agency hires from this list.
Certification: When an agency takes names from a list to fill an open job.
One in three rule: A New York State law. It lets an agency choose any of the top three scorers on a certified list, not just the highest one.
Provisional: Someone doing a civil service job without coming from a list. This usually happens because no list exists yet. It is supposed to be temporary.

Two honest warnings

It is slow. It can take months between applying and taking the exam, and more months between the exam and the list. You might then wait on the list for years. Most people who get a City job this way just applied, then went on with their lives while they waited.

Dates can change. DCAS often extends application periods. The public data this site reads can fall behind the City's own web pages by a few weeks. We check the City's pages every day and trust them over our own data. Still, always check nyc.gov before you rely on a date.