PSC announces promotion proficiency exams for clerical civil servants

The Public Service Commission (PSC) has announced the 2026 Proficiency Examination for Clerical Officers for public servants seeking career progression.

In a notice on August 4, PSC says that the exams will run for four days, from Monday, September 21, to Thursday, September 24.

PSC requires candidates to sit the paper at eight centers nationwide, namely Machakos, Nyeri, Embu, Catosa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kalangara, and Eldoret, with venues shared after registration.

“It is notified for general information that the 2026 Proficiency Examination for Clerical Officers will be held from Monday 21st to Thursday 24th September 2026 at Machakos, Nyeri, Embu, Garissa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Kakamega and Eldoret examination centers. The actual venues will be notified to the candidates after registration,” PSC stated.

Not everyone qualifies automatically, since a candidate must have a C- in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and be a serving clerical officer for at least a year.

First-time candidates will need to fill out Form A through their Head of Department, while repeat candidates use Form B, both available on the PSC website at www.publicservice.go.ke. 

The completed form and e-Citizen payment receipt must reach the Commission’s Nairobi office by Friday, August 28, which is the set deadline.

On the charges, registration costs a basic fee of Ksh2,625 plus Ksh875 per paper for all seven papers, alongside a Ksh50 e-Citizen charge.

Candidates who miss the deadline still get a second chance, although a Ksh525 penalty applies until the final cut-off of September 3.

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Meanwhile, officers who passed the 2025 sitting can now collect their certificates at PSC House in Nairobi, carrying either their national ID or passport.

The Proficiency Examination for Clerical Officers is an annual promotional exam conducted by the Kenya School of Government (KSG) on behalf of PSC to test operational competence and career progression.

Thus, clerical officers form the backbone of everyday government work, handling records, data entry, and daily operations across ministries, departments, and state agencies.

This means that once they reach the required threshold in the examinations, they are likely to be promoted from one job group to another.

This can be from Clerical Officer II (Job Group F/CSG 14), which is entry-level, often hired from secondary school or through large recruitment batches, all the way to Chief Clerical Officer (Job Group J/CSG 11), which is at the top of the structure.

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