Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Friday ordered that the maximum age for direct recruitment to Tamil Nadu government services be raised by five years. The latest move will help thousands of job seekers who were close to the existing cut-off or had already passed it.
An official release said the extra five years come on top of the limits already set in the rules and on top of the relaxations that candidates from reserved categories already get.
These categories are backward classes, backward classes (Muslims), the most backward classes and denotified communities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and destitute widows.
The Chief Minister took the decision after aspirants made repeated requests.
For general category candidates, the upper age limit goes up from 32 to 37 years.
For reserved categories, it moves from 37 to 42 years. Persons with disabilities (PwD) in the General category now have a limit of 47 years instead of 42, and those in reserved categories 52 instead of 47.
Group-II and Group-II-A posts
General category candidates can now apply up to the age of 35, up from 30. Reserved category candidates continue to have no upper age limit.
For PwD candidates, the General category limit rises from 40 to 45 years, and there is still no limit for reserved category candidates.
Candidates with higher educational qualifications have no upper age limit. For those without such qualifications, the General category limit goes from 30 to 35 years, and for BC, BC(M), MBC and DNC candidates from 32 to 37.
PwD candidates in the General category move from 40 to 45 years, and those in the reserved categories from 42 to 47.
Candidates from the SC, ST and destitute widow categories see the limit rise from 35 to 40 years, and PwD candidates in these groups from 45 to 50.
The new limits take effect from October 30, 2026, and will stay in force for five years, the release said.
The government said the decision will benefit tens of thousands of young people across the state, especially those who were about to lose their chance to compete for government posts because of age.
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