Kickstart Government Career
The Civil Service employs approximately 173,100 persons (excluding judges, judicial officers, ICAC officers and locally engaged staff working in Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices outside Hong Kong), comprising 4.6 % of the Hong Kong’s labour force.
Organisation Chart of the HKSAR Government
The Civil Service Bureau conducts Joint Recruitment exercises for various civil service graduate grades annually, including Administrative Officer (AO), Executive Officer II (EOII), Assistant Trade Officer II, Transport Officer, etc. The recruitment process involves multiple examinations and tests to ensure candidates meet the entry requirements and standards.
For Government Vacancies, please here frequently for the latest recruitment news.
Common Recruitment Examination (CRE)
The CRE (Degree/Professional Grades) is scheduled to be held twice per year, approximately in May/June and September/October. You may visit here for more information and the application method.
Examination Format:
Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST)
The BLNST is a mandatory test for all civil service jobs advertised after 1 July 2022, assessing knowledge of the Basic Law and National Security Law.
The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) launches Digitalised BLNST in May 2025 for prospective applicants. It is conducted from Monday to Friday (except public holidays) at the Recruitment Centre, General Grades Office (Address: 37th Floor, Revenue Tower, 5 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong). There are six examination timeslots per day. For details, please refer to here.
Joint Recruitment Examination (JRE)
If you have applied for any posts during the Joint Recruitment exercise and passed the entry requirement of CRE and BLNST, you will be automatically enrolled in the JRE which is usually held in December annually.
The JRE is a 3-hour examination designed to assess applicants’ analytical and written communication abilities. Applicants are required to complete two exam questions, one in English and one in Chinese.
Examination Format:
Upcoming CRE application timeline:
Application Period: 19 July – 1 August 2025
Exam Day: 27 September 2025, or another date within October 2025 if necessary.