KEA Group C Recruitment 2026 Notification: SDA, FDA and Equivalent Posts in Karnataka

KEA Group C Recruitment 2026 fills Second Division Assistant (SDA), First Division Assistant (FDA) and similar posts in Karnataka departments. The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) issued four notices on 29 October 2026. Two cover posts that need PUC (Class 12), and two cover posts that need a degree. Their printed totals add up (our sum) to 2,705 PUC-level and 2,726 degree-level posts. Forms are accepted from 30 October 2026 and close on 25 November 2026; the fee window stays open one more day, to 26 November. The upper age limit is 40, 43 or 45 years, depending on your category. You also need to pass a Kannada language test unless you are exempt.

Four KEA notices behind KEA Group C Recruitment 2026

KEA splits the posts two ways. One split is by qualification: PUC level or degree level. The other is by cadre. KK means the Kalyana Karnataka local cadre covered by Article 371(J) of the Constitution. RPC means the Residual Parent Cadre, the posts outside that local cadre. Pay scale is the salary band in rupees per month.

The 5,431 total is our own addition of the four printed totals. KEA does not print one grand total. A few degree-level posts pay more. Assistant (in most departments) and Accountant are on Rs 49,050 to 92,500. Commercial Tax Inspector, Sub-Registrar, KMAS Chief Officer Grade-2 and Information Assistant are on Rs 54,175 to 99,400. Tourism Publicity Officer and KRIDL Superintendent (Accounts) are on Rs 61,300 to 1,12,900.

The degree-level RPC total of 2,163 includes 14 posts kept for serving staff and 9 backlog posts left unfilled from an earlier recruitment. The KK degree-level total of 563 includes 7 serving-staff posts and 11 backlog posts.

522 court SDAs, 500 Commercial Taxes SDAs and 488 Accounts Assistants

These are the largest rows in the four notices.

Court posts are listed court by court, and panchayat posts district by district. The degree-level GP Secretary Grade-1 and Zilla or Taluk Panchayat FDA posts are district cadres. You serve in the district you are selected for. Degree-level court FDAs serve within the jurisdiction of their court.

The lists cross the two regions in places. Some RPC tables include courts and panchayats in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Raichur and other Kalyana Karnataka districts. The KK tables include Bengaluru City Civil Court and Small Causes Court posts, and Bengaluru Urban panchayat posts. KEA gives no reason for these cross-region rows. KEA also says the category-wise split of each post is published separately and may change.

Separate KK and RPC paper days in January 2027 for linked notices

The notices share one merit system. After the result, one Candidate Verification Slip shows your marks and rank across the linked notices, and you can be selected for only one post. Three notices name the other three as linked. The RPC PUC notice (16/2026) lists 14, 15 and 16 and leaves out 17. Yet the papers are on different days:

• Degree level: 9 January 2027 in the KK notice (15/2026), 10 January 2027 in the RPC notice (14/2026).
• PUC level: 16 January 2027 in the KK notice (17/2026), 17 January 2027 in the RPC notice (16/2026).
• Kannada language test: 8 January 2027, 3 PM to 5 PM, in all four.

The notices do not say whether a candidate who wants both KK and RPC posts sits papers on both days. They also do not say whether KK and RPC posts need one application or separate ones. KEA’s helpline is 080-23460460. The notices give its hours as 10 AM to 6 PM, while KEA’s web pages say 10:30 AM to 5:30 PM on working days. Ask before you fill the form if you want posts in both regions. The summary notice also says the exam may be “online (CBT) / offline OMR”, while all four detailed notices say offline OMR.

Two 100-mark KEA papers, a 35% minimum and the fifth OMR circle

Each level has two papers on the same day. Paper 1 (General Knowledge) runs from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Paper 2 (General Kannada, General English and computer knowledge) runs from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Each paper has 100 questions for 100 marks.

• Minimum marks: you must score at least 35% to be considered. Merit is your percentage of total marks.
• Negative marking: each wrong answer costs one quarter (0.25) of a mark.
• The fifth circle: the OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheet has a fifth circle for questions you do not answer. You get 5 extra minutes after the last bell to shade it. If you leave all circles of a question blank, 0.25 is still cut.
• Exam centre: centres are announced later, and KEA will not change your centre for any reason.

The degree-level Paper 1 covers current events, general science, Indian and Karnataka history and the Constitution. It also covers the Karnataka economy, rural development and Panchayat Raj, and mental ability. The PUC-level Paper 1 has a shorter list with a similar Karnataka focus.

Who is exempt from the 8 January 2027 KEA Kannada test

You must pass a compulsory Kannada test unless you are exempt. It is a multiple-choice paper of 150 marks, and you need at least 50. The level is SSLC first-language Kannada. Its marks do not count for merit, but if you miss it or score below 50, you are out.

You are exempt if any one of these is true:

• You studied Kannada as a first or second language in SSLC (Class 10) or an equivalent or higher exam.
• You studied in Kannada medium.
• You already passed the compulsory Kannada test of KPSC or another selecting body.

From JOC to the GTTC diploma: what KEA treats as equal to PUC

Most PUC-level posts need PUC (Class 12) or an equivalent. The notices accept these as equal to PUC:

• Class 12 of CBSE, ICSE or another state board, and NIOS Higher Secondary.
• A two-year ITI, but only if you have also passed one language and one academic subject through NIOS or the PU Board.
• JOC (Karnataka’s vocational course).
• A three-year diploma of the Technical Education Department. Diploma holders who passed before 2015 must also have passed the KPSC departmental exams and the Kannada language exam.
• The GTTC three-plus-one-year diploma.

Some posts need more. Junior Accounts Assistant needs PUC in Commerce with Accountancy, and Second Division Accounts Assistant needs PUC in Commerce. The KIADB Junior Assistant post needs a computer course of at least six months. KRIDL SDA posts need a computer knowledge certificate.

B.Ed for KEA wardens and a printed master’s degree for the KREIS FDA post

Most degree-level posts accept any degree from a university set up by law in India. Distance degrees count, but not courses run without UGC approval, and not technical degrees earned by distance. Some posts ask for a specific degree:

• Accounts Assistant: B.Com, BBM or BBA, or a UGC-notified equivalent.
• Warden, Hostel Superintendent and KREIS Hostel Warden: a degree plus B.Ed.
• Commercial Tax Inspector: a degree with Economics or Mathematics as a subject, or a Commerce degree. One semester or one year of such a subject is enough, according to the notice.
• Auditor of Co-operative Societies: a Commerce degree with Accountancy and Auditing as a subject.
• Tourism Publicity Officer: a degree plus a Diploma in Hotel Management.
• FDA-cum-Computer Operator (KREIS): the notices print “ಸ್ನಾತಕೋತ್ತರ ಪದವಿ”, which means a postgraduate degree, plus a one-year computer course certificate. Holders of BE (CS, IS or IT), BCA, MCA, B.Sc. or M.Sc. Computer Science, or a PG Diploma in Computer Application do not need the certificate.

A postgraduate degree is unusual for a Group C post. If you hold only a bachelor’s degree and want this post, confirm with KEA first.

For every post, you must hold the qualification on the last date, 25 November 2026. If you are still waiting for your result on that date, you cannot apply.

General Merit up to 40, SC and ST up to 45 after the 29 January 2026 order

You must be at least 18 on the last date of the form. The upper limits below already include a one-time five-year relaxation granted by a Karnataka government order of 29 January 2026:

• General Merit: 40 years.
• Category 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B: 43 years.
• SC, ST and Category 1: 45 years.

Some groups get more years on top. Karnataka government staff get their years of service, up to 10 years. Ex-servicemen get their service plus 3 years. Persons with disabilities, widows and freed bonded labourers get 10 years. Dependants of ex-servicemen can use that reservation but get no age relaxation.

KEA Group C fee by category, waived for notice 07/2026 (RPC) applicants

• General Merit and Category 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B: Rs 750.
• SC, ST, Category 1, ex-servicemen and transgender candidates: Rs 500.
• Persons with disabilities: Rs 250.

The fee is paid online only, and it is not refunded. The RPC degree-level notice (14/2026) adds one exemption. It covers anyone who applied and paid under KEA’s notice 07/2026 (RPC) of 19 May 2026 for two FDA posts. They pay no fee for this notice.

Men-only Social Welfare warden posts and 14 RPC posts for serving BCW staff

Some degree-level posts are open to one gender only:

• Social Welfare Warden (Male) and Backward Classes Welfare (BCW) Hostel Superintendent (Male): men only.
• Social Welfare Warden (Female) and BCW Hostel Superintendent (Female): women only.

Posts marked as serving-staff posts are not for outside applicants. The BCW Hostel Superintendent ones are only for BCW staff in lower posts with at least five years of service. One KK post of KMAS Chief Officer Grade-2 is also for serving staff. It needs at least three years of service, not counting probation, in a city or town municipal council or town panchayat.

Mock allotment and the Candidate Verification Slip in KEA counselling

Posts are given through online counselling, based on your merit, reservation and the order of posts you choose. The steps in the notices are:

1. After the result, download your Candidate Verification Slip. It shows your details, the reservations you claimed, your marks and your rank.
2. If you claimed a reservation by mistake, you can only delete it, and only before the mock allotment starts. You cannot add a new one after applying.
3. Enter your post preferences online. KEA publishes a mock allotment, and you can then change, add or reorder your choices.
4. KEA publishes a provisional list in a 1:1 ratio to vacancies, then a final list and an additional list. Seats that fall vacant are filled only from the additional list.

If two candidates have the same marks, the older one ranks higher. If they are the same age too, higher marks in the post’s qualifying exam decide.

Certificates with an RD number, and the 371(J) certificate for KK seats

Every caste certificate needs an RD number, and you must type the correct RD number in the form. SC and ST use Form D, and Category 1 uses Form E. Category 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B use Form F. A 2A to 3B certificate is valid for five years and must be valid on the last date. Married women in 2A to 3B need an income certificate issued in the husband’s name. Balija sub-castes must claim 3A for jobs, not 2A.

To claim the Kalyana Karnataka local reservation, you need the Annexure-A certificate with an RD number. It is issued by the Assistant Commissioner of your sub-division under the 2013 rules for this reservation. Serving government employees can instead use a native-place certificate from their head of office. The KK notices do not define who is a local person or what share of posts goes to locals.

The notices print percentages only for persons with disabilities (5%, with at least 40% disability), transgender candidates (1%) and sports achievers (2%). Other horizontal quotas (women, rural, Kannada medium, ex-servicemen and project-displaced) appear as claim codes, but the notices print no percentage for them. Rural and Kannada-medium claims need school certificates for Classes 1 to 10.

Uploading the photo and signature on cetonline.karnataka.gov.in by 25 November 2026

1. Open cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea and use the Group C application link, active from 30 October 2026.
2. Upload a recent JPEG photo on a white background, between 50 KB and 200 KB. Add a black-ink signature as a JPEG of 50 KB to 70 KB. Forms without them are rejected.
3. Enter your caste, rural, Kannada-medium and other claims carefully. Nothing can be changed after you submit.
4. Your mobile number and e-mail are final, as all messages go there.
5. Submit by 25 November 2026 and pay the fee by 26 November 2026. Keep the form and fee receipt until the recruitment ends.

Two-year probation and NPS cover, KIADB and KRIDL excepted, for the 5,431 posts

The pay scales above are Karnataka’s basic pay bands. We have not estimated take-home pay, because that needs the Karnataka government’s own allowance orders. Probation is two years. The National Pension System (NPS) applies to these posts, except KIADB and KRIDL posts, according to the detailed notices. The summary notice states NPS without these exceptions.

KREIS and other Karnataka openings beside KEA Group C

For more openings, see Karnataka government jobs, jobs for Class 12 pass candidates, jobs for graduates and state commission and board jobs. KEA earlier ran the KREIS teacher recruitment of 2026 for residential schools.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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