TNPSC Group 1 Vacancy 2026: Post-Wise Vacancies, Pay Level & Category-Wise Reservation

TNPSC Group 1 Vacancy 2026 — Post-Wise Details

• Deputy Collector is the single largest vacancy pool this cycle, accounting for nearly 46% of all Group 1 vacancies — and it’s also the most competitive and most-preferred post among aspirants.
• District Registrar is the second-largest with 8 vacancies, offering a strong alternative for candidates targeting Group 1 this year.
• Assistant Commissioner of Labour has just 1 vacancy — making it the most selective post in this cycle by a wide margin.
• Assistant Commissioner (Commercial Taxes) has only 2 vacancies, split further by preferential qualification (B.Com + B.L. + Diploma in Taxation Laws candidates get first preference where merit is equal).

Here is the complete post-wise vacancy distribution as notified by TNPSC:

*Includes backlog vacancy. **Includes shortfall vacancies.

TNPSC Group 1 Backlog & Shortfall Vacancies 2026 — Details Here!

You’ll notice two footnotes against the vacancy table in the official notification — understanding them matters if you’re applying under a reserved category:

• Backlog vacancy (Deputy Collector, marked #): This refers to a vacancy from a previous recruitment cycle that remained unfilled — typically because no eligible candidate was available in that specific reserved category in an earlier exam — and has now been carried forward and added to this year’s notified vacancies.
• Shortfall vacancy (Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies, marked *): This refers to a category-wise shortfall from an earlier selection process, now being re-notified along with current vacancies to ensure the mandated reservation percentage is eventually achieved.

Both backlog and shortfall vacancies are usually earmarked for the same category they originally belonged to, so if you belong to a reserved category, these additional vacancies can improve your effective chances in that post.

Why TNPSC Group 1 Vacancy 2026 Count Is Still Tentative

TNPSC explicitly states in the notification (Para 3.1) that the number of vacancies notified is tentative and liable to modification until the Preliminary Examination results are published. This is standard practice across TNPSC exams and happens because:

• Government departments continuously assess staffing requirements, and additional vacancies can be reported to TNPSC after the notification is released but before the Preliminary Exam.
• Retirements, promotions, or newly created posts in the interim period can add to the notified number.
• TNPSC also reserves the right (Para 3.2) to include additional posts with different nomenclature but similar eligibility conditions, as and when announced.

If the vacancy count increases before the Preliminary Exam results, the number of candidates admitted to the Main Examination (usually 20 times the vacancies, per reservation group) is revised proportionately. It’s worth checking the TNPSC website periodically between the notification date and the Preliminary Exam for any vacancy revision notices.

TNPSC Group 1 2026 Category-Wise Reservation for 26 Vacancies

The 26 notified vacancies will be filled following Tamil Nadu’s statutory rule of reservation, applicable to direct recruitment:

Women’s Reservation on Tamil Nadu PSC Group 1 Vacancies 2026

A minimum of 30% of all vacancies is set apart for women candidates — and this applies irrespective of whether the general rule of reservation applies to a post or not. Within the reserved categories, 30% of vacancies in each communal category (as well as the open/general category) is earmarked for women. Women and Transgender (women) candidates are entitled to compete for this 30% quota, and can also compete for the remaining 70% of vacancies alongside male, Transgender, and Transgender (men) candidates.

Tamil Nadu PSC Group 1 Vacancy 2026 – Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) Reservation

Out of the total vacancies notified within each communal reservation category, TNPSC applies a 4% reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, split as:

• 1% for blindness and low vision
• 1% for deaf and hard of hearing
• 1% for locomotor disability (including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy)
• 1% for autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability, and mental illness (combined with multiple disabilities)

This 4% is calculated within the communal reservation categories (SC/SCA/ST/MBC-DC/BC/BC-M/General), not as a separate additional quota outside the 26 vacancies.

How TNPSC Vacancies Affect the Main Exam and Interview Cut-Off

The notified vacancy count directly determines how many candidates get shortlisted at every subsequent stage:

• Preliminary to Main Examination: Candidates equal to 20 times the number of vacancies (applied per reservation group) are admitted to the Main Exam. If several candidates share the cut-off marks of their reservation group, all of them are admitted — even if it pushes the ratio beyond 1:20.
• Main Exam to Interview: If the number of vacancies in a reservation group is 5 or more, candidates equal to 2 times the vacancies in that group are called for interview. If the vacancies in a group are 4 or fewer, candidates equal to 3 times the vacancies are called instead.

This means posts with very few vacancies — like Assistant Commissioner of Labour (1 vacancy) — will see an extremely narrow funnel at the interview stage, while Deputy Collector (12 vacancies) offers a comparatively wider band of candidates progressing to each stage.

Post Preference and Counselling — What the TNPSC Vacancy Numbers 2026 Mean for You

TNPSC Group 1 uses a single combined Preliminary and Main Examination across all five posts, followed by counselling, where the final post is allotted based on the candidate’s rank in the merit list and their post preferences submitted during counselling. A few practical implications of this year’s vacancy distribution:

• With only 26 total vacancies (down from historical Group 1 cycles that have sometimes notified larger numbers), competition per seat is expected to be intense — plan your Preliminary and Main preparation accordingly rather than assuming a lower cut-off.
• Once you choose a post during counselling, it cannot be changed under any circumstances — so understand the vacancy distribution and your realistic rank range before counselling day.
• Since Deputy Collector and District Registrar together account for 20 of the 26 vacancies (about 77%), most successful candidates this cycle are likely to be allotted one of these two posts.

TNPSC Group 1 Salary 2026 – Pay Level

All five TNPSC Group 1 posts are placed at Pay Level 22 of the Tamil Nadu Pay Matrix — one of the highest levels among TNPSC’s direct recruitment exams. Based on the applicable Tamil Nadu pay matrix, Level 22 corresponds to a basic pay starting around Rs. 56,100 and going up to approximately Rs. 2,05,700 per month, before allowances such as Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), and City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) are added. Actual in-hand salary depends on posting location and applicable allowances.

Beyond pay, Group 1 officers hold senior administrative, regulatory, or quasi-judicial roles (Deputy Collector, District Registrar, etc.), making these among the most powerful and prestigious posts filled through any Tamil Nadu state-level competitive exam.

For the exact, latest pay matrix figures applicable to your appointment, always refer to the Government of Tamil Nadu’s official pay commission orders, since these can be revised independently of the TNPSC notification.

Vacancy numbers, category-wise breakups, and cut-off trends can shift right up to the Preliminary Exam — and missing an update can cost you a well-informed post preference at counselling. The Entri App keeps you updated with real-time TNPSC Group 1 notifications, vacancy revisions, previous-year cut-off analysis, and a structured preparation plan for the Preliminary and Main Exams. Download the Entri App to stay ahead of every update.