The Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has issued a brief notification (No. 16/2026, dated 15 September 2026) for 4 Forest Range Officer posts in the A.P. Forest Service. The pay scale is Rs 48,440 – 1,37,220. Online applications run from 16 October to 5 November 2026.
This is only the brief notice. The detailed notification, with age limit, fee, community-wise breakup and the physical (walking) standards, comes on or before 16 October 2026. What is already fixed: the eligible degree subjects, a single-level online exam with no screening test, and the full syllabus. That is enough to start preparing.
Apply 16 Oct – 5 Nov 2026, 11:59 PM · 4 posts · Degree in 14 listed subjects · No screening test · Walking test + medical · Brief notification (PDF) · psc.ap.gov.in
Written from APPSC Brief Notification No. 16/2026 dated 15 September 2026 on 9 October 2026. We will update this page from the detailed notification.
On this page: Dates · Who can apply · Still to come · Exam pattern · Walking test and CPT · Syllabus · How to prepare · Sources
Important dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Brief notification | 15 September 2026 |
| Detailed notification on psc.ap.gov.in | On or before 16 October 2026 |
| Online application | 16 October to 5 November 2026, 11:59 PM |
| Crucial date for eligibility | The date of the detailed notification |
| Online exam (CBRT) | To be announced |
The notice says the date of the detailed notification is the crucial date in all respects. You must hold the qualification on that day.
Who can apply: eligible degree subjects
You need a bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent qualification, from a university set up under a Central, State or Provincial Act, or an institution recognised by the UGC, in one of these subjects:
| # | Subject | # | Subject |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Agriculture | 8 | Geology |
| 2 | Botany | 9 | Horticulture |
| 3 | Chemistry | 10 | Mathematics |
| 4 | Computer Applications / Computer Science | 11 | Physics |
| 5 | Engineering: Agriculture, Chemical, Civil, Computer, Electrical, Electronics or Mechanical | 12 | Statistics |
| 6 | Environmental Science | 13 | Veterinary Science |
| 7 | Forestry | 14 | Zoology |
Commerce, arts and engineering branches not on this list are not included. The notice also points to physical requirements in the detailed notification, so check those before you apply.
Still to come in the detailed notification
The brief notice does not give these:
- Age limit and relaxations
- Application fee and exemptions
- Community, zone and women-wise breakup of the 4 posts
- Physical standards: height, chest and the walking test distance and time
- The exam date
Don’t rely on figures from earlier Forest Range Officer recruitments. Wait for the official detailed notification. We’ll update this page as soon as it is out.
Exam pattern (single-level online exam)
There is no screening test. Everyone who applies sits one online exam (CBRT), at degree standard.
| Paper | Subject | Questions | Minutes | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying test | General English (50) + General Telugu (50), SSC standard | 100 | 100 | 100 (pass only) |
| Paper I | General Studies & Mental Ability | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Paper II | Mathematics (SSC standard) | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Paper III | General Forestry – I | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Paper IV | General Forestry – II | 150 | 150 | 150 |
| Total for merit | 600 |
- The qualifying test must be passed in English and in Telugu separately. It does not add to the 600.
- Negative marking: each wrong answer loses 1/3 of that question’s marks.
- If the exam runs in more than one session, scores are normalised by the method APPSC decides.
Walking test, medical and computer test
After the written exam:
- Walking test and medical examination. Candidates picked in the ratio 1:3 to the vacancies take a walking test and a medical examination by a medical board. Both are arranged by the Forest Department with APPSC.
- Computer Proficiency Test (CPT), qualifying only, for candidates in the 1:3 ratio:
| Duration | Marks | Pass mark: SC/ST/PBD | BC | OC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 minutes | 100 | 30 | 35 | 40 |
The CPT has MCQs on computer basics (20%), typing speed (25%), formatting and inserting objects in a Word document (15%), an Excel sheet with formulas and charts (20%) and a PowerPoint presentation (20%). The notice says typing speed may be made mandatory for qualifying.
With only 4 posts, the 1:3 ratio means only about 12 candidates reach the walking test and CPT. That figure is our arithmetic. Your written-exam marks decide almost everything.
Syllabus in brief
Qualifying test (SSC standard)
- English: comprehension, phrases and idioms, vocabulary and punctuation, sentence rearrangement
- Telugu: synonyms and vocabulary, grammar, Telugu-to-English and English-to-Telugu meanings
Paper I: General Studies & Mental Ability
Current affairs, general science and IT, history, geography and polity with an AP focus, Indian economy, sustainable development, disaster management with remote sensing and GIS, logical reasoning and data analysis.
Paper II: Mathematics (SSC standard)
- Arithmetic: number system, percentages, interest, profit and loss, time and work, HCF/LCM, logarithms
- Algebra: polynomials, quadratic equations, simultaneous linear equations, sets
- Trigonometry: ratios for 0°–90°, identities, heights and distances
- Geometry: triangles, congruency and similarity, parallelograms, circles and tangents, loci
- Mensuration: areas, and surface areas and volumes of cuboids, cones, cylinders and spheres
- Statistics: tabulation, graphs, measures of central tendency
Paper III: General Forestry – I
- Renewable and non-renewable natural resources: forest, water, mineral, food, energy, land
- Plant sciences: morphology, wood anatomy, seeds, reproduction, plant physiology, genetics, plant diseases
- Biodiversity and conservation: hotspots, biomes of India
- Soil science and geology: rocks, soil formation, erosion and conservation, saline and alkaline soils
- Water resource and watershed management
- Silviculture, agroforestry, social and community forestry, including the silviculture of 14 AP species: teak, red sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), sandalwood, neem, bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus), eucalyptus, casuarina, Gmelina, Melia dubia, Leucaena and others
Paper IV: General Forestry – II
- Ecosystems and wildlife: national parks, sanctuaries, endangered species
- Forest protection: pests, fire, grazing, encroachment and poaching
- Forest utilisation: logging, wood seasoning and preservation, NTFPs of AP, plants used against snake and scorpion poison
- Animal management: ailments, dentition, snakes of India and snake-bite treatment, bird migration
- Economic zoology
- Forest economics, legislation and administration:
- forest policies of 1894, 1952, 1988 and 1990;
- the AP Forest Act 1967, Forest Conservation Act 1980 and Wildlife Protection Act 1972;
- the structure of the forest services.
- Forest inventory: sampling methods
- Forest mensuration and remote sensing: Relaskop, altimeter, wedge prism, GIS, GPS
- Environmental sciences: pollution, solid waste, climate change, the Environment Protection Act 1986, Air and Water Acts, and APWALTA 2004
- Forest survey and engineering: road alignment, dumpy level, theodolite
- First aid
How to prepare in the time left
- Start with Papers III and IV. They are 300 of the 600 marks and the most specialised. Students of science, agriculture, forestry, botany and zoology have an advantage, but engineering and maths graduates need extra time here.
- Paper II is SSC-level maths. Practise speed and accuracy, because negative marking punishes guessing.
- Don’t skip Telugu. You must pass it separately, even though it doesn’t count for merit.
- Keep fit for the walking test. The distance and time will be in the detailed notification, so start walking practice now.
- Get your OTPR ready on psc.ap.gov.in before 16 October. Check that your community, local status and white-card details are correct, because APPSC uses them for your fee and age relaxation.
Official sources
- APPSC Brief Notification No. 16/2026 (PDF)
- APPSC website, for the detailed notification, OTPR and the online application
If you have only Intermediate, see APPSC Forest Beat Officer 2026 (23 posts, same application window). APPSC also has other posts open this month: see APPSC Group-I 2026, APPSC Horticulture Officer 2026 and APPSC Assistant Environmental Engineer 2026. For more state jobs, browse our Andhra Pradesh Jobs category.
Easy Applications is an independent information site and is not affiliated with APPSC or the A.P. Forest Department. This page is based on the brief notification. Confirm every detail in the detailed notification on psc.ap.gov.in before you apply.
