Glossary
Civil service words, in plain English.
City hiring comes with its own vocabulary. Here's what each word means for you. Every definition links the official source, which is the final word.
- Admission notice
- The email telling you when and where to show up for your test, and what to bring. It arrives two to three weeks before test day. Source
- Call letter
- An agency's invitation to interview you, sent when your turn on the list comes up. Answer it even to say no, or you can be dropped from the list. Source
- Certified list
- The part of a civil service list officially sent to an agency so it can hire from it. Source
- Civil service list
- The ranked list of everyone who passed an exam, in score order. Agencies hire from it. Scores stay active for up to four years. Source
- Competitive title
- A job title where you show you are right for it by passing a competitive exam: multiple-choice, practical, education and experience, or a mix. On our job pages this shows as "Civil service exam title". Source
- DCAS
- The Department of Citywide Administrative Services. It runs the city’s civil service exams and OASys. Source
- Education and experience (E&E) exam
- An exam scored on your education and work history instead of a sit-down test. Many are taken online while you apply. Common for professional titles. Source
- Exempt title
- A job, usually working closely with an agency head, where the agency sets the qualifications and picks who it hires. No civil service exam. Source
- Fee waiver
- Some applicants can take an exam without paying the fee. Eligible veterans can use waivers on every exam. The Notice of Examination lists who qualifies. Source
- 55-a Program
- Lets a qualified person with a certified disability be hired into exam titles without taking the exam. Source
- Filing period
- The window, usually about three weeks, when you can apply to take a specific exam. Nothing is accepted before or after it. Source
- Labor class
- Unskilled labor jobs, where a competitive exam is not practical. No civil service exam. Source
- Multiple-choice exam
- The usual test for entry-level titles open to the public: 40 to 150 questions, answered on a sheet with a No. 2 pencil. Source
- Notice of Examination (NOE)
- The official document for one exam: the job, who qualifies, what's on the test, the fee and the dates. It is the final word; read all of it before applying. Source
- Non-competitive title
- A job title where a competitive exam is not practical, so the agency checks that your qualifications meet the standard instead. You apply directly. On our job pages this shows as "No exam for this title". Source
- OASys
- DCAS's Online Application System, where you apply for exams, pay fees, and check your results. Source
- One-in-three rule
- Under New York State law, an agency hiring from a list may choose any one of the three highest-scoring people on it. Source
- Open competitive exam
- An exam open to anyone who meets the minimum qualifications in its Notice of Examination. These are the exams on our calendar. Source
- Permanent civil service status
- What you have after being hired from an exam list and passing probation. It lets you take promotion exams. Source
- Practical or physical exam
- A test of a hands-on skill or fitness, often given on top of a multiple-choice exam. Source
- Probationary period
- A trial period after being hired from a list. Passing it gives you permanent status. Source
- Promotion exam
- An exam open only to permanent city employees moving up within their career track. Source
- Protest period
- A 30-day window to challenge answers in the proposed answer key. Everyone is scored on the final key, set after the protests are reviewed. Source
- Provisional appointment
- Being hired into an exam title before the exam is given. Postings that allow it say you must take and pass the exam when it becomes available to keep the job. Source
- Qualified incumbent exam
- An exam for current city employees serving provisionally in certain titles, after two or more years. Source
- Selective certification
- When an agency hires people from a list who have a specialized skill it needs right now, ahead of others on the list who do not. Source
- Title code
- The number that identifies a civil service job title. Postings and exams for the same title share it; every posting lists it. Source
Rewritten from DCAS's civil service glossary and process pages, NYC's civil service job classes as the Department of Education publishes them, and city postings. Checked September 23, 2026.