The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) issued its notification for First Division Assistant (FDA), Second Division Assistant (SDA) and related posts on 29 October 2026, according to Testbook, which reports 5,431 vacancies. Online applications open today, 30 October, and close on 25 November 2026, with fee payment until 26 November. I have not opened the official PDFs or the application site, so the details below are as reported by Testbook and need checking against cetonline.karnataka.gov.in. Post-wise vacancies, the age cut-off date and the status of the Kannada paper are not settled in anything I found.
What has been announced
KEA has advertised posts in Karnataka government departments, boards and corporations under two cadres: the Residual Parent Cadre (RPC), which covers the rest of Karnataka, and the Kalyana Karnataka (KK) local cadre. Testbook reports four notification PDFs, one each for FDA and SDA under both cadres.
The reported vacancy figures are 2,163 degree-level non-technical posts and 2,070 PUC-level non-technical posts under RPC, plus 563 FDA and 635 SDA posts under the KK local cadre, spread across 48 department and post combinations. Those four numbers add up to 5,431, which matches the headline.
This is separate from a small KEA recruitment earlier in the year. In May 2026, KEA advertised 6 posts for its own establishment, 2 FDA and 4 SDA, with a last date of 3 June 2026, according to several portals. If a page shows 6 vacancies, a June deadline or a pay scale from that notice, it describes the earlier recruitment.
Snapshot
| Item | Detail (as reported) |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) |
| Notification date | 29 October 2026 |
| Total vacancies | 5,431 |
| Under RPC | 2,163 degree-level and 2,070 PUC-level non-technical posts |
| Under KK | 563 FDA and 635 SDA posts |
| Qualification | Degree for FDA; 2-year PUC or equivalent for SDA |
| Age | 18 to 40 (General Merit); 43 (2A, 2B, 3A, 3B); 45 (SC, ST, Category-1) |
| Fee | ₹750, ₹500 or ₹250, by category |
| Mode | Online |
| Applications | 30 October to 25 November 2026 |
| Fee payment | Until 26 November 2026 |
A count that needs a question
Testbook’s list of posts includes Accounts Assistant, Gram Panchayat Secretary, Junior Engineer (Civil), warden and hostel-related posts, and ‘technical posts requiring diploma qualifications’. Its vacancy table, though, lists only four lines of non-technical posts, and those lines alone reach the 5,431 total. That leaves open whether the technical, diploma-level posts are part of the 5,431 or come on top of it, and the report does not say. The official notifications will show the post-wise table.
The answer matters if you hold a diploma or an engineering qualification, since the number of seats you compete for depends on it. Do not assume the technical posts are in the count, and do not assume they are not.
Dates
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification | 29 October 2026 |
| Applications open | 30 October 2026 |
| Last date to apply | 25 November 2026 |
| Last date for fee payment | 26 November 2026 |
| Exam date | Not announced |
That is 26 days from today, and the window runs across Diwali, which falls around 8 November by my calendar. Government offices that issue certificates may be shut for several days around it. If you need a certificate that someone else must issue, request it this week.
Who can apply
Education. For FDA, a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university. For SDA, a pass in the two-year PUC or an accepted equivalent. Testbook lists CBSE or ICSE Class 12, NIOS, a two-year ITI or JOC, and a three-year diploma as recognised equivalents under the applicable rules. Technical posts need the relevant diploma.
Age. The minimum is 18 years. The maximum is reported as 40 for General Merit candidates, 43 for categories 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, and 45 for SC, ST and Category-1. Testbook adds that the 2026 limit reflects a one-time relaxation of five years for this recruitment.
The one-time relaxation is the most important line for older candidates. It means the age limits in earlier and later KEA recruitments may be five years lower, so a candidate who is over the usual limit may be able to apply only in this window. If that is you, do not leave the application to the end. The reports do not give the date on which age is counted, and that date can decide a case where someone is a few days over. It will be in the notification.
Cadre. The KK local cadre requires a Kalyana Karnataka local cadre certificate, which appears in the document list. A candidate who qualifies for both cadres should look at the vacancy count in each before choosing, since the application asks you to select the post and region.
What the KK cadre means
The Kalyana Karnataka cadre posts are local-cadre posts. KEA’s other 2026 notices, such as those for Village Administrative Officer and Surveyor, describe KK posts as reserved under Article 371(J) and confined to the Kalyana Karnataka region. That is why the KK application asks for a local cadre certificate, and why a candidate who does not belong to the region competes only under RPC. If you do belong to the region, you may be eligible under both cadres, and the choice affects which exam date and which vacancy count apply to you.
Note also that KEA’s recent RPC and KK notices have sometimes carried different exam dates. For the Village Administrative Officer recruitment, the RPC exam was on 4 October and the KK exam on 25 October. Track the date for the cadre you applied under, and not a friend’s.
When might the exam be?
No date is announced. KEA’s July 2026 recruitments give a rough guide. The Village Administrative Officer notification of 10 July led to an RPC exam on 4 October, and the Surveyor notification of 11 July to exams on 3 and 4 October, a gap of about twelve weeks. If a similar gap held here, a notification of 29 October would point to an exam around late January 2027. That is my inference from other recruitments, not a date from KEA, and it could easily be earlier or later. What it does suggest is that you have months, not weeks, to prepare, which makes the descriptive Kannada paper more manageable.
The one-time age relaxation, seen elsewhere
Testbook’s mention of a one-time five-year relaxation is consistent with another KEA notice this year. A report on the July Village Administrative Officer recruitment says candidates get a one-time five-year upper age relaxation under a Government Order dated 29 January 2026. If that order applies across KEA recruitments in the period, it explains why the General Merit limit here is 40. It also means that a candidate who has been over the usual limit may find this period the last chance, and that is a reason to apply in this cycle if you are eligible. Check the notification for the order’s reference and for the date on which age is counted.
Choosing between FDA and SDA
If you hold a degree, you may be eligible for both FDA and SDA, and the difference is not only the qualification. The FDA scale is higher, and the seats are fewer than for SDA under RPC, 2,163 degree-level against 2,070 PUC-level posts in the reported figures, which are close. Under KK, FDA has 563 and SDA 635.
Whether a degree holder may apply for a PUC-level post is a question the reports do not answer. In many state recruitments higher qualification is accepted for lower posts, but I have not seen KEA’s rule for this one. Check the eligibility paragraph before you plan to apply for both, and note that each application carries its own fee.
The fee
The reported fee has two parts, an application fee and a processing fee of ₹250 for everyone.
| Category | Application fee | Processing fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Merit, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B | ₹500 | ₹250 | ₹750 |
| SC, ST, Category-1, Ex-Servicemen, Third Gender | ₹250 | ₹250 | ₹500 |
| Persons with Disabilities | Nil | ₹250 | ₹250 |
The reports do not say whether the fee is refundable, so assume it is not. The fee is higher than many state recruitments, so check that you meet every condition for the post you choose before paying. If you plan two applications, double the sum.
The exam, and a point of conflict
Testbook describes three papers.
| Paper | Subject | Type | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compulsory Kannada | Descriptive | Not stated | 150 | 90 minutes |
| 2 | General English or General Kannada | Objective | 100 | 100 | 90 minutes |
| 3 | General Knowledge | Objective | 100 | 100 | 90 minutes |
| Total | 200 | 350 | 4 hours 30 minutes |
Negative marking of 0.25 marks applies to the objective papers.
There is an inconsistency in how Testbook describes the Kannada paper. The exam table lists Compulsory Kannada as a descriptive paper of 150 marks that adds to a total of 350. But its FAQ says the process includes the competitive exam, document verification and a ‘Kannada Language Test’, as though it were a separate step. In KEA’s recent recruitments, a Kannada Language Test of 150 marks has been a separate qualifying test whose marks do not count in merit, with candidates who studied Kannada up to SSLC exempt, according to reports on the Social Welfare Department’s Residential School Teacher recruitment. Whether the 150 marks here count towards merit, or only qualify, changes how you should prepare. If they count, the descriptive Kannada paper is the largest single paper and could decide selection. If they only qualify, the two objective papers rank you.
The notification will say which it is, and whether an exemption applies. Read that section first.
Salary
Testbook gives approximate in-hand figures: ₹52,000 to ₹58,000 for FDA and ₹40,000 to ₹45,000 for SDA in urban areas, and a few thousand less in rural postings. These are Testbook’s own estimates, not figures from KEA’s notification, and I would not rely on them.
For the pay scale, the best reference I found is KEA’s own recruitment in May 2026 for six posts, where reports quoted ₹44,425 to ₹83,700 for FDA and ₹34,100 to ₹67,700 for SDA. Those are probably the same scales, but the new notification should state them, and you should check. Basic pay and in-hand pay are very different things, because allowances and deductions vary with the place of posting and the rates in force. The same May reports mention a two-year probation for direct recruits.
How to apply
The steps reported by Testbook are these.
- Go to cetonline.karnataka.gov.in.
- Find the SDA FDA Recruitment 2026 link.
- Open the application form.
- Register with an active mobile number.
- Select the post and the applicable cadre, RPC or KK.
- Fill in personal, educational and other details.
- Upload the photograph, signature and required documents.
- Pay the application fee.
- Check the form carefully before submission.
- Download the form and save it.
The reported document list is a recent photograph, a scanned signature, the PUC certificate or marksheet, the degree certificate or marksheet, date of birth proof, a caste or category certificate, the Kalyana Karnataka local cadre certificate if applying under KK, a valid photo ID, and other certificates as required.
Use KEA’s own PDFs
Testbook offers the four notification PDFs, but its links go to files on its own content network and not to KEA’s site. They may well be exact copies. They are not the official source. Download the notifications from KEA’s website, and compare the dates, the age limits, the fee and the vacancy table with what any portal says. If there is a difference, the notification on KEA’s site wins.
Staying safe
An application of this size, with thousands of posts and a modest fee, attracts imitators. Apply only on cetonline.karnataka.gov.in, reached by typing the address or from KEA’s own pages. Pay the fee only on the payment page inside the application. Nobody can reserve a post for you, and any message that offers a seat, a list or a ‘guaranteed selection’ for money is fraud. Keep your mobile number and email active, and do not share an OTP with anyone.
Preparing for three papers
The three papers call for different kinds of practice. For the descriptive Kannada paper, which carries 150 marks in the reported pattern, write by hand: an essay, a formal letter, a précis and a short passage of comprehension each week, within the time limit, and have a teacher or a fluent friend mark them. Descriptive marks reward clear structure and correct language, and they are lost to errors that you cannot see in your own writing.
For General English or General Kannada, choose the language in which you are stronger if the notification allows a choice, and practise grammar, vocabulary and comprehension in short daily sessions. For General Knowledge, build a habit of a daily newspaper and a weekly review of Karnataka topics, including its geography, history, administration and schemes, as well as general Indian and world affairs.
With 0.25 marks off for each wrong answer in the objective papers, practise leaving out questions you cannot narrow down. A guess between four options is neutral on average, and a guess after eliminating one or two options is positive.
What to do this week
This is my suggestion.
Today and tomorrow: download the notification for your cadre and read the eligibility, the age cut-off date, the fee and the exam scheme. Decide whether you are eligible for FDA, SDA or both, and which cadre applies to you.
This week: collect and scan your documents, and request any certificate that someone else must issue, such as a category certificate or a Kalyana Karnataka local cadre certificate. Check that your name and date of birth match across all of them.
Before 15 November: submit the application, keep the confirmation and pay the fee. There is no benefit in waiting for the final days, and the last days of any KEA window are the slowest.
What is not yet known
- The post-wise vacancy table, and whether technical posts are inside the 5,431.
- The date on which age is counted.
- Whether the 150-mark Kannada paper counts towards merit or is only qualifying.
- The exam date and syllabus.
- The pay scale in this notification.
- Whether the fee is refundable.
important links |
|
| Apply Online (Active from 30 October 2026) | click here |
| Download Official Notification PDFs (RPC & KK) | click here |
| Official Website | click here |
FAQs
How many vacancies are there? Testbook reports 5,431: 2,163 degree-level and 2,070 PUC-level non-technical posts under RPC, and 563 FDA and 635 SDA posts under the KK cadre. Whether technical posts are included is not clear.
What is the last date to apply? 25 November 2026, with fee payment until 26 November.
What is the maximum age? Testbook reports 40 for General Merit, 43 for 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, and 45 for SC, ST and Category-1, with a one-time five-year relaxation for this recruitment.
Is the Kannada paper only qualifying? Not clear. Testbook’s table treats Compulsory Kannada as a 150-mark paper in a total of 350, while its FAQ refers to a separate Kannada Language Test. Read the notification.
Is this the same as the 6-post KEA recruitment from May? No. That was KEA’s own recruitment of 2 FDA and 4 SDA posts, closed on 3 June 2026.