LDCE Exam 2026 Notification GDS to PM/MG MTS Circle Wise

Subject: Competitive Examination (CE) for recruitment to the cadre of Postman, Mail Guard & Multi Tasking Staff(MTS) from eligible Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDSs) for the vacancies earmarked for GDS and unfilled vacancies of LDCE for Postman / Mail Guard for the vacancy year 2026 (01-01-2026 to 31-12-2026)

Applications are invited in the format enclosed (Annexure-I) from the willing and eligible GDSS who fulfill the eligibility criteria as laid out in subsequent paras, for appearing in the Competitive Examination (CE) for recruitment to the cadre of Postman, Mail Guard & Multi Tasking Staff(MTS) from eligible Gramin Dak Sevaks(GDSs) for the vacancies earmarked for GDS and unfilled vacancies of LDCE for Postman / Mail Guard as per prevailing Recruitment Rules for the vacancy year 2026 (01-01-2026 to 31-12-2026) will be held on Sunday, the 12th July 2026. The schedule of activities of the examination is furnished hereunder:

• Examination will commence exactly at 10.00 AM in all the Centres and Paper-I, II & III (for Postman /Mail Guard) and Paper-I(for MTS) will be conducted in continuity. There will be no break in between the three papers and candidates will not be allowed to leave his/her seat before completion of examination.
  The Regional Heads/Divisional Heads/controlling authorities are requested to start the activity as per the notified schedule immediately and the above schedule should be strictly adhered to.

1. Vacancies: (a) Postman and Mail Guard (b) Multi Tasking Staff –
   Number of vacancies(provisional) available to GDS for recruitment to the posts of Postman / Mail Guard & MTS for the vacancy year 2026 (01-01-2026 to 31-12-2026) will be notified later.
   Note: Even if there is no vacancy to be filled from GDS in any Postal/RMS Divisions, examination will be held for the candidates in that Division and all the eligible GDS may be permitted to appear for the examination.

The guidelines for reservation in promotion for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBDs) issued by DoPT O.M. No. 36012/1/2020-Estt. (Res.-II) dated 28.12.2023 and issued by SCT Section, DoP letter No. SC-12/9/2022-SCT-DOP dated 09.01.2024 shall be followed in letter and spirit.
The Provisio of Section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(RPwD) Act, 2016, provides that the reservation in promotion shall be in accordance with such instructions as are issued by the appropriate Government from time to time.
As per the Department of Personnel & Training(DoPT) Office Memorandum No. 36012/1/2020-Estt (Res.II) dated 17-05-2022, four percent (4%) of the total vacancies in the cadre strength within Group ‘C’, from Group ‘C’ to Group ‘B’ and from Group ‘B’ to the lowest rung of Group ‘A’ shall be reserved for PwBDs. Reservation in promotion shall be applicable in the cadres in which the element of Direct Recruitment, if any, does not exceed 75%.

3. Eligibility Criteria:
   A. Postman and Mail Guard :-
   As per the Department of Posts, Postman and Mail Guard (Group ‘C’ post) Recruitment Rules-2018 notified in GSR 899 (E) dated 20-09-2018 read with Postman and Mail Guard (Group ‘C’ post) Recruitment (Amendment) Rules 2020 notified in GSR 157 (E) dated 05-03-2020 and Recruitment (Amendment) Rules, 2023 notified in G.S.R 638(E) (Annexure-III-A), the following are the eligibility condition to appear in the examination:

i ) Educational & Other Qualifications: (a) 10th standard pass from a recognized Board, (b)
knowledge of working on Computer (c)Knowledge of local language of Karnataka Circle i.e., KANNADA and (d) possesses a valid license to drive two-wheeler or light motor vehicle. [Point ‘d’ applicable for the cadre of Postman only].
ii) Age: Should be within fifty (50) years of age as on 01-01-2026 (relaxable for different categories as notified by the Government of India from time to time)
iii) Service Eligibility: Five(05) years regular engagement as Gramin Dak Sevaks.
iv) “A person not possessing a valid license to drive two – wheeler or light Motor Vehicle shall also be eligible for appointment, however, such person not having valid license to drive two-wheeler or light Motor Vehicle at the time of appointment shall not earn periodical increment in pay till production of such license or for a period of five years from the date of appointment, whichever is earlier and after production of such license or expiry of such five years period, pay shall be restored prospectively to the level pay would have reached had the periodical increment in pay was not withheld and no arrears of pay shall be paid for intervening period. However, Persons with Benchmark Disability shall be exempted from the possession of such license.
[This condition is required for recruitment to the cadre of Postman only]”.

NOTE 1: The crucial date for reckoning the eligibility conditions as above shall be 01-01-2026.

NOTE 2 (a): The crucial date, for submitting income and asset certificate by the EWS candidate(s), may be treated as the closing date for receipt of application for the post, except in cases where crucial date is fixed otherwise(As per para 5.3 of DOPT OM No.36039/1/2019-Estt(Res) dated 31.01.2019).
(b) Person seeking appointment on the basis of reservation under EWS must ensure that he/she possesses the Income & Asset certificate valid for the financial year-2026-27 issued on the basis of Income for the financial year-2025-26 in accordance with the para 4.1 of DOPT OM No.36039/1/2019-Estt(Res) dated 31.01.2019).
(v) Any other eligibility conditions specified in Recruitment Rules shall also apply.

B. Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS):- As per the Department of Posts Multi-Tasking Staff(Group ‘C’ post) Recruitment Rules, 2018 notified in GSR 781 (E) dated 16-08-2018, read with the Department of Posts (Multi-Tasking Staff) Recruitment Amendment Rules, 2019 notified in GSR 850(E) dated 15-11-2019 and the Department of Posts (Multi-Tasking Staff) Recruitment (Amendment) Rules, 2023 notified in GSR 639 (E) dated 30.08.2023 (Annexure-III-B), Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDSs) with the following conditions are eligible to appear in the Competitive Examination:
i) Educational Qualification and Age limit: There shall be no upper age limit and no minimum educational qualification required for appearing in Competitive Examination from GDS to MTS.
ii) Service eligibility: Three(03) years regular engagement as Gramin Dak Sevaks as on crucial date of eligibility.
iii) Any other eligibility conditions specified in Recruitment Rules shall also apply.

4. Pattern and Syllabus of Examination :- The examination will be conducted as per the revised pattern and syllabus circulated by Directorate vide letter No. 17-08/2018-SPN-I dated 5th April, 2022 as amended vide letter No. 17-08/2018-SPN-I dated 19-12-2022, 24-04-2023 and 10-07-2024 enclosed as Annexure-IV.
   Note:
   i) Those candidates who want to be considered for the posts of Postman and Mail Guard should appear for all the three Papers. Candidates who want to be considered only for the post of MTS need to appear for Paper-I only.

ii) Paper-IV i.e [Data Entry Skill Test (DEST)] for recruitment to the posts of Postman and Mail Guard will be held separately at a later date. GDS candidates who secure minimum qualifying marks in Paper-I and Paper-II (combined i.e. total of marks secured in Paper-I and Paper-II) and also secure minimum qualifying marks in Paper-III separately, will be eligible to appear in Paper-IV (DEST). Number of candidates to be shortlisted for DEST will be 3 times of the total vacancy of Postman and Mail Guard.
iii) The medium for “Skill Test of Data Entry” i.e.. DEST will be in ENGLISH only.
iv) “Skill Test of Data Entry” i.e., DEST will be held on computer for 15 minutes only.
v) Evaluation of performance of “Skill Test of Data Entry” i.e., DEST will be done through the software in accordance with the instructions issued from time to time.
Preference/Option: Applicants are required to indicate the following ‘Option’ for post and ‘order

5. of preference for Division / Unit in a proforma (Annexure-II) (will be called for from the applicants at a later date) as per instructions issued vide DoP letter No. 17-08/2018-SPN-I dated 18.10.2023 followed by clarifications issued Directorate letter dated 31.10.2023. Allotment of Post and Division / Unit will be made on merit-cum-preference basis, subject to availability of vacancy.

i) Option for post: An applicant may give option for one, two or all three posts(PM, MG, MTS) and candidature for selection will be considered only if a post has been opted for subject to fulfilling the eligibility conditions. For example, an applicant will be considered for Mail Guard only if option is given for Mail Guard, otherwise his / her candidature will not be considered while preparing merit list for Mail Guard.
ii) Preference of Division by applicants (For Postman / Mail Guard): The candidates who have applied for the post of Postman / Mail Guard shall give order of preference of Division /Unit for which they intend to be considered. A candidate shall not be considered for a Division / Unit for which preference has not been submitted by him / her.
iii) Preference by candidates appearing in Competitive Examination for the post of MTS:-Candidates applying for the posts of MTS shall submit his/her order of preference for Administrative Offices, DAP(PAOs), Subordinate Office, Civil/Electrical wing etc., wherever vacancy(ies) exist. In addition, they shall also give order of preference for Division/Unit.
iv) In case preference is exercised for a limited number of Divisions/ Units & could not be allocated to one of those limited Divisions/ Units as per merit vis-à-vis vacancy in the category he/she belong to, he / she will not be considered for other recruiting Division / Units not preferred even though a candidate lower in merit/rank to him/her is considered who has opted for that Division/Unit.

6. Centres of Examination: The examination for Bengaluru HQ Region, North Karnataka Region and South Karnataka Region will be held at Bengaluru, Dharwad and Mysuru respectively. The candidates will have to appear from the respective centres of their Region only and under NO circumstances they will be permitted to appear from other regional centres.
7. Application Format: The candidate has to apply in the prescribed application format which is enclosed (Annexure-I.)
8. The guidelines issued vide letter No. 29-6/2019/DD-II dated 10.08.2022 (as modified time to time) by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) regarding grant of scribe and compulsory time to eligible disabled persons shall be followed in letter and spirit.
9. The application of the APS candidates should be sent to the Divisions concerned only and not to Circle Office. The APS Candidates have to appear for the examination from the Regional Centres, to which they belong.
10. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued vide letter No. A-34012/02/2022-DE dated 11.08.2022, letter dated 21.09.2023 and amendment letter No.A-34013/02/2024-DE dated 13-01-2025 to be followed in the conduct of examination at every stage.

11. The Competent Authority reserves the right to cancel this notification or change or modify the schedule, pattern and syllabus of the examination partially or completely at any point of time.
12. The candidates who are willing to apply for the examination should ensure that they fulfill/satisfy all the eligibility criteria /conditions / instructions (mentioned in above paras) for appearing in the examination.
13. All instructions issued by Directorate vide O.M.. No. 17-47/2024-GDS dated 14.10.2024 as amended from time to time regarding Guidelines to deal with the appointment of GDS to the Departmental Posts in the event of pendency of Disciplinary/Criminal Proceedings, Put off duty and currency of punishment on GDS will be followed scrupulously.

14. The applications in the prescribed format along with two recent passport size identical photographs, self-attested copies of community certificate, Disability certificate (if any) received from eligible candidates duly verifying the details should be forwarded to Regional Office concerned by the Divisions of SK/NK/BG HQ Regions for further scrutiny and issue of hall permit. The following should be ensured by DO/RO.
    a) Ensure proper verification of Date of Births, Service Particulars, Community etc w.r.to service records of each candidate & relevant recruitment rules.
    b) Each and every entry made in the application to be scrutinized and verified for their correctness.
    c) Vigilance/Disciplinary clearance to be furnished. If pending, details thereof.
    d) Details of currency of punishment, if any, to be furnished.
    e) Whether applicants are eligible or not and the applications are recommended or otherwise, for issue of hall permits is to be decided by the concerned Regional Offices only.
    f) No provisional candidature of any candidate except Court/CAT case shall be allowed.

15. The List of Candidates permitted to appear for the examination shall be sent to this office by RO on or before 29th June 2026(Monday). If no applications are received, a NIL report may be sent without fail.
16. The schedule of activities furnished above should be strictly followed. Applications received after due date will not be entertained.
17. Circle Office will undertake evaluation and subsequent declaration of results based on the information relating to the candidates, their roll numbers and categories furnished by the Heads of Region/Division/Unit(s). “In case, if it is found subsequently that any of the promoted/selected candidate(s) was not eligible to take the examination under the existing rules/instructions on the subject or for any reasons or in case any mistake is found with regard to evaluation and announcement of results of any candidate for any reason whatsoever his/her name will be deleted from the list of successful candidates, as the case may be.”
18. The results will also be subject to any change in the merit list of successful candidate’s due to any unforeseen reason in accordance with the existing rules and instructions on the subject or orders of Hon’ble CAT/High Court, if any or otherwise. For any modifications so effected subsequently, this office will issue memo accordingly, which will be treated as advance notice. No separate notice will be issued to individual candidates whenever modification/revision/deletion/cancellations are ordered.

19. The CO/ Regional Office concerned after final scrutiny will issue Hall permits to the eligible candidates of each Division / Unit.
20. The applications received after prescribed closing date shall not be entertained under any circumstances
21. After completion of examination process, the ROs will return the applications to the Divisions /Units concerned. All applications may be retained at respective DO/Unit for reference till the prescribed preservation period.
22. This notification may be given wide publicity amongst all eligible candidates working in Divisions/Units.