EPSO Digital Skills Test 2026: Format, Topics and How to Prepare

The EPSO digital skills test is one of the Part 2 tests of the EPSO AD5 2026 competition (EPSO/AD/427/26), together with the EU knowledge test and the written essay (EUFTE). Many candidates focus only on the reasoning tests of Part 1 and leave it for later. That is a mistake: the digital skills test carries 30% of the preliminary combined score and 25% of the final score — as much as EU knowledge.

The test at a glance

• 40 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes — about 45 seconds per question.
• Pass mark: 20/40.
• Taken in your language 2 (English, French or German for most candidates), not in your mother tongue.
• Weight: 30% of the preliminary combined score, 25% of the final combined score.

Because the test is short and fast, speed and familiarity with the vocabulary matter as much as knowledge.

What it measures: the DigComp framework

The test is based on DigComp 2.2, the EU's reference framework for citizens' digital competence. It has five areas, and you should expect questions from all of them:

1. Information and data literacy — searching efficiently (Boolean operators, site: and filetype:), judging sources, reading charts critically, basic spreadsheet functions.
2. Communication and collaboration — e-mail etiquette (Cc/Bcc), shared documents and permissions, video meetings, e-signatures.
3. Digital content creation — file formats (PDF/A, PNG vs JPEG), accessible documents, copyright and Creative Commons licences.
4. Safety — phishing, strong passwords and two-factor authentication, backups, GDPR basics, protecting health and well-being.
5. Problem solving — common error messages, choosing the right tool for a task, keeping skills up to date.

It is not an IT specialist test. Questions describe everyday office situations and ask what a competent user would do.

Three sample questions

1. Spreadsheet. Cells B2:B6 contain 10, 20, (empty), 30, 40. What does =AVERAGE(B2:B6) return? 25 — AVERAGE ignores empty cells, so it divides 100 by 4, not by 5.

2. Safety. You receive an e-mail asking you to log in at eu-login-security.com to keep your account active. What is the strongest warning sign? The domain — official EU services use europa.eu addresses. A logo or a polite tone proves nothing.

3. Licences. A dataset is published under CC BY 4.0. Can you reuse it in a commercial report? Yes, if you credit the source — non-commercial restrictions would appear as "NC" in the licence name.

Why candidates lose points

• Time pressure: 45 seconds per question leaves no room to hesitate. Practise against the clock.
• Language 2 vocabulary: "attachment", "permissions", "version history", "to encrypt" — know the terms in the language you will be tested in.
• Overthinking: the expected answer is the standard good practice, not an edge case.
• EU-specific rules: GDPR (72-hour breach notification), eIDAS signatures and accessibility requirements come up regularly.

A 4-week plan

• Week 1: read the DigComp areas and list the terms you don't know in your language 2.
• Week 2: practise by area, 15–20 questions a day, and read every explanation — including for the questions you got right.
• Week 3: work on your weak areas (often spreadsheets, file formats and licences).
• Week 4: full timed simulations of 40 questions in 30 minutes.

Practise now

Start with our free timed test, which includes digital skills questions. With full access you get 80 digital skills questions covering the five DigComp areas, each with a detailed explanation, plus a Part 2 final exam timed exactly like the real one (40 questions in 30 minutes, pass mark 20/40).

👉 Discover the AD5 preparation pack on qweega.eu