It is the first fork in every EU career plan: chase the AD5 competition — the classic route to becoming a permanent official — or register for CAST and aim for a contract post that could start in months. Candidates agonise over this choice as if it were binary. Mostly, it is not: the smart play for eligible candidates is usually a sequence, not a selection. But the sequence only makes sense once you see both tracks clearly.
The deep-dives live in the AD5-inclusive preparation guide and the CAST 2026 complete guide; this page is the decision layer on top.
The comparison that matters
| AD5 (permanent official) | CAST (contract agent) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you become | Established EU civil servant | Contract staff (fixed-term, often renewed) |
| When you can apply | Per competition cycle — applications closed, next cycle TBD | Any day — standing Call for Expression of Interest |
| Eligibility | University degree, EU citizenship, languages | By function group; FG IV requires a degree |
| Tests | Reasoning gates + EU Knowledge + Digital Skills + EUFTE | Reasoning only (VR/NR/AR), Language 1 |
| What decides your fate | Ranking: VR 35% + EK 25% + DS 25% + EUFTE 15% | Pass/fail + demand for your profile |
| Competition intensity | Record ~174,900 applicants for 1,490 places | No ranked field — you against the threshold |
| Result | Reserve list, typically valid for years | Pass valid 10 years; fail locks the track for 6 months |
| Time to a desk | Long: competition + list + recruitment | Short: invitation → tests → service selection |
| Career logic | Progression ladder of the permanent civil service | Foothold + experience; springboard to competitions |
When AD5 is the right primary bet
Choose AD5 as your main effort if you are playing the long game for status and progression: the permanent civil service, with its structured career path and the compensation architecture that compounds over decades. It is also the only track where your outcome is entirely a function of your own performance — no waiting for a service to want your profile; the ranking arithmetic is public and trainable. The costs are equally clear: a fixed calendar you do not control, a historic applicant field, and three extra test types to master — including the EUFTE written test in your Language 2.
When CAST is the right primary bet
Choose CAST as your main effort if time-to-desk dominates: you want to be working inside the institutions this year, not holding a lottery ticket for next. It is also the pragmatic primary for profiles the competitions rarely serve directly, for candidates who missed the AD5 window, and for anyone whose CV benefits more from two years of institutional experience than from two more years of exam preparation. The trade-off is the contract itself — fixed-term employment and a ceiling that eventually only a competition can lift.
The composed strategy — what we would actually do
For a candidate eligible for both, the tracks stack almost embarrassingly well:
- Register for CAST this week. One evening, zero cost, starts the clock on invitations. Pick the function groups and profiles your CV genuinely supports.
- Prepare as if for AD5. The reasoning battery is identical, so every timed practice session serves both tracks. AD5's extra components — EU Knowledge, Digital Skills, EUFTE — are yours to schedule on top.
- Treat any CAST invitation as a paid rehearsal. Same TAO platform, same proctoring, same question styles, real stakes — the best simulation money cannot buy. Pass, and you hold a 10-year asset plus possible employment.
- If a contract post lands, take the inside track. Work, learn the machine, and sit the next AD5 or specialist competition as an insider — the route a large share of today's officials actually took.
The only genuinely wrong answer is the common one: preparing for AD5 someday while leaving the CAST registration form unopened. That choice pays nothing and costs an option.
Whichever track leads, the work is the same work — start it with the free practice tests and the complete preparation guide.
Get the free EPSO AD reasoning mock test
A realistic practice PDF — verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. Enter your email and we send it right away.
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
