# EPSO AD5 vs CAST: Which Should You Apply For?
URL: https://eu-now.com/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose
Published: 2026-07-10
Category: EU Careers
Tags: EPSO, AD5, CAST, comparison, EU careers, 2026
Permanent official via AD5 or contract agent via CAST? Tests, timelines, salary logic and career paths compared — and why the real answer is often both.
## Key takeaways
- AD5 recruits permanent officials through a ranked, cyclical competition; CAST recruits contract agents through an always-open, pass/fail selection
- The tests overlap almost entirely on reasoning — AD5 adds EU Knowledge, Digital Skills and the EUFTE essay, plus the ranking pressure of a record applicant field
- CAST is the speed play: no cycle, no ranking, a 10-year pass, and posts across all institutions — at the price of contract-based employment
- For most eligible candidates the strategies compose: register for CAST immediately, prepare for AD5 seriously — the preparation transfers almost one-to-one
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](/blog/epso-preparation-guide-2026) and the [CAST 2026 complete guide](/blog/epso-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 ~174,727 applicants](/blog/epso-ad5-2026-record-174900-candidates) for 1,490 places | No ranked field — you against the threshold |
| **Result** | [Reserve list](/blog/epso-reserve-list-what-happens-after), 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](/blog/eu-career-salary-benefits-what-you-actually-earn) 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](/blog/epso-preparation-guide-2026) 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](/blog/epso-eufte-written-test-guide) in your Language 2.

![AD5, AD7, AST, AST-SC and CAST compared: who each route is for, the minimum requirement and the type of contract — with CAST marked as the only one without a competition cycle.](/photos/blog/epso-entry-routes.en.svg)

## 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:

1. **Register for CAST this week.** One evening, zero cost, starts the clock on invitations. Pick the [function groups and profiles](/blog/epso-cast-2026-complete-guide) your CV genuinely supports.
2. **Prepare as if for AD5.** The reasoning battery is identical, so every [timed practice session](/test) serves both tracks. AD5's extra components — [EU Knowledge](/test/eu_knowledge), [Digital Skills](/test/digital_skills), EUFTE — are yours to schedule on top.
3. **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.
4. **If a contract post lands, take the inside track.** Work, learn the machine, and sit the next AD5 or [specialist competition](/blog/epso-specialist-competitions-2026-complete-guide) 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](/test) and the [complete preparation guide](/blog/epso-preparation-guide-2026).
## FAQ
### What is the main difference between AD5 and CAST?
The nature of the outcome. AD5 is a competition for permanent officials: ranked computer-based tests, a reserve list, and appointment as an established civil servant. CAST selects contract agents: pass/fail reasoning tests when a service pre-selects you, leading to fixed-term contracts. One is a career status, the other a contract type — with corresponding differences in security, progression and process length.
### Which is easier to get?
CAST, structurally. Its tests are pass/fail — you need a safe margin over the thresholds, not a top score against 170,000+ rivals — and selection is driven by profile demand rather than a single annual ranking. But 'easier' cuts both ways: a CAST invitation only comes when a service is already interested in your profile, so candidates in low-demand fields may pass and wait. AD5 is harder to win but is a pure function of your performance.
### Do AD5 and CAST use the same tests?
The reasoning core is the same battery: verbal (20 questions/35 minutes), numerical (10/20) and abstract reasoning (10/10), with the same pass marks (10/20 verbal; 10/20 combined numerical+abstract). AD5 adds EU Knowledge (30/40), Digital Skills (40/30) and the EUFTE written test in Language 2 — the components that actually rank you. CAST stops at reasoning, in Language 1 only.
### Can a contract agent become a permanent official?
Not automatically — but the pathway is well-trodden. Contract agents sit the same open competitions as everyone else, with the considerable advantages of institutional experience, insider knowledge of the work, and networks. Many of today's officials entered as contract agents. What CAST buys is proximity: you compete for the permanent post from inside the machine rather than outside it.
### Should I apply to both AD5 and CAST?
If you are eligible for AD5, almost certainly yes. CAST registration costs an evening and nothing else; the reasoning preparation transfers one-to-one; a CAST invitation doubles as a full-dress rehearsal under real proctored conditions; and a CAST post pays a salary while you wait out the AD5 calendar. The tracks are complements, not substitutes.
## Official sources
- EU Careers — EPSO testing (official): https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/selection-procedure/epso-tests
- EU Careers — CAST Permanent (Call for Expression of Interest): https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/cast-permanent

## This article in other languages
- French: https://eu-now.com/fr/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose/llms.txt
- German: https://eu-now.com/de/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose/llms.txt
- Spanish: https://eu-now.com/es/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose/llms.txt
- Italian: https://eu-now.com/it/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose/llms.txt

Source of record: https://eu-now.com/blog/epso-ad5-vs-cast-which-to-choose — published by EU-now (eu-now.com), which is not EPSO and not affiliated with the European Commission.