How to get an ADRE Grade III or Grade IV government job in Assam (2026)

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Last checked against official sources on 20 Aug 2026.

If you want a state government job in Assam and you have passed HSLC, HS or a degree, ADRE is the single biggest door open to you. One application, no fee, and thousands of posts across dozens of departments. This guide explains what ADRE actually is, who runs it, who can apply, what the paper looks like, and how hard the competition really is.

আজিৰ পৰাই প্ৰস্তুতি আৰম্ভ কৰক।

What ADRE is, and who conducts it

ADRE stands for the Assam Direct Recruitment Examination. It is a single common examination that fills Class III (Grade III) and Class IV (Grade IV) posts across many different departments of the Government of Assam at the same time, instead of every department running its own tiny recruitment.

It runs on a law: The Assam Direct Recruitment Commission for Analogous Posts in Class-III and Class-IV Act, 2021, and the Assam Direct Recruitment for Class-III and Class-IV Analogous Posts Rules, 2022. Under that Act there are two separate commissions, both sitting at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Jawaharnagar, Khanapara, Guwahati 22:

  • State Level Recruitment Commission for Class-III Posts (SLRC Class III), which advertised the Grade III posts.
  • State Level Recruitment Commission for Class-IV Posts (SLRC Class IV), which advertised the Grade IV posts.

The examination machinery, the application portal, admit cards and results are run through the Assam State School Education Board (ASSEB, the erstwhile Board of Secondary Education, Assam) at sebaonline.org, and mirrored on the Government of Assam website assam.gov.in. So when people say “SEBA is conducting ADRE”, what they mean is that the Commission issues the notice and ASSEB hosts the exam and the portal.

Grade III versus Grade IV: what the jobs are

Grade III posts are the clerical and assistant grade: junior assistants, computer operators, stenographers, drivers, library staff and similar posts across departments. Grade IV posts are the support grade: peon, chowkidar, khalasi, attendant and similar posts.

On pay, the official advertisements say only that pay band and grade pay follow the Assam ROP, 2017, and that the exact pay band and grade pay for every single post would be published with the detailed vacancy list before the written examination. That is the honest answer: your pay depends on which specific post you are finally allotted, and the Commission publishes that table separately. Do not trust a single “ADRE salary” figure quoted on a coaching page. Open the detailed vacancy PDF for your cycle.

Eligibility at a glance

These are the figures from the last full cycle (advertisements dated Oct 2023, examinations held in 2024). Numbers such as the “as on” date for age move every cycle, so treat this as the shape of the rules and confirm against the live notification.
Age (2024 cycle) Not less than 18 years and not more than 40 years as on 01-01-2023, for both Class III and Class IV.
Age relaxation 5 years for SC and ST, 3 years for OBC and MOBC, 2 years for Ex-Servicemen, 10 years for persons with disabilities.
Age proof Calculated only from the HSLC or Matriculation admit card or pass certificate. Nothing else is accepted.
Grade III qualification Three categories: Bachelor’s degree level (including degree with a six month computer certificate, degree with computer plus stenography, and degree in Library Science with computer), HSSLC level (including HSSLC Science), and HSLC level with a valid LMV driving licence for the Driver posts.
Grade IV qualification Three categories: HSLC passed, HSLC passed with an ITI certificate in wireman, electrician, fitter, welder, machinist or electronics mechanic from a Government of Assam approved institute, and read up to Class VIII.
Grade IV maximum qualification There is a ceiling. The advertisement says the maximum eligibility qualification for all Class IV posts is HSSLC (Class 12) passed, and anyone holding a higher qualification on the date of application is not eligible.
Employment exchange Applicants must have a registration number in an Employment Exchange in Assam.
Application fee None. The advertisements state clearly that there is no application fee for any category.

The path, step by step

flowchart TD
  s0["Get your Employment Exchange registration"]
  s1["Keep your HSLC admit card and pass"]
  s2["Watch two websites only"]
  s3["Apply online in the window"]
  s4["Note your unique application number"]
  s5["Sit the written examination"]
  s6["Check the answer key and file objections"]
  s7["Clear the cut-off, then the second stage"]
  s8["Document verification, then allotment"]
  s0 --> s1
  s1 --> s2
  s2 --> s3
  s3 --> s4
  s4 --> s5
  s5 --> s6
  s6 --> s7
  s7 --> s8
  • Get your Employment Exchange registration done now. It takes a day, it costs nothing, and every cycle people miss the form because they do not have the number ready.
  • Keep your HSLC admit card and pass certificate safe. Your age is calculated from that document and no other. If it is lost, start the duplicate process today, not in the week the form opens.
  • Watch two websites only: assam.gov.in and sebaonline.org. The advertisement, vacancy lists, admit cards, answer keys and results all appear there. Everything else is a repost.
  • Apply online in the window. In the last cycle the forms were open from 10 Nov to 29 Dec 2023, online only. Once you submit, there is no editing, no correction and no resubmission, so fill it slowly.
  • Note your unique application number. You need it plus your password for admit card, OMR copy, answer key objection and result.
  • Sit the written examination. Different qualification categories sit on different dates and in different papers.
  • Check the answer key and file objections. The Commission publishes a scanned copy of your own OMR sheet and opens an objection window on the provisional key. Use it.
  • Clear the cut-off, then the second stage. Grade III shortlisted candidates sit a skill test (computer, stenography or driving as applicable). Grade IV shortlisted candidates sit an interview or skill test.
  • Document verification, then allotment. Selection is on merit within the reservation rules, and in the last cycle departments were allotted to selected candidates by draw of lots by the Commission.

The exam pattern that was actually used

Grade III (Class III), 2024 cycle

The Commission’s marking pattern notice of 14 Sep 2024 set it out exactly:
HSSLC level paper 15-09-2024, 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. 150 questions of 1 mark. Total 150 marks.
Bachelor degree level paper 29-09-2024, 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon. 125 questions of 1 mark plus 25 questions of 2 marks. Total 175 marks.
HSLC level paper (Driver posts) 29-09-2024, 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM. 150 questions of 1 mark. Total 150 marks.
Negative marking Yes. One quarter of the marks allotted to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. Marking more than one option counts as wrong.
Second stage Shortlisted candidates appear for a skill test and other test of 25 marks.

Grade IV (Class IV), 2024 cycle

From the Commission’s written examination notice of 27 Sep 2024:
Paper 135 multiple choice questions of 1 mark each, 2 hours 30 minutes. Total 135 marks.
Negative marking 0.25 for each incorrect answer, and for marking more than one option.
Subjects English, Social Studies, Mathematics, General Knowledge, Mental Ability and Logical Reasoning.
Standard HSLC level for the HSLC and HSLC plus ITI categories. Elementary School Pass Level of SCERT for the read up to Class VIII category.
Languages Assamese, Bengali, English, Bodo and Hindi.
Second stage Interview or skill test of 15 marks, with shortlisting in a 1:2 ratio against vacancies.

How competitive it honestly is

The best answer is not a rumour about how many lakhs applied. It is the official cut-off list, because that tells you the score you actually have to beat. Here are real numbers from the Commission’s cut-off notices dated 6 Mar 2025 for ADRE 2024, for the unreserved category:
Grade III, HSSLC level 119.50 out of 150. That is roughly 80 percent, with negative marking in play.
Grade III, Bachelor degree level 137.75 out of 175, roughly 79 percent.
Grade III, Driver (HSLC level) 127.50 out of 150.
Grade IV, Paper I (HSLC) 91.50 out of 135.
Grade IV, Paper II (read up to Class VIII) 99.75 out of 135.

STRAIGHT ANSWER

Read that again. To be provisionally qualified for the next stage in the general category you needed about four out of every five marks, in a paper where wrong answers cost you. Guessing wildly is not a strategy in ADRE, it is a way to lose. Accuracy beats coverage.

The other honest thing to say is how long it takes. In the last cycle the advertisement came on 27 and 30 Oct 2023, the written papers were held in Sep and Oct 2024, the written cut-offs came out in Mar 2025, and the Class IV final results were declared on 15 Oct 2025 with department allotment notified in Nov 2025. Two years from form to posting. Plan your life around that, and keep preparing for other exams in parallel.

On volume: the last cycle advertised 7,600 tentative Class III posts and 5,000 tentative Class IV posts, with no application fee at all. That combination, a huge number of posts, no fee, and qualification levels from Class VIII up to a degree, is exactly why ADRE draws more applicants than any other exam in Assam. We have not found an official document stating the total number of applications, so we will not quote one. Anyone who quotes a precise figure without an official source is guessing.

What about ADRE 3.0

A third ADRE cycle has been widely discussed in Assam. Until the Commission publishes an advertisement on assam.gov.in and sebaonline.org, nothing about vacancy counts, dates or eligibility is settled. Prepare on the assumption that the pattern will resemble the last cycle, and verify every detail the day the notification drops.

Sources

Verified on 20 Aug 2026 against these official documents:

Recruitment rules, ages, vacancy counts and exam patterns change from cycle to cycle. The official notification always wins over anything written here. Uttirno is an independent preparation platform and is not affiliated with any government body.

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