TNPSC Answer Key: Group I Tentative Key, Challenge Rules

The TNPSC Group I 2026 tentative answer key is out. It was hosted on 6 October 2026 for the Prelims held on 27 September 2026, and online challenges closed at 5.45 p.m. on 13 October 2026. TNPSC's stated rule is that final answer keys are published only after the entire selection process is completed. So the final Group I 2026 key will not appear until the cycle ends.

How does TNPSC publish answer keys?

All objective-exam keys are listed on the Objective Type (With Answer Keys) page. Each key is a specimen question booklet with the right answer tick-marked in each question. For Group I 2026 there is one subject: General Studies with Aptitude and Mental Ability (subject code 497). You must challenge by the question number in this specimen booklet, whatever code your own booklet had.

How do you challenge a TNPSC answer key?

The rules on the Group I 2026 key page are:

• Online only, through tnpsc.gov.in, within seven days. Representations sent by post or email get no attention.
• Hard deadline: nothing made online after 5.45 p.m. on 13 October 2026 is considered.
• Evidence: objections and views received with evidence go to an Expert Committee, which finalises the key.
• Questions already referred: sometimes TNPSC sends certain questions to the Expert Committee on its own. In 2025 it did this for questions 6, 11, 49, 88, 112, 175 and 199, and candidates could still send views on them with evidence.

How do you estimate your Group I Prelims score?

The Prelims has 200 questions for 300 marks in 3 hours: 175 questions at degree standard and 25 at SSLC standard. The notification sets the minimum qualifying marks at 90 for SCs, SC(A)s, STs, MBCs/DCs, BC(OBCM)s and BCMs, and 120 for Others. Questions where you darkened more than one bubble are not evaluated. The Prelims is only a screening test. TNPSC admits 20 times the number of vacancies to the Main exam by reservation group, plus everyone tied at the cut-off. Prelims marks do not count in the final ranking.

What happens after the key?

The Main exam has descriptive papers, so it has no answer key. The final keys and marks come at the very end of the cycle. In the 2025 cycle, the final result came out on 16 July 2026 and the final Prelims key was posted after it, on 16 September 2026. TNPSC also does not give out marks or answer-paper copies before the entire selection process is over. After that, copies of OMR sheets can be downloaded from the website on payment.

TNPSC answer key dates in past cycles