Civil Service Bureau - Common Recruitment Examination and Basic Law Test

The application period for the coming CRE and BLT scheduled to be held on 5 and 12 October 2019 in Hong Kong was closed at 5:00 p.m. on 15 August 2019 (Hong Kong time).

Applicants for the examination in Hong Kong will be arranged to sit the examination on one of the above examination dates according to their choice of examination papers. Any requests for change of examination date / venue will NOT be considered. The arrangements on how different groups of candidates are assigned to sit the examination on the above examination dates will be announced in mid September 2019.

An e-mail will be sent to candidates notifying them of the relevant examination details. Candidates who are assigned, according to the arrangements to be announced on this webpage in mid September, to sit the examination on 5 October 2019 but do not receive the e-mail by 23 September 2019 should immediately contact the Civil Service Examinations Unit (CSEU) by phone at (852) 2537 6429 or by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk. Those being assigned to sit the examination on 12 October 2019 should immediately contact the CSEU if they do not receive the e-mail by 30 September 2019.

Persons who have applied for the coming CRE and BLT in Hong Kong in October 2019 should read thoroughly the "Notes for Applicants" and "Frequently Asked Questions".

The CRE and BLT outside Hong Kong

For the convenience of those studying or residing outside Hong Kong, this round of CRE and BLT is also scheduled to be held on 7 December 2019 in seven other cities, namely Beijing, London, San Francisco, New York, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney. Applications for taking the examination outside Hong Kong will be called from 21 September to 4 October 2019. The application details and an on-line application system will be available on this webpage between 21 September and 4 October 2019.

Persons who wish to apply for the CRE and BLT outside Hong Kong in December 2019 should also read the "Frequently Asked Questions" for more information.

What is CRE

The CRE consists of three 45-minute papers, namely Use of English (UE), Use of Chinese (UC) and Aptitude Test (AT), in multiple-choice format. The UE and UC papers assess proficiency in English and Chinese languages respectively whereas the AT paper assesses reasoning abilities. Candidates' results in the UE and UC papers are classified as Level 2, Level 1 or Fail, with Level 2 being the highest. Results in the AT paper are classified as Pass or Fail. Level 2 and Level 1 results of the two language papers and Pass result of the AT paper are of permanent validity.

Level 5 or above in English Language of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE) is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. Level 5 or above in Chinese Language of the HKDSEE is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) will NOT be arranged to take the UE and / or UC paper(s).

Level 4 in English Language of the HKDSEE is accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UE paper of the CRE. Level 4 in Chinese Language of the HKDSEE is accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) may wish to take this into account in deciding whether they need to take the UE and / or UC paper(s) having regard to the requirements of the civil service post(s) in which they are interested.

Grade C or above in Use of English of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE) or in English Language of the General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) (GCE A Level) is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. Grade C or above in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the HKALE is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) will NOT be arranged to take the UE and / or UC paper(s).

Grade D in Use of English of the HKALE or in English Language of the GCE A Level is accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UE paper of the CRE. Grade D in Chinese Language and Culture or Chinese Language and Literature of the HKALE is accepted as equivalent to Level 1 in the UC paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above result(s) may wish to take this into account in deciding whether they need to take the UE and / or UC paper(s) having regard to the requirements of the civil service post(s) in which they are interested.

An overall band of 6.5 or above with no subtest score below band 6 obtained in the same sitting in the Academic Module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) within the 2-year validity period of the test is accepted as equivalent to Level 2 in the UE paper of the CRE. Applicants with the above results may wish to take this into account in deciding whether they need to take the UE paper.

CRE and Civil Service Recruitment

In general, applicants for civil service posts at degree or professional level are required to obtain either Level 2 or Level 1 in the UE and UC papers of the CRE for meeting the language proficiency requirements as stipulated by individual recruiting departments / grades in the relevant recruitment advertisements. Applicants with Level 2 in the UE and UC papers are considered as meeting the general language proficiency requirements of all degree or professional grades. Applicants for some of these posts are also required to obtain a Pass in the AT paper in addition to the requisite results in the UE and UC papers.

Some civil service grades (e.g. disciplined services grades) offer different entry pay points to recruits according to their academic qualifications. Degree holders without the requisite CRE results may still apply for these posts but will not be eligible for the degree pay point.

Persons who wish to apply for civil service posts at degree or professional level should first obtain the requisite CRE results unless otherwise specified in the relevant recruitment advertisements. Applicants may choose to attempt all, any one, or any combination of the papers. Applicants are advised to ascertain the requirements of the civil service post(s) in which they are interested and other examination results accepted as equivalent to CRE results before deciding on which paper(s) they should attempt.

The CRE is held independently of the recruitment process for any civil service post. Persons who wish to apply for civil service posts should apply to the recruiting departments / grades direct. The acquisition of the requisite CRE results does not imply that a candidate has fully met the entry requirements of any civil service post at degree or professional level. Vetting of academic and / or professional qualifications will be carried out by the recruiting departments / grades which may also conduct separate examinations / interviews in addition to the CRE.

What is BLT

The BLT is a 20-minute bilingual paper comprising 15 multiple-choice questions. The paper assesses candidates' knowledge of the Basic Law (BL). There is no passing mark set for the BLT and the full mark of the paper is 100.

BLT and Civil Service Recruitment

For the purpose of heightening public awareness of the BL and promoting a culture of learning of the BL in the community, applicants for civil service posts will be assessed on their BL knowledge. The result of the BLT will be one of the considerations to assess the suitability of a candidate. The result of the BLT is of permanent validity. Candidates may, if they wish to, take the BLT again when applications for the next round of test are called.

The BLT is held independently of the recruitment process for any civil service posts. Prospective candidates for civil service posts of degree / professional grades are reminded to check the announcement by the Civil Service Bureau of the dates of upcoming BLTs should they plan to take the test. The acquisition of the BLT result does not imply that a candidate has fully met the entry requirements of any civil service post at degree or professional level.

For more details about assessment of BL knowledge in civil service recruitment, please click here.

Examination Format and Sample Questions

Performance Pledges

Enquiries

Enquiries may be directed to the CSEU by phone at (852) 2537 6429, by e-mail to csbcseu@csb.gov.hk, or by post to Room 718, 7/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong.