COMPRO Exam 2026: Nigeria's Civil Service CBT Guide

2026 Cycle Status: Read This Before Paying or Registering

As of 26 July 2026, the dates in the latest public 2026 COMPRO conduct circular have passed. The OHCSF conduct circular dated 16 June 2026 set 30 June 2026 as the registration deadline and scheduled both junior and senior CBT examinations for Wednesday, 22 July 2026. That circular is a timetable; it is not evidence that every centre operated as planned or that results are available.

If you registered for the 2026 cycle, use your MDA and the OHCSF circulars page for a result, rescheduling, mop-up or other candidate-specific notice. If you did not register, do not send a late fee or rely on an old portal screen unless OHCSF or your MDA issues a new instruction. The 2026 rules and syllabus remain useful for preparation, but a future cycle can change its fee, dates, venues or syllabus.

This guide separates facts published by OHCSF and the COMPRO portal from figures repeated by vendors. The reviewed official 2026 call circulars, conduct circular and public senior syllabus do not publish a universal question count, examination duration or pass mark.

What COMPRO Is and Who Runs It

Chapter 3 of the Public Service Rules 2021 distinguishes the Compulsory Confirmation Examinations for senior officers, COMPRO I and III, from the Compulsory Confirmation/Promotion Examination for junior officers, COMPRO II. These are the official categories. Labels such as Basic, Bachelor's or Master's COMPRO are not used in the PSR or the 2026 call circulars.

The 2026 call and conduct circulars identify the Career Management Office of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) as the coordinating office. OHCSF's Learning and Development Department says it plans and coordinates COMPRO I and III and COMPRO II. Your MDA nominates and processes candidates, but it does not replace OHCSF as the examination coordinator.

COMPRO is now a CBT exercise. The Federal Ministry of Information described the 2023 junior examination as the first CBT COMPRO for junior officers. Its 2024 report records OHCSF working with JAMB on the CBT, and the 2026 conduct circular specifies approved JAMB-managed CBT centres. Old advice about handwriting seven essay answers does not describe the published 2026 format.

Senior or Junior: Choose the Correct Track

The 2026 call circulars divide candidates by grade level, eligibility and cadre. Use this map before choosing study materials.

The 17 April 2026 senior call circular lists administrative officers and professionals on first appointment, certain officers promoted from junior posts but not confirmed, specified transfers from scheduled services, unconfirmed professionals, executive officers on first appointment and unconfirmed assistant executive officers promoted from junior posts. Grade level alone does not prove that a person should register: both 2026 circulars require MDA nomination, and each says an officer must have served at least six months.

The 17 April 2026 junior call circular covers GL 01 through 06. Senior Police and Para-Military candidates have Criminal Law plus service-specific orders, instructions and practical duties; senior civilians have Common Law. Junior Para-Military candidates may have a Special Paper instead of Office Routine. Ask your MDA to confirm the exact cadre paper rather than buying a generic package.

PSR 030104 and 030105: Different Failures, Different Deadlines

The current rule text is in Chapter 3 of PSR 2021.

• PSR 030104 says an officer who fails the examination after three consecutive attempts must resign or withdraw from the service. The Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office, OHCSF is to ensure compliance.
• PSR 030105 says an officer who fails to take the confirmation examination after three years from first appointment must resign from the service. It separately says officers must take the examination within two years from taking up their appointments in the Ministry or Extra-Ministerial Office.
• PSR 030106 says the confirmation examination is held once a year.

The 2026 call circulars repeat the consequences in 030104 and 030105 and direct Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Extra-Ministerial Offices to enforce them. Do not treat the three-attempt rule as permission to postpone the first sitting: failure to sit has its own two-year instruction and three-year consequence. Ask HR to document how the dates apply to your appointment record.

What the Published 2026 Syllabus Covers

The COMPRO resource centre publishes separate 2026 senior syllabi for Civilian MDAs and several security or regulatory services. Use the document for your own cadre; the civilian outline is not a substitute for the NPF, NIS, NCS, NSCDC, FRSC or another listed service syllabus.

The public 2026 Senior COMPRO Civilian MDA syllabus has four detailed modules:

1. Public Service Rules: appointments and leaving service, prescribed examinations, emoluments, performance management, rewards, training, discipline, petitions, leave, medical procedures, allowances and other PSR topics.
2. Financial Regulations: financial authorities, revenue, recurrent and capital expenditure, payments, bank accounts, cash books, adjustments, imprest, custody of public money and controlled receipt or licence books.
3. ICT Appreciation: computer basics, common software, internet and email, data management, cybersecurity, troubleshooting, collaboration tools, presentations and digital learning.
4. Common Law for civilians: common-law principles, rights, evidence, due process, self-defence, public order, search and seizure, civil liberties, criminal procedure, accountability and ethics.

The same PDF also includes a Criminal Law module labelled for senior Para-Military candidates, but the resource centre provides cadre-specific files. Follow the file for your service and any later MDA briefing.

The April senior circular lists General Paper, but the public senior syllabus does not provide a detailed General Paper outline. Do not turn an unofficial current-affairs list into an official syllabus. Junior candidates should follow the subjects in their call circular and any junior or cadre material supplied through OHCSF or their MDA, not the senior civilian PDF.

For Financial Regulations, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation publishes Financial Regulations revised to January 2009. Its resource page separately labels the 2023 revision as a draft. Unless a later official COMPRO instruction prescribes another edition, use the published 2009 document named by the current resource set and confirm any MDA amendment.

Reference Materials: COMPRO Is Not Fully Open Book

The rule is conditional. PSR 030107 allows reference to public-service books or related sources during the confirmation examination, but says textbooks and reference books are not allowed for General Paper, Office Procedure/Routine or Special Paper. The 2026 call circulars repeat that restriction.

PSR 030108 lists the reference books for components where reference use is allowed:

• GL 06 and below: Public Service Rules, Financial Regulations, Civil Service Handbook, Federal Establishment Circulars, and Notes for Guidance Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
• GL 07 and above: Public Service Rules, Financial Regulations, Civil Service Handbook, Federal Establishment Circulars, and Notes for Guidance Nos. 1, 2 and 5.

A commercial past-question booklet is not on either approved list. Practise finding rules quickly in the correct documents, but also rehearse without references for General Paper and the applicable Office Procedure/Routine or Special Paper. Follow centre instructions on what may physically enter the CBT room.

The 2026 Registration and Accreditation Workflow

The April circulars provide a more useful workflow than a vendor's payment message. For the completed 2026 cycle, candidates were instructed to:

1. Obtain nomination through their MDA and confirm at least six months of service.
2. Select GL 07 and above for senior COMPRO or GL 06 and below for junior COMPRO on the portal.
3. Pay the applicable 2026 fee through REMITA to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation for COMPRO examinations.
4. Complete the form, upload a recent passport photograph and upload the first appointment letter.
5. Print two copies of the completed form.
6. Have the slip countersigned by the Head of Department and endorsed by the Director of Human Resources or Administration.
7. Attach the REMITA Reference Receipt and submit documents through the stated MDA and OHCSF process.
8. Complete accreditation; the circulars say unaccredited candidates cannot sit.

The COMPRO registration portal also displays accreditation items such as the signed application printout, REMITA receipt and appointment letter. It displays service number, file number, passport in service uniform and full uniform requirements that are especially relevant to uniformed cadres. The June conduct circular expressly directed Police and Para-Military officers to wear uniform in the examination hall. Civilian candidates should not infer a uniform requirement; confirm their own checklist with HR.

Because the published 2026 deadline and examination date have passed, use this workflow as a document checklist, not permission to make a late payment. Wait for a current official notice before acting on a new cycle.

What Official Sources Do Not Confirm

Three vendor claims deserve special caution:

• A fixed 40 percent or 50 percent pass mark: none is published in the reviewed 2026 call circulars, conduct circular or public senior syllabus.
• Basic, Bachelor's and Master's COMPRO levels: the official structure is senior COMPRO I and III and junior COMPRO II, with grade and cadre distinctions.
• A universal question count or duration: the reviewed 2026 documents do not publish either figure. Candidate-specific instructions may do so later.

Do not convert a seller's promise, an old examination format or one candidate's recollection into a current rule. Use third-party questions only for retrieval practice, and check every explanation against the PSR, Financial Regulations and your applicable syllabus.

A Six-Week Preparation Plan

Week 1: Lock down your track. Save the senior or junior circular and the correct cadre syllabus. Write down your GL, appointment date, service period, cadre papers and reference restrictions. Ask HR about anything that does not match.

Weeks 2 and 3: Build a PSR map. Study Chapter 3 first, especially 030104 through 030108. Then work through the syllabus topics. Practise locating rules by chapter and rule number instead of memorising isolated summaries.

Week 4: Work through Financial Regulations. Use the published 2009 OAGF document unless an official instruction names another edition. Cover authorities, revenue, expenditure, vouchers, bank reconciliation, cash books, imprest, custody and controlled books.

Week 5: Prepare the remaining cadre papers. Senior civilians should follow the ICT and Common Law modules. Police and Para-Military candidates should use the correct Criminal Law and service-specific syllabus. Junior candidates should cover English, ICT, General Paper and Office Routine or Special Paper; SGL 03 Clerical Assistants also need Elementary Mathematics.

free COMPRO practice questionsPractice questions with detailed explanations

Official Source Checklist

• OHCSF circulars page: later result, mop-up, rescheduling or next-cycle notices.
• 2026 senior call circular: senior eligibility, subjects, fee, registration and reference rules.
• 2026 junior call circular: junior eligibility, subjects, fee, registration and reference rules.
• 2026 conduct circular: the passed 2026 deadline and scheduled date, centre model and uniform instruction.
• Public Service Rules 2021: current confirmation-examination rules and official COMPRO categories.
• COMPRO resource centre: published 2026 senior cadre syllabi.
• OAGF resources: published 2009 Financial Regulations and the separately labelled 2023 draft.

Start by identifying your exact track and saving its official documents. Then practise only the subjects and rules that apply to your grade and cadre.