Civil Service Judgement Test Answers: Why No Key Exists
Luca from Candidate Falcon
Editorial Team
You are about to take the Civil Service Judgement Test (CSJT), or you have just failed it, and you want the answers. This guide explains why no genuine answer key exists, how the test is actually scored, what the "questions and answers" PDFs and Reddit threads really contain, and how to reason through the ratings so your judgement shows.
We label every source: what GOV.UK says, what candidates report and what is Candidate Falcon's own view.
The short answer
- There is no published answer key. GOV.UK does not release the ratings it treats as right, and it gives no feedback on individual questions "for security reasons".
- Your score is a percentile. It compares you with a representative group of applicants, so the same answers can score differently against a different group.
- The scenarios depend on the job. You get three scenarios for each behaviour chosen for the role, so two candidates can see different sets.
- 15% is a self-assessment of how ambitious, motivated and flexible you are, with no right answers.
- What works is understanding what each rating means and what the behaviour being tested looks like at your grade.
How the CSJT is scored
GOV.UK's guidance describes two parts.
1. The self-assessment (15% of the score). You rate how ambitious, motivated and flexible you are at work. GOV.UK tells you to answer honestly, because you may be asked about your answers at interview.
2. The scenarios. You see three scenarios for each Civil Service behaviour chosen for the job. Each scenario has four possible actions, and you rate every action on this scale:
| Rating | GOV.UK's meaning |
|---|---|
| Counterproductive | An unacceptable action that would make the situation worse |
| Ineffective | A poor action that would not help the situation |
| Fairly Effective | A useful action that would be of some help to the situation |
| Effective | A good action that would help to resolve the situation |
Each action is judged on its own, and you can use the same rating more than once. Scenarios for three of the behaviours are short videos, with subtitles and British Sign Language; the rest are text. The test is not timed, and most people take two to four minutes per scenario.
Your result is a percentile: a score of 44 means you did better than 44% of the comparison group. Each job level has a minimum standard, and after the closing date the recruiter may raise the pass mark for that job. Meeting the minimum does not by itself take you to the next stage. Interviewers also receive a report with suggested interview questions, according to GOV.UK's guidance for recruiters.
Why a CSJT answer key cannot work
Your set of scenarios is not everyone's
The behaviours depend on the job advert, and the scenarios follow the behaviours. A list of "answers" from someone else's test only helps if you get the same scenarios, in the same order, and nobody can tell you that.
The score is relative
A percentile depends on the comparison group as well as on you. Candidates on Reddit report swings that a fixed key could not explain: one says a friend scored better than 46%, then 68%, then 21% on the same test; another went from 66% to 4% six months apart after changing how they approached it.
The practice test is not scored
Candidates are often puzzled that the free practice test gives a similar middle result whatever they answer. One tried deliberately poor answers and still got a middle score. GOV.UK explains why: "The practice test is not scored." It shows the look and feel of the test, not a key.
What the "answers" online really contain
- "Questions and answers" PDFs use their authors' own scenarios and their own ratings. They can teach the format, but they are not official questions or the official key.
- YouTube videos walk through practice scenarios with the presenter's ratings. Useful for hearing reasoning, but again one person's view.
- Paid practice packs write their own scenarios and keys. Quality varies, and none has access to the real key.
- Reddit threads are honest about frustration and useful for patterns, but they do not contain answers. When someone suggests a shortcut, remember that your self-assessment and your judgement can come back at interview, and a supervised retest is possible.
If a page claims to have the real CSJT questions with the official answers, treat that as a red flag.
What candidates report
From threads on r/TheCivilService between 2024 and 2026:
- Strong scores elsewhere, low here. One candidate scored 94% on Casework and 82% on Numerical, then 2% on the Judgement Test. Another passed Casework and Numerical for an HMRC caseworker role, scored better than 31% on the CSJT and was below the standard.
- Experience is not enough on its own. Serving civil servants and experienced managers describe failing it, which feeds the view that it rewards a specific way of thinking rather than general competence.
- The feedback is by behaviour. Candidates share reports that rate each behaviour, add levels for Aspiration and Engagement, and give short development tips. Use those to see which behaviour pulled you down.
- Improvement is possible. One candidate, after several failures, scored 93% once they understood what the Civil Service expects.
These are individual reports, not official statistics.
How to reason through the ratings
This is Candidate Falcon's own approach, based on GOV.UK's rating definitions and the behaviour descriptions.
- Judge each action alone. Ask what would happen if you did only this. Do not rank the four actions against each other.
- Use the whole scale. Two actions can both be Effective, and some scenarios have no Counterproductive action. A candidate on r/CivilServiceUK asked whether every rating must appear once; GOV.UK's answer is no.
- Find the behaviour being tested. A scenario about a missed deadline is usually testing Delivering at Pace; one about a frustrated customer, Managing a Quality Service. Rate actions by how well they show that behaviour at your grade.
- Effective actions usually solve the problem at the right level. They gather the facts, act within your authority, involve the right people, keep others informed and protect the service.
- Counterproductive actions make it worse. Ignoring the problem, hiding a mistake, breaking a rule, blaming someone or escalating everything without trying to resolve it.
- Ineffective is not the same as harmful. An action that does nothing useful, such as waiting for someone else to notice, is usually Ineffective rather than Counterproductive.
A worked example (our own scenario)
You are an Executive Officer in a benefits team. A colleague tells you that a letter sent to a customer last week gave the wrong payment date. The customer has not been in touch. Your manager is on leave until Monday.
| Action | Our rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Wait for your manager to return and let them decide | Ineffective | Nothing happens for days while the customer relies on the wrong date |
| Check the case, confirm the error, send a corrected letter today and note what happened for your manager | Effective | Fixes the problem for the customer, within your role, and keeps your manager informed |
| Phone the customer, apologise and say the computer system caused the mistake | Counterproductive | Contacts the customer before checking the facts and blames something you have not confirmed |
| Ask your colleague to record the error so the letter template can be checked | Fairly Effective | Useful to stop it happening again, but it does not fix this customer's letter |
These ratings are our view of good practice, not GOV.UK's key. The real test will use different scenarios.
What about the other Civil Service tests?
- Verbal and Numerical tests have right answers, but they are adaptive: the next question depends on your last answer, and some questions are unscored trials. A fixed list of answers would not match your test.
- Casework Skills Test has right answers in the case-file statements and the timed checks, and an effectiveness scale for its scenarios, like the CSJT.
- Work Strengths Test starts with statements about how you usually work, with no right answers, then uses scenarios rated for effectiveness and a most and least likely choice, like the CSJT.
- Styles Assessment asks which of two statements is more like you. There are no right answers, and answering for effect tends to produce contradictions.
Practise the format instead
Candidate Falcon's Civil Service Judgement Test practice lets you choose your grade band and three behaviours from the job advert, rate every action on the four-point scale, and then see how your ratings compare with our key and why each action earns its rating. Our key is our own view of good practice, not GOV.UK's. The Civil Service practice hub covers all eight online tests; playing them needs a plan that includes the UK Civil Service tests, see pricing.
For the free background, read our Civil Service online tests guide and the Civil Service Behaviours guide, which explains what each behaviour looks like at your grade.
FAQs
Is there an official Civil Service Judgement Test answer key?
No. GOV.UK does not publish the ratings it treats as correct and gives no feedback on individual questions. Pages that sell "real" answers use their own scenarios and ratings.
What is a good score on the Civil Service Judgement Test?
There is no fixed number. Your score is a percentile against other applicants, and the recruiter sets the pass mark for each job after the closing date, sometimes above the minimum for the grade.
Why do experienced candidates fail the CSJT?
The test compares your ratings with what it treats as effective Civil Service behaviour at your grade, and your score with other applicants'. Our explanation, not GOV.UK's: candidates who rate actions by how their own workplace does things, or who play safe with Fairly Effective, can drift away from what the test rewards.
Can I retake the Civil Service Judgement Test?
Yes, on a future application if you did not reach the minimum standard. Hiring managers can also ask candidates invited to interview to retake it under supervised conditions.
Do I have to use all four ratings in each scenario?
No. Each action is rated on its own, and the same rating can be used more than once.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Preparing for the Civil Service Judgement Test (updated 24 May 2024), Civil Service online tests, selecting online tests (guidance for recruiters, updated 27 January 2026) and preparing for the Verbal and Numerical tests. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Reddit (individual reports, read November 2026): explaining the judgement test, September 2025, 2% after strong scores elsewhere, April 2026, an HMRC caseworker application, September 2024, feedback by behaviour, November 2025, 66% then 4%, March 2026, the practice test result, March 2026, passing after earlier failures, January 2025 and using every rating, October 2026.
Candidate Falcon is independent and not affiliated with the UK Civil Service, the Government Recruitment Service, GOV.UK or any test provider named here.