NYC civil service eligible lists: what your list number means and what happens next
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By DutyRank. Independent; not affiliated with DCAS, MTA or NYS UCS. What changed
Passing an NYC civil service exam puts you on a list ranked by final score; certification sends names from that list to an agency for hiring consideration. Your list number does not promise a job or a date: the appointment rule considers the highest-standing qualified, willing candidates, and the usual list-life range is 1–4 years from establishment.[3][5]
Across the 5 qualifying titles identified below, 59 of 61 certified title-list entries sent at least 97% of their names in their first recorded certification. Sending names is not the same as hiring people; a certification does not reveal which list number the agency has reached for appointment. Shared lists count within each title they serve.[15] See the title-by-title figures and snapshot dates.
These are different administrative events. They are not a schedule, and a candidate may never reach every stage.
- Tentative score. Computer-based multiple-choice tests give a provisional result at the end. Other formats can release results later; a tentative score is not a final list number.[12]
- List published. Results and ranking become available. Publication and establishment have separate fields in the city’s data.[4][15]
- List established. The Commissioner puts the list into effect; an established list can be certified.[3][4]
- Certification. DCAS supplies an agency with all or some available candidates for appointment consideration.[5]
- Call letter. The hiring agency invites candidates to an interview or hiring pool.[4]
- Hiring pool. The agency interviews and considers candidates; an invitation is not an offer.[4]
- One-in-three selection. Each appointment follows the ranking, qualification, willingness and equal-score rules.[3]
- Appointment or a change in status. A permanent appointment can end eligibility for further certification from that list. Other outcomes can also put a candidate off-side.[3][4]
- The list ends. Expiration, an authorized extension or termination must be checked against the actual list record.[3]
Your number records your place in final-score order on a particular exam’s list. It is not a count of people still ahead of you for a job. Someone can remain in the published list after becoming unavailable for certification, so the size of an Active dataset list is not a waiting-list count.[8][4]
A tentative score at the test center is not an official list number. DCAS’s official results identify your score and place on the established list. Check the exam number on that notice before comparing results. If another agency labels a number “temporary,” ask that agency what the label means; the DCAS results guidance cited here does not define a temporary rank.[2][3]
For equal final scores, Rule 4.4.11 orders candidates using the last 5 digits and then the first 4 digits of their Social Security numbers. Under Rule 4.4.12, if one member of the equal-score group is certified, the others with that same final score must also be included. The rule also preserves selection rights for that score group.[3]
Fractional list numbers occur in the data, so a list’s largest number is not necessarily its size. Later changes to a list must be read from the official record; a decimal number does not reveal an individual’s hiring status.[18]
Published means results and ranking have been made available. Established means the list has taken effect by the Commissioner’s order. The DCAS primer separates the two, and says certification can only be created from an established list.[4][3]
The DCAS results page says it posts the ranked list when scores become official and emails official results when the list is established. Its “After Taking an Exam” page describes notification at publication or establishment. Check both dates and your official notice; a visible list alone is not proof that an agency has requested it.[2][1]
Final ranking includes applicable approved credits. Veterans’ credit must be claimed before establishment; DCAS says a claim cannot first be made after the list has been established. A passing tentative test score therefore should not be treated as the final adjusted score.[3][7]
A certification is the transfer of eligible candidates to a hiring agency. DCAS’s primer distinguishes a primary certification of available candidates from a selective certification for a particular skill. Neither is a record of appointments.[4]
“Almost whole first” means at least 97% of a list’s recorded names appeared in its earliest retained certification block. That may not be its first-ever certification. Counts are lists, not people; they use the tracker’s daily snapshot.
Database snapshots as of . Each row retains its own date.
| Title | Certified lists | Almost whole first | Latest published certification | Data as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic Enforcement AgentWhole-list pattern supportedTraffic Enforcement Agent hiring process | 16 | 16 of 16 (100%) | ||
| School Safety AgentWhole-list pattern supportedSchool Safety Agent hiring process | 12 | 12 of 12 (100%) | ||
| Police OfficerPolice Officer exam guide | 0 | Not measurable | None in this snapshot | |
| Correction OfficerWhole-list pattern supportedCorrection Officer exam guide | 13 | 13 of 13 (100%) | ||
| Police Communications TechnicianWhole-list pattern supportedPolice Communications Technician exam guide | 13 | 12 of 13 (92%) | ||
| Special OfficerSpecial Officer exam guide | 3 | 0 of 3 (0%) | ||
| Environmental Police OfficerWhole-list pattern supportedEnvironmental Police Officer exam guide | 7 | 6 of 7 (86%) | ||
| MTA NYCT ConductorConductor exam guide | 3 | 1 of 3 (33%) | ||
| MTA NYCT Train OperatorTrain Operator exam guide | 2 | 1 of 2 (50%) |
A whole-list pattern is supported only where at least 80% of that title’s certified lists meet the threshold. A low share is not a hiring-progress percentage.
The shared Public Safety Exam list is included separately under Traffic Enforcement Agent and School Safety Agent when that title has certified it. Each share uses that destination title’s own certification blocks, not a general Public Safety or other title’s block. Adding rows therefore counts title-list entries, not unique exams.[15]
MTA and Special Officer need different readings. MTA lists can be certified in parts, while Special Officer certifications are divided into agency blocks. The notices for MTA NYCT Conductor and MTA NYCT Train Operator give their promotion lists priority when filling vacancies. A rank on an open-competitive list is not a position in one combined queue.[15][13][14]
Police Officer has a data gap. In the separately verified Open Data snapshot as of , its latest certification date was . This does not mean NYPD stopped hiring: the Commissioner reported 2,041 hires in 2022, 2,356 hires in 2023, and 2,631 hires in 2024 at the Council hearing.[15][11]
The agency’s letter gives the position and interview details. DCAS states that a call letter “is not an offer for employment”. Its guidance says agencies should send notice of a hiring pool at least 10 days before the list call.[4]
A certification is valid for no more than 30 days and cannot outlive its underlying eligible list. That is the agency’s certification window; it is not a promise that you will be hired within that time. Follow the response deadline in your own letter.[3]
Do not ignore a call letter: DCAS warns that failing to respond can remove your name from consideration. The primer’s deferral example concerns a call letter from another agency: it permits 2 deferrals and says the next one results in removal. Use the instructions in the letter and contact the agency about your situation.[1][4]
For each appointment, Rule 4.7.1(c) allows an agency to choose among the three highest-standing certified candidates who are qualified and willing to accept. As the DCAS glossary explains, the agency has discretion within that group: the highest-scoring person does not have to be selected.[3][5]
Equal final scores can make the choice wider than three people. Under Rule 4.4.12(b), the agency may select a qualified, willing candidate whose final score is at least as high as the score of the third highest-standing qualified, willing candidate. Administrative list numbers within a tied score group do not remove that selection right. For further vacancies, the rule is applied separately to the candidates remaining eligible and willing.[3]
Rule 4.7.11 permits certification pools at the Commissioner’s discretion, subject to civil service law and rules. An interview pool does not replace the selection rules with a first-come queue.[3]
You can apply for other exams for which you qualify, including a later exam for the same title. DCAS’s FAQs say a particular exam number can be taken only once; a later exam number is a separate examination. Keep each exam number and resulting list number together.[8]
A new list can end an older one. Rule 4.6.6(b) says that, unless otherwise provided, a list that has existed for at least 1 year ends when an appropriate successor list for the same title is established. The old list’s anniversary date alone cannot tell you whether it remains usable.[3]
Rule 4.7.2 allows limited overlap. An old list less than 1 year old with fewer than three willing candidates retains certification preference until it reaches that age; enough names from the new list are added to permit a selection. A list at least 1 year old may also be used alongside a new list with fewer than three names if the old list has been continued. These conditions are why list numbers from different exams do not form one comparable queue.[3]
The first three official guides give different estimates for the same milestone: establishing a list after an exam. None gives you a guaranteed deadline, and the sources do not explain the disagreement. The management reports below measure results completion over specific reporting periods, using business days or calendar days. These figures cannot be added together to calculate your hiring date.
| Source | Published figure | What it measures | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCAS: After Taking an Exam[1] | 9–12 months | Exam administration → list establishment | General guidance on the current DCAS page; no guaranteed deadline. |
| DCAS Guidance for Veterans[7] | 6–9 months | Exam date → list establishment | Veterans’ credit guidance says timing varies. This describes when a list may be established, not the credit-claim deadline. |
| DCAS Civil Service 101 FAQs, hosted by HRA[8] | 6–12 months | Exam date → list establishment | An average stated in the Civil Service 101 FAQs hosted by HRA. |
| Mayor’s Management Report, FY2024: DCAS[9] | 139 business days | Exam administration → exam results completion | Median in the FY2024 MMR. Its notes explain the conversion from calendar to business days; this is a historical reporting period. |
| Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report, FY2025: DCAS[10] | 115 → 163 business days | Exam administration → exam results completion | First four months of FY2024 compared with the same period of FY2025; not full-year medians. |
| Mayor’s Management Report, FY2024: DCAS[9] | 290 calendar days / 197 business days | Performance target for results completion | The MMR’s FY2024 and subsequent-year targets use different units. Neither is a candidate’s promised wait. |
The Open Data tables do not include the candidate’s test date or appointment date. Certification records therefore cannot tell you the complete exam-to-hire wait. DCAS’s data dictionary says it is “unable to determine when a candidate may be reached”.[16]
A list-level event is useful for checking status. It is not a prediction of when an individual will be called, interviewed or appointed.
Rule 4.6.6 sets an ordinary list duration of 1–4 years from establishment and provides for termination and authorized extensions, including extensions under New York Civil Service Law §56. A successor list can also end an older list under the conditions described above. Check the official status and recorded dates rather than adding 4 years yourself.[3]
In the citywide Active dataset as of , 1,473 of 1,494 established list groups had an anniversary date exactly 4 calendar years after establishment. This is the scheduled anniversary, not proof that all those lists end on that date.[15]
- MTA NYCT Conductor exam 6601: anniversary , extension .[15]
- MTA NYCT Train Operator exam 7604: anniversary , extension .[15]
The Active dataset does not publish a termination-date field. A record present after its original anniversary is not enough to declare the list expired or to promise further appointments.[15]
What to do now:
- Match the exam number on your official results to the list you are checking. Keep that exam number with your official score and list number.[2][16]
- Check the list’s status and dates through the official Open Data record or the DCAS phone line below. A published ranking, establishment date and extension date answer different questions.[6][16]
- Keep your contact information current with DCAS so you receive notices. If a call letter arrives, respond using its instructions, even if you need to decline the interview.[6][12]
- NYC Open Data: Civil Service List (Active) publishes official list records. Use your exam number to distinguish lists with similar titles.[15]
- DCAS’s Interactive Voice Response line is (212) 669-1357.[6]
- Check your OASys account and the email address on your exam record. Follow DCAS’s contact-information correction instructions if your details change.[2][6]
- For an aggregate view without names, use the DutyRank eligible-list tracker and its title pages linked in the certification section. Your official result and hiring correspondence come from the agency.
NYS Court Officer-Trainee (JG-16) belongs to the NYS Unified Court System / Office of Court Administration. Its list and canvassing process are covered in the court-officer eligible-list guide and the court-officer screening guide. This is separate from NYC DCAS; the NYC data table above does not describe that recruitment.[17]
- Eligible list
- The ranked record of candidates who passed an examination. Placement reflects the final examination rating and applicable credits.[3]
- Established
- Officially put into effect by order of the DCAS Commissioner, on the date specified in that order.[3]
- Terminated
- The list has ended and can no longer support an ordinary appointment from that list. A displayed anniversary alone does not account for an extension.[3]
- Off-side
- A candidate remains on the eligible list but is currently ineligible for certification. An Active dataset row therefore does not establish that the person is available for appointment.[4]
- Certification
- The official transmission of a list, or part of it, to an agency for appointment consideration.[5]
- Hiring pool
- An agency’s interview and selection process for candidates invited from a certified list.[4]
- One-in-three
- The agency’s choice among the three highest-standing certified candidates who are qualified and willing to accept each appointment. Equal final scores can make the eligible selection group larger than three people.[3]
- Provisional
- A person hired into a competitive title without appointment from a civil service list when no list is available. This is different from permanent appointment after passing an exam.[4]
The live title table calls titleData, the same calculation used by the existing tracker. Its inputs are the daily aggregated snapshot of Civil Service List (Active) and Civil Service List Certification. Repeated certification rows are deduplicated by list number within each issue, agency and exam block. Records older than publication are excluded because exam numbers can be reused; where publication is absent, the establishment date supplies that cutoff.
Only lists in the latest daily snapshot are counted. A list that has dropped out of the Active dataset stays in the tracker’s history but no longer counts toward these figures; each title page applies the same rule to the lists it shows.
The earliest dated block supplies the first-certification share. Same-day ties are ordered by issue number, agency and title code; the calculation does not pick the largest block on that day. The denominator is the recorded list size. The threshold is 97%; the whole-list conclusion requires at least 80% of a title’s certified lists to meet it. No per-list partial share is published here.
The tracker’s initial certification backfill begins in 2020. A list established earlier can have certifications outside that retained history, so its earliest recorded block need not be its first-ever certification. DutyRank’s separate source audit queried tracked-title certifications from 2018 onward. Neither source is treated as a complete lifetime hiring record.
Citywide list-life findings and the Police Officer gap come from DutyRank’s own frozen aggregate analysis of NYC Open Data, retrieved from sources updated . DCAS publishes the underlying records; the analysis is ours. These are not today’s database counts. Exact query links are available for the list inventory and tracked-title certification blocks.[15]
The “DCAS Certified Lists (NYCT)” dataset is a community-created filtered view of the certification source for the Transit Authority. Its aggregate matches that filter in the official parent dataset; it is not a second independent account of hiring.[15]
We publish no names, individual certification status, hiring-depth measure or forecast. Lists and score bands smaller than 10 people are suppressed; the table here counts list groups. Active-list counts include candidates who may already be appointed or off-side. No dataset used here can establish a pass rate or identify who is still waiting.[4][15]
We review the prose quarterly and when an agency changes its guidance. A database refresh does not change this article’s editorial update date. Archived originals remain internal; source links, existing archive links and fingerprints appear below.
Each note links to the original publisher. Page and rule references help you find the evidence. Archive details identify the exact copy checked; archived documents are not republished here.
- DCAS: After Taking an Exam · Wayback snapshot
After Taking an Exam: the establishment estimate and appointment-notification guidance.
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41d2404beb18747762a40503660e3ac8aba004474785aae73158a041be04baaa - DCAS: How Do You Get Your Results? · Wayback snapshot
How Do You Get Your Results?: tentative scores, official results and list publication.
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1f323a7a9b2b6f5e96465c1b9e79a3ce3ca07f329f1eb30c32fff24e6d18a329 - DCAS Personnel Rules and Regulations, Rule 4 · Wayback snapshot
Rules 4.4.11–4.4.12 (ties), 4.4.14 (credits), 4.6 (establishment and duration), and 4.7 (certification and appointment).
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840720c039a836d5cf526378605392b9614e9caf6dec9fd7655119c1dfc34020 - DCAS Civil Service Primer, August 29, 2024 · Wayback snapshot
PDF pages 7, 15–21 and 28–29: provisional appointments; list publication, certification and call letters; off-side status.
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8a403f84ca8574331cd7769aef3095d3a452ce122eaf8c202bfd97d9a3d06230 - DCAS Civil Service Glossary · Wayback snapshot
Entries “Certification” and “One-in-Three Rule.”
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d9b1525fb665b734767d6714338f71f1e0c9d82d6e57ce489b4db92dd206e05d - DCAS: Check Status of Exam or List · Wayback snapshot
Check Status of Exam or List: phone service and contact-information changes.
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b56e63f7c2d02a1d54c2ce63906a3b4035bfae00e57ecaee515ce52cfbdcf325 - DCAS Guidance for Veterans · Wayback snapshot
PDF page 2: list-establishment estimate and deadline for claiming veterans’ credit.
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4cb2ef48a96c902b89278beee26bd4b11a114dcdd158e32b4fb29c49bea17c1a - DCAS Civil Service 101 FAQs, hosted by HRA · Wayback snapshot
PDF pages 2–5: retesting, establishment estimates, score and list number.
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8356f08320ce920640663a29d66be27349789c1e26fe1409c0c402c540fc1b6c - Mayor’s Management Report, FY2024: DCAS · Wayback snapshot
Printed pages 400 and 407 (PDF pages 4 and 11): results-completion median and the change from calendar to business days.
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63e0b55158d4f65eff5ee4f53a0767a24b173da45aadd4d4487564c3958b34f1 - Preliminary Mayor’s Management Report, FY2025: DCAS
Printed pages 385 and 387 (PDF pages 3 and 5): first-four-month results and the business-day measure.
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7108aa933cf12304dda9ee78814072b075ed236adea58689897cb09f6d723c70 - NYC Council hearing transcript, NYPD, May 29, 2025
Page 25: Commissioner Tisch’s figures for hires in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
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9307da9981af3bd80585f4523e7d0c824ed77b6aee940f2f12ddde3c5304d11a - DCAS: Exam Process — After Taking an Exam
After Taking an Exam: tentative results, contact-information changes and appointment consideration.
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d52c22e90bba9be8479ff17105e2aee7412a5f18d3148dac841f79762d1e0245 - MTA Conductor notice, second amendment, August 7, 2026
Page 5, The Test Results: promotion-list priority.
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21d8d0fa727ff0de3d0a9fd6413ea3806b74f54effbc284425ddaafaea281469 - MTA Train Operator notice, July 1, 2026
Page 5, The Test Results: promotion-list priority.
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1c30708f85edd3e8f574a4058fef1e552d770be5a81ed1c3f866aabd53c58929 - DutyRank analysis of NYC Open Data: Civil Service List and Certification, October 18, 2026
The link opens the official Active list dataset. DutyRank’s aggregate analysis and exact query links are described in Method and limits above.
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3db51e7f63bc17ef2097719a7fdee976e51d731a4b583d9cd8a54a70341ec441 - DCAS Civil Service List (Active): data dictionary
Workbook entries for List No., list dates and comments about when a candidate may be reached.
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48f7b3e3e82d80b7a30ad12e06e57d437ae0d5a5b55b05ab86bee9e67bb8659f - NYS Unified Court System: Court Officer-Trainee announcement · Wayback snapshot
Page 1: examining authority and exam title.
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4029b860ef958b16945f1163531e22a94b7ea4f919c6c2f75f8652afd3255ef0 - NYC Open Data: aggregate count of fractional list numbers
Count-only query for list numbers with a fractional component; no candidate records are returned.
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4006709f1d211b9911e0c12e6c2a4fca142ebe4f1808498153102cdcf349d9a1
The certification table now counts only lists in the latest daily snapshot, as the title pages do; a list that dropped out of the Active dataset no longer adds to a title’s count.
Clarified successor-list and equal-score rules, distinguished conflicting waiting-time estimates, and corrected shared Public Safety Exam attribution to use each destination title’s own certification blocks.
Published the sourced guide to list numbers, certification, call letters and appointment, with live title-level aggregates and the limits of the data.
DutyRank. “NYC civil service eligible lists: what your list number means and what happens next.” Updated 2026-10-19. https://dutyrank.com/civil-service/eligible-lists