- AD
- Administrator function group of EU officials (grades AD5 to AD16). AD5 is the graduate entry grade; specialists are usually recruited at AD6 to AD9.
- AST
- Assistant function group (grades AST1 to AST11): technical and administrative support roles.
- AST-SC
- Secretaries and clerks function group (grades AST-SC1 to AST-SC6). Selected with speed tests such as accuracy and precision and prioritising and organising.
- CAST
- Contract Agents Selection Tool: the permanent, open database from which institutions pre-select contract staff, who then sit reasoning tests.
- DigComp
- The European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (version 2.2), on which EPSO's digital skills test is based. Five areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, problem solving.
- EPSO
- European Personnel Selection Office, the inter-institutional office that organises selection procedures for the EU institutions.
- EUFTE
- EU free-text essay: a short written assignment on an EU-related topic, assessed for written communication, used in AD competitions since 2026.
- EU Login
- The European Commission's authentication service, needed to access EPSO's Single Candidate Portal.
- Field-related test
- A multiple-choice test on the specialist field of a competition (audit, IT, law, economics...). Usually the test that ranks candidates.
- Function group
- The broad category of a post: AD (administrators), AST (assistants), AST-SC (secretaries and clerks) for officials; FG I to FG IV for contract agents.
- Language 1 / language 2
- The two official EU languages a candidate declares. Language 1 (C1 level) is used for the reasoning tests; language 2 (B2, from a list fixed by the notice) for the other tests.
- Laureate
- A successful candidate placed on a reserve list.
- Notice of competition
- The legal text published in the Official Journal that opens a competition and fixes eligibility, tests, pass marks and the number of places on the reserve list.
- Pass mark
- The minimum score required in a test to continue in the procedure; failing it ends participation regardless of other scores.
- Reserve list
- The list of successful candidates from which the institutions recruit. Being on the list is not a job offer; validity is typically about one year and is often extended.
- Single Candidate Portal
- EPSO's online application platform, where candidates apply, receive invitations and see results.