AGE Specific Competition 2026: requirements and steps for civil servants

Key data

Career civil servants of the General State Administration have a new avenue for mobility and promotion. The Under-Secretary has convened, through Resolution of May 6, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-10354), a specific competition for the provision of concrete job positions. The process was published in the BOE on May 13, 2026.

Unlike an ordinary transfer, this type of competition requires demonstrating not only general merits, but also capabilities or merits directly linked to the position. Those who do not adequately prepare this specific part may be excluded, even if they have more seniority than other candidates.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution regulates a specific merit competition to fill concrete positions within the General State Administration. This procedure has its own characteristics that distinguish it from the general transfer competition:

• Double assessment: combines general merits (seniority, personal grade, training, etc.) with merits or tests specific to the position profile.
• Membership requirement: applicants must belong to the body or scale corresponding to each advertised position.
• Enabling administrative situation: only civil servants in active service or in those administrative situations that the regulation expressly recognizes as valid for competing may participate.
• Merit scoring scale: the resolution establishes the specific scale with which general and specific merits are scored.
• Assessment body: the resolution designates the body responsible for evaluating merits and resolving the competition.
• Deadlines: the resolution sets the deadlines for submitting applications and the process calendar.

The specific competition is the usual mechanism for filling positions of greater responsibility or with concrete technical profiles within the Administration, where the suitability of the candidate for the specific position carries as much weight as their general trajectory.

Economic and operational impact

For participating civil servants, the most direct impact is the possibility of accessing a different job position, with the retributive and career consequences that this entails:

• Change of level and specific allowance: a change of position can result in a significant variation in the destination allowance and specific allowance, which are the most variable components of a civil servant's salary.
• Geographic mobility: depending on the advertised positions, it may involve a change of location, with associated costs and personal implications.
• Consolidation of personal grade: occupying a higher-level position for the required time allows consolidating a higher personal grade, with permanent retributive effects.
• Preparation cost: the specific part of the competition may require additional training or preparation of documentation certifying concrete merits, which represents an investment of time and, in some cases, economic.

From the perspective of departments and organizations with advertised positions, filling vacancies through specific competition ensures that the selected candidate meets the concrete capabilities for the position, reducing the risk of mismatch between profile and function.

Who does it affect?

• Career civil servants of the AGE who belong to the body or scale of the advertised positions and wish to change their destination or access a higher-level position.
• Civil servants in active service with current destination who want to improve their position or transfer.
• Civil servants in special administrative situations that the regulation recognizes as enabling to participate in provision competitions.
• HR managers of administrative units with advertised positions, who must manage the process and prepare position documentation.
• Trade unions and staff representatives with functions of monitoring and control of provision processes.

This call does not affect labor personnel, temporary staff or contingent personnel. Nor does it affect civil servants from bodies or scales other than those advertised.

Practical example

A civil servant of the General Administrative Body in active service, with current destination in a management unit, discovers that among the advertised positions there is a higher-level position in another unit that fits their profile and experience.

To participate, they must verify that they belong to the body or scale required for that specific position and that their administrative situation allows them to compete. Next, they must prepare their application by demonstrating both general merits —seniority, consolidated personal grade, training courses— and the specific merits that the resolution requires for that specific position, which may include experience in certain matters, technical knowledge or passing a specific test.

If the specific merit scoring scale has high weight in the total score, a candidate with less seniority but with direct experience in the position's functions can surpass another with more years of service but without that specific profile. This is precisely the objective of the specific competition versus the ordinary competition.

What should civil servants do now?

1. Consult the full text of the resolution in the BOE to identify the advertised positions, the requirements for each one and the applicable merit scale. The reference is BOE-A-2026-10354, published on May 13, 2026.
2. Verify your own administrative situation to confirm that you are in one of the situations that enable you to participate in the competition.
3. Check membership in the body or scale required for the positions of interest. Applying for a position for which you do not meet the requirements results in automatic exclusion.
4. Gather and demonstrate general merits: seniority, consolidated personal grade, training, previous positions and any other merit contemplated by the scale.
5. Prepare the specific part: identify what specific merits or tests each position requires and compile supporting documentation or prepare for the test if applicable.
6. Submit the application within the deadline established in the resolution. Deadlines in provision competitions are non-extendable and failure to comply prevents participation.
7. Monitor the process through the assessment body designated in the resolution to learn about the provisional result, submit objections if applicable and learn about the final resolution.