EPSO AD5 invitation and test date: your slot and the TAO check

EPSO sent the invitations for AD5 Part 1 on Monday 19 October 2026. The letter confirms your week, 9 to 13 November 2026, but your exact day and time are shown only on the testing platform. Here is where to find them, what the two dates you will see there mean, and how to get the one-off technical check right.

Where the invitation is

The letter is in the communications section of your Single Candidate Portal, the EPSO account you applied with, and an email telling you it is there normally follows. It says the reasoning tests take place online between 9 and 13 November 2026, and that your date and time cannot be changed.

Candidates reported that the letter appeared in the portal first and that the email came hours later for some and never for others, so check the communications section yourself instead of waiting for the email. Some were still receiving their letters on the evening of 19 October, so having none that day did not necessarily mean you had been left out.

Where your exact date and time are

1. Open the letter in the Single Candidate Portal and click the link to the testing platform, TAO.
2. On the platform’s login page, choose EU Login and sign in with the credentials of your EPSO account.
3. Open the My sessions tab. Each of your sessions is listed there, greyed out until it opens.

Some candidates could not sign in to the platform before their own letter had arrived; once it had, signing in with EU Login worked, for some through the EU Login mobile app. On the first evening, candidates reported slots such as 12 November at 9:00 and 13 November at 14:00. Check that the competition and the language on each session match your application. If anything is wrong, call the platform’s helpdesk and tell EPSO through the Single Candidate Portal.

Two dates: which one is your test?

Most candidates see two sessions. The first is the technical prerequisite check, open from 20 October to 6 November 2026. The second is the test itself, on the day and at the time EPSO has given you within 9 to 13 November. A session can be started only from its scheduled time; if it is still greyed out after that, refresh the page.

EPSO’s instructions ask you to set your computer’s date and time to the time zone you are in. If anything about your time is unclear, ask the helpdesk well before the day.

The technical check, step by step

Do it once, early, on the computer, browser, room and internet connection you will use for the test. No score is recorded. Before you start, install the Proctorio extension in Chrome or Edge (version 148 or later), switch off antivirus, firewall, VPN and any web proxy, and make sure you have administrator rights on the computer: EPSO’s instructions advise against computers issued by an employer for that reason.

1. Before you begin: a page lists the settings. If it asks you to close other tabs or disconnect a second screen, do it, or you cannot continue.
2. System diagnostics: allow the camera, the microphone and screen sharing. On a Mac you may first need to let your browser record the screen in System Settings, under Privacy & Security.
3. Webcam image: face a light. A window behind you makes your face too dark to detect. Take off hats and headphones, and glasses if they reflect.
4. ID check: hold your passport or ID card inside the green frame until it is captured. If that fails, use the manual option, and retake the photo if it is blurred.
5. Room and desk scan: 20 to 60 seconds. Turn the camera slowly through 360 degrees, then show the desk, the space under it, around your chair and behind the screen.
6. Submit and proceed, then refresh the page or go back to the platform yourself: it does not send you back on its own.

Your ID

Use a passport or ID card that shows your name and your photo on the same side. If yours does not, put images of both sides into one PDF and send it to EPSO through the Single Candidate Portal by 23:59 CET on the day after your test, or your session can be invalidated.

Can you change the date?

No. EPSO moves a session only under its force majeure policy: an unforeseeable event beyond your control, reported through the portal with documents. Work commitments and travel do not count. The rest of the calendar is in our AD5 dates guide.

Use the weeks you have

Your slot is fixed, so the part you control is the preparation. EPSO lets you try the platform in anonymous public sessions: on the login page, choose Public Sessions. For the questions, sit a full Part 1 on the real clocks: our free test is one, with 20 verbal, 10 numerical and 10 abstract questions on 35, 20 and 10-minute clocks, and a worked answer for every question. For test day itself, see our test day checklist.