Educational resource: civil service exam preparation.
Federal hiring assessments
The online tests federal applicants take through OPM: what each one measures, how to find the ones you need, what the free official practice gives you, and how to prepare without guessing.
5
Core tests
Reading, Reasoning, Math, Judgment, and Interaction
Up to 3 hours
To finish
All the assessments for one application
Free
Practice versions
Official OPM practice tests you can retake
No answers
Shown in practice
OPM practice gives no score or feedback
You do not sign up for USA Hire on its own. The assessments are part of applying for a federal job.
Submit your application for a federal position. Many applications require assessments.
The notice that assessments are required arrives with your application or in your USAJOBS dashboard.
Try the official practice versions on the device and in the place you plan to test.
Complete the assessments online before your completion deadline. Allow up to 3 hours.
OPM's practice area lists these five, plus an Early Career Talent assessment and a separate Federal Supervisor assessment for supervisory roles. Which ones you take depends on the job.
OPM says it measures: Understanding written material, including rules, instructions, and reports, and applying it to specific situations.
OPM's tip: Read carefully, use context clues, and eliminate answers you know are wrong.
Practice test guide →OPM says it measures: Identifying logical relationships and analyzing information to reach correct inferences and conclusions.
OPM's tip: Separate facts from possibilities and organize information with lists or visuals.
Reasoning page with practice items →OPM says it measures: General math knowledge and how well you use it, such as percentages, fractions, and proportions.
OPM's tip: Review basic algebra, geometry, and probability, and have scratch paper and a calculator ready.
Practice test guide →OPM says it measures: How you make decisions in common workplace situations involving colleagues, customers, and others.
OPM's tip: Read each prompt, watch the video, and answer honestly.
Judgment and Interaction page →OPM says it measures: Attitudes, interests, and preferences that matter at work, across competencies such as teamwork and accountability.
OPM's tip: Do not overthink. Choose the answers that genuinely describe you.
Judgment and Interaction page →Reading, Reasoning, and Math test abilities you can strengthen. Practice with explanations shows why an answer is right, which OPM's feedback-free practice does not.
Judgment and Interaction measure how you decide and what you prefer. OPM tells applicants to choose the answers that honestly reflect them, so there is nothing to memorize.
OPM describes two methods.
Go to OPM's practice assessments
Where we fit in
Built from OPM's general pre-testing tips.
USA Hire is the online assessment platform run by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Federal agencies use it to deliver skills-based assessments to applicants.
OPM says you may need up to 3 hours, depending on how many assessments your application requires. You complete them before your completion deadline.
Yes. OPM offers practice assessments for Reading, Reasoning, Math, Judgment, Interaction, Early Career Talent, and the Federal Supervisor assessment. OPM notes they are shorter than the real assessments and that not every assessment has a practice version.
No. OPM states that you will not find out whether an answer was correct and you will not receive a score. You can take them as many times as you like.
The most accurate way is the assessment notification for your application, which lists them on the Assessment Activities page. You can also compare the competencies in the job announcement to those each practice assessment measures.
They measure how you decide and what you prefer, so there is no answer key to memorize. OPM advises answering honestly and not overthinking.
OPM official practice, how to use it, and six original reading and math items.
Read more →What OPM says it measures and six logic items with explanations.
Read more →The competencies covered and how to approach them honestly.
Read more →Building general skills? Try our free civil service practice test or browse all study guides. We do not write application materials, assessment responses, or personal narratives for federal applications.
Create a free account and choose the Federal Assessments track to get timed reading, reasoning, and math sets with an explanation for every answer, plus score history. Pro adds 120 more original questions in sets of 30. Items are original practice and are not USA Hire questions.
Start the Federal Assessments trackFacts on this page about dates, eligibility, and exam components come from the official sources below. We last checked them on October 12, 2026. Exam details change between cycles, so confirm with the administering authority before you act.
OPM USA Hire
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U.S. Office of Personnel Management
CivilServiceExam.org is an independent preparation resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, USAJOBS, or any federal agency. Information labeled official comes from that authority's published pages. General preparation guidance is ours and may not match a specific examination. Always follow the current official notice.