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TNPSC Group 4 previous year question papers: where to find them and how to use them
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The official source for TNPSC Group 4 previous year question papers and answer keys is TNPSC's own website, in its "Previous Year Question Papers" and "Objective Type (Answer Keys)" sections. Past papers are most useful as a way to learn how the Commission asks questions, not as a list of questions to memorise. Use them after you have studied a unit, sort every question into the six current General Studies units, and keep an error log. This page covers where to look, how far an old paper matches the 2026 pattern, and a four-step method.
Where to find official papers and answer keys
| Official page | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Previous Year Question Papers | TNPSC's archive of question papers |
| Objective Type (Answer Keys) | A table with date of notification, post, date of exam, tentative key and final key |
TNPSC publishes a tentative key soon after an objective exam and a final key later, and current tentative keys are listed on the Commission's site under "Tentative Subjects (Answer Keys)". A recent Group 4 exam was held on 9 June 2024 under Notification 01/2024, so look for that notification's paper and keys first.
One caution before you build your plan on these pages. When we checked, the archive pages returned only older entries, and recent papers and keys may load dynamically or sit under a different heading. Open them in a browser, search by notification number or exam date, and don't assume that every year is available. If a paper is missing, treat any copy on a third-party site as unofficial until you've checked it against TNPSC's key.
How far an old paper matches the 2026 paper
The 2026 paper is 200 questions for 300 marks in three hours: Part A Tamil (100 questions), Part B General Studies (75) and Part C Aptitude and Mental Ability (25). Older papers can differ in three ways that matter.
| Feature | Older papers | 2026 notification |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | Called General Tamil, with a General English option | Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test, Tamil only (see the exam pattern) |
| General Studies | Ten-unit lists in older syllabus articles | Six units, plus aptitude and reasoning |
| Current affairs | Questions go out of date quickly | Listed in four of the six GS units |
So use old papers for the content and the style of questions, and re-sort what you find into the current syllabus. Check the scheme printed in that year's notification before you read a paper as a template. Skip old current-affairs questions, which are out of date, and any General English items, which are not part of the 2026 Part A for most candidates.
Group 2 and 2A preliminary papers can supplement your aptitude practice. Their Part C is also SSLC standard, with 15 aptitude and 10 reasoning questions. Their General Studies is at degree standard, so don't use it to judge your Group 4 GS level.
Weightage: start with the official split
TNPSC says its unit-wise question numbers are indicative only. That official split is the safest weightage to plan with. A claim such as "X% of questions come from Unit Y" on a coaching site is only as good as the papers its author analysed. Build your own tally instead and compare it with the official figures.
| Unit | Official indicative questions | Your tally (average per paper) |
|---|---|---|
| Part A: Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing skill, Technical terms, Reading, Translation, Literature | 25, 15, 15, 10, 15, 5, 15 | |
| General Science | 5 | |
| Geography | 5 | |
| History, Culture of India and National Movement | 10 | |
| Indian Polity | 15 | |
| Indian Economy and Development Administration in Tamil Nadu | 20 | |
| Tamil Nadu history, culture and socio-political movements | 20 | |
| Aptitude and Reasoning | 15 and 10 |
Fill the last column after you have tagged two or three papers. If a unit is consistently asked more than the official figure suggests, give it extra revision time, and treat the result as your own approximate observation rather than an official weightage.
A four-step method for using previous year papers
- Study first, test second. Don't start with papers. Finish a first pass of a unit, then solve that unit's questions from the papers without a timer, reading every option and asking why each wrong one is wrong.
- Timed full papers. In the mock phase (see the study plan), sit a whole paper in three hours on a practice OMR sheet. Shade E for questions you can't attempt, count your unshaded questions and mark yourself with the 0.5-mark penalty for blanks.
- Mark against the final key. Use the final key where one exists. If you only have the tentative key, note any questions that TNPSC later changed.
- Re-solve what you missed. Go back to every wrong, guessed or blank question after a week, and again in your final revision. Solve a paper twice at most; the second pass is only for the error log.
As a guide, keep the three or four most recent papers that match the current pattern for timed attempts, and use the older ones unit by unit. This is a suggestion, not an official figure.
The error log
Every miss goes into a log, so a paper turns into a revision list.
| Question | Unit | Why it was missed | Correct fact | Revisit on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short description | Tamil Unit I, GS Unit V and so on | Didn't know, forgot, misread, careless, blank | One line | A date |
The "why" column is the one that earns marks. A pile of "didn't know" in one unit means study that unit again. A pile of "careless" or "misread" means you need to slow down and practise on timed sets, and a pile of "blank" is a 0.5-mark leak per question that costs you in every paper. The mock test guide shows how to analyse a full paper in more detail.
Using PrepMatic alongside past papers
PrepMatic doesn't host previous year question papers, and its practice questions are AI-generated, so it is not a substitute for the official papers above. Use the official papers for the Commission's style and PrepMatic for volume on weak subjects. A free assessment of about 15 untimed questions shows your weakest subjects. You can then build a custom mock by choosing subjects, number of questions, duration and difficulty, or run a full 200-question mock in 180 minutes. If you choose Tamil as your exam language, questions are in Tamil. Results show a subject-wise breakdown and the subject that cost you the most marks, which pairs naturally with the error log.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I download TNPSC Group 4 previous year question papers?
From TNPSC's website: the Previous Year Question Papers page and the Objective Type (Answer Keys) page. Search by notification number or exam date. Some recent papers may not appear on the archive page, so check the answer-keys section as well.
Are TNPSC answer keys official?
Yes, if they come from TNPSC. The Commission publishes a tentative key and then a final key. Keys on coaching or news sites are unofficial unless they cite TNPSC's key.
How many previous year papers should I solve for Group 4?
There is no official number. A practical approach is to use all the papers you can find unit by unit and attempt the most recent three or four as timed full papers, always with an error log.
Are old Group 4 papers still useful after the Tamil pattern change?
Yes, for Part B and Part C content and for the style of questions. Part A has changed in name and structure, so follow the 2026 syllabus for Tamil units, and re-sort General Studies questions into the six current units.
Do questions repeat in Group 4?
Concepts and facts recur, so past papers are worth studying, but you should not depend on exact repeats. We haven't verified any repeat percentage, so treat figures you read online as unofficial.
Official sources
- TNPSC Previous Year Question Papers: archive of question papers.
- TNPSC Objective Type (Answer Keys): tentative and final keys.
- TNPSC Group 4 Notification No. 11/2026 (English PDF): the current scheme and syllabus.
Check the latest notification for the current pattern before you use any older paper as a template.
Find your weak TNPSC units before the exam does
Take a free TNPSC assessment on PrepMatic. It shows where you stand across General Tamil, General Studies and Aptitude, then builds a day-by-day study plan and mock tests focused on your weak subjects.
Start free assessment →Free forever plan · No credit card · 2-minute setupRelated guides
- Group 4 syllabusThe official TNPSC Group 4 syllabus (code 496): seven Tamil units, six General Studies units and aptitude topics, with question counts and priorities.
- Group 4 exam patternGroup 4 is one 3-hour paper of 200 questions for 300 marks, with a 40% Tamil gate, a 90-mark minimum, a blank-answer penalty and no interview.
- Group 4 study planA week-by-week TNPSC Group 4 study plan with a 6-month schedule, a compressed 3-month version, daily routines and a mock-test calendar.
- TNPSC mock test strategyHow to use TNPSC mock tests: when to start, how often, how to analyse a mock, keep an error log and practise OMR including option E and the blank-answer penalty.
- Group 4 cut-offWhat the TNPSC Group 4 cut off really is: the official 90/300 minimum and 60-mark Tamil gate, how selection thresholds emerge, and how to set a safe target.
- TNPSC current affairsHow current affairs fits the TNPSC syllabus, how far back to read, which Tamil Nadu and national sources to use, and a daily-weekly-monthly note and revision system.