Salary by post · TNPSC

VAO salary in Tamil Nadu: Level 8 pay and growth

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 9 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

A Village Administrative Officer (VAO) is placed at Level 8 of the Tamil Nadu pay matrix in the 2026 Group 4 notification (Notification No. 11/2026). Level 8 runs from ₹19,500 to ₹62,000 a month in basic pay, and a newly recruited VAO starts at the bottom of that range. The notification lists 291 VAO vacancies in the Tamil Nadu Ministerial Service (post code 2025); the count is tentative and can change before counselling.

Pay level and basic pay

The notification names only the level. The rupee range comes from Schedule-I of the Tamil Nadu Revised Pay Rules, 2017 (G.O. Ms. No. 303, 11 October 2017), summarised on the salary hub. Level 8 is shared with Junior Assistant, Typist and Bill Collector, so basic pay is identical; the work and the promotion line differ.

What is added to basic pay

Basic pay is not your take-home figure. Dearness allowance is added as a percentage of basic pay, and house rent allowance follows the place of posting, so a village charge and a town charge can differ. Deductions such as professional tax, income tax and pension or insurance contributions then come off the gross figure. DA is revised by government order, so take the current rate from the Finance Department rather than from an old salary slip.

What a VAO does

The Group 4 notification does not describe duties. The usual scope of the village revenue post is:

• keeping village-level land and revenue records and accounts up to date;
• collecting land revenue and other government dues and remitting them;
• verifying applicants for revenue certificates such as community, income and nativity, so the taluk office can issue them;
• reporting crop conditions, disaster damage, encroachments and law-and-order incidents to the Revenue Inspector and Tahsildar;
• election, census and relief duties assigned by the district administration.

Promotion and growth

A VAO is the first step of the village-to-taluk ladder in the Revenue Department. Promotion follows the department's service rules and seniority, usually through the Revenue Inspector and Deputy Tahsildar grades towards Tahsildar, and each promotion moves you to a higher pay level. Until then, pay grows by one annual increment within Level 8, falling on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October depending on your date of appointment.

How to get the post

VAOs are recruited through the TNPSC Group 4 exam (CCSE-IV), and in the 2026 cycle:

• the minimum qualification is a pass in SSLC, and adequate knowledge of Tamil is required;
• age as on 1 July 2026 is 21 to 30 for the Others category and 21 to 40 for BC, MBC and SC/ST categories;
• one paper of 200 questions for 300 marks, with a Tamil Eligibility-cum-Scoring Test as Part A, where you need 40 per cent (60 of 150) before Parts B and C are evaluated;
• no interview; selection runs through certificate verification and counselling.

Applications close on 5 November 2026 and the exam is on 10 January 2027. For the paper in detail, see the Group 4 exam pattern and syllabus.

Frequently asked questions

What is the starting basic pay of a VAO?

₹19,500 a month, the first stage of Level 8 in the 2017 pay matrix. Allowances such as DA and HRA are added to this and deductions are taken off, so the take-home figure is not the same as basic pay.

Is VAO pay the same as Junior Assistant pay?

The basic pay range is the same, because both posts are at Level 8 in the 2026 Group 4 notification. Allowances can differ with the place of posting.

Will the VAO pay range change after a pay revision?

Yes, if the government revises the pay matrix, as it did in 2017. Future notifications would then name the new level or scale, so rely on the level printed in the notification for your cycle.

Official sources

• TNPSC Group 4 Notification No. 11/2026: post table, levels, eligibility and scheme of examination.
• G.O. Ms. No. 303, Finance (Pay Cell), 11 October 2017: the pay matrix and increment rules.
• TNPSC website: current notifications.

Confirm the level and vacancies in the latest notification before applying.

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