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Basic Law and National Security Law Test in Civil Service Recruitment

All applicants for civil service jobs will be assessed on their knowledge on the Basic Law and the National Security Law. The assessment format of the Basic Law and National Security Law Test (BLNST) is set according to the academic qualification requirements stipulated for different types of civil service jobs. Candidates will be assessed on the Basic Law (including its annexes, instruments, attachments and appendices) (Basic Law (full text) (https://www.basiclaw.gov.hk/en/basiclaw/index.html)), as well as the National Security Law (National Security Law – (a) Preamble (English) (https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20202444e/es220202444136.pdf) (b) Full text (English) (https://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20202448e/egn2020244872.pdf)) through written tests or interviews.

For all civil service recruitment exercises advertised on or after 1 July 2022, attaining a pass result in the BLNST is an entry requirement for all civil service jobs. All candidates for civil service jobs must pass the BLNST in order to be considered for appointment, regardless of whether the candidates have previously taken the Basic Law Test (BLT) (either a BLT centrally conducted by the Civil Service Bureau or a BLT arranged by individual bureaux / departments in their past civil service recruitment exercises) and the result. Candidates who have taken any BLT in the past and wish to apply for any civil service job advertised on or after 1 July 2022 must take the BLNST and attain a pass result in order to be considered for appointment. The implementation details of the BLNST are as follows –

  1. Civil service jobs requiring degree or professional qualifications

    The Civil Service Bureau would conduct the BLNST (degree / professional grades) alongside the Common Recruitment Examination.  This BLNST is a 30-minute bilingual paper (in both English and Chinese) comprising 20 multiple-choice questions.  Answering at least 10 out of 20 questions correct will be deemed to have a pass result in BLNST.  The pass result of the BLNST is acceptable for the purpose of applying for all civil service jobs.  Candidates who possess a pass result in BLNST (degree / professional grades) will not be arranged to take any BLNST again.  Please click here for information on the application arrangements for BLNST (degree / professional grades).

    Candidates will be informed of their test results (usually within one month after the BLNST centrally conducted by the Civil Service Bureau).

    For candidates who have not taken the relevant BLNST or have not attained a pass result in the relevant BLNST at the time of application, they may still apply for the job and arrangements will be made for them to take the relevant BLNST during the recruitment process.

  2. Civil service jobs requiring non-degree or non-professional qualifications at or above completion of secondary education levelNote

    The BLNST (non-degree / non-professional civil service grades at or above completion of secondary education level) will be conducted by the recruiting department / grade during the recruitment process. This BLNST paper is a 35-minute bilingual paper (in both English and Chinese), comprising 20 multiple-choice questions.  Answering at least 10 out of 20 questions correct will be deemed to have a pass result in BLNST.  The pass result of the BLNST is acceptable for the purpose of applying for all non-degree or non-professional civil service jobs.  Candidates who possess a pass result in BLNST (non-degree / non-professional civil service grades at or above completion of secondary education level) will not be arranged to take any BLNST at / below an equivalent level again.

    The recruiting department / grade will notify candidates of their test results normally within a month.

    For candidates who have not taken the relevant BLNST or have not attained a pass result in the relevant BLNST at the time of application, they may still apply for the job and arrangements will be made for them to take the relevant BLNST during the recruitment process.

  3. Civil service jobs requiring academic qualifications below completion of secondary education levelNote

    Candidates will be tested orally on a total of four questions on the Basic Law and the National Security Law during recruitment interviews.  Candidates who answer two or more questions correct will be treated as having passed the BLNST (for grades requiring academic qualifications below completion of secondary education level).  The pass result of this BLNST is acceptable for the purpose of applying for all civil service jobs requiring academic qualifications below completion of secondary education level.  Candidates who possess a pass result in BLNST (for grades requiring academic qualifications below completion of secondary education level) will not be arranged to take the BLNST at equivalent level again.

    The recruiting department / grade will notify candidates of their test results normally within a month.

    For candidates who have not taken the BLNST or have not attained a pass result in the BLNST at the time of application, they may still apply for the job and arrangements will be made for them to take the BLNST during the recruitment interview.

For the avoidance of doubt, for civil service recruitment exercises advertised before 1 July 2022, candidates will be assessed on their Basic Law knowledge only.

On the other hand, for all civil service recruitment exercises advertised on or after 28 July 2023, job applicants could apply for the BLNST conducted by the Civil Service Bureau, the Education Bureau or various recruiting departments/grades, the pass result of which is mutually acceptable for applying for both civil service jobs and teaching posts in public-funded schools or kindergartens joining the Kindergarten Education Scheme.  For details, please click here for the relevant press release.  As for the details of the BLNST for newly-appointed teachers, please visit the website of the Education Bureau (www.edb.gov.hk/en/blnst).

 

Frequently asked questions

 

Candidates who wish to acquire a better understanding of the Basic Law and the National Security Law may refer to the following links:

Note: For the purpose of BLNST, “completion of secondary education” refers to completion of Secondary 6 under the New Academic Structure (Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSEE)), or equivalent; or completion of Form 5 under the previous academic structure (Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE)), or equivalent.  Non-degree and non-professional civil service jobs with appointment requirements at Higher Diploma, Diploma, Higher Certificate, and Certificate level also fall under this category.