New York City’s civil service exams are now free for city high school students and first-time applicants.
Under Local Law 57 of 2025, sponsored by City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa and signed this summer by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the fees will be waived for qualified applicants the same way they are for veterans, unemployed applicants, and public assistance recipients.
First-time applicants can get verified to take the tests on the city’s Online Application System (OASys 2.0) site. High school students can qualify by providing proof of current enrollment.
Over the years, New York’s civil service system has helped many people enter into careers as teachers, transit workers, sanitation workers, caseworkers, clerks, engineers, and health workers. Civil service jobs — which can give union protections, health benefits, pensions, and salaries that are similar to and sometimes bring in more than private-sector jobs — can help push people into stable employment.
A recently published list of civil service jobs showed the wide range of salaries city workers make. Police officer roles range from $55,942 to $109,352; caseworker positions at NYC Health + Hospitals are listed between $55,437 and $82,561; contract specialist salaries span $68,333 to $91,766; plan examiner jobs range from $94,005 to $118,860; and traffic enforcement agents earn between $38,333 and $51,434. According to the city’s FY2024 workforce profile, the median salary for full-time municipal staff is $87,550, not including overtime, longevity pay, differentials, pensions, or other benefits.
The city’s exam system has often been criticized as slow and hard to use, and because of the fees applicants faced. Fees for civil service tests have typically ranged from $30 to more than $100.
The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) says it administers an average of 180 exams each year to more than 110,000 candidates, and about 80% of city jobs require candidates to pass a civil service exam. The FY2027 exam schedule currently lists 149 examinations.
“To serve New York is the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said when the new law was announced. “The people best equipped to build a city that works for everyone are the students in our classrooms, the people who walk our streets, and the New Yorkers who call our city home. By making civil service exams free for high schoolers and first-time test takers, we’re opening the doors to millions more New Yorkers to serve the city they love.”
