Every Government Typing Test in the US, UK, Canada & Australia

United States

Federal

Federal jobs that need a “qualified typist” use 40 WPM on a 5-minute sample with three or fewer errors. The requirement appears in USAJOBS announcements for clerk and office automation series such as GS-0303 and GS-0318. How you prove it depends on the posting. Practise on the federal typing test.

State, county and city

Each civil service system sets its own rule, typically a five-minute test at 35–45 net WPM for clerk-typist titles. California is explicit: CalHR accepts only proctored five-minute certificates showing 40 WPM or more, issued within four years. See civil service typing test.

Public safety

911 dispatch is typically 35–45 WPM, tested while listening and often with CritiCall — 911 dispatcher test.

United Kingdom

Civil Service

Most Civil Service roles, including most AO and EO jobs, have no typing test. Selection uses Success Profiles. A few secretarial, PA and transcription posts test typing; the advert says so — UK Civil Service typing test.

NHS

Trusts set their own tests. Medical secretaries are usually tested on audio typing of a clinic letter on interview day, commonly around 50–60 WPM — NHS typing test.

Police

Call handler assessments include typing, often while listening; forces commonly look for around 25–35 WPM — 999 call handler test.

Canada

Federal departments run their own assessments; many employers and agencies use a five-minute onscreen test with a published errors-per-minute table. Bilingual roles may test typing in English and French and need a separate second-language evaluation. See the Canadian 5-minute test and the bilingual test.

Australia

Most APS roles do not test typing. Some admin, EA and transcription roles do; court and tribunal transcription officers commonly need around 70 WPM. State governments recruit separately — APS typing test, court transcription test.

New Zealand and Ireland

Neither has a national standard. NZ agencies and recruiters run short typing and data-entry exercises; Irish Clerical Officer competitions mostly use online aptitude tests rather than typing. See the NZ and Ireland hubs.

One rule everywhere: proctored vs practice

Government employers that need proof test you themselves or require a proctored certificate. Practice sites — including this one — cannot provide that. Use them to make sure you pass the real one.

Comparison table

Reading a government job posting

Look in three places. The qualifications section tells you whether typing is required; the conditions of employment or essential criteria tell you the standard; and the “how to apply” or “selection process” section tells you how it will be checked. If none of them mention typing, it is not part of selection — even for an office job.

Common mistakes

• Practising one-minute tests for a five-minute standard — endurance is the hard part.
• Ignoring the error rule. A fast run with four errors fails the federal standard.
• Assuming an online certificate counts. Government employers almost always need a proctored result.
• Practising on the wrong layout. A UK applicant on a US keyboard loses marks on every quote.

Indian government exams

For SSC, RRB NTPC, DSSSB and state exams — which use KDPH and Hindi typing — see the government typing test hub.

Before any employer or exam typing test

Five questions decide how you should prepare, so get the answers before test day. Most can be found in the job posting, the candidate information pack, or by asking the recruiter.

1. How long is the test? One minute rewards a fast start; five or ten minutes rewards endurance.
2. How are errors counted? Per word, per character, subtracted from WPM, or capped (for example 3 errors in 5 minutes).
3. Can you use Backspace? Some platforms disable it.
4. What is the content? Prose, numbers, forms, or audio.
5. What keyboard? UK ISO or US ANSI — and whether there is a numeric keypad.

Find the preset that matches your test on the requirements table, or use the requirement checker to compare your best score with the job.

Sources

1. Clerk (Office Automation), GS-0303 — 40 WPM, five-minute sample — USAJOBS (checked October 18, 2026)
2. Typing certification — CalHR requirements — CalCareers (CalHR) (checked October 18, 2026)
3. Civil Service Jobs — Administrative Officer and Executive Officer adverts — GOV.UK (checked October 18, 2026)
4. NHS Jobs — search admin and medical secretary adverts — NHS Jobs (checked October 18, 2026)
5. Canadian Typing — General (5 minutes, onscreen): errors per minute by speed — SHL / IBM Kenexa catalogue (checked October 18, 2026)
6. APSJobs — Australian Public Service vacancies — Australian Public Service Commission (checked October 18, 2026)
7. Second language evaluation in the federal public service — Public Service Commission of Canada (checked October 18, 2026)