N.Y. Civil Service Law § 50: Examinations generally

§ 50. Examinations generally. 1. Positions subject to competitive

examinations. The merit and fitness of applicants for positions which

are classified in the competitive class shall be ascertained by such

examinations as may be prescribed by the state civil service department

or the municipal commission having jurisdiction.

2. Announcement of examination. (a) The state civil service department

and municipal commissions shall issue an announcement of each

competitive examination, setting forth the minimum qualifications

required, the subjects of the examination, and such other information as

they may deem necessary, and shall advertise and promote such

examination in such manner as the nature of the examination may require.

Such announcement and advertisement shall each inform prospective

applicants of the options for religious observance provided in

subdivision eight of this section.

(b) In addition to any announcement required by paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, the department and municipal commissions shall provide

notice of each competitive examination to the following entities if the

entity is located within the same geographic area as the department or

commission: board of cooperative educational services (BOCES), school

districts, public colleges, public universities, local social services

districts, and, to the extent practicable, job training programs. In

addition, the department and each municipal commission shall allow any

such entity to sign up to be notified electronically when an

announcement is issued.

3. Application for examination. The civil service department and

municipal commissions shall require prospective applicants to file,

during a prescribed time, a formal application in which the applicant

shall state such information as may reasonably be required touching upon

his background, experience and qualifications for the position sought,

and his merit and fitness for the public service. The application shall

be subscribed by the applicant and shall contain an affirmation by him

that the statements therein are true under the penalties of perjury.

Blank forms for such application shall be furnished by said department

and such municipal commissions without charge to all persons requesting

the same. The department and such municipal commissions may require in

connection with such application such certificates of citizens,

physicians, public officers or others having knowledge of the applicant,

as the good of the service may require.

4. Disqualification of applicants or eligibles. The state civil

service department and municipal commissions may refuse to examine an

applicant, or after examination to certify an eligible

(a) who is found to lack any of the established requirements for

admission to the examination or for appointment to the position for

which he applies; or

(b) who is found to have a disability which renders him or her unfit

to perform in a reasonable manner the duties of the position in which he

or she seeks employment, or which may reasonably be expected to render

him or her unfit to continue to perform in a reasonable manner the

duties of such position; or

(d) who has been guilty of a crime; or

(e) who has been dismissed from a permanent position in the public

service upon stated written charges of incompetency or misconduct, after

an opportunity to answer such charges in writing, or who has resigned

from, or whose service has otherwise been terminated in, a permanent or

temporary position in the public service, where it is found after

appropriate investigation or inquiry that such resignation or

termination resulted from his incompetency or misconduct, provided, that

in cases of dismissal, resignation or termination after written charges

of incompetency, the examination or certification in question be for a

position that requires the performance of a duty or duties which are the

same as or similar to the duty or duties of the position from which the

applicant has been dismissed, resigned or terminated on account of

incompetency; or

(f) who has intentionally made a false statement of any material fact

in his application; or

(g) who has practiced, or attempted to practice, any deception or

fraud in his application, in his examination, or in securing his

eligibility or appointment; or

(h) who has been dismissed from private employments because of

habitually poor performance.

No person shall be disqualified pursuant to this subdivision unless he

has been given a written statement of the reasons therefor and afforded

an opportunity to make an explanation and to submit facts in opposition

to such disqualification.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision or any other law,

the state civil service department or appropriate municipal commission

may investigate the qualifications and background of an eligible after

he has been appointed from the list, and upon finding facts which if

known prior to appointment, would have warranted his disqualification,

or upon a finding of illegality, irregularity or fraud of a substantial

nature in his application, examination or appointment, may revoke such

eligible's certification and appointment and direct that his employment

be terminated, provided, however, that no such certification shall be

revoked or appointment terminated more than three years after it is

made, except in the case of fraud.

In connection with their lawful responsibilities or functions under

paragraph (d) of this subdivision, the department and appropriate

municipal commissions may require applicants to undergo a state and a

national criminal history record check. When required, the fingerprints

of such an applicant shall be submitted to the division of criminal

justice services and the division of criminal justice services is

authorized to submit such fingerprints to the federal bureau of

investigation, in accordance with applicable rules or regulations

promulgated by such entities, in order to obtain relevant state criminal

history record information, if any, concerning such applicant and for a

national criminal history record check. The department and municipal

commissions shall ensure that adequate notice be provided to applicants

regarding the fact that state and national criminal history record

checks may be conducted, and the procedures therefor. Provided, however,

that the provisions of this section shall not apply to (1) any current

employee; or (2) a person who is considered an applicant by reason of

(a) a transfer pursuant to section seventy of this chapter; or (b) a

person who is on a preferred list subject to section eighty-one of this

chapter; or (c) a person whose name is on an eligible list as defined in

section fifty-six of this article and who has successfully completed a

promotion exam subject to section fifty-two of this article.

5. Application fees. (a) Every applicant for examination for a

position in the competitive or non-competitive class, or in the labor

class when examination for appointment is required, shall pay a fee to

the civil service department or appropriate municipal commission at a

time determined by it. Such fees shall be dependent on the minimum

annual salary announced for the position, as follows: (1) on salaries of

less than three thousand dollars per annum, a fee of two dollars; (2) on

salaries of more than three thousand dollars and not more than four

thousand dollars per annum, a fee of three dollars; (3) on salaries of

more than four thousand dollars and not more than five thousand dollars

per annum, a fee of four dollars; and (4) on salaries of more than five

thousand dollars per annum, a fee of five dollars. If the compensation

of a position is fixed on any basis other than an annual salary rate,

the applicant shall pay a fee based on the annual compensation which

would otherwise be payable in such position if the services were

required on a full time annual basis for the number of hours per day and

days per week established by law or administrative rule or order. Fees

paid hereunder by an applicant whose application is not approved may be

refunded in the discretion of the state civil service department or of

the appropriate municipal commission.

* (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, the state civil service department, subject to the approval

of the director of the budget, a municipal commission, subject to the

approval of the governing board or body of the city or county, as the

case may be, or a regional commission or personnel officer, pursuant to

governmental agreement, may elect to waive application fees, or to

abolish fees for specific classes of positions or types of examinations

or candidates, or to establish a uniform schedule of reasonable fees

different from those prescribed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision,

specifying in such schedule the classes of positions or types of

examinations or candidates to which such fees shall apply; provided,

however, that fees shall be waived for candidates who certify to the

state civil service department, a municipal commission or a regional

commission that they are unemployed and primarily responsible for the

support of a household, or are receiving public assistance. Provided

further, the state civil service department shall waive the state

application fee for examinations for original appointment for all

veterans. Provided further, the state civil service department shall,

and a municipal commission may, subject to the approval of the governing

board or body of the city or county, as the case may be, or a regional

commission or personnel officer, pursuant to governmental agreement,

waive application fees for all examinations held between July first, two

thousand twenty-three and December thirty-first, two thousand

twenty-seven. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes

of this section, the term "veteran" shall mean a person who has served

in the armed forces of the United States or the reserves thereof, or in

the army national guard, air national guard, New York guard, or the New

York naval militia, and who (1) has been honorably discharged or

released from such service under honorable conditions, or (2) has a

qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the veterans'

services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or

dishonorable from such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as

defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a

discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service. The

term "armed forces" shall mean the army, navy, air force, space force,

marine corps, and coast guard.

* NB Effective until December 31, 2027

* (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this

subdivision, the state civil service department, subject to the approval

of the director of the budget, a municipal commission, subject to the

approval of the governing board or body of the city or county, as the

case may be, or a regional commission or personnel officer, pursuant to

governmental agreement, may elect to waive application fees, or to

abolish fees for specific classes of positions or types of examinations

or candidates, or to establish a uniform schedule of reasonable fees

different from those prescribed in paragraph (a) of this subdivision,

specifying in such schedule the classes of positions or types of

examinations or candidates to which such fees shall apply; provided,

however, that fees shall be waived for candidates who certify to the

state civil service department, a municipal commission or a regional

commission that they are unemployed and primarily responsible for the

support of a household, or are receiving public assistance. Provided

further, the state civil service department shall waive the state

application fee for examinations for original appointment for all

veterans. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for purposes of

this section, the term "veteran" shall mean a person who has served in

the armed forces of the United States or the reserves thereof, or in the

army national guard, air national guard, New York guard, or the New York

naval militia, and who (1) has been honorably discharged or released

from such service under honorable conditions, or (2) has a qualifying

condition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and

has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from

such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section

one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other

than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service. The term "armed

forces" shall mean the army, navy, air force, space force, marine corps,

and coast guard.

* NB Effective December 31, 2027

(c) All fees collected hereunder by the state civil service

department, except as hereinafter provided, shall be paid into the state

treasury in the manner prescribed by the state finance law. Fees

collected from applicants for examinations given exclusively for

positions in the division of employment in the department of labor shall

be held in trust until such time as the costs of such examinations have

been ascertained and thereupon shall be disbursed as follows: (1) to the

extent that such fees are sufficient therefor, there shall be paid into

the unemployment administration fund maintained under the unemployment

insurance law, an amount equal to the costs of such examinations. Such

payments shall be made on the fifth day of the month following the month

in which such costs were ascertained and shall be accompanied by a

detailed, verified statement and a duplicate of such statement shall be

filed on the same day with the state comptroller; (2) the balance, if

any, of such fees shall be paid into the state treasury pursuant to the

state finance law.

(d) All fees collected hereunder by any municipal civil service

commission shall be paid into the general fund of the municipality for

which such commission has been appointed.

5-a. Location of examinations. (a) The state civil service department

shall offer examinations at any location or locations that it deems

suitable.

(b) The state civil service department shall make efforts to utilize

state university of New York educational opportunity centers when

selecting testing sites.

6. Scope of examinations. Examinations shall be practical in their

character and shall relate to those matters which will fairly test the

relative capacity and fitness of the persons examined to discharge the

duties of that service into which they seek to be appointed. The state

civil service department or appropriate municipal commission, as the

case may be, may establish an eligible list on the basis of ratings

received by the candidates in the competitive portions of the

examination and thereafter conduct medical, physical and other

appropriate non-competitive qualifying tests from time to time as the

need for certifications from the eligible list may require. Beginning in

two thousand twenty-five, the state civil service department shall

review and update the questions contained within the examination, as

deemed appropriate by the department, no less than every five years.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the state civil service

department from reviewing or updating the examinations prior to the

scheduled update, as the department deems appropriate.

7. Court review of examination questions and answers. Where the state

civil service commission or appropriate municipal civil service

commission has, following its duly established review procedures, which

in the case of the city of New York are set forth in section fifty-a of

this chapter, made a final determination as to the answers that are

acceptable on a particular examination, such determination shall not be

subject to further review in any court. Court review shall be limited to

be a determination of whether such duly established review procedures

were followed, and the court shall have no authority to determine

whether the commission's determination was correct.

8. Limitation of eligibility to one sex. The state civil service

department or the municipal commission having jurisdiction may limit

eligibility for examination to one sex when the duties of the position

involved relate to the institutional or other custody or care of persons

of the same sex, or visitation, inspection or work of any kind the

nature of which requires sex selection.

9. Examination of candidates unable to attend tests because of

religious observance. A person who, because of his religious beliefs, is

unable to attend and take an examination scheduled to be held by the

state department of civil service or a municipal commission on a

Saturday or on a day which is a religious holiday observed by him, shall

be permitted to take such examination on some other day designated by

the state department of civil service or appropriate municipal

commission, at a reasonably comparable time and place without any

additional fee or penalty.

10. The term "disability" as used in this section, shall be defined as

such term is defined in section two hundred ninety-two of the executive

law. Determination of disability shall be made by a medical officer

employed or selected by the civil service department or the municipal

commission having jurisdiction.

11. Unlawful acts in respect to examinations administered pursuant to

this chapter. A person who shall:

(a) Impersonate, or attempt to or offer to impersonate, another person

in taking an examination held pursuant to this chapter; or

(b) Take, or attempt to take or offer to take such an examination in

the name of any other person; or

(c) Procure or attempt to procure any other person to falsely

impersonate him or her or to take, or attempt to take or offer to take,

any such examination in his or her name; or

(d) Have in his or her possession any questions or answers relating to

any such examination, or copies of such questions or answers, unless

such possession is duly authorized by the appropriate authorities; or

(e) Sell or offer to sell questions or answers prepared for use in any

such examination; or

(f) Use in any such examination any questions or answers secured prior

to the administration of the examination or secure the questions or

secure or prepare the answers to the examination questions prior to the

administration of the examination, unless duly authorized to do so by

the appropriate authorities; or

(g) Disclose or transmit to any person the questions or answers to

such examination prior to its administration, or destroy, falsify or

conceal the records or results of such examination from the appropriate

authorities to whom such records are required to be transmitted in

accordance with this chapter, unless duly authorized to do so by the

appropriate authorities;

shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor punishable by a sentence of

imprisonment of six months or a fine of one thousand dollars, or both.

Additionally, a person who is found by the state civil service

department or municipal commission to have violated this section shall

be disqualified from appointment to the position for which the

examination is being held and may be disqualified from being a candidate

for any civil service examination for a period of five years.