Delhi High Court has opened applications for its Senior Personal Assistant and Personal Assistant Examinations 2026. The recruitment covers 150 Group B vacancies in New Delhi: 117 Senior Personal Assistant posts and 33 Personal Assistant posts. Registration and online fee payment are available until 5 October 2026 at 11 PM. These are graduate-level opportunities, but a degree alone is not enough: applicants also need the specified English shorthand speed, computer typing speed and working knowledge of computers.
An important distinction concerns reservation. The Personal Assistant vacancy table has no General-category seats. General-category vacancies are advertised for Senior Personal Assistant only. Candidates should therefore check the post-specific vacancy distribution before selecting a post or paying its non-refundable examination fee. This guide explains the verified notice and application process; the High Court's official notice and subsequent updates remain controlling.
Important dates for Delhi High Court recruitment
- Online registration and fee payment opened: 15 September 2026 at 11 AM.
- Registration and fee payment close: 5 October 2026 at 11 PM.
- Application correction window opens: 12 October 2026 at 11 AM.
- Application correction window closes: 14 October 2026 at 11 PM.
- Admit-card release, examination dates, timings and venues: to be announced through the official website.
The correction window is not an extension for submitting a fresh application. It is intended for candidates whose completed applications and fees were received within the original application period. All times above are Indian local times. Check the portal and official recruitment page for any later corrigendum before relying on a saved screenshot or forwarded message.
Vacancies and pay levels
Senior Personal Assistant has 117 vacancies: 43 General, 14 EWS, 32 OBC-NCL, 16 SC and 12 ST. Seven vacancies within this total are horizontally reserved for the specified PwBD categories. The post is classified as Group B under Level 8 of the Seventh Central Pay Commission pay matrix.
Personal Assistant has 33 vacancies: zero General, seven EWS, 16 OBC-NCL, five SC and five ST. Three vacancies within this total are horizontally reserved for the specified PwBD categories. This is also a Group B post, under Pay Level 7. Horizontal reservation is part of the stated vacancy totals; it must not be added again to make a larger total.
The notice states pay-matrix levels, not a single guaranteed monthly take-home amount. Deductions, allowances and individual appointment conditions affect actual salary. Applicants should not treat unofficial salary estimates as an offer. The Court also reserves the right to change vacancy numbers and aspects of the examination process.
What the selected assistants will do
The notice's duties annexure makes clear that these are court-support and secretarial positions, not ordinary data-entry assignments. Work includes taking dictation of proceedings, orders and judgments, transcribing it accurately, checking completed documents and assisting the Private Secretary. Staff also help maintain judicial files and coordinate the movement of records with the Registry and other branches.
Electronic-record handling is part of the role. The annexure covers authorised document uploads, secure custody of digital files and credentials, and strict confidentiality around proceedings, draft judgments and official information. Accuracy, discretion and careful record management therefore matter alongside shorthand speed. Selected staff may be required to work beyond normal hours, on holidays or at a judge's residential office. Applicants should consider those working conditions before treating this as a fixed-hours office vacancy.
Educational qualifications and required skills
For Senior Personal Assistant, candidates must be graduates of a recognised university, have English shorthand speed of at least 110 words per minute, and type English on a computer at at least 40 words per minute. Good working knowledge of computers is also required.
For Personal Assistant, the degree, computer-knowledge and 40-wpm English typing requirements are the same. The English shorthand requirement is at least 100 words per minute. These are separate skill requirements: ordinary typing speed does not substitute for shorthand proficiency.
Essential qualifications must be held by 5 October 2026. The final result of the qualifying education must have been declared by the closing date. No particular degree stream or previous employment duration is specified in the essential-qualification section. Applicants without work experience must still satisfy all the academic, age, category and skill conditions. The notice is not restricted to law graduates.
Age limit and reservation conditions
The basic age range is 18 to 32 years as on 1 January 2026. Without an applicable relaxation, the notice gives the permitted birth-date range as 2 January 1994 to 1 January 2008. Date of birth is checked against the matriculation or equivalent recognised record.
Upper-age relaxation is five years for SC/ST and three years for eligible OBC-NCL candidates. For the specified eligible PwBD categories, it is ten years for General/EWS, thirteen years for OBC and fifteen years for SC/ST. These provisions are subject to the disability and reservation conditions in the notice, including the applicable benchmark-disability threshold. Separate rules apply to ex-servicemen and disabled defence-service personnel. Regular employees of Delhi High Court have a specific upper-age exemption; that exemption does not automatically extend to other government offices or district courts.
OBC reservation has a particularly important Delhi-specific restriction. Applicants need the appropriate certificate from the competent Government of NCT of Delhi authority for a caste recognised or notified as OBC by that government. An outside-Delhi certificate or a certificate only for Central Government reservation does not automatically qualify. Where required, the NCL certificate must meet the notice's current-financial-year requirements. Relevant reservation documents must be valid by the stated cut-off; check the complete clause before claiming a concession.
The notice permits eligible Indian citizens and subjects of Nepal under the stated government instructions. A successful Nepalese candidate needs the prescribed Government of India eligibility certificate before an appointment offer. Candidates must read the nationality provision rather than assuming every overseas applicant is eligible.
Examination fees and separate applications
The fee is Rs. 1,500 per post for General/OBC-NCL/EWS candidates and Rs. 1,300 per post for SC/ST and the specified eligible PwBD categories. Applicable transaction charges are additional. The General-category fee provision applies to Senior Personal Assistant because there are no General-category PA vacancies.
Candidates applying for both posts must submit separate applications and pay the fee for each. Payment can be made online through the supported UPI, net-banking or card options. Fees are non-refundable. A bank debit alone should not be treated as proof of a completed application: the notice requires successful generation of the confirmation page after the prescribed payment.
Selection stages and examination pattern
Both posts use four stages: English typing, English shorthand, a descriptive examination and an interview. Candidates must qualify the required stages individually. The typing test is qualifying in nature: it lasts ten minutes and assesses the 40-wpm English typing requirement, with the notice's three-percent permissible-error rule.
The shorthand stage differs by post. Senior PA uses a five-minute, 550-word dictation at 110 wpm and carries 120 marks. PA uses a five-minute, 500-word dictation at 100 wpm and carries 110 marks. Both allow 45 minutes for computer transcription. Candidates receive two shorthand dictation/transcription opportunities, and the better result is considered. Read the detailed full-mistake, half-mistake and disqualification rules before preparing mock tests.
The descriptive examination lasts 120 minutes and carries 100 marks. It covers a 250-word essay, letter writing, grammar and comprehension, and translation in both directions between Hindi and English. For Senior PA, the minimum is 50 percent for General-category candidates and 45 percent for reserved categories, including eligible PwBD candidates. For PA, the listed reserved-category threshold is 45 percent.
The interview carries 15 marks with no separate minimum qualifying score. Final merit combines shorthand, descriptive-examination and interview marks; qualifying typing-test marks are not added. The notice states that all candidates must participate in the required stages, and provides no scribe or compensatory-time facility for this recruitment. Applicants who may need an accommodation should read that clause carefully before deciding to apply.
How to complete the online application
Open the official application portal linked below and read its advertisement and application manual. Register using your own active email address and mobile number. Keep the generated registration details secure, then log in to complete the application for the correct post. Enter identity and education information consistently with the supporting certificates.
Prepare the uploads before starting. The notice requires a recent colour passport photograph in JPEG format, 100–200 KB, with the stated dimensions and face-coverage conditions. A live photograph captured through a webcam or mobile device is mandatory as well. The live and uploaded photographs must match. It also specifies a JPEG thumb impression of 50–200 KB and a JPEG signature of 50–150 KB. Follow the actual portal prompts and manual carefully; an unclear photograph or signature can lead to rejection.
Review every field, pay the correct fee and save the final confirmation page and payment reference. Government employees must inform their department and produce the required no-objection certificate at the relevant verification/interview stage. Keep qualification, date-of-birth and applicable category documents ready for later scrutiny. Registration or admission to an examination does not mean the Court has already confirmed eligibility.
Corrections, preparation and official updates
The correction facility allows at most two corrected submissions during the specified window. The charges are Rs. 200 for the first correction and Rs. 500 for the second, regardless of gender or category. Name, category, date of birth and mobile number cannot be modified under the notice's correction provision. The portal also warns that core registration details, including email, must be entered correctly at registration.
For preparation, prioritise accurate timed typing and shorthand transcription before concentrating only on written-paper material. Practise the two shorthand speeds separately if applying for both posts. Review mistakes after each timed exercise, and include essay, letter-writing and Hindi-English translation practice. These are editorial preparation suggestions, not a promise of selection or an additional official syllabus.
The portal lists recruitment assistance at +91-7353014447 and provides an integrated helpdesk. Use those official channels for application problems. Submit well before the last evening, retain your confirmation documents and revisit the High Court recruitment page for examination notices. Information in this article was checked on 19 September 2026.
