APPSC AMVI 2026 — Official 450-Mark CBRT, General Studies and Automobile Engineering Syllabus

Notification 36/2026 · Annexure-II, pages 15–16 · Written merit examination · Date not announced.

The competitive test for Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector is an online Computer Based Recruitment Test (CBRT) with two compulsory objective papers. Paper-I assesses general aptitude at degree standard; Paper-II tests Automobile Engineering at diploma standard. The official distribution makes Automobile Engineering worth two-thirds of written merit, even though it contains the same number of questions as General Studies. A separate qualifying CPT follows shortlisted candidates; do not combine it into a fictional 550-mark ranking.

📊 Exact pattern from the official examination table

📊 Official written-test marks, subject by subject

Negative marking applies at one-third of the value of each incorrectly answered question: Paper-I wrong answer −1/3; Paper-II wrong answer −2/3. The notice does not give a separate additional penalty for leaving a question unattempted. Both papers must be attempted as required by Para 14.1; absences in a paper disqualify candidature.

Language is not identical across papers. General Studies questions are set in English and translated into Telugu, with the English version authoritative for valuation. Automobile Engineering is English-medium only. Those are the notified language rules—not a guaranteed Telugu bilingual technical paper.

Paper-I — all ten official General Studies / Mental Ability areas

1. Current affairs: major international, Indian and Andhra Pradesh events and issues; not restricted to national news alone.
2. General science and technology: scientific applications in daily life, contemporary science/technology and IT developments.
3. Indian and A.P. history: broad social, economic, cultural and political developments with the Indian national movement and Andhra Pradesh emphasis.
4. Geography: geography of India, specifically with Andhra Pradesh context.
5. Polity and governance: Constitution, public policy, reforms and e-governance initiatives.
6. Economy and planning: Indian economy and economic planning.
7. Sustainability: sustainable development and environmental protection.
8. Disaster management: vulnerability, prevention/mitigation and remote sensing/GIS for disaster assessment.
9. Reasoning: logical reasoning, analytical ability and logical interpretation.
10. Data analysis: tables and visual representation; basic statistics including mean, median, mode and variance; interpreting datasets.

Each heading follows Annexure-II's ten subjects. APPSC has not announced a per-unit question count or subtopic mark weight, so an asserted “30 questions from Indian Polity” or guaranteed topic split would be speculative.

Paper-II — full 23-point official Automobile Engineering content

1. Thermodynamics: Open/closed systems; properties/cycles and equilibrium; zeroth, first and second laws; pure substances, Mollier diagram, vapour power and Rankine cycles.
2. Air-standard cycles: Otto, Diesel and dual-combustion cycles; mean effective pressure derivation, diagram factor, efficiency and Stirling-engine fundamentals.
3. Gear trains: Gear nomenclature, simple/compound/epicyclic trains, calculations of torque.
4. Shaft mechanics: Solid and hollow shafts; torque, shear stress, angular deflection, bending and combined moment.
5. Friction mechanisms: Inclined planes, screws/nuts, screw jacks and self-locking conditions.
6. Fuel quality and combustion values: Flash and fire points, calorific value, calorimeters, octane and cetane values, stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.
7. Internal combustion engines: Single/multi-cylinder engines; pre-whirl chambers, ignition/combustion delays, knock and detonation.
8. Engine configuration: Firing order, pistons, piston rings and piston temperature profile.
9. Fuel supply and injection: Carburetion/carburettors, petrol and diesel injection systems including common-rail arrangements and fuel tank.
10. Engine balancing: Balancing of single-cylinder engines.
11. Engine auxiliary systems: Lubrication and cooling of automobiles.
12. Transmission systems: Clash, synchromesh and automatic gearboxes and transmission systems.
13. Driveline: Propeller shafts, universal coupling, differential, half shafts and floating arrangements.
14. Clutches: Single and multi-plate clutch; bearing pressure, pressure plate, axial load and fluid clutch.
15. Braking: Mechanical, hydraulic and air-brake mechanisms.
16. Steering: Correct-steering condition and Ackermann steering geometry.
17. Automobile electrical: Delco/ignition system, wiring circuits and operation of vehicle electrical equipment.
18. Vehicle emissions and exhaust-gas analysis: Pollutant sources, formation, health/environmental effects, regulated/unregulated standards; SI engine HC/CO/NO formation/smoke; diesel NOx, particulates, odour, sulphur and aldehyde emissions and operating-variable effects.
19. Air-conditioning: Automobile air-conditioning systems.
20. Wheel alignment: Camber, caster, kingpin inclination, toe-in and toe-out.
21. Tyres and road rules: Tyre maintenance and traffic rules.
22. Automotive materials: Metal structure/imperfections, ferrous and nonferrous materials and heat treatment of steel.
23. Instrumentation and control: Motion, level, force and temperature transducers; closed-loop and open-loop control systems.

How to approach the technical syllabus without misreading it

The published contents cover vehicle fundamentals and engineering mathematics, engines, combustion and emissions, power transmission and steering/braking, and inspection-relevant road rules, tyre, instrumentation and control. These are editorial study groupings of the 23 officially printed topics, not APPSC's separate scoring sections. The scheme gives no chapter-wise numerical weightage and announces no separate practical workshop examination under Paper-II.

Because each Paper-II MCQ is worth 2 marks, a candidate choosing between random guesses and leaving uncertain questions should account for the larger 2/3-mark penalty. Paper-I applies its own 1/3-mark loss. The exam will be held on a date announced later, not on 6 or 26 November (those are application-related dates).

Written qualifying percentages and ranking

These are qualifying minima, not the final category cutoffs or last-selected marks. The special SC/ST rank consideration in Para 14.5 is also governed by the printed rule and should not be converted into a predicted cut-off. In a tie, the notification generally favours the older candidate, with earlier qualification date as the next factor; the competent Commission applies the full notified tie rules. The notice does not provide a waiting list for subsequent vacancies.

Test cities and sitting instructions

The four stated CBRT centres are Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Anantapuramu. Applicants may provide three preferences, while APPSC retains allocation discretion. Annexure-III specifies biometric identification, prescribed reporting time, computer-based login and answer-saving controls. On the answer screen, use Save & Next to preserve responses and Mark for Review when needed; mobile phones, calculators and smart gadgets are prohibited unless a later official instruction expressly allows an item.

Answer key, objection and normalization rules

After CBRT, APPSC will publish an initial key. The candidate may file objections within three days after that key's publication, with a ₹100 charge per objection that can be refunded for a sustained/accepted objection. Final expert review follows the notice's objection procedure. In multiple sessions, APPSC may normalize scores using the Annexure-V method; the normalized score governs ranking when that method applies. Published key dates and objection dates are future contingencies, not actual released result notices for 36/2026.

What happens after CBRT?

Written-merit applicants shortlisted by APPSC must qualify the separate 100-mark CPT, and thereafter prove original qualifications, valid driving documentation, local status and medical fitness. An applicant may score over 40% in written papers and still be ineligible if the mandatory practical test or AMVI vision standards are not satisfied.

Authority: APPSC Notification 36/2026 and official announcements.