TNPSC Negative Marking and OMR Scoring: Check the Notification

There is no safe, universal answer to whether TNPSC deducts marks for a wrong answer or a blank answer. The rule depends on the examination and its official notification, including subsequent addenda. The 2025 Group IV addendum (Notification 7A/2025, section 1.10.2) is an important example: leaving every answer bubble blank for a question results in a deduction of 0.5 mark from the total. This is a deduction for a blank OMR response, not evidence of a universal wrong-answer penalty for all TNPSC exams. Check the rules for your own exam year before using any attempt strategy.

What the official Group IV example actually says

• For the 2025 Group IV objective paper, Part A has 100 Tamil eligibility-cum-scoring questions; Parts B and C have 75 General Studies and 25 Aptitude questions. The paper totals 200 questions and 300 marks. The Tamil eligibility threshold is 40 percent in Part A before the other parts are evaluated. See the 2025 Group IV notification, examination scheme.
• The May 21, 2025 addendum instructs candidates to darken one answer bubble for each question and to select option E if the answer is not known. It says that if none of the answer bubbles is darkened for a question, 0.5 mark is deducted. It separately states a 0.5-mark deduction if the left thumb impression is not affixed in the designated space.
• Darkening more than one answer bubble for a question means that answer is not evaluated. Incorrectly darkening or omitting the question booklet number can invalidate the sheet; these are separate OMR-compliance rules, not an extra wrong-answer deduction.

How to check your examination before answering

1. Open the current notification on the official TNPSC website and confirm the examination name, notification number and date. Do not substitute rules from an older recruitment.
2. Read both the examination scheme and the instructions for objective-type/OMR answers. Search the PDF for deduction, blank, wrong answer, option E and invalidation.
3. Check any later addendum or corrigendum against the notification. A later addendum can replace an earlier OMR instruction, as it did for Group IV in 2025.
4. Practise marking a sample OMR sheet exactly as instructed, including unknown-answer handling and booklet-number fields. Do not infer that leaving blanks is safer from a generic coaching article.

Frequently asked questions

Is there negative marking for a wrong answer? Do not assume a rule for every TNPSC paper. Read the wrong-answer provision, if any, in your own notification. The 2025 Group IV addendum quoted here explicitly addresses blanks, multiple markings and OMR fields; it does not establish a general wrong-answer penalty.

Should I leave an uncertain Group IV question unmarked? Not on the basis of the 2025 instructions: they specify option E for an unknown answer and a 0.5-mark deduction if no bubble is darkened. For another year, confirm the latest instructions first.

Where should I prepare? Use the Group IV study guide and previous papers for practice, but use TNPSC notifications for scoring rules.

Source checked October 2026. The cited rules describe the 2025 Group IV examination, not an unverified 2026 policy.