New Jersey Civil Service Exam Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield New Jersey Civil Service Exam facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. An office supply order costs $480. If the price increases by 15%, what is the new total? → $552
2. An employee is given a deadline they believe is unrealistic for a critical project. The BEST course of action is to: → Communicate concerns about the timeline to the supervisor before the deadline
3. Which sentence avoids using a dangling modifier? → After reviewing the file, the officer made the decision.
4. All county clerks must complete ethics training. Maria is a county clerk. Which conclusion is logically valid? → Maria must complete ethics training
5. "Which order is incorrect?" Key: 1 7 6 9 2 4 8 3 J O E L F A S H, the code." → 16923-JELFH
6. A NJ public employee is subpoenaed to testify at a trial and must miss work. Under typical NJ civil service policy, this absence is treated as: → Authorized leave with pay, as jury and witness duty is a civic obligation
7. A civil service letter ends: 'Please do not hesitate to contact I if you have questions.' What should be corrected? → 'I' should be 'me'
8. Which document serves as the foundation of New Jersey's state government? → The New Jersey State Constitution
9. Which sentence demonstrates correct comma usage with a nonrestrictive clause? → My supervisor, who has 20 years of experience, reviewed the file.
10. Which principle ensures that NJ civil service hiring is based on qualifications rather than political connections? → Merit system
11. A citizen accuses you of treating them unfairly compared to other customers. The BEST response is to: → Acknowledge their concern, listen to specifics, and clarify the process applied equally
12. Select the correctly punctuated sentence with a parenthetical expression. → The report, however, was not accurate.
13. Which sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error? → The number of violations have increased this year.
14. A supervisor earns $31.50 per hour and receives time-and-a-half for overtime. What is the overtime hourly rate? → $47.25
15. Which of the following is the correct filing order for these business names: 'A-1 Plumbing', 'AAA Services', 'A & B Cleaners', 'Able Movers'? → A & B Cleaners, A-1 Plumbing, AAA Services, Able Movers
16. If 3/4 of a project is completed in 9 days, how many total days will the full project take at the same rate? → 12
17. A citizen visits your office and requests a service that your agency does not provide. The MOST helpful response is to: → Provide contact information for the agency or office that handles the request
18. If a civil service applicant scores below 70, they are disqualified. James scored 72. Which statement is correct? → James is not disqualified based on the score
19. A NJ state employee serving a working test period (probation) is dismissed. What is generally true? → They have limited appeal rights and may be dismissed more easily than permanent employees.
20. A municipal employee works 37.5 hours per week at $18.40 per hour. What is the employee's gross weekly pay? → $690.00
21. Which sentence uses active voice? → The analyst submitted the report.
22. Which sentence uses the word 'principal' correctly? → The principal reason for the delay was funding.
23. A road repair project is 40% complete after 10 days. At this rate, how many total days will the project take? → 25 days
24. No parking violations were issued on holidays. Ticket #4821 was issued on a holiday. What can be deduced? → Ticket #4821 must be an error
25. An employee realizes they made a significant error in a report that has already been submitted to leadership. The BEST course of action is to: → Inform the supervisor immediately, explain the error, and provide a correction
26. Which punctuation mark should replace the blank: 'The director made one thing clear _____ tardiness would not be tolerated.' → :
27. A clerk must retype a table with 6 rows and 4 columns. How many individual data cells must be entered? → 24
28. In a subject filing system, where would a document about 'Employee Health Insurance Benefits' most likely be filed? → Under 'Benefits'
29. Which of the following weakens the argument: 'Since the new training program began, accidents decreased. Therefore, the training caused the accident decrease.'? → Accidents also decreased in the same period last year before any training
30. B, A, Q, X, U, D, T, Y, H, P, G, E,? → L