OPSC Scientific Officer Recruitment 2026: 89 Posts

OPSC Scientific Officer Recruitment 2026 has 89 posts open across 10 forensic science divisions, and the form runs from 6 November to 26 November 2026 at 5 pm on opsc.gov.in. The fee is Rs 700, free for SC, ST and PwD candidates. The written exam was first set for 17 January 2027, but OPSC moved it to 7 February 2027 in a corrigendum dated 6 November 2026, because the Assistant Section Officer exam sits on 17 January.

These are Group B posts in the State Forensic Science Service Organization under the Home Department, and the pay is Rs 44,900 a month at Level 10, Cell 1, plus dearness and other allowances. You need a master's degree in the subject of your chosen division, with at least 55 percent marks. And you get exactly one choice. The notification says a candidate shall apply for one division only, so pick the division that matches your degree before you pay.

OPSC Scientific Officer Recruitment 2026 at a glance

The exam moved from 17 January to 7 February

This is the part most job sites still get wrong. The advertisement itself fixed the written exam for 17 January 2027, a Sunday. Then OPSC issued its first corrigendum to this advertisement, Notice No. 6276/PSC dated 6 November 2026, and moved the Scientific Officer exam to 7 February 2027, also a Sunday.

The reason is printed in the corrigendum. The Assistant Section Officer exam, under Advertisement No. 15 of 2026-27, is scheduled for 17 January 2027, so OPSC shifted the Scientific Officer exam rather than run both on the same day. That clash matters if you planned to sit for both.

OPSC's own recruitment calendar still shows the old 17 January date for this advertisement, so go by the corrigendum, not the calendar. The rest of the advertisement is unchanged.

OPSC runs a parallel ASO recruitment with 340 posts and the same 17 January exam date, and the details sit in the OPSC ASO Recruitment 2026 post on this site. If you are applying for both, the new 7 February date means the two exams no longer collide.

Ten divisions, one choice

The 89 posts split across 10 divisions of the forensic science laboratory. Biology has the most seats at 14, Toxicology has 13, DNA has 12 and Cyber Forensic has 11. Physics has 7, Ballistics 6, Chemistry 10, Serology 4, Forensic Psychology 6 and Document 6. Women hold 29 of the 89 posts, spread across every division.

Each division has its own list of accepted degrees in Annexure A of the advertisement, and the lists are narrow. Physics takes a master's in Physics, Applied Physics or Electronics with Physics, or Forensic Science with Forensic Physics or Ballistics. Chemistry takes Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Applied Chemistry, Bio-chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry or Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance, or Forensic Science.

DNA takes Zoology, Biotechnology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Microbiology or Life Sciences, or Forensic Science with Forensic Biology, Serology or DNA. Cyber Forensic takes Computer Science, Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, Cyber Security, Computer Application or Digital Forensic, or Forensic Science with a Cyber Forensics specialisation. Read Annexure A for your division before you apply, because a closely related degree that is not on the list will not count.

Who can apply

The age limit is 21 to 42 years on 1 January 2026, which means born between 2 January 1984 and 1 January 2005. The upper limit relaxes by 5 years for SC, ST, SEBC, women and ex-servicemen, and by 10 years for persons with disabilities. If you are unsure about your exact age on the cut off date, the site's age calculator works it out in seconds.

You must hold the master's degree by the closing date of the form, with at least 55 percent aggregate marks. If your university gives grades, the notification asks for its conversion certificate showing the percentage. You must also be able to speak, read and write Odia, and have passed an examination with Odia as a language subject, or an equivalent qualification. Government servants can apply too, but they must produce a no objection certificate at document verification.

Two papers, then a personality test

Selection is a written examination of 400 marks followed by a personality test of 50 marks. Paper I is General English, General Awareness, General Aptitude and Reasoning, 100 questions for 100 marks in 90 minutes. Paper II is your division's subject at master's degree level, 150 questions for 300 marks in 150 minutes. Both papers are objective type, and every wrong answer loses 25 percent of the marks allotted to that question.

OPSC sets qualifying marks for each paper, then calls about twice the number of vacancies in each category for the personality test. OPSC will hold the exam at Cuttack or Bhubaneswar, and will notify the detailed schedule and centre later.

The fee comes back if you sit both papers

The fee is Rs 700 for everyone except SC, ST and PwD candidates, who pay nothing. Pay it online while filling the form. The notification says an application without the fee, except from the exempt categories, is incomplete and will be rejected outright.

The refund is the part worth reading twice. OPSC refunds the fee only to candidates who actually appear in both papers of the written examination. If you pay and do not sit the test, the money stays with the Commission. Refunds go back through the original payment method, so the form also asks for your bank account number, IFSC code, account holder name and branch, in case the refund fails through the original route.

How to apply on opsc.gov.in

Applications open on 6 November 2026, and only forms submitted through opsc.gov.in count. Register on the e-Chayan portal, opscechayan.in, which gives you a Permanent Public Service Account Number, called PPSAN. Then fill the form, choose one division, and pay the fee before 26 November at 5 pm.

Upload a scanned passport size photograph, your full signature and your left hand thumb impression. All three must be clearly visible, or OPSC can reject the application. If your photo or signature file is the wrong size for the form, the site's exam photo resizer fixes it in a minute.

You also need to merge your certificates and mark sheets into one PDF of up to 10 MB, including your HSC certificate, plus two certificate, bachelor's and master's degree certificates and mark sheets, caste certificate where applicable, Odia proof and disability certificate where applicable. All certificates must be issued before you submit the form.

Submit well before the closing date. The Commission says plainly that it is under no obligation to entertain requests to fix a form sent with errors or missing documents. If you need to correct a submitted form, cancel it and apply again before the last date. After the written result, shortlisted candidates submit a signed printout of the form with photocopies of all documents, and bring the originals for verification.

For technical problems while registering, the OPSC helpline is 0671-2304707. The facilitation counter for other questions is 0671-2304141 or 2305611, extension 205, from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm on working days.

Sources & verification: Odisha Public Service Commission, Advertisement No. 14 of 2026-27, Notice No. 6036/PSC dated 28 October 2026, read 7 November 2026 from the official notification PDF on opsc.gov.in, and 1st Corrigendum to Advt. No. 14 of 2026-27, Notice No. 6276/PSC dated 6 November 2026, read 7 November 2026 from the official corrigendum PDF on opsc.gov.in. Apply only through opsc.gov.in. The key figures in this article were read directly from those two documents: the vacancy and category tables on page 1 of the long advertisement, the age limit, qualification and fee on pages 1 to 2 of the short advertisement, the original exam date on page 2 of the short advertisement, and the rescheduled exam date on page 1 of the corrigendum.