PSC Mastery

Advice for appointment, and what NJD means

Advice is the Commission’s instruction to an appointing authority to appoint a named candidate against a reported vacancy. It is not itself an appointment: the department then verifies documents and issues the appointment order. When an advised candidate does not join, the vacancy is reported back as an NJD — non-joining duty — vacancy, and the Commission advises against it afresh while the list is still in force.

Steps

  1. A department reports a vacancy

    Advice begins with the appointing authority reporting a vacancy to the Commission, using the Commission’s own proforma. Nothing happens on a ranked list until vacancies are reported against it.

  2. The Commission advises a candidate

    It matches the vacancy to the next eligible candidate per the ranked list and the rotation turn, and issues the advice.

  3. Advice is not appointment

    The appointing authority completes verification and issues the appointment order. The gap between the two is where document verification sits.

  4. NJD — when an advised candidate does not join

    If the advised candidate does not join, the appointing authority reports the vacancy back to the Commission as a non-joining-duty vacancy, and it is filled afresh from the list.

  5. The list must still be alive

    A vacancy can only be filled from a list that remains in force. See the validity guide: one year minimum, three years maximum, whichever comes first.

  6. What we do not state here

    Kerala PSC does not publish, on the pages we cite, a joining-time limit, an NJD reporting deadline, or a general rule on how NJD vacancies are classified — points that have been litigated case by case. We do not summarise court judgments as though they were the Commission’s standing rule.

Frequently asked questions

Is an advice memo the same as an appointment order?#

No. Advice instructs the appointing authority to appoint you against a reported vacancy; the department then verifies your documents and issues the appointment order.

What is an NJD vacancy?#

A non-joining-duty vacancy: one created when an advised candidate does not join, reported back to the Commission and filled again from the list.

My rank came up but I have had no advice. Why?#

Advice depends on vacancies being reported to the Commission while the list is in force, and on which rotation turn the next vacancy falls against. Neither is something a candidate can influence.

What is the difference between an NJD vacancy and an NCA notification?#

They are unrelated. A non-joining-duty vacancy is one created when an already-advised candidate fails to join; it is reported back and refilled from the same list. NCA — no candidate available — is what happens when there are not enough candidates of a reserved community on the ranked list to fill the turns meant for them, and the Commission issues a special notification for that category.

What happens if I do not join after an appointment order?#

The advice is cancelled and your name is deleted from the ranked list. The rule carries one exception: where the Commission is satisfied the order was never sent to you by registered post with acknowledgment due. No other route back onto that list is published.

Is there a 45-day limit to join?#

The cancellation rule for not joining is real and published by the Commission. The specific 45-day figure is not — we could not find it in any Kerala PSC document. Joining time is set by your appointing department under the service rules, not by the Commission.

Is there a five-year rule before an inter-district transfer home?#

Not something Kerala PSC publishes. Transfers after joining are governed by Government transfer policy and your department, not by the Commission, and we could not verify the five-year figure against a primary source.

Official sources

Steps last verified against official Kerala PSC sources on 25 August 2026.

Where the Commission has not published a rule, this guide says so rather than guessing. Anything marked “not officially published” is exactly that.

This is an independent guide for aspirants, written from the Commission’s own published instructions. Portal screens and rules change — always confirm on keralapsc.gov.in and in your own Thulasi profile before acting. PSC Mastery is not affiliated with the Kerala Public Service Commission.