PSC Mastery

Filling the Kerala PSC OMR answer sheet

Kerala PSC issues a two-part OMR sheet: Part A carries your register number and details, Part B carries your answers and the alpha code bubble. The Commission’s special instructions list several mistakes that invalidate the script outright — a mismatched or undarkened alpha code, errors in Part A, stray markings anywhere else on the sheet, a tampered barcode, and answering not even one question.

Steps

  1. Check the alpha code matches your seat

    The alpha code allotted to you is noted along with your register number at your seat. The Commission states you must ensure you receive a question paper booklet and OMR sheet with that same alpha code, otherwise the answer script will be invalidated.

  2. Inspect the sheet before you write on it

    On receiving the sheet, check thoroughly for defects such as tampering or incomplete bubbles and tell the Assistant Superintendent. The sheet and booklet are not replaced for any reason except a printing or manufacturing defect. Avoid perforating, dampening or soiling the sheet, and read the instructions on its reverse.

  3. Fill Part A exactly

    Enter your register number, date of birth, name of post and date of test in Part A. In the columns provided, write the values in the boxes and fully darken the bubbles for the register number; the English alphabet prefixed to the register number goes in the separate box provided. The Commission states that errors in marking entries in Part A will lead to invalidation, and that the issued sheet will not be replaced.

  4. Mark answers in Part B — one bubble, nothing else

    For each question darken only the bubble corresponding to the right answer, using a ballpoint pen with blue or black ink. Care must be given to avoid markings on the sheet other than darkening the correct bubbles; anything else invalidates the script. Use the blank sheet at the end of the question booklet for rough work.

  5. Do not touch the barcode, and answer at least one question

    Do not tamper with the barcode in the centre of the sheet or it is invalidated. Separately, the Commission states that the answer sheets of candidates who do not answer at least one question will be invalidated.

  6. Separate the parts only at the end, and hand in both

    Part A and Part B are separated only after the examination is over. When time is up, separate them along the dotted line through the middle of the barcode and hand over both parts to the Assistant Superintendent — violation results in invalidation. You take neither part home; there is no carbon copy for candidates in this scheme.

Frequently asked questions

What invalidates a Kerala PSC OMR answer script?#

Per the Commission’s special instructions: receiving a booklet and sheet with a different alpha code, errors in Part A entries, markings on the sheet other than the answer bubbles, tampering with the barcode, answering no questions at all, and failing to hand over both parts.

Can I use correction fluid on the OMR sheet?#

Kerala PSC does not use the word whitener or correction fluid in the OMR instructions we cite. What it does say is to avoid any marking on the sheet other than darkening the correct bubbles, and that altering a marked answer results in negative marks. Treat correction as something to avoid rather than a documented allowance.

Do I get to keep a copy of my OMR sheet?#

No. Both Part A and Part B are handed to the Assistant Superintendent at the end. The Commission’s instructions describe no candidate copy.

What pen should I use?#

A ballpoint pen with blue or black ink. Ink and gel pens are on the banned-items list.

I sat in the wrong seat and got a booklet with a different alpha code. What happens?#

The answer sheet is invalidated. The Commission states that where a candidate occupies a seat other than the one allotted and receives an answer sheet or OMR bearing an alpha code different from the one assigned, the answer sheet shall be invalidated.

A stray pen mark landed on the barcode strip. Is that fatal?#

The instruction does not distinguish an accident from deliberate tampering — it says not to tamper with the barcode, otherwise the answer sheet will be invalidated. Treat any mark in that strip as a real risk rather than something you can explain away afterwards.

The invigilator signed in the wrong place on my sheet. Does that invalidate it?#

Every invalidation ground the Commission publishes is a candidate-side error — wrong register number, wrong alpha code, tampering, incomplete bubbling, answering nothing. It publishes no consequence for an invigilator’s own slip, and no separate redress route for it. Have it recorded in writing by the Chief Superintendent on the day and raise it with the Commission.

My question booklet had missing or smudged pages. Will it be replaced?#

Yes, but only for a printing or manufacturing defect, and only if you report it to the invigilator before the examination begins. Nothing is replaced for any other reason, and nothing is replaced once the exam has started.

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.