Contract Agents are recruited to perform temporary manual or administrative support tasks or to provide additional capacity in specialised fields whenever there is an insufficient number of officials with the required skills, and they are selected with the CAST Permanent procedure by the EU institutions, bodies and agencies.

The word CAST stands for Contract Agents Selection Tool. Permanent means that there is no deadline to apply, so candidates can submit an application at any time.

The procedure requires creating an EPSO account and inserting personal, professional and educational information into a CAST application database, for more information on the application procedure, you can check our How to apply section.

When recruiting needs arise, the EU institutions, bodies and agencies may select a number of candidates from the CAST applications database whose qualifications match the professional profile being sought.

These pre-selected candidates are invited to sit a series of computer-based, multiple-choice reasoning skills tests organised by EPSO. These tests are remotely proctored. Learn more about the IT and technical requirements on our page IT and technical requirements for online testing with EPSO’s new provider | EU Careers (europa.eu).Please also have a look at our page on "Why can't I use my corporate computer for EPSO's online selection tests?".

Those candidates who pass successfully the reasoning skills tests will be invited to an interview and/or other forms of evaluation organised directly by the recruiting services of the EU institutions according to the applicable procedure in place. Candidates who succeed in all steps of the selection may receive an offer of employment.

Find more information about CAST Permanent selection tests on our sample tests page.

Contract Agents are recruited for a fixed maximum period of 6 years, often with a shorter initial but renewable contract of 6 to 12 months, depending on the type of job. In some offices, agencies, representations and delegations this temporary opportunity may lead to an indefinite contract.

For additional information and details, you can also check our CAST Permanent FAQs section.

Check the CAST selection procedures open for application.​