The EPSO digital skills test does not ask you to name software menus. It gives you short workplace situations and asks what a digitally competent person would do. These ten practice questions cover all five areas of the EU’s DigComp 2.2 framework, two per area, and each answer explains why the other options fail.
How to use this page. In the AD5 competition (EPSO/AD/427/26) the digital
skills test has 40 questions in 30 minutes, taken in your second language, with a pass mark of 20 out of 40. Above
the pass mark it counts towards your rank: 30% of the preliminary score and 25% of the final one. That is 45 seconds
a question, so give yourself 8 minutes for these ten, then open the explanations.
The five DigComp areas
| Area | What it covers | Questions here |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Information and data literacy | Searching, evaluating and managing information | 1–2 |
| 2. Communication and collaboration | Sharing, working together, netiquette, managing your digital identity | 3–4 |
| 3. Digital content creation | Creating and editing content, copyright and licences, programming | 5–6 |
| 4. Safety | Protecting devices, personal data, health and the environment | 7–8 |
| 5. Problem solving | Solving technical problems, choosing the right tool, closing your own skill gaps | 9–10 |
Ten digital skills practice questions
Question 1 · Information and data literacy · Easy
You need documents that mention both “renewable” and “subsidy” but not “nuclear”. Which search query does that?
- renewable OR subsidy NOT nuclear
- renewable AND subsidy NOT nuclear
- renewable AND (subsidy OR nuclear)
- “renewable subsidy nuclear”
Show answer
Answer: B. AND narrows (both terms must appear), OR widens (either term), NOT excludes. Many search engines write NOT as a minus sign:
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — OR returns documents with either word, so a page about subsidies alone would match.
• C — This asks for nuclear as an alternative instead of excluding it.
• D — Quotation marks search for the exact phrase, including the word you wanted to exclude.
Habit to take away. Translate the request word by word: “both” = AND, “either” = OR, “but not” = NOT.
renewable subsidy -nuclear.Why the other options are wrong:
• A — OR returns documents with either word, so a page about subsidies alone would match.
• C — This asks for nuclear as an alternative instead of excluding it.
• D — Quotation marks search for the exact phrase, including the word you wanted to exclude.
Habit to take away. Translate the request word by word: “both” = AND, “either” = OR, “but not” = NOT.
Question 2 · Information and data literacy · Medium
A generative AI tool gives you a confident summary of a Court of Justice judgment, with a case number. What should you do before quoting it in a briefing?
- Quote it: AI tools are trained on legal databases
- Ask the same tool to confirm that the case number is correct
- Find the judgment in an official database, such as CURIA or EUR-Lex, and check it says what the summary claims
- Quote it with a note saying the text was generated by AI
Show answer
Answer: C. DigComp 2.2 asks you to evaluate the reliability of information, and its AI examples stress that generative AI can produce incorrect or invented content. Check the original document in an authoritative place before you rely on it.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — A confident tone is no evidence; these tools can produce plausible references that do not exist.
• B — The tool can confirm its own invented reference just as confidently.
• D — A disclaimer does not make a wrong citation right.
Habit to take away. Verify against the original, not against the tool that produced the claim.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — A confident tone is no evidence; these tools can produce plausible references that do not exist.
• B — The tool can confirm its own invented reference just as confidently.
• D — A disclaimer does not make a wrong citation right.
Habit to take away. Verify against the original, not against the tool that produced the claim.
Question 3 · Communication and collaboration · Easy
You must email a meeting invitation to 200 external participants who do not know each other. How should you address it?
- Put all the addresses in the To field
- Put all the addresses in Cc
- Send it to the first participant and ask them to forward it
- Put the addresses in Bcc and your own address in To
Show answer
Answer: D. Bcc (blind carbon copy) hides each recipient’s address from the others. Exposing 200 email addresses can be a personal data breach under data protection rules. Better still for regular mailings: a mailing-list tool.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Everyone sees everyone’s address, which discloses personal data and invites reply-all chains.
• B — Cc addresses are visible to every recipient too.
• C — You lose control over who receives it, and you cannot prove it was sent.
Habit to take away. Strangers in one message = Bcc.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Everyone sees everyone’s address, which discloses personal data and invites reply-all chains.
• B — Cc addresses are visible to every recipient too.
• C — You lose control over who receives it, and you cannot prove it was sent.
Habit to take away. Strangers in one message = Bcc.
Question 4 · Communication and collaboration · Easy
A colleague has accidentally overwritten your section of a shared online document. What is the quickest reliable way to get your text back?
- Open the document’s version history and restore or copy the earlier version
- Press Ctrl+Z repeatedly
- Ask your colleague to retype it from memory
- Create a new document and start again
Show answer
Answer: A. Collaborative editors keep a version history: you can see who changed what and when, and restore an earlier version or copy text from it. Knowing how to use it is part of the DigComp competence “collaborating through digital technologies”.
Why the other options are wrong:
• B — Undo works on your own edits in your own session, not on a colleague’s changes.
• C — Slow and error-prone when the full text is still stored.
• D — This throws away the copy the platform has kept for you.
Habit to take away. In shared tools, nothing is lost until the history is.
Why the other options are wrong:
• B — Undo works on your own edits in your own session, not on a colleague’s changes.
• C — Slow and error-prone when the full text is still stored.
• D — This throws away the copy the platform has kept for you.
Habit to take away. In shared tools, nothing is lost until the history is.
Question 5 · Digital content creation · Medium
Cell B2 holds the VAT rate. In C2 you write a formula to multiply A2 by the rate, then copy it down to C3:C50. Which formula gives correct results in every row?
- =A2*B2
- =A$2*B2
- =A2*$B$2
- =A2*$B2
Show answer
Answer: C. A dollar sign fixes the part of the reference it precedes. $B$2 is an absolute reference: it stays on B2 wherever you copy the formula, while A2 is relative and moves down with each row.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Copied down, it becomes =A3*B3, =A4*B4…, which point at empty cells instead of the rate.
• B — This fixes the wrong cell: every row would use A2’s amount and a moving rate cell.
• D — The dollar sign fixes only the column; the row still moves to B3, B4….
Habit to take away. Ask which cell must not move when you copy, and lock exactly that one.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Copied down, it becomes =A3*B3, =A4*B4…, which point at empty cells instead of the rate.
• B — This fixes the wrong cell: every row would use A2’s amount and a moving rate cell.
• D — The dollar sign fixes only the column; the row still moves to B3, B4….
Habit to take away. Ask which cell must not move when you copy, and lock exactly that one.
Question 6 · Digital content creation · Medium
Your report contains a chart showing that a programme’s budget doubled between 2021 and 2027. What alternative text should the image have?
- A short description of what the chart shows: the budget doubled between 2021 and 2027
- “chart.png”
- “Bar chart”
- Nothing: leave the alternative text empty
Show answer
Answer: A. Alternative text should give a screen-reader user the same information the image gives a sighted reader. The EU’s Web Accessibility Directive (2016/2102) requires public-sector websites and mobile apps to be accessible, measured against the European standard EN 301 549. For a complex chart, add the data in a table as well.
Why the other options are wrong:
• B — A file name tells a screen-reader user nothing.
• C — It names the type of image but not the information it carries.
• D — Empty alternative text is right only for purely decorative images; this chart carries information.
Habit to take away. Write the alt text as the sentence you would say if you described the chart over the phone.
Why the other options are wrong:
• B — A file name tells a screen-reader user nothing.
• C — It names the type of image but not the information it carries.
• D — Empty alternative text is right only for purely decorative images; this chart carries information.
Habit to take away. Write the alt text as the sentence you would say if you described the chart over the phone.
Question 7 · Safety · Easy
An email signed “IT Service Desk” asks you to confirm your password through a link to
europa-login-check.com within one hour. What should you do?- Click the link to check whether the page looks genuine
- Not click, and report the email through your organisation’s official reporting channel
- Reply and ask whether the email is genuine
- Forward it to colleagues to warn them
Show answer
Answer: B. The signs of phishing are all here: urgency, a request for credentials (which no genuine service desk asks for by email) and a lookalike domain that is not the organisation’s own. Reporting lets the security team block the link for everyone.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Opening a phishing page can already expose you, and lookalike pages can be convincing.
• C — You would be talking to the attacker, who will say yes.
• D — Forwarding spreads the dangerous link; the security team warns people safely.
Habit to take away. Urgency + password + odd link = phishing until proven otherwise.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Opening a phishing page can already expose you, and lookalike pages can be convincing.
• C — You would be talking to the attacker, who will say yes.
• D — Forwarding spreads the dangerous link; the security team warns people safely.
Habit to take away. Urgency + password + odd link = phishing until proven otherwise.
Question 8 · Safety · Medium
Under the GDPR, when must a controller normally notify a personal data breach to the supervisory authority?
- Within 24 hours, in every case
- Within 30 days, together with the annual data protection report
- Only if an affected person complains
- Without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours of becoming aware of it
Show answer
Answer: D. Article 33 GDPR: the controller notifies the supervisory authority without undue delay and, where feasible, not later than 72 hours after becoming aware of the breach, unless it is unlikely to result in a risk to people’s rights and freedoms. The EU institutions follow the same rule under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 (Article 34), notifying the European Data Protection Supervisor.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — There is no 24-hour rule in the GDPR, and breaches unlikely to result in a risk need not be notified.
• B — 30 days does not appear in the breach rules, and there is no annual breach report.
• C — The duty to notify the authority does not depend on complaints.
Habit to take away. 72 hours for the authority; people themselves are told “without undue delay” when the risk is high (Article 34 GDPR).
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — There is no 24-hour rule in the GDPR, and breaches unlikely to result in a risk need not be notified.
• B — 30 days does not appear in the breach rules, and there is no annual breach report.
• C — The duty to notify the authority does not depend on complaints.
Habit to take away. 72 hours for the authority; people themselves are told “without undue delay” when the risk is high (Article 34 GDPR).
Question 9 · Problem solving · Easy
During a video call, you hear your own voice echoed back a moment after you speak. What is the most likely cause, and the fix?
- Your internet connection is too slow; restart your router
- Another participant’s speakers are feeding into their microphone; they should use headphones or mute
- Your microphone volume is too low; turn it up
- The video resolution is too high; switch your camera off
Show answer
Answer: B. An echo of your voice means your sound is coming out of someone else’s speakers and going back into their microphone. Headphones, or muting when not speaking, stop the loop.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — A slow connection causes frozen video and dropped words, not a clean echo of your voice.
• C — A louder microphone would make an echo worse, not cure it.
• D — Video settings have nothing to do with sound feedback.
Habit to take away. Identify the problem from the symptom first, then pick the fix.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — A slow connection causes frozen video and dropped words, not a clean echo of your voice.
• C — A louder microphone would make an echo worse, not cure it.
• D — Video settings have nothing to do with sound feedback.
Habit to take away. Identify the problem from the symptom first, then pick the fix.
Question 10 · Problem solving · Medium
You need to send a 2 GB video to an external partner, and your email limit is 20 MB. What is the most appropriate solution?
- Split the file into about a hundred parts and email them one by one
- Upload it to your personal cloud account with a public link
- Upload it to your organisation’s approved file-sharing service and send a link restricted to the partner, with an expiry date
- Compress it into a ZIP file and email it
Show answer
Answer: C. DigComp’s problem-solving area includes identifying needs and choosing the right technological response. Approved file-sharing keeps the file under your organisation’s control, and a restricted, expiring link limits who can open it and for how long.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Slow, error-prone, and the partner has to reassemble them.
• B — A personal account and a public link escape your organisation’s security and data rules.
• D — Video is already compressed; a ZIP will be nowhere near 20 MB.
Habit to take away. The right tool is the one that solves the problem and respects the rules.
Why the other options are wrong:
• A — Slow, error-prone, and the partner has to reassemble them.
• B — A personal account and a public link escape your organisation’s security and data rules.
• D — Video is already compressed; a ZIP will be nowhere near 20 MB.
Habit to take away. The right tool is the one that solves the problem and respects the rules.
What the ten questions teach
| # | Area | The habit to keep |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information and data literacy | Translate the request word by word: “both” = AND, “either” = OR, “but not” = NOT. |
| 2 | Information and data literacy | Verify against the original, not against the tool that produced the claim. |
| 3 | Communication and collaboration | Strangers in one message = Bcc. |
| 4 | Communication and collaboration | In shared tools, nothing is lost until the history is. |
| 5 | Digital content creation | Ask which cell must not move when you copy, and lock exactly that one. |
| 6 | Digital content creation | Write the alt text as the sentence you would say if you described the chart over the phone. |
| 7 | Safety | Urgency + password + odd link = phishing until proven otherwise. |
| 8 | Safety | 72 hours for the authority; people themselves are told “without undue delay” when the risk is high (Article 34 GDPR). |
| 9 | Problem solving | Identify the problem from the symptom first, then pick the fix. |
| 10 | Problem solving | The right tool is the one that solves the problem and respects the rules. |
How EPSO builds the wrong options
- The quick fix that breaks a rule. A personal cloud account, a public link, everyone in Cc: each solves the problem and creates a data protection one.
- The action that feels safe but is not. Replying to a suspicious email, asking an AI tool to check itself, clicking a link “just to see”.
- The almost-right technique. One dollar sign instead of two, OR instead of AND, a file name instead of a description.
When two options both work, EPSO wants the one that also respects security, data protection and accessibility. That is the DigComp way of thinking, and the main thing to train.
How to prepare for the digital skills test
- Read the guide first. EPSO digital skills covers the EU rules the test leans on (GDPR, the AI Act, web accessibility, Creative Commons), and the digital skills page walks through the five areas.
- Practise in volume. Each of our eight AD5 practice sets has 40 digital skills questions, eight per DigComp area, with worked explanations.
- Work on speed. 45 seconds a question leaves no time to reread. Once your accuracy is good, practise under time.
- Practise in your second language. The test is in Language 2; the site works in 14 languages.
Digital skills is part of Part 2 of the AD5 competition, expected in 2027. The Part 2 guide explains what follows the reasoning tests.
Practise digital skills with full explanations
Every AD5 practice set has 40 digital skills questions. The first 25 questions of Set 1 are free, no account needed.
Open the practice sets → First 25 questions free · Premium €7 a month · cancel anytimeFrequently asked questions
How many questions are in the EPSO digital skills test?
In the AD5 competition EPSO/AD/427/26 the digital skills test has 40 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, taken in your second language. The pass mark is 20 out of 40.
What is DigComp 2.2?
DigComp 2.2 is the European Commission’s Digital Competence Framework for Citizens. It sorts digital competence into five areas: information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, safety, and problem solving.
Does the digital skills test count towards the ranking?
Yes. Above the pass mark, the digital skills score is 30% of the preliminary score and 25% of the final score.
Do I need to know specific software for the EPSO digital skills test?
No particular product. The questions describe workplace situations, such as email, shared documents, spreadsheets, security and data protection, and ask for the competent, rule-respecting response.
Questions written by EU Testing for this article, 28 October 2026, on the five areas of the DigComp 2.2 framework. Test format: EPSO notice of competition EPSO/AD/427/26.