Rensselaer County Civil Service Examination Information
Thank you for your interest in employment with Rensselaer County or one of the Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Rensselaer County Civil Service Commission. We wish you the best of luck with your examination!
Applying for an Examination or Employment Opportunity
Before you apply for an Examination or Employment read the Announcement carefully to determine that you meet the minimum qualifications or eligibility requirements.
If applying for an Examination and you are found not qualified or not eligible, your application fee will not be refunded. If applying for an Employment Opportunity and you are found not qualified or eligible you will not be considered for the position.
The application submitted to participate in an examination is part of the process as outlined on the Announcement. Therefore, all sections must be completed or your application could be disapproved.
We find that most of the disapprovals are the result of a candidate not completing all sections of the application including:
- Failure to complete the residency section,
- Failure to submit any additional documentation (driver’s license, certificates, etc.) as requested on the examination announcement.
Provide detailed information from your education and experience that will indicate that you meet the minimum requirements of the examination you are applying for. For example:
- If the examination requires a degree in a certain area of study, indicate your education and degree in the education section attesting that you meet the requirements. Do not simply put “Associates Degree” but rather, include your major, minor and date of completion to prevent the chance of being disapproved.
- If the examination requires specific experience, indicate in your job history that you possess the required experience and satisfy the requirements. For example, if the examination requires two years of experience in accounting, it is important that you show where you secured that experience and the length of time that you performed the function.
Once you have read the Announcement and determined that you meet the minimum qualifications or eligibility requirements, you can begin the application process. When applying for exams, your application is not complete until you pay the application fee.
Non-Refundable Application Processing Fee (Exams Only)
Refer to the front of the exam announcement for the required processing fee. All application fees are due at the time the application is submitted. The application fee is non-refundable and, therefore, will not be returned if you decide you no longer want to apply for that test, your application is disapproved, you do not take the test(s) or you are not successful on the examination. Also, fee payment cannot be transferred to another examination. Please note that applications and fees postmarked or received after the last filing date will not be processed.
Applying Online
You must create an online account to complete an application for employment or to file for an examination. To create your account, you will need to provide your name, email address and choose a password.
To complete an application for an exam or employment, log into your account, click on the exam title or job opportunity from the list, and fill out the application information (note that if you already have an existing account some of the fields will be prepopulated with your account information).
**If an application fee is due and you wish to complete and submit your application using the online filing process, you must choose the option to pay by credit card.
Applying by Mail or in Person
Print and complete the Rensselaer County Employment Application; you can find this form on our website under “Employment Applications”. When completing the Employment Application be sure to indicate either the exam number and title, or the position applying for. Be sure to document how you meet the minimum qualifications /requirements related to the exam or position.
**When applying for exams by mail or in person, your application fee must be in the form of a Check or Money Order made payable to “Rensselaer County Civil Service”. Both your application and fee must be postmarked or received by our office on or before the last filing date listed on the Exam Announcement.
Application Review (Exams Only)
The Commission will review your application before the examination to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications. You may be admitted to the test on a conditional basis pending a full review of your application. If you take the test but your application is disapproved later, you will not receive a test score. If your application is disapproved, we will notify you of the reason and you will have an opportunity to appeal the Commission’s determination.
Admission to Examination
If your examination involves a written test, an admission notice will be mailed to the address you provided. If you do not receive your notice to appear for the examination(s) three days before the date of the written test, please email us at civilservice@rensco.com. Please provide your first and last name, address, and the last four digits of your SSN, and we will provide you with the information you need to attend your examination(s). You must maintain and bring your Admission Notice with you to the Examination Site.
Contact Information
If you encounter any problems or have any questions regarding the application process, please contact the Rensselaer County Department of Civil Service at civilservice@rensco.com. Please be specific when describing any problems. Be sure to include what you were doing, or attempting to do, at the time you encountered the problem.
Application Fee Waivers
APPLICATION FEE WAIVER: A waiver of application fee will be considered if the applicant is: Unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household; determined eligible for Medicaid; receiving Supplemental Social Security payments or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance); or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a state or local social service agency. All claims for application fee waiver are subject to verification.
If you can verify your eligibility for the application fee waiver you must submit a “Request for Application Fee Waiver” form and required documents at time of application.
If your application is submitted without the required documentation needed to verify your claim for application fee waiver it will not be processed until payment is received.
ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS: All verification documents must be current and submitted with your completed Request for Application Fee Waiver form at time of application.
If you are currently:
1) Unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. NOTE: Individuals who can be claimed as a dependent on any other person’s tax return ARE NOT eligible for application fee waiver as head of household.
Verification: A copy of your Statement of Benefits Paid received from the New York State Department of Labor.
2) Determined eligible for Medicaid, or receiving Supplemental Social Security payments, or Public Assistance (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families/Family Assistance or Safety Net Assistance) or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a state or local social service agency.
Verification: A copy of your Benefit Verification Letter received from the Department of Social Services or the United States Social Security Administration stating that you are currently eligible for or receiving the services indicated on the Request for Application Fee Waiver form.
When applying online for an exam and fee waiver you must complete the Application Fee Waiver form and attach required documents prior to submitting your application.
When applying in person or by mail for an exam and fee waiver you must attach a completed Application Fee Waiver form and required documents to your exam application.
