The upper age limit for applying for the 2026 national exam has been raised to 38 years old, providing more opportunities for many "older candidates" to apply. Professionals believe that after relaxing the age limit for the national entrance examination, the scope of talent selection has been expanded, which can attract more experienced individuals to apply. However, it should also be noted that breaking the age threshold is only the starting point, and institutional design still needs to balance equal opportunities and equal development, guiding the entire society's employment concept to shift towards a "competency based" approach. I used to think I was eliminated, but now it feels like I've entered the revival race. ”Ms. Zhang from Xinzhou City, Shanxi Province described her experience of applying for civil service this year as follows. Ms. Zhang, who is 36 years old, has a stable job in a county town in Xinzhou. However, due to dissatisfaction with the treatment, she began her journey of taking the civil service examination five years ago. Knowing that she had reached the upper limit of 35 years old, she was already prepared to give up taking the civil service exam. I didn't expect the age limit for the national exam to be relaxed to 38 years old in 2026, which suddenly gave me three more opportunities, "Ms. Zhang signed up without hesitation. According to the 2026 National Examination Announcement released on October 14th, the age limit for applicants has been raised to 38 years old, and the age limit for fresh master's and doctoral students has been relaxed to below 43 years old. Professionals believe that after relaxing the age limit for the national entrance examination, the scope of talent selection has been expanded, which can attract more experienced individuals to apply. However, it should also be noted that breaking the age threshold is only the starting point, and institutional design still needs to balance fair opportunities and fair development. The group of people aged 35 and above have once again seen Mr. Zhou, who hopes to be 36 years old, working in a township in Guiping, Guangxi, preparing to participate in the 2026 national examination. He studied computer science in university and worked as a programmer in a company for several years. When he saw many colleagues being fired due to their increasing age and inability to quickly master new skills, he also felt a sense of crisis, so he began to prepare for the civil service examination and hoped to have a stable job. In 2023, Mr. Zhou was admitted to the current township government position. Although his job is stable, he has started preparing for the civil service exam again because his workplace is far away from home. Last year, I was interviewed for the national entrance examination, but unfortunately, I was eventually 'attacked'. I thought I wouldn't have a chance to take the exam again, but I didn't expect to be able to compete again this year. ”Mr. Zhou happily said that after the relaxation of the age limit for the national civil service examination, "older candidates" like him have seen hope again. After graduating from undergraduate studies, I have been working in my hometown, working as a customer service representative for human resources and car 4S stores. I have also partnered with friends to start a business, but it has always been unstable. ”Li Xiaomeng, 35 years old from Zhoukou, Henan, told reporters that after seeing the relaxation of age restrictions, she felt that her life had a new direction and choice. After selecting a position, she decided to apply for the Yellow River Conservancy Bureau in a certain location in Jiaozuo, Henan. According to the data from the National Civil Service Bureau, a total of 3.718 million people have passed the qualification review of employers, an increase of about 300000 people compared to 2025. Li Qian, a senior analyst at Zhonggong Education, believes that the new high in the number of applicants for the national examination is partly related to the relaxation of age restrictions. Due to facing unemployment or career transition, many people aged 35 and above choose to take the civil service exam in order to seek stable development. The relaxation of age restrictions in the national examination is a very good signal. ”Zhang Jiaping, Associate Professor of the School of Public Administration at East China Normal University, analyzed that the government's leadership in breaking the age threshold and advocating using actual competence as the standard for employment is conducive to guiding the entire society's employment concept to shift towards a "competency based" approach. More importantly, as the age limit for applying for civil service positions is relaxed within the system, enterprises and social institutions will also be guided to re-examine whether they have implicit age discrimination. In areas that rely on experience and professional judgment, the value of mature talents will be re evaluated. ”Zhang Jiaping said. There are few available positions and concerns about development prospects. The relaxation of age restrictions in the national examination conforms to the changing trend of China's population structure. ”Zhang Jiaping analyzed that with the continuous improvement of average life expectancy and the implementation of delayed retirement policies, people's career life cycle is extending. Breaking the age limit of 35 years old conforms to the law of human resource development and is conducive to individual physical and mental health and the healthy operation of society. In addition, experts have analyzed that from the perspective of recruiting units, some positions require strong organizational and coordination skills, as well as higher requirements for specific professional skills and industry experience. Among the age group of 35-38, many people have accumulated systematic professional skills and practical experience, possessing the ability to solve complex problems. Allowing them to apply for civil service positions can help introduce mature professional expertise into the public sector, optimize the capacity structure and talent allocation of the civil service workforce. Although relaxing age restrictions has many benefits, it has been learned through interviews that many "older candidates" face difficulties in preparing for exams and have limited job options. Xiaolin has 6 years of experience in taking the civil service examination. At the age of over 35, she hesitated whether to apply after seeing the relaxation of the national examination age. I have taken so many exams, and if I give up like this, I will feel unwilling. However, over the years, I have sacrificed a lot of time to spend with my family preparing for exams, and my job has also fallen behind. ”Xiaolin said that the positions selected this time were either far away from home or required fresh graduates or grassroots work experience, and there were basically no suitable ones. In the end, he decided to give up participating in this national examination. Li Qian told reporters that "35+" candidates generally have clear career goals, stronger preparation motivation, and more outstanding stress resistance and sense of responsibility. But compared to young candidates, this group of candidates has little advantage in learning energy and memory, and their ability to take exams also takes longer to recover. In addition, they also have many family ties, which can scatter their time and energy. The reporter saw on social media that many "older candidates" are worried about the decline in physical fitness in middle age, and even if they pass the written test, it will be difficult to pass the physical examination; Some people are also concerned about the difficulty in connecting their length of service and job level in their original unit, and have concerns about their future promotion opportunities and development prospects. The adjustment of age restrictions in this national examination from fair opportunities to fair development sends a signal of 'ability based' to society, which can promote the employment market to break through rigid age standards and eliminate implicit age discrimination. ”Professor Sun Dechao from the School of Administration at Jilin University said. In fact, there was a trend of relaxing age restrictions in some places even before the national exam. In January of this year, the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Sichuan Province clarified the adjustment of the upper age limit for public recruitment in government agencies, supported public institutions to appropriately relax the age requirements for recruitment, and encouraged enterprises to relax the age limit for employment. In August of this year, the announcement for the recruitment of law enforcement civil servants in the Shanghai 2025 examination showed that the application requirements are for those aged 18 to 38. Breaking the age threshold is an important step towards employment equity, but it should also be noted that it is only the starting point. ”Regarding the concerns of some "older candidates", Li Qian emphasized that if only the entrance is relaxed, and the subsequent physical examination standards, promotion years, and training mechanisms still follow the old model, elderly talents may face a structural dilemma of "being able to enter but difficult to develop". Therefore, she suggested that the design of the civil service application system should extend from fair opportunities to fair development, and more scientific assessment items should be customized to establish a reasonable promotion ladder. Zhang Jiaping proposed that it must be soberly recognized that opening the entrance is only the first step, and the real challenge lies in the synchronous reform of the institutional ecology. In this regard, he suggested establishing a "dual track" development channel, exploring the establishment of a professional and technical civil servant sequence in addition to the existing administrative rank sequence, based on professional achievements and project contributions for promotion, rather than simply comparing age or qualifications. We can also implement a job suitability evaluation mechanism, introduce competency analysis models in recruitment and promotion, clarify the core qualities required for different positions, such as emergency response, public communication, policy research, etc., and achieve precise matching of personnel and positions through structured evaluation, avoiding a 'one size fits all' approach to employment. ”Zhang Jiaping said. (New Society)