New Yorkers eyeing a city paycheck just got a little help from City Hall. On July 9, 2026, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced that New York City will waive civil service exam application fees for high school students and for people taking a DCAS exam for the first time. City officials say the shift removes a recurring cost that has quietly blocked some residents from municipal careers that require an exam, from caseworker positions to specialized titles like bridge operator. The move arrives alongside the rollout of the city’s fiscal year 2027 civil service exam schedule and expanded language access for exam notices.
Mayor frames the move as expanding access
“To serve New York is the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said in a statement announcing the policy, casting the waiver as an investment in the next wave of city workers. According to the mayor’s office, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) runs about 175 civil service exams each year for more than 110,000 candidates, and roughly 80% of City jobs require passing one of those tests. Those details, along with the full policy announcement, appear in a press release from the NYC Mayor's Office.
Who qualifies and how the law works
The expanded fee waiver is rooted in New York City Council Legistar, which records Local Law 57 of 2025. Under that law, DCAS is authorized to waive exam fees for anyone enrolled in a New York City high school and for applicants who have never before filed for a DCAS-administered exam. Council records show the law was enacted in May 2025 and took effect on July 1, 2026. For nuts-and-bolts information on filing periods, what proof of enrollment looks like, and other exam alerts, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services maintains an online exams guide and monthly schedule.
What the FY2027 schedule looks like
For fiscal year 2027, the city has released an exam list that features 149 tests. According to the administration, 72% of those are open to all qualified New Yorkers, while the remaining 28% are promotional exams reserved for current City employees. The mayor’s office also highlighted that Notices of Examination can now be translated into more than 190 languages to widen access, and that first-time applicants will have their eligibility for the waiver verified automatically, while students can qualify by submitting proof of enrollment. Those points and other agency remarks are laid out in a press release from the NYC Mayor's Office.
How to apply and what to watch for
Candidates apply through the city’s Online Application System, known as OASys, on the NYC DCAS OASys site, where each Notice of Examination spells out how to request a waiver and which supporting documents are required. For instance, an OASys Notice of Examination for the School Safety Agent title lists high school students and first-time test takers among those who can receive a fee waiver and explains what paperwork and filing windows apply. DCAS also offers in-person assistance at its Computer-based Testing & Application Centers, and officials stress that the Notice of Examination for each job title is the final word on fees, qualifications and test format.
Why officials say it matters
City leaders are pitching the change as a straightforward way to link classroom experience and early work histories to stable public-sector jobs. Advocates argue that cutting exam fees removes one more front-end hurdle for low-income students and first-time applicants, while noting that outreach, test-prep support and clear exam notices will still be critical if fee relief is going to translate into actual hires. For now, the city is wagering that lower costs and broader language access will pull a more diverse range of New Yorkers into the civil service pipeline.
