Frequently Asked Questions

Those who pass Civil Service exams administered by Livingston County have their names placed on eligible lists. These eligible lists are used by certain public employers to fill available positions. The public employers that use Livingston County’s eligible lists are: Counties: Livingston Towns: Avon Caledonia Conesus Geneseo Groveland Leicester Lima Livonia Mt. Morris North Dansville Nunda Ossian Portage Sparta Springwater West Sparta York Villages: Avon Caledonia Dansville Geneseo Leicester Lima Livonia Mt. Morris Nunda Schools: Avon Caledonia-Mumford Geneseo Dansville Genesee Valley BOCES Keshequa Livonia Mt. Morris Wayland-Cohocton York

No. Exams are ordered and announced to maintain lists of eligibles that are used to fill competitive class positions as needed.

No. Applications must be received by the last filing date noted on the exam announcement. They may be hand delivered to the Personnel Office or mailed via the United States Postal Service so long as they are postmarked by the last filing date.

You may take more than one examination on a test date if it is a State scheduled examination. You are only allowed to take one exam per test date if it is a continuous recruitment exam.

A waiver of the exam fee will be allowed if you are unemployed and primarily responsible for the support of a household. In addition, a waiver will be provided if you are determined eligible for Medicaid or are receiving Supplemental Security Income payments or Public Assistance or are certified Job Training Partnership Act/Workforce Investment Act eligible through a State or local social service agency. Please see exam announcement for further information.

You will receive an admission letter approximately ten (10) days prior to the exam date.

Exams are held at the Livingston County Government Center unless another location is noted in the admission notice.

If the State has published a study guide for a specific exam, it will be noted in the exam announcement. You may also check the State website for study guides at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm. A Civil Service examination guide titled, “How to Take a Written Test,” is also available online or in the Livingston County Personnel Office.

Your written exam will be scored. Some exams are scored locally (by Livingston County) while others are scored by New York State. On the day of the exam, you will be informed of when you may expect to receive the results of your written exam. You will also be informed as to whether you should call the Livingston County Personnel Office for results or whether results will be sent to you by mail. Some written exams are followed by a performance test (typically a typing/keyboarding test). If a performance test is required, you will be required to take the performance test if you pass the written exam. Once Livingston County has all exam scores, it will create an eligible list. The eligible list is a list of all persons who took the exam and passed. The list is organized in rank order. You will be informed of your exam score and rank. The higher your rank (i.e. the lower the rank number), the better your chance for consideration for employment.

An eligible list is a list of persons who took a specific exam and passed the exam. It is organized in rank order. For example, a person who achieved a score of 100 on the exam may be ranked #1 on the eligible list. When a public employer under Livingston County’s Civil Service jurisdiction wishes to fill a competitive class position, that employer asks the Livingston County Personnel Office for a Certification of Eligibles. A Certification of Eligibles is a list of persons on the Eligible List who are currently eligible for appointment. This normally includes the first three available persons on the Eligible List and anyone tied in score with the third person. The employer may choose any person listed on the Certification of Eligibles to fill its position.

Candidates are responsible for notifying the Personnel Office in writing of any changes of address. You may contact our office to request a change of address form, and it will be mailed to you.

Certain veterans of the armed forces may be eligible to have extra points added to their passing examination score. If the veteran’s credits are approved, this may cause the eligible veteran to receive a higher score and/or rank on the Eligible List making appointment more likely. Interested veterans must apply for veteran’s credits. To do so, the veteran should complete the Application for Veterans Credits section of the examination application form and provide a copy of his/her Military Service Record (DD-214 form) when he/she applies for the examination. Veteran’s credits may only be used for one public employment appointment.

No. Livingston County only accepts applications for examinations administered by Livingston County.

Any person who demonstrates that he/she meets the minimum educational and experience qualifications for an exam and who satisfies the exam fee requirements may take an Open-competitive exam. Promotional exams, however, are restricted to current employees of the appointing authority who meet the service requirements and minimum qualifications noted on the exam announcement. In most cases, those who take and pass a promotional exam have preference in appointment for any positions in the title that are being filled with the eligible’s appointing authority.

A continuous recruitment exam is an exam for which applications are accepted on a continuous basis. Exams are either given as needed or on a regular schedule.

A training and experience examination is a method of testing where a candidate receives a test score based on the information contained in the submitted application. The score is based on a rating of the applicant’s relevant education, training and experience. There is no sit-down question and answer examination.

“Special arrangements” for an exam may include special exam scheduling or the accommodation of a special applicant need. If the candidate has a disability and needs an accommodation, he/she must complete Livingston County’s Civil Service Exam Accommodation Request form. If a candidate needs to request an alternate test date, he/she must follow the Livingston County “Alternate Test Date Policy.”