About this clerical typing test
A clerical typing test is the typing section of a clerk, typist or office assistant examination, and it is administered on ordinary office prose rather than word lists. This runs the same shape: five minutes of workplace English, scored on net words per minute, which is the figure agency announcements mean when they print a number.
Office English at the length and format civil service announcements specify.
What this test helps you practise
- Ordinary office prose at the length an exam actually runs
- Net WPM, the figure an announcement means by 40 words per minute
- Holding accuracy through a full five-minute sitting
- Carrying on through a bad patch instead of restarting
How your typing result is measured
Your free result includes net WPM, raw WPM, accuracy, total mistakes, uncorrected errors, correct characters, and elapsed time. Number tests also show KPH, while data-entry tests show correctly completed records.
Scores are calculated locally in your browser. Learn the exact formulas in how typing scores work.
Tips for a more useful result
- Read the announcement for your own position. Agencies set their own bar.
- Practise at five minutes, because five minutes is what will be administered.
- Treat the accuracy expectation as a gate, not a tiebreak.
- Never restart a poor run. You will not be offered a restart on the day.
What a clerical typing test is for
A clerical typing test is the typing component of hiring for clerk, typist, office assistant and administrative roles. Government agencies use it most: counties, courts, school districts, state departments and federal offices. It measures net words per minute and accuracy on ordinary office text, and it is often one part of a wider clerical exam covering filing, spelling and basic arithmetic as well.
This page runs five minutes of office English, which is the format and length those announcements specify. It is the same test as the 5 minute typing test — that page explains why the length matters; this one explains what the hiring process does with the number.
The speeds agencies actually ask for
Most clerical postings sit between 35 and 45 net WPM, and 40 WPM at 95% accuracy is the figure that recurs more than any other. Published examples give a sense of the range:
- Federal, GS-300 clerical series — commonly 40 WPM, measured over five minutes.
- California state departments — a 40 WPM minimum from a five-minute test, with certificates accepted for a limited period.
- County and municipal postings — set individually, sometimes 35 WPM.
These are examples of published requirements, not a standard. Every agency sets its own and changes it, so the announcement for your position is the only figure that governs. Treat anything you read online — this page included — as orientation.
Net WPM is what gets counted
When an announcement says 40 WPM, it means net WPM: gross speed with uncorrected errors subtracted. Gross WPM counts everything you typed, including the wrong characters, which is why it is the higher number and the less honest one.
Assume there is an accuracy expectation even where no percentage is printed. A result built on skipped corrections does not survive an exam, and it does not survive the job either. The formulas are set out in how typing scores work, so you can check any number this site gives you.
Will a typing certificate from a website be accepted?
Usually not, and this is worth reading before you pay anyone for one. Agencies that accept a typing certificate generally require it from an approved or supervised provider, taken under observed conditions, and issued within a set window — California works to four years, others differ.
TypingNova’s certificate does not meet that standard. It is unproctored, your identity is not verified, and no accreditation body stands behind it. It records a practice result with a verification link, which is useful for tracking your own progress or showing a private employer who has not specified a source. It is not a civil service typing certificate, and we would rather say that here than have you discover it at a county HR desk.
Read the announcement, and if it asks for a certificate, ask the agency which providers they accept before spending anything.
Practising for the exam
- Practise at five minutes. A one minute score is typically several WPM higher than the pace you can hold, which makes it the wrong number to prepare against.
- Do not restart a bad run. Recovering mid-test is part of what the exam measures, and you cannot restart on the day.
- Work on accuracy before speed. The accuracy expectation is a gate; speed only ranks you once you are through it.
- Track the trend, not one result. Any single run varies by several WPM in either direction. The progress tracker keeps your history on your own device.
- Check what else the exam covers. Typing is often one section among filing, spelling and arithmetic, and the others may weigh more.