LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer)
Life Insurance Corporation
Complete guide to passing the LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer) exam on your first attempt.
~$8 (INR 700)
~2%
Periodic recruitment
India
Life Insurance Corporation
₹8-15 LPA
Are you ready for LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer)?
Loading quiz...
Complete Overview
LIC AAO is the recruitment examination for the post of Assistant Administrative Officer at Life Insurance Corporation of India, the state-owned life insurer headquartered at Yogakshema, Jeevan Bima Marg, Mumbai. Any Indian citizen aged 21 to 30 who holds a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised Indian university can apply for the Generalist post, and the 2025 notification set the application fee at 700 rupees plus transaction charges and GST, with SC, ST and PwBD candidates paying intimation charges of 85 rupees plus transaction charges and GST.
The 32nd batch notification, issued on 16 August 2025, advertised 350 AAO Generalist vacancies. The category split was 142 unreserved, 91 OBC, 51 SC, 38 EWS and 28 ST.
Selection runs through three tiers followed by a pre-recruitment medical examination. The Preliminary Examination is an online objective test of 100 questions across three sections with separate timing for each: Reasoning Ability of 35 questions in 20 minutes, Quantitative Aptitude of 35 questions in 20 minutes, and English Language with special emphasis on grammar, vocabulary and comprehension of 30 questions in 20 minutes. Total testing time is one hour. There is no negative marking, and a candidate must qualify in each section separately. The English section is qualifying only and its marks do not count for ranking, which leaves 70 ranking marks in the prelims. Candidates numbering roughly 20 times the vacancies in each category, subject to availability, are shortlisted for the Main Examination.
The Main Examination pairs an objective test worth 300 marks with a descriptive test worth 25 marks, both delivered online. The objective test has four sections with separate timing: Reasoning Ability of 30 questions for 90 marks in 40 minutes, General Knowledge and Current Affairs of 30 questions for 60 marks in 20 minutes, Data Analysis and Interpretation of 30 questions for 90 marks in 40 minutes, and Insurance and Financial Market Awareness of 30 questions for 60 marks in 20 minutes. That comes to 120 questions in two hours. The descriptive English paper follows immediately, with 2 questions for 25 marks in 30 minutes, typed on the computer, covering communication skills through emails, reports, situation analysis and precis writing. The descriptive paper is qualifying only and is evaluated only for candidates who qualify in the objective part. Total Main Examination duration is two hours and thirty minutes.
Preliminary marks are discarded once shortlisting is done. The final merit list is built from Main Examination marks plus interview marks. The interview carries a maximum of 60 marks, with qualifying marks of 30 for EWS, unreserved and OBC candidates and 27 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
Basic pay on appointment is 88,635 rupees per month in a scale rising to 169,025 rupees. LIC states that total emoluments at the minimum of the scale come to approximately 126,000 rupees per month in an A class city. Probation runs one year and may be extended up to two years..
Why Get LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer) Certified?
Basic pay on joining is 88,635 rupees per month, and LIC states that total emoluments at the minimum of the scale come to approximately 126,000 rupees per month in an A class city once house rent allowance and city compensatory allowance are included.
The 32nd batch advertised 350 AAO Generalist vacancies in a single notification, which is a larger single-cycle intake than most regulator and central bank officer recruitments in India.
The entry bar is a Bachelor's degree in any discipline, with no minimum percentage specified for the Generalist post, so arts, science, commerce and engineering graduates all qualify on the same terms.
The application fee is 700 rupees plus transaction charges and GST, and only 85 rupees plus charges for SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
Neither the Preliminary nor the Main Examination applies negative marking, so an unanswered question and a wrong answer cost the same, which changes attempt strategy compared with exams that deduct one fourth of a mark.
Preliminary marks are not carried into the final merit list, so the screening round only has to be cleared rather than dominated.
Benefits beyond salary include a defined contributory pension, gratuity, leave travel concession, group mediclaim, group personal accident insurance, vehicle loans, and a special allowance for passing Insurance Institute of India and actuarial examinations.
Exam Format & Structure
Duration
The Preliminary Examination runs one hour of testing time, split as 20 minutes each for Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude and English Language. LIC advises candidates to expect to be at the venue for about three hours or more. The Main Examination runs two hours for the objective test plus 30 minutes for the descriptive test, a total of two hours and thirty minutes, and LIC advises expecting about four hours or more at the venue.
Questions
The Preliminary Examination has 100 questions: 35 Reasoning Ability, 35 Quantitative Aptitude and 30 English Language. The Main Examination objective test has 120 questions, 30 in each of its four sections. The Main Examination descriptive test has 2 questions worth 25 marks.
Passing Score
Sectional minimum qualifying marks are published for every section. In the Preliminary Examination they are 18 of 35 in Reasoning Ability, 18 of 35 in Quantitative Aptitude and 10 of 30 in English Language for candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD; the corresponding figures for SC, ST and PwBD candidates are 16, 16 and 9. In the Main Examination objective test they are 45 of 90 in Reasoning Ability, 30 of 60 in General Knowledge and Current Affairs, 45 of 90 in Data Analysis and Interpretation and 30 of 60 in Insurance and Financial Market Awareness, with 40, 27, 40 and 27 respectively for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. The descriptive paper requires 10 of 25, or 9 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. Interview qualifying marks are 30 of 60 for EWS, unreserved and OBC candidates and 27 of 60 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. A candidate must pass each section separately and also reach the aggregate minimum.
Question Types
- Objective multiple choice questions in both the Preliminary and Main Examinations, with separate timing enforced for every section
- Descriptive English answers typed on the computer in the Main Examination, covering emails, reports, situation analysis and precis writing
- Personal interview carrying a maximum of 60 marks
Delivery Method
Computer based online examination at centres listed in the call letter, including the descriptive paper, which is typed on the computer and administered immediately after the objective test finishes. Biometric data capture forms part of the Main Examination check-in process.
Exam Domains & Topics
The joint largest section of the 300 mark Main objective test, worth 90 marks from 30 questions in 40 minutes. Each question carries three marks, which makes accuracy here worth three times a General Knowledge question. Candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD must score at least 45 of the 90 marks to clear the sectional cut-off.
Key Topics to Master:
- Seating arrangement in linear, circular and floor-based formats
- Puzzles involving scheduling, box stacking and category matching
- Syllogism and statement-conclusion reasoning
- Blood relations and direction sense
- Coding and decoding
- Inequality and coded inequality
- Input and output machine sequences
- Data sufficiency and critical reasoning
The other 90 mark section, again 30 questions in 40 minutes at three marks per question. It moves beyond plain arithmetic into chart, table and caselet interpretation, which suits the actuarial and accounting work an AAO does. The sectional cut-off is 45 of 90 for candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD.
Key Topics to Master:
- Tabular data interpretation with multi-column comparisons
- Bar, line and pie chart interpretation
- Caselet based data interpretation
- Missing data and mixed data interpretation sets
- Data sufficiency in numerical form
- Percentage, ratio and proportion applied to data sets
- Averages, mixtures and alligation within interpretation sets
- Quadratic and numerical comparison questions
Thirty questions for 60 marks in 20 minutes, so two marks per question and 40 seconds per question. The compressed clock rewards recall rather than reasoning, which makes this a section to be prepared through daily reading over months rather than revised in the final week. The cut-off is 30 of 60 for candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD.
Key Topics to Master:
- National current affairs from the six to nine months before the exam
- International affairs, summits and bilateral agreements
- Government schemes and their implementing ministries
- Banking and economic news including RBI policy announcements
- Awards, honours and appointments
- Sports events and results
- Books, authors and obituaries of public figures
- Static general knowledge on Indian polity, geography and institutions
The section that separates LIC AAO from a general banking exam. Thirty questions for 60 marks in 20 minutes, testing insurance terminology and the structure of Indian financial markets. Candidates coming from a banking exam background usually find this the least familiar section, and the 20 minute limit leaves no room to reason a term out from first principles.
Key Topics to Master:
- Life insurance terminology including premium, sum assured, surrender value and paid-up value
- Types of life insurance products such as term, endowment, whole life, ULIP and annuity
- IRDAI as regulator and its main regulations
- Claims, nomination, assignment and revival of policies
- Reinsurance, underwriting and actuarial concepts at an introductory level
- Structure of Indian financial markets covering money, capital, debt and forex markets
- Roles of RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDAI
- Financial inclusion schemes including Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
- History and organisational structure of Life Insurance Corporation of India
Recommended Study Plan
- 1Download the AAO Generalist notification from the Careers section of licindia.in and copy the two examination tables, including the minimum qualifying marks column for each section
- 2Write the eight sectional cut-offs on a single sheet: the three prelims sections, the four Main objective sections and the descriptive paper
- 3Check age eligibility against the 21 to 30 window measured on the notification's cut-off date, and note the category relaxation that applies
- 4Take one untimed diagnostic across reasoning, quantitative aptitude and English to see which prelims section is furthest from its cut-off
- 5Record baseline typing speed on plain English prose, since the descriptive paper is typed
- 1Drill seating arrangement and puzzle sets, timing every set individually rather than in blocks
- 2Run three full 20 minute Reasoning Ability simulations at 35 questions each and record how many were attempted
- 3Since there is no negative marking, practise marking an answer on every question before the section clock expires
- 4Build a decision rule for abandoning a puzzle set: fix a per-set time budget and move on when it is spent
- 5Revise syllogism and inequality rules, which are the fastest scoring question types in the section
- 1Drill simplification and approximation until 15 questions take under 8 minutes
- 2Cover arithmetic word problems on time and work, time and distance, profit and loss, and simple and compound interest
- 3Practise the English section with attention to grammar, vocabulary and comprehension, which the notification names explicitly for the prelims English test
- 4Run three 20 minute Quantitative Aptitude simulations at 35 questions and three 20 minute English simulations at 30 questions
- 5Confirm that the English score clears 10 of 30, since the section is qualifying and a failure there ends the attempt even with strong reasoning and quantitative scores
- 1Read the IRDAI annual report on irdai.gov.in for the structure of the Indian insurance market and the regulator's functions
- 2Learn the life insurance product families: term, endowment, whole life, money back, ULIP and annuity, with the defining feature of each
- 3Build a glossary of policy mechanics: premium, sum assured, surrender value, paid-up value, nomination, assignment, revival and free look period
- 4Read the LIC annual report and the About Us section of licindia.in for the corporation's history, structure and product range
- 5Study the government insurance schemes by name, sum assured and premium, including Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana
- 1Map the four regulators to their domains: RBI for banking and monetary policy, SEBI for securities, IRDAI for insurance and PFRDA for pensions
- 2Read the RBI monetary policy statements from the past year and note the policy rate at each review
- 3Cover money market and capital market instruments with their tenor and issuer
- 4Read the financial sector chapter of the latest Economic Survey on indiabudget.gov.in
- 5Do 60 Insurance and Financial Market Awareness questions under a 20 minute clock to calibrate recall speed
- 1Work through tabular, bar, line and pie chart sets, then move to caselets and missing data sets
- 2Time each five-question set at under six minutes, since the section allows 40 minutes for 30 questions
- 3Practise percentage and ratio calculation mentally to cut down on scratch work
- 4Run two full 40 minute Data Analysis and Interpretation simulations at 30 questions for 90 marks
- 5Check the score against the real sectional cut-off of 45 of 90
- 1Read PIB releases daily and keep a running one-line note for each scheme, appointment and agreement
- 2Compile the past six months into a category-wise sheet covering schemes, awards, sports, appointments, summits and obituaries
- 3Run two 20 minute General Knowledge and Current Affairs simulations at 30 questions for 60 marks
- 4Revise static general knowledge on Indian polity, national institutions and geography
- 5Cross-check every fact against an official source rather than a compiled digest before committing it to the revision sheet
- 1Write two emails, two reports, two situation analyses and two precis exercises, all typed and all inside 30 minutes for a pair of questions
- 2Fix a structure for the business email and the report so that formatting decisions take no thinking time in the exam
- 3Practise precis writing to a fixed reduction ratio and check whether the summary retains every substantive point
- 4Confirm typing speed is high enough that two answers worth 25 marks fit in 30 minutes with time to reread
- 5Note that the descriptive paper is evaluated only for candidates who qualify in the objective part, so the objective sections stay the priority
- 1Sit a complete Main Examination in one block: 40 minutes of Reasoning, 20 minutes of General Knowledge, 40 minutes of Data Analysis, 20 minutes of Insurance and Financial Market Awareness, then 30 minutes of descriptive typing
- 2Enforce the section clocks strictly, since LIC runs separate timing for every section and there is no borrowing time between them
- 3Score against all five sectional cut-offs rather than only against the total
- 4Identify which of the four objective sections is closest to its cut-off and give it the next week's revision priority
- 5Repeat the simulation once more at the end of the week to test whether pacing improved
- 1Prepare answers on the candidate's own academic background, the reasons for choosing insurance, and the current state of the Indian life insurance sector, since the interview carries 60 marks against a qualifying bar of 30 for unreserved, OBC and EWS candidates
- 2Assemble the documents required at interview: the signed system generated printout of the online application, the fee receipt, and original plus self-attested copies of all certificates
- 3Collect category certificates needed for age relaxation, which must be produced at the interview stage
- 4Download the call letter, affix a recent photograph, and arrange the original photo identity proof plus a photocopy
- 5Confirm the exam centre address and plan arrival ahead of the reporting time, allowing about three hours at the venue for prelims and about four hours for mains
Ready to pass LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer)?
Get 500+ practice questions, video walkthroughs, and a pass guarantee.
Best Study Resources
LIC AAO Generalist official notification
Official notification PDFThe authoritative document, published under the Careers head on licindia.in. It carries the vacancy table, the age and qualification conditions, both examination structures with question counts, marks, sectional minimum qualifying marks and durations, the interview marks, the pay scale and the guarantee bond terms.
Free
LIC Information Handout
Official guideLIC states that detailed information about the examination is given in an Information Handout made available for download along with the call letters on licindia.in. It carries the on-screen instructions and question type samples for the online test.
Free
IRDAI website and annual report
Regulator publicationThe Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India publishes its annual report, handbook of statistics and the full text of its regulations. This is the primary source for the Insurance and Financial Market Awareness section, which is the section most candidates underprepare.
Free
LIC annual report and product pages
Corporate publicationLIC's own site lists its current product range with policy features, and the annual report gives premium income, claims settlement and branch network figures. Interview panels routinely ask about the corporation's own products and performance.
Free
Insurance Institute of India study material
Study materialThe Insurance Institute of India publishes course material for its licentiate and associate examinations, including principles of insurance and practice of life assurance. LIC pays a special allowance to officers who pass these examinations, so the material is useful both before and after selection.
Paid
RBI monetary policy statements and annual report
Regulator publicationThe Reserve Bank of India publishes each bimonthly policy statement and an annual report on rbi.org.in. Both feed the financial market awareness questions and the banking portion of the current affairs section.
Free
Press Information Bureau releases
Government news servicePIB publishes the official text of government announcements on the day they are made, which is the most reliable base for the General Knowledge and Current Affairs section given its two marks per question weighting.
Free
Economic Survey and Union Budget
Government publicationHosted on indiabudget.gov.in. The financial sector and social security chapters cover the insurance penetration and pension coverage figures that appear in both the awareness section and the interview.
Free
Previous year LIC AAO papers and sectional mock tests
Practice materialSectional practice matters more here than full-length practice, because LIC enforces separate timing per section. Any mock series used should replicate the exact section lengths of 20, 20 and 20 minutes in prelims and 40, 20, 40 and 20 minutes in mains.
Free and paid options
Typing practice tools for business writing
Practice toolThe Main Examination descriptive paper is typed on the computer within 30 minutes for two questions. Practising email, report and precis writing directly in a plain text editor with a timer is the closest available match to the real interface.
Free
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Treating the prelims English section as optional because its marks do not count for ranking.
The English Language test is qualifying in nature, which means it still has a sectional minimum of 10 of 30 for candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD, who need 9. Failing to reach it ends the attempt regardless of how strong the reasoning and quantitative scores are. Qualifying is not the same as being ignorable.
Leaving questions blank to protect the score, out of habit from exams that penalise wrong answers.
LIC states there is no negative marking in either the Preliminary or the Main Examination. A blank and a wrong answer carry the same value, so every question should carry a marked answer before the section clock expires. Build the habit of a fast sweep in the last 60 seconds of each section.
Practising full-length papers with one continuous clock.
Both LIC papers use separate timing for every section, with no ability to carry unused time forward. A candidate who finishes Reasoning in 30 of the 40 allotted minutes cannot spend the spare 10 minutes on Data Analysis. Practice must be sectional, at exactly 20, 20 and 20 minutes for prelims and 40, 20, 40 and 20 minutes for the Main objective test.
Preparing General Knowledge and Insurance Awareness as one undifferentiated current affairs block.
They are separate sections worth 60 marks each, and the Insurance and Financial Market Awareness section tests domain knowledge rather than news recall. Terms such as surrender value, paid-up value, free look period and assignment come from insurance practice, not from headlines, and 20 minutes for 30 questions leaves no time to derive them.
Skipping descriptive practice because the paper is qualifying.
The descriptive test requires 10 of 25 marks, or 9 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates, and it is administered immediately after two hours of objective testing, when concentration is lowest. It is also typed rather than handwritten. Practise emails, reports, situation analysis and precis writing on a keyboard under a 30 minute clock for two questions.
Optimising for a high prelims total instead of clearing every sectional cut-off.
Only 70 of the 100 prelims marks count for ranking, and shortlisting takes roughly 20 times the vacancies in each category. Passing each of the three sections separately comes first, since a strong Quantitative Aptitude score cannot compensate for a Reasoning score below 18 of 35.
Assuming an e-Aadhaar printout will work as identification at the centre.
LIC names both the e-Aadhaar card and the ration card as invalid ID proofs for this process. Carry a physical Aadhaar card with a photograph, or a PAN card, passport, driving licence, voter's card, bank passbook with photograph, employee ID or Bar Council identity card, along with a photocopy of the same document.
Requesting a scribe or compensatory time at the exam centre rather than in the online application form.
LIC states that candidates who wish to use a scribe must indicate this in the online application form, and that compensatory time is system based, so it cannot be granted at the centre to a candidate who did not register for it. Compensatory time is 20 minutes for every hour of examination.
Appearing more than once in the online examination for the same post, for example after receiving two call letters.
LIC states that a candidate is allowed to appear only once in the online examination for a post, and multiple appearances result in cancellation of candidature. If more than one call letter is generated, resolve it with LIC before the exam date rather than sitting both sessions.
Exam Day Tips
- 1
Carry the call letter with a recent recognisable photograph affixed to it, matching the photograph submitted at registration, plus the original photo identity proof and a photocopy of that same proof. Without all three, LIC will not permit entry.
- 2
Use a physical Aadhaar card with a photograph, PAN card, passport, driving licence, voter's card, bank passbook with photograph, a photo identity proof issued by a Gazetted Officer on official letterhead, a valid recent university identity card, an employee ID or a Bar Council identity card. The e-Aadhaar card and the ration card are both rejected.
- 3
Make sure the name on the identity proof matches the name on the call letter exactly. Candidates whose name changed after marriage should carry the original Gazette notification, the original marriage certificate or an affidavit in original.
- 4
Reach the venue ahead of the reporting time printed on the call letter, not the exam start time. LIC states that candidates reporting after the specified reporting time will not be permitted to take the examination.
- 5
Plan for about three hours or more at the venue for the one hour Preliminary Examination, and about four hours or more for the two and a half hour Main Examination, because verification, document collection, biometric capture and instructions all happen before testing starts.
- 6
Watch the section clock rather than a total clock. Each prelims section closes after 20 minutes and the screen moves on, so an unattempted question in Reasoning cannot be revisited during Quantitative Aptitude.
- 7
Mark an answer on every question before each section expires, since neither paper deducts marks for a wrong answer.
- 8
In the Main Examination, treat the two 20 minute sections as recall sprints. General Knowledge and Insurance Awareness give 40 seconds per question, against 80 seconds per question in Reasoning and Data Analysis.
- 9
Expect the descriptive paper to start immediately after the objective test ends, with no gap. Save concentration for those final 30 minutes rather than spending it all in the Data Analysis section.
Career Paths & Salary Ranges
Assistant Administrative Officer, LIC
The entry officer post. Work spans underwriting, policy servicing, claims, marketing supervision, accounts and branch administration depending on posting. Probation is one year, extendable to two, and the appointee undertakes to serve LIC for at least four years including probation.
Basic pay of 88,635 rupees per month; LIC states total emoluments at the minimum of the scale come to approximately 126,000 rupees per month in an A class city
Administrative Officer and Assistant Divisional Manager
Internal promotion moves an AAO through the officer cadre into divisional management. Responsibility shifts from processing to supervising branch operations, business targets and staff.
Progression within the scale rising to 169,025 rupees basic
Underwriting and claims specialist
Officers who deepen into risk assessment handle medical and financial underwriting for large sum assured proposals and complex claims. Passing Insurance Institute of India examinations attracts a special allowance from LIC and supports this path.
Within the AAO scale of 88,635 to 169,025 rupees basic while in LIC service, plus the special allowance LIC pays for passing Insurance Institute of India examinations
Actuarial and product development roles
LIC pays a special allowance for passing actuarial examinations, which makes the AAO post a viable entry point into product pricing and valuation work for candidates who continue studying while employed.
Within the AAO scale while in LIC service, plus the special allowance LIC pays for passing actuarial examinations
Insurance compliance and operations in private insurers
Private life insurers recruit for the combination of IRDAI regulatory knowledge and operational experience that LIC officer work builds, typically into policy administration, compliance or distribution oversight roles.
Set by the recruiting insurer, and outside any LIC-published scale
Prerequisites & Requirements
- A Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised Indian university or institution for the AAO Generalist post. LIC states that no equivalent educational qualification will be considered eligible.
- The degree must be from a university, institute or board recognised by the Government of India or approved by government regulatory bodies, and the result must have been declared on or before the eligibility cut-off date stated in the notification.
- Minimum age of 21 years completed and maximum age of 30 years as on the eligibility date, which for the 32nd batch was 1 August 2025.
- Upper age relaxation of 5 years for SC and ST candidates, 3 years for OBC candidates, 10 years for PwBD (General), 13 years for PwBD (OBC), 15 years for PwBD (SC or ST), 5 years for ex-servicemen and commissioned officers in the general category, 10 years for those in SC or ST, 8 years for those in OBC, and a further 5 years for confirmed LIC employees.
- Indian citizenship.
- No prior work experience is required for the Generalist post, and no minimum percentage of marks is specified for the degree.
- Selected candidates must clear a pre-recruitment medical examination and submit a Deed of Indemnity, duly stamped and notarised at their own cost, before joining.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does LIC AAO cost to apply for?
The 32nd batch notification set the application fee cum intimation charges at 700 rupees plus transaction charges and GST for all candidates other than SC, ST and PwBD. SC, ST and PwBD candidates pay intimation charges of 85 rupees plus transaction charges and GST. Payment is online only. The fee is non-refundable, and where a candidate submits multiple applications for the same post, only the latest valid application is retained and the fees paid on the others are forfeited.
How many attempts do I get, and is there a waiting period after failing?
LIC does not publish a cap on the number of recruitment cycles a candidate may apply to, so the effective limit is the maximum age of 30 years plus any category relaxation. Within a single cycle, however, a candidate is allowed to appear only once in the online examination for a post, and multiple appearances lead to cancellation of candidature. LIC runs AAO recruitment periodically rather than on a fixed annual date, so the wait after a failed attempt depends on when the next notification is issued.
What happens if I fail one section but score well overall?
The attempt ends. LIC states that a candidate must pass in each section separately and must also obtain minimum marks in the aggregate to qualify for the online examinations and the interview. A high total built on three strong sections and one section below its cut-off does not qualify.
Do preliminary marks count towards the final selection?
No. LIC states that marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination are not added when preparing the final merit list. Only Main Examination marks are used for shortlisting for interview, and the final merit list is built from Main Examination marks plus interview marks, subject to minimum marks in both.
Is there negative marking?
No. The notification states there is no negative marking in the Preliminary Examination and no negative marking in the Main Examination. This makes the optimal strategy to answer every question, including pure guesses, before each section's clock runs out.
How many candidates are shortlisted for the Main Examination?
Approximately 20 times the number of vacancies in each category, subject to availability. With 350 vacancies advertised in the 32nd batch, that implies a Main Examination cohort in the low thousands, allocated category by category rather than as one common pool.
How is the descriptive paper handled?
It is administered immediately after the objective test finishes, with answers typed on the computer, and it carries 2 questions for 25 marks in 30 minutes covering emails, reports, situation analysis and precis writing. It is qualifying in nature and its marks are not counted for ranking. LIC evaluates the descriptive paper only for candidates who qualify in the objective part of the Main Examination.
Which identity documents are accepted at the exam centre?
A PAN card, passport, driving licence, voter's card, bank passbook with photograph, a photo identity proof issued by a Gazetted Officer on official letterhead, a valid recent identity card issued by a recognised university, an Aadhaar card with a photograph, an employee ID or a Bar Council identity card with photograph. The original and a photocopy must both be submitted to the invigilator along with the call letter. The e-Aadhaar card and the ration card are not valid ID proofs for this process.
Is the exam taken from home under remote proctoring?
No. Both the Preliminary and Main Examinations are conducted online at venues named in the call letter. Biometric data capture forms part of the Main Examination check-in, and candidates should expect about three hours at the venue for prelims and about four hours for mains once verification and instructions are counted.
What accommodations are available for candidates with disabilities?
Four percent horizontal reservation applies to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities under section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, covering locomotor disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment and intellectual or multiple disability. Candidates who need a scribe must arrange one at their own cost and indicate this in the online application form. Compensatory time of 20 minutes for every hour of examination applies to scribe users, to candidates with locomotor disability or cerebral palsy where the writing extremity is affected to at least 40 percent impairment, and to candidates taking the test in magnified font. LIC states compensatory time is system based and cannot be granted at the centre to candidates who did not register for it.
What are the rules about the scribe?
The scribe must not be a candidate appearing for the same examination, cannot act as scribe for more than one candidate, must hold a qualification one step below the candidate's, must come from a different academic stream, and must not be a current or former LIC employee. Both candidate and scribe give an undertaking confirming these conditions. If the scribe is found answering questions independently at any point, the exam session is terminated and the candidature is cancelled.
How long do results take?
LIC does not publish a fixed turnaround. In the 32nd batch cycle the tentative Preliminary Examination date was 3 October 2025 and the tentative Main Examination date was 8 November 2025, which left about five weeks for prelims evaluation and shortlisting. Call letters become available for download seven days before each online examination.
How are scores calculated across different sessions?
LIC applies an equating procedure. Corrected scores from each objective test are made equivalent to take account of any minor difference in difficulty between test forms used in different sessions. LIC also analyses response patterns across candidates for similarity of right and wrong answers, and reserves the right to cancel candidature and withhold results where it concludes that scores are not genuine.
What does the interview carry, and what is the qualifying mark?
The interview carries a maximum of 60 marks. Qualifying marks are 30 for EWS, unreserved and OBC candidates and 27 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates. Candidates who do not obtain the minimum qualifying marks in the interview are not considered for final selection, and the final merit list combines Main Examination marks with interview marks.
What is the probation period and is there a service bond?
Probation is one year from the date of joining, and may be extended up to two years, with continuous assessment during the period. Before joining as a probationer, candidates give an undertaking to serve LIC for a minimum of four years from the date of joining including the probationary period. Leaving earlier makes the candidate liable for liquidated damages of 500,000 rupees, and a Deed of Indemnity has to be submitted at the candidate's cost, duly stamped and notarised.
How does LIC AAO compare with IBPS PO and SBI PO?
All three are three-stage officer recruitments with a prelims, mains and interview structure, but LIC AAO replaces the banking awareness component with a dedicated Insurance and Financial Market Awareness section worth 60 marks, and it applies no negative marking in either phase, unlike the bank probationary officer exams. LIC AAO also enters an insurance career track with underwriting, claims and actuarial paths rather than a branch banking track.
Are there specialist posts besides Generalist?
Yes. The 16 August 2025 notification covered AAO Generalist, AAO Specialists and Assistant Engineer as separate posts. LIC states that a candidate should apply for one post only among those notified on that date, and that where multiple applications are submitted, the latest valid completed application is retained and fees paid on the others are forfeited.
What is the pay progression after joining?
The scale is 88,635 rupees with increments of 4,385 for fourteen stages reaching 150,025 rupees, then increments of 4,750 for four stages reaching 169,025 rupees. Beyond salary, LIC lists a defined contributory pension, a special allowance for passing Insurance Institute of India and actuarial examinations, gratuity, leave travel concession, cash medical benefit, group mediclaim, group personal accident insurance, group insurance, vehicle loans, meal coupons and furniture reimbursement.
Pass LIC AAO (Assistant Administrative Officer), Guaranteed
94% pass rate on first attempt
One-time • Lifetime access