Checked 28 September 2026. From the Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment data 2024, 2025 and 2026 on GOV.UK (Cabinet Office), plus the Institute for Government explainer (reported). Each year's data is published once the intake is settled; the 2027 intake figures will not exist until 2027.
How hard is the Fast Stream to get into, and does your choice of scheme change the odds? Both questions have official answers. Every year the Cabinet Office publishes Fast Stream recruitment data on GOV.UK: vacancies, registrations, applications, the number recommended for appointment and a success rate, scheme by scheme. This guide puts the last three intakes side by side, adds the long-run trend back to 2013, and shows which applicant groups get through most often. Where we have done arithmetic ourselves, it is labelled as ours.
Where other pages get this wrong
Fast Stream success rates are published every year, scheme by scheme (some years combine or omit schemes).
Commonly published instead: that competition figures or sift ratios are not published. Our own notice-board page said this.
The GOV.UK series "Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment data" gives vacancies, applications by first preference and by any preference, recommendations and a success rate for each scheme. It also breaks results down by university type, age, region and other characteristics. What is not published is the pass rate at each individual stage, such as the online tests.
Fast Stream recruitment data 2026, Table 1.
How the success rate is defined
Read the definitions before comparing schemes. The success rate is the number recommended for appointment divided by applications by first preference. Each application with a first preference is counted once, under that scheme; registrations with no scheme selected are left out. A separate column counts applications by any preference, so someone who lists three schemes appears three times there. Vacancies are the figures as at 20 May 2026. The number recommended can exceed the number of vacancies, as it does for Government Policy, because the recommendation is a judgement about who met the bar.
One naming point also matters. The "2026" data describes the intake that applied in October and November 2025 and starts in September 2026. The Institute for Government calls the equivalent 2025 figures the "2024-25 application cycle". They are the same data under two labels.
The 2026 intake, scheme by scheme
| Scheme | Vacancies | First-preference applications | Recommended | Success rate | Applicants per vacancy (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial | 29 | 3,015 | 27 | 0.9% | 104 |
| Cyber Security | 15 | 5,600 | 15 | 0.3% | 373 |
| Digital | 64 | 5,426 | 70 | 1.3% | 85 |
| Diplomatic and Development (incl. D&D Economics) | 25 | 13,550 | 21 | 0.2% | 542 |
| Finance | 36 | 4,023 | 38 | 0.9% | 112 |
| Government Economics Service | 49 | 1,196 | 56 | 4.7% | 24 |
| Government Operational Research Service | 22 | 776 | 25 | 3.2% | 35 |
| Government Policy | 201 | 10,817 | 225 | 2.1% | 54 |
| Government Social Research | 17 | 3,509 | 12 | 0.3% | 206 |
| Government Statistical Service | 26 | 1,000 | 26 | 2.6% | 38 |
| Human Resources | 28 | 6,330 | 29 | 0.5% | 226 |
| Operational Delivery | 25 | 3,273 | 28 | 0.9% | 131 |
| Project Delivery | 62 | 4,112 | 71 | 1.7% | 66 |
| Property | 23 | 1,477 | 25 | 1.7% | 64 |
| Risk Management | 5 | 1,984 | 6 | 0.3% | 397 |
| Science and Engineering | 27 | 2,958 | 29 | 1.0% | 110 |
Source: Fast Stream recruitment data 2026, Table 1. The Diplomatic and Development row includes Diplomatic and Development Economics. The final column is our own division of first-preference applications by vacancies, rounded, and is not an official figure.
Recommended divided by first-preference applications. Fast Stream recruitment data 2026, Table 1.
Three things stand out. The specialist analytical schemes (Economics at 4.7%, Operational Research at 3.2% and Statistics at 2.6%) have the highest rates. They are also the schemes with subject-specific degree requirements, though the data does not show that one causes the other. Diplomatic and Development is the hardest by a distance, at 0.2%: it drew the most first-preference applications of any scheme, 13,550 for 25 vacancies. And Government Policy, the largest scheme with 201 vacancies, sits at 2.1%, about double the overall rate.
Compare your preferences
Compare your three preferences
You can apply for up to 3 schemes. Pick yours to see each scheme's published success rate for the last three intakes, and how many first-preference applicants there were per vacancy in 2026.
Success rates are official (recommended divided by first-preference applications). Applicants per vacancy is our arithmetic from the same table. Past rates do not predict your own chance; they describe the field.
Three intakes compared
| Measure | 2024 intake | 2025 intake | 2026 intake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacancies | 915 | 676 | 654 |
| Registrations | 49,988 | 84,003 | 78,407 |
| Applications by any preference | 147,175 | 251,344 | 188,865 |
| Applications by first preference | 44,362 | 72,691 | 69,046 |
| Recommended for appointment | 986 | 754 | 703 |
| Success rate | 2.2% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
In two years vacancies fell from 915 to 654, while first-preference applications rose from 44,362 to 69,046. The overall success rate more than halved, from 2.2% to 1.0%. The Institute for Government (reported) describes the 2024-25 cycle as a record and its success rate as the lowest on record; its figures are in the table below.
| Institute for Government (reported) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Applications in the 2024-25 cycle | 72,691, the most since 1999 |
| Applications in 2020 | 64,697 |
| Increase on 2020, as reported | 11% |
| Increase on 2020, our arithmetic on the two figures above | 12.4% |
| Success rate | 1%, the lowest on record |
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Scheme |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1% | 0.9% | 0.9% | Commercial |
| 1.9% (joint DDaT and Cyber row) | 0.2% | 0.3% | Cyber Security |
| 1.9% (joint DDaT and Cyber row) | 1.0% | 1.3% | Digital |
| 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Diplomatic and Development (incl. D&D Economics) |
| 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.9% | Finance |
| 8.1% | 4.3% | 4.7% | Government Economics Service |
| 13.0% | 6.5% | 3.2% | Government Operational Research Service |
| 3.7% | 2.1% | 2.1% | Government Policy |
| 0.9% | 0.6% | 0.3% | Government Social Research |
| 8.9% | 4.4% | 2.6% | Government Statistical Service |
| 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | Human Resources |
| 2.1% | 1.2% | 0.9% | Operational Delivery |
| 3.5% | 1.4% | 1.7% | Project Delivery |
| 2.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% | Property |
| no row | 0.6% | 0.3% | Risk Management |
| 3.9% | 1.2% | 1.0% | Science and Engineering |
Sources: Fast Stream recruitment data 2024, 2025 and 2026, Table 1 each year. In 2024 Digital and Cyber were reported together as DDaT and Cyber, the statistics scheme was listed as the Government Statistical Scheme, and there was no Risk Management row. The fall is steepest in the analytical schemes: Operational Research went from 13.0% to 3.2% and Statistics from 8.9% to 2.6%.
The long view: external applicants since 2013
| Intake | External applications | Recommended | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 17,966 | 864 | 4.8% |
| 2014 | 20,072 | 915 | 4.6% |
| 2015 | 21,135 | 967 | 4.6% |
| 2016 | 32,450 | 1,245 | 3.8% |
| 2017 | 40,570 | 1,233 | 3.0% |
| 2018 | 40,457 | 1,411 | 3.5% |
| 2019 | 50,777 | 1,210 | 2.4% |
| 2020 | 57,193 | 1,133 | 2.0% |
| 2021 | 52,833 | 947 | 1.8% |
| 2022 | 32,331 | 911 | 2.8% |
| 2023 | 21,405 | 901 | 4.2% |
| 2024 | 37,903 | 876 | 2.3% |
| 2025 | 60,384 | 682 | 1.1% |
| 2026 | 57,921 | 637 | 1.1% |
Fast Stream recruitment data 2026, Table 16 (external applicants only). X axis: intake year, 2013 to 2026.
The external series in Table 16 covers applicants from outside the Civil Service and runs back to 2013. It shows the rate is cyclical: it fell to 1.8% in 2021, recovered to 4.2% in 2023 when applications dropped to 21,405, then fell again as applications rose. Applications and the success rate have often moved in opposite directions, though not every year, while the number recommended changes more slowly. The 2025 and 2026 intakes, at 1.1%, are the two lowest in the series.
Who gets through: university, age and region
| Group (2026 intake) | Applications | Recommended | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxford and Cambridge graduates | 2,319 | 101 | 4.4% |
| Russell Group, excluding Oxford and Cambridge | 23,864 | 393 | 1.6% |
| Other higher education providers | 39,497 | 197 | 0.5% |
| STEM degree | 36,692 | 365 | 1.0% |
| Non-STEM degree | 28,990 | 326 | 1.1% |
| External applicants | 57,921 | 637 | 1.1% |
| Existing civil servants | 11,125 | 66 | 0.6% |
| Age (2026 intake) | Applications | Recommended | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 or under | 5,159 | 65 | 1.3% |
| 21 to 23 | 28,010 | 387 | 1.4% |
| 24 to 26 | 12,957 | 129 | 1.0% |
| 27 to 29 | 6,973 | 52 | 0.7% |
| 30 to 39 | 10,459 | 59 | 0.6% |
| 40 and over | 5,487 | 11 | 0.2% |
| Home region (2026 intake, selected) | Applications | Recommended | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 16,696 | 211 | 1.3% |
| Scotland | 5,255 | 40 | 0.8% |
| Wales | 2,279 | 13 | 0.6% |
Sources: Fast Stream recruitment data 2026, Tables 5 to 7 and the external and internal split. The gaps are large. Applicants whose undergraduate university was Oxford or Cambridge were recommended at 4.4%, several times the 0.5% rate for applicants from other education providers outside the Russell Group. Applicants aged 21 to 23 did better than any older group, and existing civil servants did worse than external applicants. These are descriptions of outcomes, not of causes, and the data does not explain them.
What the numbers mean for your application (our reading)
Using the data sensibly
- Your preferences are a real decision. The success rate for your first-preference scheme in 2026 ranged from 0.2% to 4.7%. If you meet the degree bar for an analytical scheme, the published odds are several times better.
- Do not pick a scheme for its odds alone. Rates fall where degree rules screen applicants out. You are only in the Economics field if you have the economics degree, and inside that field competition is still stiff.
- Applications are the swing factor. Over 14 intakes the success rate has often been lower in years with more applicants, though volume is not the only factor. A falling number of applications, as in 2022 and 2023, is when the rate recovered.
- The published groups are not destiny. The FSAC assessors do not know your university, and the online tests do not ask. The gaps arise somewhere in the process; they are not a rule.
Practise it, don't just read it
Stage-by-stage pass rates are not published, but the assessment centre's written exercise is where analysis of tables and charts is tested. The ProSyllabus data quizzes practise exactly that kind of reading.
The ProSyllabus Fast Stream library has 12 quizzes: four on Written Advice Exercise skills (drawing conclusions from a brief, assumptions and inference, evaluating arguments in policy prose, weighing options against stated criteria), five on reading and working with data (tables and charts, percentages and change, multi-step problems, index numbers and real terms, scheduling and capacity), and one each on the Civil Service Code, fact versus inference versus judgement, and summarising a brief faithfully.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Fast Stream success rate?
For the 2026 intake it was 1.0%: 703 people recommended for appointment from 69,046 first-preference applications, for 654 vacancies. The 2025 intake was also 1.0%, and the 2024 intake was 2.2%.
Which Fast Stream scheme is easiest to get into?
By the published rate, the Government Economics Service had the highest success rate in 2026, at 4.7%, followed by Operational Research at 3.2% and Statistics at 2.6%. All three require specific degrees, which shrinks the field. Among schemes open to any 2:2 degree, Government Policy (2.1%), Project Delivery and Property (1.7% each) were highest.
Which Fast Stream scheme is the most competitive?
Diplomatic and Development, at 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026. In 2026 it had 13,550 first-preference applications for 25 vacancies. Cyber Security, Government Social Research and Risk Management were each at 0.3% in 2026.
Why are more people recommended than there are vacancies?
Recommendation means a candidate met the standard. The vacancy figure is a snapshot as at 20 May 2026. The two are published separately, and for several schemes, such as Government Policy (225 recommended for 201 vacancies), the recommended number is higher.
Is the Fast Stream harder to get into than it used to be?
For external applicants the success rate was 4.8% in 2013 and 1.1% in both 2025 and 2026, the lowest in the published series. It is cyclical, though: it rose back to 4.2% in 2023 when applications fell.
Does it matter which university I went to?
The official data shows large gaps. In 2026, 4.4% of Oxford and Cambridge graduates were recommended, compared with 1.6% for other Russell Group universities and 0.5% for other providers. FSAC assessors are not told your university, and the data does not say why the gaps arise.
Sources
- official — GOV.UK — Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment data 2026
- official — GOV.UK — Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment data 2025
- official — GOV.UK — Civil Service Fast Stream recruitment data 2024
- reported — Institute for Government — Civil Service Fast Stream explainer
- official — Civil Service Careers — Initial application stage
- official — Civil Service Careers — Assessment centre
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
