The complete guide
Everything about the Clerical Aptitude Test
This test is one part of screening every applicant from one link: add a one-way video interview and resume scoring, and compare candidates in one report.
What is the Clerical Aptitude Test?
The Clerical Aptitude Test is built for hiring clerks, administrators and records staff. Comparing questions ask candidates to spot differences between names, codes, addresses and account numbers, and to count matching pairs. Filing questions cover alphabetical, numerical and date order, letter-by-letter rules and terminal digit filing. Clerical math covers petty cash, invoices, timesheets, overtime and discounts. Coding questions ask candidates to apply rules for codes, categories, routing and retention periods. The tasks are short and practical, so the score reflects how accurately someone handles the detail of office work.
What the Clerical Aptitude Test does not measure
It does not measure typing speed or skill in a specific system. Check typing separately if the role needs it, and use a recorded interview to hear how the candidate handles a busy front office.
How does the Clerical Aptitude Test work?
The Clerical Aptitude Test is an auto-scored multiple-choice test. Each candidate answers 20 questions drawn at random from a bank of 60, so two candidates rarely see the same set, and most finish in 8 to 12 minutes. The questions are spread evenly across comparing and checking, filing and sorting, clerical math and coding and classifying, with a mix of easy, medium and hard items, and the report shows a score for each area as well as an overall score.
Why is the Clerical Aptitude Test important to employers?
Clerical errors are small and costly: a misfiled record that cannot be found, a transposed account number, a wrong code that routes an invoice to the wrong person. This test shows who checks details carefully and applies rules consistently, which is most of what makes a reliable clerk.












