Acumen Logic®Short answer. Of the 16 central banks, regulators and public-finance bodies in our 2026/27 research, three name an online-test provider in their own material: the Bank of England (Penna), the National Audit Office (Cappfinity) and the Civil Service (Talogy’s platform, for its Verbal and Numerical Tests). The Civil Service result covers only one placement route in our research; the main Fast Stream route names no provider. The FCA is reported to use Cappfinity. For HM Treasury, HMRC and the other bodies we checked, we found no provider named for 2026/27.
How sure we are: Confirmed by the employer or the test publisher Reported by other sources Not published anywhere we could find How we check
Public-sector online tests at a glance
- Bodies we checked
- 16 in this sector, of 312 employers
- Named by the body itself
- Bank of England, NAO, Civil Service testsConfirmed
- FCA
- CappfinityReported
- Financial Ombudsman Service
- Not published for 2026Not published previously reported: Criteria (2025)
- Online-test provider not published
- 11 bodiesNot published
- Free practice here
- Numerical Reasoning · Form 2, 12 questions
Which provider each public body uses
We checked 16 bodies. We looked for 2026/27 evidence; for a few, only older evidence exists. Four have a provider named or reported for one or more test steps. Three confirm it in their own material: the Bank of England, the National Audit Office and the Civil Service. The FCA is reported. The Financial Ombudsman Service named a provider in 2025 adverts, but not for 2026. The Civil Service tests have their own section, because the provider covers only some routes.
| Employer | Online test | Video interview | Last evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank of England (includes PRA) | PennaConfirmed | Not published | bankofengland.co.uk11 Dec 2025 |
| National Audit Office | CappfinityConfirmed | None recorded | find-tender.service.gov.ukNov 2025 |
| Financial Conduct Authority | CappfinityReported one source | CappfinityReported one source | hub.preparationplus.comlive page, read 12 Oct 2026 |
| Financial Ombudsman Service | Not published previously reported: Criteria (2025) Other programmes: not published (1 of 2) | Not published previously reported: Criteria (2025) Other programmes: not published (1 of 2) | builtinlondon.uk24 May 2025 |
NAO: no separate video interview; its job simulation has video responses, supplier not published.
We also checked these bodies. We found no provider named for their test steps: British Business Bank, Competition and Markets Authority, Government Actuary’s Department, Government Economic Service, HM Treasury, HMRC, Ofcom, Ofgem, Office for National Statistics, Ofwat and the Pension Protection Fund Not published. HMRC and Ofcom have older reports, explained below. Ofgem’s 2026 tender names the firm that will license its tests, Cohesion Limited, but not who makes them.
The Government Actuary’s Department’s only online-test evidence is a 2022 blog post. We left out a finance scheme listed on DWP’s job board, because its details match another employer’s advert.
Last checked: October 2026. We re-check each record by 1 July 2027. How we check which test an employer uses.
Bank of England: what the evidence shows
The Bank’s how-to-apply page (updated 11 Dec 2025) describes a situational judgement test that checks how well you fit the Bank’s values. The same process covers graduates, interns, industrial placements and apprentices. Economist and Data placement applicants also sit an online Excel test (see the table below). That page does not say who supplies either test.
Penna Confirmed. Two of the Bank’s own documents tie Penna to its assessment process, and a third gives a Penna contact:
- The Bank’s guide to its situational judgement test tells candidates to email a Penna address about technical problems with the test (Bank of England guide). The PDF itself is dated October 2021, and the current how-to-apply page does not link to it.
- The Bank’s 2022 contract notice names Penna Plc as the supplier of recruitment assessment services for its Future Talent campaigns, from July 2022 to June 2027 (Contracts Finder).
- The December 2025 how-to-apply page gives a Penna address as the support contact at each step (Bank of England).
Who wrote the test. Penna runs the Bank’s assessment process, but that does not show who wrote the test itself. The Bank’s older test guide, dated 2019, also gave Penna as the contact when a different firm supplied the test. The 2021 guide carries an “EVOLVE” logo, but no source names the company behind it Not published.
An older format you may still read about. Some prep sites still describe a three-part test with personality, numerical and verbal sections. That description matches the Bank’s 2019 guide. The Bank’s December 2025 page describes a situational judgement test instead, plus an Excel test for two placement streams.
| Step | What the Bank says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Online test | Situational judgement test on the Bank’s valuesConfirmed | How-to-apply page, Dec 2025 |
| Test format | Pick the likeliest and unlikeliest of four actionsConfirmed | Test guide, Oct 2021 |
| Test timing | No time limit; answer all questionsConfirmed | Test guide, Oct 2021 |
| Video interview | Time limit per question; no re-recordingConfirmed | How-to-apply page, Dec 2025 |
| Video platform | Not published | None |
| Assessment centre | Virtual: one group exercise, one interviewConfirmed | How-to-apply page, Dec 2025 |
Economist and Data placement applicants also sit an online Excel test; its supplier is not published.
Civil Service Fast Stream and the Civil Service tests
The main Fast Stream route. The Institute for Government reports two online tests for the 2026 intake: a work-based scenarios test and a case study assessment. A news report quotes the Cabinet Office saying the numerical test was “removed again for the 2026 intake” (UnHerd, Aug 2026). The same report says the Finance Fast Stream had two untimed online exercises and no maths test. Neither source names a provider Not published.
Where Talogy comes in. The Cabinet Office’s own algorithmic transparency record (16 Dec 2025) says the Civil Service Verbal and Numerical Tests are delivered as adaptive tests on Talogy’s True Talent platform: “The CAT functionality is wholly owned by Talogy” (GOV.UK) Confirmed.
In our research, only a Government Social Research sandwich placement names one of these tests: the Civil Service Numerical Test, as its only online test. So Talogy is confirmed for that placement, not for the main Fast Stream route.
| Route | Online-test provider | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Main Fast Stream route (2026 intake) | Not published | Institute for Government |
| Finance Fast Stream (2026 intake) | Not published | UnHerd, Aug 2026 |
| Government Social Research sandwich placement | Talogy (Civil Service Numerical Test)Confirmed | GOV.UK, Oct and Dec 2025 |
Sources: GOV.UK names the test for the placement; the Cabinet Office record names Talogy’s platform.
Do not assume Talogy for other civil-service tests. The Government Economic Service calls its tests the “Civil Service Verbal and Numerical Tests”, but its own FAQ says the scheme uses a different numerical and verbal reasoning test. It names no supplier Not published. A Government Operational Research Service data science apprenticeship names the Civil Service Judgement Test, again with no supplier.
National Audit Office and FCA: Cappfinity
National Audit Office Confirmed. For its graduate and apprentice ACA schemes, the NAO’s first online step combines its Capptivate assessment, a Cappfinity product, with an online numerical reasoning test. The NAO’s practice link for the numerical test goes to Cappfinity’s demonstration site.
The NAO’s contract notice names Cappfinity Limited as the supplier of its trainee recruitment and selection programme, signed in October 2025 and running to October 2027 (Find a Tender). The NAO says you must meet a benchmark to move on, and it gives no feedback on this step.
The next step is a job simulation with written and video responses; the NAO does not name its supplier Not published. The NAO says its 2027 graduate scheme opens in mid-October 2026 (NAO).
FCA Reported. The FCA uses the same process for graduates, summer interns and apprentices: an online strengths-based assessment, then a “job insight assessment” with video-based questions, then a half-day assessment centre. A 2024 FCA video transcript describes the strengths test as untimed, with about 40 minutes expected.
The evidence for Cappfinity. The FCA’s live early-careers page sends candidates to a practice “Candidate Zone” that runs on Cappfinity’s Preparation Plus platform. FCA video transcripts from 2022 and 2024 named Cappfinity as its assessment partner, and a 2026 prep site names it for the online test. The FCA’s current pages do not name Cappfinity in words. For the job insight assessment, one prep site names Cappfinity.
For format and timing across Cappfinity employers, see our Cappfinity assessment guide.
Older reports: Financial Ombudsman Service, HMRC and Ofcom
Financial Ombudsman Service Not published previously reported: Criteria (2025). Its spring 2025 apprentice adverts said: “We partner with Criteria to deliver the assessments & video interview” (Built In copy of the advert). Those adverts were removed in May 2025, before the current cycle. Its current process page lists a situational judgement test for some roles, a phone call and a video interview, and names no provider.
HMRC Not published previously reported: Civil Service tests (2024 intake). For its 2024 Tax Specialist Programme intake, HMRC named three Civil Service tests: numeracy, verbal reasoning and judgement. A 2020 government report says the Civil Service develops its tests in-house. HMRC has not named the tests for its 2027 intake. Its careers page says 2027 applications are open from 9 to 26 October 2026.
Ofcom Not published. An article by Visionpath, a recruitment partner, describes running Ofcom’s 2022 apprentice intake. It names no test. Ofcom’s “How we hire” page lists a pre-recorded one-way video interview as one possible first step, with no platform named.
What the other bodies say about their tests
These bodies describe their tests but name no supplier. The descriptions still tell you what to practise.
| Body | What it says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| HM Treasury | Personality, verbal and numerical partsConfirmed | HM Treasury careers |
| Government Economic Service (graduate, apprentice) | Untimed verbal and numerical tests, one sitting eachConfirmed | GES careers |
| Government Economic Service (placements) | One untimed numerical testConfirmed | GES summer placements |
| Competition and Markets Authority | Verbal, numerical and judgement tests (2025 post) | CMA blog, Apr 2025 |
| Ofgem | Gamified tests and video interviews (2026 tender) | Tender copy, Mar 2026 |
A June 2026 news report says HM Treasury removed its numerical test around 2020 and its verbal test in 2024. Its own 2026/27 pages still list both.
How to prepare
Bank of England. The Bank’s current page describes a values-based judgement test for all routes, plus an Excel test for Economist and Data placements. We suggest reading the Bank’s values and practising short spoken answers for its video interview.
National Audit Office. The NAO’s first step includes a numerical reasoning test on Cappfinity. Our free Cappfinity practice test (our replica, not the NAO’s test) is Cappfinity Numerical Reasoning · Form 2: 12 numerical questions in one sitting. A physical calculator is allowed for the numerical section.
FCA. The FCA’s first test is strengths-based, so our free numerical test is not a match for it. We suggest using the FCA’s own Candidate Zone practice questions.
Civil Service schemes, HM Treasury and GES. GES says the verbal and numerical tests on its graduate and apprentice routes are untimed, each taken in one sitting. Its summer and sandwich placements use one untimed numerical test. HM Treasury says some parts of its test may not be timed. To check your level across numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, the free Acumen Logic Benchmark is 20 questions in 17 minutes, with an estimated percentile at the end.
Sources
- Bank of England: how to apply
- Bank of England: situational judgement test guide
- Contracts Finder: Bank of England recruitment assessment services
- GOV.UK: Cabinet Office record, Civil Service Verbal and Numerical Tests
- GOV.UK: Government Social Research sandwich placement
- Institute for Government: Fast Stream explainer (covers the 2026 entry)
- UnHerd: Civil Service scraps maths test for finance graduates
- National Audit Office: how to apply
- Find a Tender: NAO contract with Cappfinity Limited
- FCA: early careers
- FCA: employability video transcript
- FCA: earlier employability video transcript
- GraduatesFirst: FCA online assessment
- GraduatesFirst: FCA job insight assessment
- Financial Ombudsman Service: apprentice advert (Built In copy)
- Financial Ombudsman Service: application process
- GOV.UK: HMRC graduates (2024 intake)
- GOV.UK: service assessment, Civil Service online tests
- HMRC careers: tax graduates
- Visionpath: apprenticeships with Ofcom
- Ofcom: how we hire
- HM Treasury careers: online assessment
- Government Economic Service: Assistant Economist scheme
- Government Economic Service: summer placements
- CMA blog: graduate scheme opportunity
- UK Spending: Ofgem graduate campaign tender
Common questions
Which company runs the Bank of England online test?
What is in the Bank of England online test?
Does the Civil Service Fast Stream use Talogy?
Do the FCA and the National Audit Office use Cappfinity?
Which public bodies do not name a test provider?
Related guides
Cappfinity
Cappfinity Assessments in 2026/27: Format, Timing, and Which UK Employers Use Them
What a Cappfinity assessment looks like, how its timing works, which UK employers name or are reported to use it, and the free Cappfinity test.
Start here
UK Graduate Aptitude Tests 2026/27: Which Test You Face and Where to Practise
Which publisher UK employers use, checked against 312 employers, how to find yours, how each test scores you, and a free practice test for SHL, Aon and Cappfinity.
Scoring
Aptitude Test Percentiles and Sten Scores Explained: Norm Groups and Estimated Cut-offs
How each publisher reports your result, what a norm group is, and the cut-offs prep sites estimate on SHL tests for UK banks and firms.
Next step
Practise this format, free.
Numerical reasoning: 12 questions · time recorded, no time limit. No card, one sitting.
Got a different test? Free SHL test · Free Aon test.