KSLSA Recruitment 2026 – Section Officer, Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (20 Posts)

The Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), Bengaluru has invited online applications for 20 Section Officer posts — 18 under the Residual Parent Cadre and 2 under the Kalyana Karnataka Region — through Notification No. KSLSA/O3/ADM/SO/2026 dated 20 July 2026. Applications are submitted online through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) portal until 19 August 2026. Full eligibility, fee, age and selection details are below.

Job Summary

Position: Section Officer

Recruiting Body: Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), Bengaluru

Notification No: KSLSA/O3/ADM/SO/2026 dated 20.07.2026

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Salary: ₹69250-1650-74200-1900-85600-2300-99400-2700-115600-3100-134200 (pay scale as printed in the notification)

Last Date to Apply: 19 August 2026 (11:59 PM)

Vacancies

20 posts of Section Officer in total, notified under a single notification covering two cadres. Residual Parent Cadre: 18 posts, comprising General Merit 9, Scheduled Castes (Cat-A) 1, Scheduled Castes (Cat-B) 1, Scheduled Castes (Cat-C) 1, Most Backward Class 1, Scheduled Tribes 1, Category-I 1, Category-II(A) 2, Category-II(B) 1, Category-III(A) 1. Of these, 4 are reserved for women candidates, 3 for rural candidates and 1 for a person with benchmark disability (blindness and low vision). Kalyana Karnataka Region: 2 posts, comprising General Merit 1 and Scheduled Castes 1. This recruitment is subject to the final outcome of Writ Petition No.200448/2025 c/w 17968/2025 and 3145/2023 pending before the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka.

Eligibility

Candidates must have passed LL.B from a recognised University. Selection is through a competitive examination followed by an interview. The written examination is offline and objective (OMR) in two papers, held only at the Bengaluru centre: Paper-I covers General Knowledge (current affairs, general science, history and geography of Karnataka, social science, general intellectual ability, public administration and rural development, environmental science and logical thinking) and Paper-II covers the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987, the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority Rules 1996 and Regulations 1997, the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, the Karnataka Financial Code 1958, the Constitution of India and the Code of Civil Procedure 1908. Each paper carries 100 questions, 300 marks and a 2-hour duration, with 105 marks as the minimum. A candidate who has not passed Kannada as a first or second language in SSLC (or an equivalent or higher examination) must pass the Kannada Language Departmental Examination conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission before completing probation. Appointment carries a probation period of two years.

Age Limit

Minimum 18 years. Maximum age as on 20 July 2026: General Merit 40 years; Category II(A), II(B), III(A) and III(B) of Other Backward Classes 43 years; Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Category-I of Other Backward Classes 45 years. Additional age relaxation applies to other categories under the Karnataka Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 1977 as amended. A one-time age relaxation of 5 years is available per Government Circular DPAR 262 SRR 2025 dated 29.01.2026.

Application Fee

₹1,000 for General Merit and Category II(A), II(B), III(A) and III(B) of Other Backward Classes. ₹500 for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Category-I of Other Backward Classes and Persons with Benchmark Disability. The fee is paid through the UPI, Net Banking or Debit Card payment gateway provided in the online application, and can be paid round the clock until 11:59 PM on 19 August 2026. Fee once paid is not refunded under any circumstances, even if paid for more than one application.

Important Dates

• Last date to apply: 19 August 2026 (11:59 PM)
• Commencement of online application: 20 July 2026
• Last date to pay the application fee: 19 August 2026 (11:59 PM)
• Age reckoned as on: 20 July 2026
• Notification date: 20 July 2026

How to Apply

Applications are accepted online only, through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) website. Candidates can submit the application and pay the fee round the clock until 11:59 PM on 19 August 2026. Candidates who had already applied under the earlier notification for this post need not file a fresh application; those applications are treated as applications under the present notification, subject to the prescribed qualification, and the fee is refunded if an applicant is found to be age barred. Applications that do not meet the prescribed requirements are rejected. The admission card for the examination must be downloaded from the KEA website, and candidates must carry it along with an original identity proof (Driving Licence, Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, Passport or Voter ID) to the examination. Candidates called for interview are informed only by e-mail, SMS or WhatsApp as registered in the application. Detailed instructions, eligibility criteria and the online application procedure are published on the KEA website and on the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority website at https://karnataka.nalsa.gov.in.

Apply Now: Official application portal

Official Notification

• Official notification (source website)
• Download notification PDF

Details above are indicative and taken from the official notification. Always confirm eligibility, fees and dates in the official notification before applying.