You're looking for previous year papers for Patna High Court Computer Operator-cum-Typist 2026 (PHC/02/2026). The honest answer: there are exactly two known official papers — the 2022 exam and the 2019 exam. Coaching sites won't tell you there's almost no PYP for this exam. We will. But that doesn't mean you're stuck — this article tells you where to get both papers free, what they reveal about the pattern, and which substitute papers cover the exact same syllabus.
One more truth most candidates miss: the MCQ test (Part A) is 50 out of 260 total marks. The typing tests (Part B + Part C) are 200 marks. If your prep plan is 80% MCQ and 20% typing, you have your priorities exactly backwards.
Apply window is April 17 – May 16, 2026. 48 posts. Exam date not announced yet. You have time — but not unlimited time.
- Only 2 official PHC CO papers exist — direct download links included below, both free
- No negative marking in Part A: every unanswered question is a wasted mark — attempt all 50
- Typing is 200/260 marks. Clearing the MCQ bar is easy (40%). The typing threshold (90% accuracy English) is where most candidates are eliminated.
Quick Exam Overview
| Component | Marks | Duration | Qualifying Threshold |
|---|
| Part A — MCQ (English, Hindi, Computer, Reasoning) | 50 | 30 min | 20/50 (40%) |
| Part B — English Computer Typing (40 WPM, 400 words) | 100 | 10 min | 90% accuracy |
| Part C — Hindi Computer Typing (30 WPM, 300 words) | 100 | 10 min | 85% accuracy |
| Interview | 10 | — | 3/10 (30%) |
| Total | 260 | 50 min (written) | All parts mandatory |
Source: Official PHC/02/2026 notification, Annexure I. [PDF:Official]
Also Read — PHC/02/2026 Cluster:
Why PYP Matters More Than Theory For PHC CO-cum-Typist
For most competitive exams, previous year papers are a revision tool. For PHC CO-cum-Typist, they serve a different purpose entirely: pattern confirmation and time calibration.
Part A is 50 marks in 30 minutes. That's 36 seconds per mark — not seconds per question, per mark. Whether the paper has 50 questions at 1 mark each or 25 at 2 marks each, you're working against a tight clock. The 2022 paper tells you exactly how quickly you need to move.
The no-negative-marking angle changes everything. This is not an SSC exam. There is no -0.25 penalty for wrong answers — the PHC/02/2026 notification explicitly states: "There shall not be negative marking for incorrect answers in the Part-A of the Written Test." [PDF:Official, Annexure I]
What this means in practice: leave zero questions unanswered. Every blank is a guaranteed zero. Every guess is a lottery ticket that costs you nothing. If you have 5 minutes left and 8 questions untouched — fill them all. This one insight is worth more than three days of MCQ prep.
Now zoom out. Part A qualifying threshold is 40% — just 20 marks out of 50. That's a very low bar. Most serious candidates will clear it easily. The real selection happens at Part B and Part C, where you need 90% English typing accuracy and 85% Hindi accuracy. These are not easy thresholds. A 10% error rate in English typing means you're out. No exceptions.
Takeaway: Use PYP to understand Part A pattern, build speed, and identify your 2-3 weak MCQ topics. But spend at least 60% of your daily prep time on timed typing practice.
Where To Download the Official 2022 Patna HC Paper
There is one official previous year paper for PHC Computer Operator-cum-Typist that is publicly available:
2022 Official Paper: patnahighcourt.gov.in/Exam/COT-2022.PDF
This is a direct link from the Patna High Court's official website. Exam date: May 14, 2022. That notification was for 30 posts [Source: Serper, Firstpost article]. The 2026 notification is for 48 posts — same post, bigger intake.
A second paper (from 2019, sometimes listed as "2016" referring to the original notification year) is available on Testbook's PHC Computer Operator PYP page. It requires a free Testbook account to access. [Source: Testbook PYP page, Serper result]
The honest truth: Two papers across 7 years. That's it. Patna High Court doesn't publish past papers systematically. What's on the official site may change after the 2026 exam. Download the 2022 PDF now and save it locally — don't count on the link being live indefinitely.
The 2022 paper PDF is image-based (scanned), not text-searchable. It cannot be ctrl+F searched. Print it or use a PDF reader's zoom feature to study it properly.
Substitute Papers That Work For Practice
Two official papers are not enough for exam-level preparation. Here's where to supplement, and — importantly — what carries over and what doesn't.
Allahabad High Court (AHC) Papers — Best Overlap
AHC Review Officer and Computer Operator papers share the highest overlap with PHC CO-cum-Typist. Both are High Court exams in northern India. Both test English grammar, Hindi grammar, Computer Awareness, and Reasoning in the same general style.
What transfers: Computer Awareness (OS, MS Office, internet, shortcuts — virtually identical syllabus), English grammar (error spotting, fill-in-the-blanks, synonyms), Reasoning patterns (coding-decoding, series, analogy). Use AHC papers for all three sections.
What doesn't transfer: AHC papers often include General Knowledge and UP-specific GK, which is NOT in PHC CO-cum-Typist Part A. Skip those sections when using AHC papers. Also, AHC may have negative marking — recalibrate your strategy when using these as mocks.
BPSC / Bihar State Papers — Hindi Grammar Section
For the Hindi Language and Grammar section (10 marks), BPSC Combined Competitive Exam prelims papers are a useful supplement. They test the same Hindi grammar concepts — sandhi, samas, upasarg, pratyay, shuddh vartani — at a comparable level. Bihar-specific papers also align with the linguistic register PHC examiners use.
Topic-wise Mark Distribution — What the Syllabus Tells You
The PHC/02/2026 official notification (Annexure I) specifies the mark allocation for each section of Part A. [PDF:Official]
| Section | Marks | Time Budget (of 30 min) | Strategy |
|---|
| Computer Awareness | 15 | ~8 min | Highest marks, easiest section. Do this first. MS Office shortcuts + OS basics = free marks. |
| English Language & Grammar | 15 | ~8 min | Vocabulary, error spotting, fill-in-blanks. Quick once you know the pattern. |
| Hindi Language & Grammar | 10 | ~7 min | Sandhi, samas, shuddh vartani, muhavare. Bihar candidates usually strong here. |
| Reasoning & Quantitative Aptitude | 10 | ~7 min | Analogy, series, coding, basic arithmetic. Do last — most time-variable. |
| Total Part A | 50 | 30 min | No negative marking — attempt every question |
Source: Official PHC/02/2026 Notification, Annexure I marks table. [PDF:Official] | Note: The 2022 paper PDF is image-based and exact question distribution within sections could not be extracted from it.
Recommended attempt order: Computer → English → Hindi → Reasoning. Start with what's fastest for you. Computer Awareness at 15 marks in 8 minutes is 1.9 marks per minute — your best yield in the entire MCQ section.
Expected Cutoff — Honest Estimate
No official cutoff has ever been published for Patna HC Computer Operator-cum-Typist — not for 2022, not for 2019. The court doesn't release this data publicly. Any site showing you a specific cutoff number for this exam has invented it.
Here's how to think about it instead:
The real filter is the typing test. Part B requires 90% English accuracy, Part C requires 85% Hindi accuracy. A candidate who scores 48/50 in Part A but can only type with 80% accuracy fails outright — their MCQ score doesn't matter. In practice, a large fraction of applicants are eliminated at this stage.
From the 3× shortlisting rule: only 3 times the number of advertised vacancies (3 × 48 = 144 candidates) are called for interview [PDF:Official]. These 144 are ranked purely on Part A + Part B + Part C scores. To be in the top 144 out of potentially thousands of applicants who cleared the typing thresholds, you need to be meaningfully above the minimum qualifying marks — not just at 40% MCQ and exactly 90% typing accuracy.
Practical target: Aim for 38–42 marks in Part A, 93–96% accuracy in English typing, 88–90% accuracy in Hindi typing. That combination puts you in a strong merit position regardless of total applicant count.
How To Use PYP — Week-by-Week Plan
Exam date is not announced yet. Based on how Patna HC has historically operated, the written exam typically comes 2–3 months after application closes (May 16, 2026). That gives you a working window of roughly 14–18 weeks from today.
4-Week Plan (Starting From Scratch)
| Week | MCQ Focus | Typing Focus | PYP Milestone |
|---|
| Week 1 | Read the official syllabus (Annexure I). Map your existing knowledge per section. | Baseline test: measure your current WPM and accuracy in both English and Hindi. | Solve 2022 official paper untimed first. Just understand question types. |
| Week 2 | Computer Awareness + English grammar. These 30 marks are the easiest wins. | 20 min daily English typing. Focus on accuracy, not speed — speed follows accuracy. | Solve 2022 paper again, timed (30 min for Part A). Note weak areas. |
| Week 3 | Hindi grammar + Reasoning. Use BPSC papers for Hindi, AHC papers for Reasoning. | Add Hindi typing: 15 min daily in Remington Gail layout (Mangal font — start NOW). | Solve 2019 paper (via Testbook) under exam conditions. Full 30 min, score yourself. |
| Week 4 | 2 full AHC mock sets (English + Computer + Reasoning sections only). Timed. | Full typing mock: 400 English words (10 min) + 300 Hindi words (10 min). Daily. | Full mock exam: Part A + typing back-to-back. 50-minute simulation. |
2-Week Plan (Already Prepared)
Days 1 and 4: Both official papers under strict exam conditions. Analyse every wrong answer. Days 5–7: Close MCQ gaps in your weakest one section. Week 2: Daily full typing mocks — 400-word English and 300-word Hindi back-to-back. Day 13: Final pass on Computer Awareness shortcuts and English grammar rules.
Rule for both plans: Never solve a PYP without a timer. Never close a paper without analysing every wrong answer.
What No Other Site Will Tell You About PHC CO-cum-Typist PYP
This is the section most prep sites skip. Four things that directly affect your exam strategy, all sourced from the official PHC/02/2026 notification:
1. The Preliminary Test is conditional — and its marks count for nothing.
The notification says a Preliminary Test "shall be conducted if the number of applicants is on the higher side." [PDF:Official, Annexure II] There is no stated threshold. If you get eliminated at Prelim, you never reach the Written Test. But if you clear it, your Prelim score is discarded entirely — it does not add to your merit. The Prelim shortlists 10 times the vacancies (480 candidates) for the Written Test. Study for it, but don't confuse Prelim performance with final rank.
2. No negative marking means your floor is never zero — it's always your attempt rate.
With no penalty for wrong answers, the mathematically optimal strategy is 100% attempt rate on all 50 marks. Someone who attempts 40 questions and scores 35 correct gets 35. Someone who attempts all 50 and scores 35 correct with 15 wrong still gets 35. Same score, but the second candidate had more chances. [PDF:Official, Annexure I]
3. The Hindi typing keyboard is Remington Gail — not Inscript, not Krutidev.
This is explicitly stated in the notification: "The Keyboard Layout for Hindi Computer Typing Test shall be 'Remington Gail' and the font shall be 'Mangal'." [PDF:Official, page 16] Most free typing practice sites default to Inscript. If you've been practising on the wrong layout, every hour of that practice is wasted on exam day. Switch to Remington Gail immediately — there's no grace period.
4. ST category has zero reserved seats, but ST candidates still pay the lower fee.
The notification explicitly states: "There is no seat in ST category." Zero posts reserved for ST. Yet ST candidates pay only ₹550 (vs ₹1,100 for UR) and can still appear in the general merit pool. [PDF:Official, fee table + category footnote]
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I download the official 2022 Patna HC Computer Operator paper for free?
Direct link: patnahighcourt.gov.in/Exam/COT-2022.PDF. This is on the official Patna High Court website. Download it now and save a local copy — official URLs from this court sometimes go stale.
Is there a 2024 or 2023 Patna HC Computer Operator paper?
No. The last exam before 2026 was on May 14, 2022 (30 posts). Before that, the 2019 exam (sometimes catalogued as "2016 notification"). There was no Computer Operator recruitment in 2023 or 2024. [Source: Serper search, patnahighcourt.gov.in]
Is there negative marking in Patna HC CO-cum-Typist Part A?
No. The notification explicitly states there is no negative marking for incorrect answers in Part A. [PDF:Official, Annexure I] Attempt every question — do not leave any blank.
What font and keyboard layout should I use for Hindi typing practice?
Mangal font, Remington Gail keyboard layout. [PDF:Official, Annexure I] Not Inscript. Not Krutidev. Remington Gail specifically. Set this up in your practice software before your first typing session.
Do Preliminary Test marks count toward final merit?
No. If a Preliminary Test is held, it is purely eliminative — it shortlists candidates for the Written Test but the marks are not added to the final merit list. [PDF:Official, Annexure II]
What's the minimum score I need to be called for interview?
You must first clear all three written parts (40% in Part A, 90% accuracy in English typing, 85% accuracy in Hindi typing). Then, the top 3 times the number of advertised vacancies — approximately 144 candidates — are called for interview, ranked by total written test marks. [PDF:Official, Annexure I]
Which section should I spend most prep time on?
Typing — Part B and Part C together are 200 out of 260 marks and have strict qualifying thresholds (90% and 85% accuracy). Clearing the MCQ bar (40% = 20/50) is straightforward for any graduate. The typing test is where the real selection happens.
📌 Patna HC Computer Operator 2026 — Full Cluster:
Start here: Download the 2022 official paper from the link above. Solve it untimed first — just to understand the question types. Then solve it again with a 30-minute timer. That 60-minute exercise will tell you more about your preparation gaps than any YouTube video. Then switch your typing practice to Remington Gail layout if you haven't already. Everything else follows from there.
