Parliament passes bill raising govt job entry age to 32 years

The National Parliament has passed a bill setting the maximum age limit for direct recruitment in government, autonomous and statutory bodies at 32 years. The bill was passed by voice vote on Sunday afternoon, April 5.

State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari moved the bill titled 'Bill to Determine Maximum Age Limit for Direct Recruitment in Government, Autonomous, Statutory Government Authorities, Public Non-Financial Corporations and Self-Governing Bodies, 2026'. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed presided over the session.

According to the bill's provisions, the maximum entry age for all BCS cadres and non-BCS government jobs will be 32 years. For posts in autonomous and statutory bodies where the age limit was previously 30 or under 32 years, the new 32-year limit will apply. However, where a higher age limit of more than 32 years already existed, the previous higher limit will remain unchanged. Recruitment to defence services and law enforcement agencies will continue to follow their own regulations.

In the statement of objects and reasons, the state minister said the age limit has been raised to provide educated unemployed youth with more opportunities in nation-building and to create a positive impact on the labour market. The new bill was introduced to give permanent legal status to two ordinances issued in 2024 and 2025, repealing them. A technical complication created by the earlier ordinances regarding the reduction of higher age limits for some specialised posts has been resolved through this bill.