Civil Service Salary Grades 2026: Full Pay Scales from AO to SCS2

The Civil Service salary grades for 2026 run from around £22,450 at the most junior administrative grade up to £162,000 at the top of the Senior Civil Service. The grades themselves are nationally consistent, but the pay attached to each grade varies — sometimes substantially — by department, by location, and by whether you're paid on the national rate or under a London-weighted scheme.

This guide walks through every grade in the Civil Service from Administrative Officer (AO) to Senior Civil Service 2 (SCS2), the typical pay ranges in 2026, how progression actually works, and the practical context — pensions, departmental differences, and the public/private comparison — that turns a Civil Service offer into a real career decision.

Civil Service salary grades 2026: the headline structure

Here are the 2026 pay ranges by grade, drawn from Cabinet Office Civil Service Pay Scales and Treasury Pay Remit guidance. These are typical ranges across central government departments; individual departments can pay above or below these figures depending on their pay flexibility.

Grade	Title	Minimum	Mid-point	Maximum
AO	Administrative Officer	£22,450	£24,200	£26,000
EO	Executive Officer	£27,000	£29,200	£31,500
HEO	Higher Executive Officer	£35,000	£37,500	£40,000
SEO	Senior Executive Officer	£42,000	£45,000	£48,000
Grade 7	(no formal title)	£58,000	£62,000	£67,000
Grade 6	(no formal title)	£72,000	£78,000	£84,000
SCS2	Senior Civil Service (Director)	£100,000	£130,000	£162,000

Source: Cabinet Office Civil Service Pay Scales, 2026. Ranges shown are typical across central government departments. Individual departments may set rates above or below these.

A few important framing points:

• "Civil Service" is not one employer. There are 25 ministerial departments and many more agencies. Each has its own pay flexibility within the central Treasury Pay Remit envelope, so an HEO at HM Treasury and an HEO at DWP can be on different salaries.
• Grade numbering goes "down" with seniority. This trips up almost everyone new to the Civil Service: Grade 6 is more senior than Grade 7, and both sit above SEO. The numbers are historical (descending from the old Permanent Secretary at Grade 1) and not a quality ranking.
• London-based posts almost always pay more. Most departments operate a separate London pay range that's £3,000–£5,000 above the national rate at each grade. Some specialist roles (digital, commercial, finance) have their own further-uplifted scales.

Pay scales sourced from the Cabinet Office Civil Service Pay Scales (2026), as published in the Civil Service Code and Handbook.

Civil Service grades in detail

AO — Administrative Officer (£22,450–£26,000)

AO is the entry-level administrative grade. Roles include case workers in HMRC and DWP, customer service operations, junior administrative support, and many roles in border force and operational delivery agencies. AO is the most populous grade in operational departments and the most common entry route for non-graduate civil servants.

Career progression from AO is typically into EO within 1–3 years for performance-track candidates. Our public sector salaries guide covers entry-level routes across government.

EO — Executive Officer (£27,000–£31,500)

EO is the first "executive" grade and the most common entry point for graduate hires outside the formal Civil Service Fast Stream. Roles include policy assistants, junior operational managers, junior analysts and project support officers. EO is also the entry point for the Operational Delivery Profession, the largest profession in the Civil Service.

HEO — Higher Executive Officer (£35,000–£40,000)

HEO is the workhorse middle-management grade. It's where most Fast Stream entrants spend their first two years, where most departmental analytical and policy work happens, and where most external mid-career hires enter. Pay sits between £35,000 and £40,000 nationally, with London-uplifted posts reaching £42,000–£45,000.

SEO — Senior Executive Officer (£42,000–£48,000)

SEO is a senior delivery grade — typically a team leader managing 3–10 HEO/EO staff, or a senior individual contributor on complex policy or analytical work. Most departments treat SEO as a 3–5 year grade between HEO and Grade 7. London SEOs frequently reach £52,000+.

Grade 7 (£58,000–£67,000)

Grade 7 is a notable step up. It's where you move from team leader to recognised expert or senior manager — heading a 10–20 person team, leading a defined policy area, or running a significant project. Grade 7 is the most competitive promotion point in most departments and typically takes 3–6 years from SEO. London Grade 7 roles routinely sit at £65,000–£72,000.

Grade 6 (£72,000–£84,000)

Grade 6 is the most senior non-SCS grade — frequently a deputy to a Senior Civil Servant, running a significant team or policy area. London-uplifted Grade 6 roles in specialist functions (digital, commercial, security) routinely pay above the typical range. Grade 6 is the practical ceiling for civil servants who don't want to compete for the Senior Civil Service.

SCS2 — Senior Civil Service / Director (£100,000–£162,000)

SCS2 is the Director grade — leading a directorate of 100+ staff or a major programme. The range is wide because some Director roles (digital, commercial, intelligence) command significantly higher rates to compete with the private sector. Below SCS2, the Civil Service uses SCS1 (Deputy Director) as the first formal senior leadership grade; above SCS2 sit Director General and Permanent Secretary roles. Both surrounding SCS tiers are covered separately on our Grade SCS2 senior roles page, which we'll keep updated as Cabinet Office publishes refreshed scales.

SCS appointments are made through public, externally advertised competitions and require a formal Civil Service Commission process.

How Civil Service pay progression actually works

There are two routes up the grades: incremental step progression within a grade, and promotion to the next grade.

Within-grade progression

AO, EO, HEO and SEO each have multiple pay steps. In most departments you move up one step a year subject to satisfactory performance. The total uplift from grade minimum to grade maximum is roughly £3,500–£6,000 across the grade.

Step progression became less automatic after the 2010s reforms; today most departments operate a "consolidated pay award" model where the annual cost-of-living uplift is layered on top of any progression step. The practical effect: real-terms progression within a grade is meaningful but slower than the published step structure suggests.

Promotion between grades

Above SEO, there are no automatic steps — every move up the ladder is a competitive promotion. Most internal promotions require:

1. A formal application to an advertised vacancy at the higher grade.
2. A Success Profiles interview process (Civil Service uses Behaviours, Experience and Strengths frameworks).
3. Sometimes a written exercise or panel presentation.

Promotion from HEO to SEO typically takes 3–4 years; SEO to Grade 7 is the most competitive step (typically 3–6 years); Grade 7 to Grade 6 is faster (2–4 years) once you're in the senior pipeline.

Our Civil Service career progression guide breaks down the application process by grade.

London and departmental pay variation

The single biggest non-grade factor in Civil Service salary is location. Two patterns to know:

London pay ranges

Most departments operate separate national and London pay scales, with a published uplift at every grade. The uplift is largest in absolute terms at the senior grades, but as a percentage it's broadly comparable across grades. London cost-of-living context sits on our London regional salary page.

Departmental pay flexibility

Some departments — typically those competing hardest with the private sector for talent — pay above the standard rates. HM Treasury, GDS (Government Digital Service), and parts of the Cabinet Office routinely pay above the typical departmental rate at Grade 7 and above. At the other end, the largest operational departments (HMRC, DWP, Home Office) typically pay at the standard rate.

What ONS data tells us about Civil Service actual earnings

The published grade ranges above are base only. The May 2026 ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings is the cross-sector reference for what civil servants actually earn — and the workforce shape (mostly AO–HEO in operational roles, pulled up by a concentrated group of senior specialists) means the central government median sits between SEO and Grade 7, well above the entry grades but well below the senior grades.

The Civil Service pension: why headline pay understates total compensation

Every Civil Service role includes membership of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (alpha) — a defined-benefit, career-average pension. The employer contribution rate is among the highest in the UK labour market, materially shifting the real total compensation calculation for every grade.

For an HEO at the £37,500 mid-point, the employer pension contribution is worth thousands of pounds a year on top of the headline salary — closing a meaningful share of the gap to comparable private-sector roles. Our Civil Service pension calculator lets you model your projected pension value at retirement.

Is the Civil Service competitive with the private sector?

The honest answer in 2026: yes at the bottom and top, less so in the middle.

• AO and EO are competitive with equivalent private-sector entry roles, particularly outside London.
• HEO and SEO typically pay 10–25% below comparable private-sector mid-career roles, especially in specialist functions (digital, commercial).
• Grade 7 and Grade 6 sit roughly in line with private-sector middle management.
• SCS roles are below private-sector executive pay but offer non-pay rewards (scope, public service, pension) that close part of the gap.

The pension is the structural counterweight — at every grade, factor in an extra ~29% employer contribution before comparing to a private-sector offer.

Next steps

If you're benchmarking a Civil Service offer or planning a grade move:

1. Confirm the current pay range for your specific grade on the public sector salaries page.
2. Model your real total compensation including pension on the Civil Service pension calculator.
3. Read the Civil Service career progression guide if you're preparing for an upcoming promotion application.

Civil Service pay in 2026 is one of the most transparent reward systems in the UK — every grade, step and allowance is published. Used well, that's a planning advantage that most private-sector roles can't match.