Parliament has passed a bill setting the maximum age limit for direct recruitment in all government, autonomous, and statutory bodies at 32 years.
The “Bill to Determine the Maximum Age Limit for Direct Recruitment in Government, Autonomous, Statutory Government Authorities, Public Non-Financial Corporations and Self-Governing Bodies, 2026” was placed by State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari and passed by voice vote on Sunday.
The bill establishes that the maximum age for entry into all cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) and all 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, the limit will now also be 32 years. However, for positions where existing recruitment rules already set a higher limit, such as 35, 40, or 45 years, that higher age limit will remain unchanged.
Recruitment rules for defence services and law enforcement agencies will also remain unaffected by the new law.
In the statement of objects and reasons, the state minister said the age limit was increased to provide greater opportunities for educated unemployed youth in nation-building and to have a positive impact on the labour market.
The new bill was introduced to give permanent legal form to two ordinances issued in 2024 and 2025 on this matter, repealing them.
The bill’s statement noted that the earlier ordinances had created some technical complications, where the age limit for some specialised posts had been reduced. The current bill removes that ambiguity while maintaining existing rules for posts with higher age limits.
