Gazetted Officer: Which Grades Count & Attestation Rules

A gazetted officer in Pakistan is a government officer whose appointment is published in the Gazette of Pakistan, the official journal of the government. That publication is where the name comes from. If the post is BPS-16 or above, the officer is gazetted, and the grade of the post is the test, not the officer’s education or department.

This guide answers the question readers of our attestation of documents guide ask most: which grades count as gazetted, whether a BPS-16 officer is gazetted, what a gazetted officer can attest, whether attestation is free, and where to find an officer near you.

Gazetted officer at a glance#

A gazetted officer is defined by the grade of their post, and the rule is the same across Pakistan.

What is a gazetted officer#

A gazetted officer is a government officer whose appointment is notified in the Gazette of Pakistan. The Gazette is the official journal in which the government publishes appointments, notifications and rules. When an appointment appears in the Gazette, the officer holding that post is called a gazetted officer.

The word “gazetted” describes the post, not the person. Two officers in the same department can hold different statuses because their posts sit in different grades. The test is always the grade of the post.

The classification itself was formally abolished in 1973, but the word is still used everywhere in Pakistan for appointments, attestation rules and job advertisements. Appointments to Grade 16 and above are still notified in the Gazette, as the Establishment Secretary confirmed in a letter dated 10 November 1973.

Which BPS grades count as gazetted in Pakistan#

If the post is BPS-16 or above, the officer is gazetted.

The rule comes from the Civil Servants (Change in Nomenclature of Services and Abolition of Classes) Rules, 1973, S.R.O. 1530(I)/73 dated 3 November 1973. Rule 6 abolished the gazetted and non-gazetted classes, and Rule 7 maps the old classes to grades.

The same mapping appears in the Punjab rules of 1974, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rules of 1975, and the Sindh rules of 1973, so it holds across Pakistan. If you want the pay detail behind each grade, see what BPS means.

BPS-16 is the first gazetted grade, and BPS-17 is the standard entry-level officer grade. A BPS-16 officer starts at a basic pay of Rs 33,720 a month under the BPS-2026 chart, with an annual increment of Rs 2,720 and a maximum of Rs 115,320 after 30 stages.

Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs) in the armed forces are also gazetted, even though their grades sit below BPS-17.

Is a BPS-16 officer gazetted?#

Yes, a BPS-16 officer is gazetted. BPS-16 is Class-II gazetted under the 1973 Rules, and the same mapping holds in Punjab, KP and Sindh. The Sindh Services, General Administration and Coordination Department clarified the same position in a notification dated 21 March 2019: BPS-16 is gazetted in Class-II.

The confusion exists because some departments in practice treat only BPS-17 and above as gazetted, even though the legal position is clear. The 1973 Rules table is the proof, and it puts Grade 16 in the gazetted column.

The status has been disputed in court for some posts: Sindh police Inspectors (BPS-16) went to the Sindh High Court in 2024 asking to be declared Gazetted (Class-II). The outcome of that case has not been established, so this guide states no outcome.

The practical catch is separate from the legal position, and it matters for your documents: being gazetted and being accepted for attestation are two different things. Most departments and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ask for a gazetted officer of BPS-17 or above for attestation.

A BPS-16 officer is gazetted, but a department that asks for BPS-17 will not accept their attestation. Always check what the advertisement or the receiving office asks for.

Gazetted vs non-gazetted#

A gazetted officer and a non-gazetted officer differ in grade, in Gazette notification and in attestation power.

Attestation rules: what a gazetted officer can attest#

A gazetted officer attests photocopies of documents, and only photocopies. Originals are never attested. Take the original and the photocopies together, and the officer checks the copy against the original before signing it.

• Only photocopies: the officer signs and stamps the photocopy after seeing the original. A photocopy of an attested copy is not attested. Every copy you submit needs the officer’s own signature and stamp.
• The stamp must show the details: the officer’s name, designation and office. A stamp with only a signature may be rejected.
• The grade in practice is BPS-17 or above: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs procedures state that a photocopy is attested when the original is presented, or when it is attested by a gazetted officer of BPS-17 or above. For a Nikkah Nama photocopy, MOFA asks for attestation by a Magistrate or any other gazetted officer.
• A notary is different: a notary public attests signatures and affidavits, not document copies. For a government job, the department asks for the gazetted officer’s attestation.
• It takes minutes: attestation is done in person, with the original and the photocopies in hand. Never leave an original document with anyone.

Officers who can attest include an Assistant Superintendent of Police, a principal or faculty member of a government college, a government doctor or engineer, an armed forces officer, or a Junior Commissioned Officer.

For the full attestation chain, from the gazetted officer through board verification, IBCC and HEC to MOFA, see our attestation of documents guide. For the list of papers a government job asks for, see the documents required for a government job.

Is attestation free?#

Yes, a gazetted officer attests documents for free. A gazetted officer does not charge a set fee for attestation, and there is no official fee for it. If someone asks for money to get your documents attested by an officer, walk away. That is an agent, not the officer’s fee.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also charges no fee for general attestation, only the prescribed revenue stamp. The paid step is the apostille: Rs 3,000 for personal and educational documents, Rs 4,500 for legal documents and Rs 12,000 for commercial documents, under the fee structure effective 8 July 2024.

Do not mix the two: general attestation is free, apostille is paid.

IBCC charges Rs 1,200 per original and HEC charges Rs 3,000 per document. Those are separate steps in the attestation chain, not the gazetted officer’s fee.

How to find a gazetted officer in Pakistan#

There is no central official list or directory of gazetted officers. The grade rule is the test: ask for the officer’s grade and designation, and check that the post is BPS-16 or above, or BPS-17 or above if the receiving office asks for it.

1. Go to a government office in the morning on a working day. Gazetted officers work in the Deputy Commissioner office, the Assistant Commissioner or tehsil office, the district courts, the District Police Office, a government college, a government hospital, and any federal or provincial government department office.
2. Take the original and the photocopies with you. The officer attests the copy only after seeing the original.
3. Ask the office staff for an officer of BPS-17 or above. That grade is accepted everywhere, including by offices that do not accept BPS-16.
4. Get the signature and the full stamp on every copy. Check that the stamp shows the officer’s name, designation and office before you leave.

If no gazetted officer is available in your town, the nearest district headquarters is the reliable fallback. The DC office, the courts and the government college there all have gazetted officers. A character certificate needs police verification first: see our police character certificate guide for that step.

An affidavit is different#

An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by oath on stamp paper. You sign it in front of an oath commissioner or a notary public, who attests it with a seal and signature. A gazetted officer does not attest an affidavit. An oath commissioner or a notary does.

There is no single fixed stamp paper value for an affidavit. Stamp paper values run from Rs 50 to Rs 1,000. A general affidavit usually uses e-stamp paper of Rs 100 to Rs 500, or Rs 100 to Rs 1,200 for a notarized one. The exact value depends on the province and the nature of the declaration.

In Punjab, the legal duty on an affidavit is Rs 300 under Article 4 of Schedule I to the Stamp Act 1899, as amended by the Punjab Finance Act 2024, which raised it from Rs 100.

Affidavits made only to be filed or used in a court are exempt. Other provinces set their own duty. In Punjab the duty is Rs 300.

Do not use Rs 20 as the current figure: it appears only in old specimen forms. For the full affidavit detail, see our affidavit format guide.

Who is NOT a gazetted officer#

The post’s grade decides, not the job title. Anyone whose post is below BPS-16, or outside government service, is not a gazetted officer.

• Can attest: a government college lecturer (BPS-17) or principal; a government doctor (Medical Officer, BPS-17, or a Medical Superintendent or Civil Surgeon); an Assistant Superintendent of Police (BPS-17); a police Inspector (BPS-16); a commissioned officer or a Junior Commissioned Officer of the armed forces.
• Cannot attest: a private school or college teacher; a private doctor; a bank manager; a clerk (BPS-11 to 15); a constable or head constable.

The teacher case needs care. A government school teacher is usually non-gazetted, because most school teacher posts sit below BPS-16. A government college lecturer at BPS-17 is gazetted and can attest.

Do not apply a blanket rule to all teachers: the post’s grade decides. Sindh upgraded Karachi school teachers to BPS-16 in 2022, and a BPS-16 post follows the 1973 grade table, but whether a given department accepts that attestation still depends on the receiving office.

Mistakes to avoid#

The most common mistakes with gazetted officers in Pakistan are about the BPS-16 question, the attestation grade and the fee.

• Thinking BPS-16 is not gazetted: BPS-16 is gazetted, Class-II under the 1973 Rules. The first gazetted grade is BPS-16, not BPS-17.
• Thinking every gazetted officer’s attestation is accepted everywhere: most departments and MOFA ask for BPS-17 or above. Check what the advertisement or the receiving office asks for before you go.
• Paying someone to get your documents attested: a gazetted officer charges no set fee. If someone asks for money, walk away.
• Getting an original attested: only photocopies are attested, against the originals. Originals are never attested.
• Submitting a photocopy of an attested copy: every copy you submit needs the officer’s own signature and stamp. A photocopy of an attested copy is not attested.
• Taking an affidavit to a gazetted officer: an affidavit is sworn before an oath commissioner or a notary public, not a gazetted officer.
• Using Rs 20 stamp paper for an affidavit: Rs 20 appears only in old specimen forms. A general affidavit usually uses Rs 100 to Rs 500 e-stamp paper, and the Punjab legal minimum is Rs 300.
• Accepting a stamp with only a signature: the stamp must show the officer’s name, designation and office, or the receiving office may reject the copy.

Frequently asked questions#

Is a BPS-16 officer gazetted? Yes. A BPS-16 officer is gazetted, Class-II under the Civil Servants (Change in Nomenclature of Services and Abolition of Classes) Rules, 1973. The same mapping holds in Punjab, KP and Sindh, and the Sindh Services, General Administration and Coordination Department clarified the same position in a notification dated 21 March 2019.

Can a gazetted officer attest documents for free? Yes. A gazetted officer does not charge a set fee for attestation, and there is no official fee for it. If someone asks for money to get your documents attested by an officer, walk away.

Who is NOT a gazetted officer? Anyone whose post is below BPS-16, or outside government service. A private teacher, a private doctor, a bank manager, a clerk (BPS-11 to 15) and a constable or head constable are not gazetted officers and cannot attest documents.

Can a teacher attest documents? It depends on the post’s grade. A government college lecturer at BPS-17 is gazetted and can attest. A government school teacher is usually non-gazetted, because most school teacher posts sit below BPS-16. A private teacher cannot attest.

Can a doctor attest documents? A government doctor can attest: a Medical Officer is BPS-17, and a Medical Superintendent or Civil Surgeon is senior gazetted. A private doctor is not a gazetted officer and cannot attest.

Can a gazetted officer refuse to attest? Yes. An officer attests only after seeing the original, and only for photocopies. If you do not have the original, the officer can refuse.

Take the original and the photocopies together, and go to an officer of BPS-17 or above if the receiving office asks for that grade.

The 1973 grade table is federal law, and the same mapping holds in Punjab, KP and Sindh. The only province-specific figure in this guide is the Punjab affidavit duty of Rs 300.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1975 rules table is on the KP Code website, and the Sindh 1974 rules are on the Sindh S&GAD website. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs procedures are on mofa.gov.pk.