Practise a pre-employment typing test the way employers run it: a timed words-per-minute (WPM) and accuracy check. Most office jobs ask for 50–60 WPM, while data entry and transcription expect 60–80 WPM with 95%+ accuracy. Take the timed test below and compare your result with the requirements by role.
Most office jobs expect 50–60 WPM. Roles where typing is central — data entry, transcription, legal and executive support — ask for 60–90 WPM, almost always with 95–98%+ accuracy. The table shows the typing speed commonly required by role.
| Job / role | Typing speed expected | Typical accuracy |
|---|---|---|
| General office work | 40–55 WPM | 95%+ |
| Customer support / chat | 50–65 WPM | 97%+ |
| Administrative assistant | 50–70 WPM | 97%+ |
| Data entry | 60–80 WPM | 98%+ |
| Medical transcription | 65–75 WPM | 98%+ |
| Executive assistant | 70–80 WPM | 98%+ |
| Legal secretary / paralegal | 70–90 WPM | 99%+ |
Benchmarks compiled from occupational typing data published by Wonderlic and TypingTest.now (2025–2026). Actual requirements vary by employer, test length, text and keyboard.
Employer typing tests are timed, usually 1 to 5 minutes, with 3 minutes a common length. They score net WPM — your speed after errors are subtracted — so accuracy counts as much as speed. Some tests disable the backspace key, which makes careful typing even more important.
Practise at the right length with the 1 minute, 3 minute or 5 minute tests, and check your accuracy.
Prioritise accuracy over raw speed — most employers prefer 60 WPM at 99% accuracy over 75 WPM at 92%. Practise with real sentences, punctuation and numbers rather than simple word lists, take several tests to find a reliable average, and warm up for a minute first. See how you compare with the average typing speed.
Most office jobs expect 50–60 WPM. Data entry, transcription and legal roles ask for 60–80 WPM, usually with 95–98% accuracy. Specialised roles can require 90+ WPM.
Data entry roles commonly require 60–80 WPM with 98%+ accuracy. Numeric data entry is often measured in characters per minute instead, with at least 165 CPM as a baseline.
Employer typing tests are usually 1 to 5 minutes long, with 3 minutes a common length. Longer tests give a more reliable score because they average out short bursts of speed and fatigue.
Employers use net WPM, which subtracts your errors, not gross WPM. A posting that says 60 WPM required almost always means 60 net WPM with high accuracy.
Practise a timed test at the length the employer uses, prioritise accuracy over raw speed, and get used to typing real sentences with punctuation and numbers rather than simple word lists.