Development Officer Salary in Sri Lanka 2026

How much does a development officer earn in Sri Lanka?

A Development Officer in Sri Lanka's public service is paid on the MN 4-2025 scale: Rs. 53,060 to Rs. 94,100 basic a month once fully paid in January 2027. In 2026 a new Grade III officer receives Rs. 49,886 basic plus the Rs. 17,800 cost of living allowance, about Rs. 67,700 a month.

How we checked this

We read Public Administration Circular 10/2025: Schedule I for the service, Schedule II for MN 4-2025, Schedule III for the phased amounts.
We read the Auditor General's special report on Development Officers for the history of graduate recruitment and the service minute.
We checked both in October 2026. Salary figures are official; the rounded gross totals are our arithmetic.

Which development officer is this page about?

We get asked this a lot, because "development officer" means different things in Sri Lanka. This page is about the Development Officers' Service: the permanent, pensionable graduate posts in ministries, departments and Divisional Secretariats, often shortened to DO.

It is not about NGO or project jobs with a similar title. For those, see our community development officer salary guide, where pay depends on the employer. It is also separate from Samurdhi Development Officers, who work for the Department of Samurdhi Development, and from posts such as Agrarian Development Officer or Co-operative Development Officer, which have their own recruitment notices.

Development officer salary scale (MN 4-2025)

Schedule I of Circular 10/2025 lists the "Development Officers' Service (Grade I, II, III)" on MN 4-2025. In Schedule II that code belongs to the Associate Officer category. The same code also covers under-employed graduates absorbed under the public administration circular referred to in Schedule I.

MN 4-2025: Rs. 53,060 - 10 x 800 - 11 x 1,190 - 10 x 1,320 - 5 x 1,350 - Rs. 94,100

One scale covers all three grades. Each grade has its own entry step, and you earn one increment a year inside the scale.

What is the development officer salary by grade in 2026?

These figures come from the Schedule III conversion tables headed MN 4-2025 Grade III, II and I. All are monthly basic salary in rupees.

Grade point	Step	Dec 2024	Apr 2025	Jan 2026	Jan 2027
Grade III, entry	step 1	31,490	46,711	49,886	53,060
Grade III, top of table	step 15	37,720	54,432	59,346	64,260
Grade II, entry	step 12	36,600	53,045	57,648	62,250
Grade II, top of table	step 27	46,500	65,330	72,715	80,100
Grade I, entry	step 23	43,930	62,142	68,806	75,470
Scale maximum	step 37	54,250	74,955	84,528	94,100

Because many Development Officers were recruited in large batches between 2011 and the early 2020s, most serving DOs are well past step 1. If you joined in a big intake, check your own step in the Grade II or Grade I table rather than the entry row.

How much does a development officer take home?

Add the Rs. 17,800 cost of living allowance to the 2026 basic and you get these rounded gross figures:

Grade point	2026 basic + COLA (Rs.)
Grade III, new appointment	about 67,700
Grade II, entry	about 75,400
Grade I, entry	about 86,600
Scale maximum	about 102,300

DOs are pensionable public servants, so there is no EPF deduction, and every figure above is under the Rs. 150,000 monthly APIT threshold. The main deduction is the widows' and orphans' pension contribution. Any travel or subsistence pay for field work is paid under the employing institution's rules, and we have not included it.

What does a development officer do?

The Development Officers' Service grew out of the Programme Officers' service minute, gazetted on 14 February 2012 (Gazette No. 1745/11) and renamed the Development Officers' Service minute on 7 September 2012 (Gazette No. 1774/31). The duties listed there are support work for development programmes: collecting information and data, analysing it, preparing reports and carrying out surveys for executive officers.

In practice the job depends heavily on where you are posted. A DO in a Divisional Secretariat might handle a subject such as planning, social services or a development programme for the division. A DO in a ministry or department usually supports a branch with data, files and reports.

The Auditor General's special report on the service counted 41,668 Development Officers at the time of its survey. In its test check, more than 86% were arts graduates, about 75% were women, and 78% worked as field officers.

How do you become a development officer?

There is no single annual DO exam. Historically the government has filled the service through graduate employment programmes announced by the Cabinet. The pattern we found in the Auditor General's report:

A degree is the core requirement. The 2011 programme was for graduates with internal degrees whose unemployment was certified by the Divisional Secretariat.
Graduates join as trainees first. The 2011 scheme paid a Rs. 10,000 monthly allowance during a one-year training period.
After training, trainees are appointed to Grade III of the Development Officers' Service.
The service minute set an age range of 21 to 35, although later Cabinet decisions allowed some older graduates to be absorbed.

If you are a graduate waiting for the next drive, keep your degree certificate, results sheet and residence documents ready, and watch for Cabinet announcements and gazette notices. Our government jobs in Sri Lanka guide explains how the other recruitment routes work, and how to become a government officer covers the general steps.

Development officer salary compared with other public service posts

Post	Code	Full scale (Rs.)
Management Service Officer	MN 2-2025	48,470 - 82,800
Grama Niladhari	GN 1-2025	50,630 - 84,960
Development Officer	MN 4-2025	53,060 - 94,100
Teacher, Class 3	GE 1-2025	53,060 - 66,600
SLAS and other executive services	SL 1-2025	82,150 - 195,970

The DO scale starts at the same Rs. 53,060 as GE 1-2025 for teachers, sits above the Grama Niladhari salary and the Management Service Officer salary, and sits far below the SLAS salary. The full list of codes is on our government salary scale 2026 page.

Our take: a safe start, not a finish line

For a graduate who wants a permanent, pensionable job, the DO post is a sound start. It pays more than the A/L-level posts, the workload is usually manageable, and there is a defined path from Grade III to Grade I.

What we would watch is the ceiling. MN 4-2025 tops out at Rs. 94,100, while the executive services on SL 1-2025 start at Rs. 82,150 and go past Rs. 195,000. If you are young enough to sit the SLAS or another executive open exam, we would take a DO appointment and keep preparing for that exam. We would also compare the private route in government vs private salaries, because graduate pay in the private sector varies far more by field.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the development officer salary in Sri Lanka?

Development Officers in the public service are paid on the MN 4-2025 scale, Rs. 53,060 to Rs. 94,100 basic a month once the 2025 pay revision is fully paid in January 2027. In 2026 a new Grade III officer is paid Rs. 49,886 basic, about Rs. 67,700 a month with the Rs. 17,800 cost of living allowance.

What is the MN 4-2025 salary scale?

Schedule II of Public Administration Circular 10/2025 sets MN 4-2025 for the Associate Officer category as Rs. 53,060 - 10 x 800 - 11 x 1,190 - 10 x 1,320 - 5 x 1,350 - Rs. 94,100. Schedule I places the Development Officers' Service, Grades I, II and III, on this code.

How much does a graduate development officer earn in 2026?

A newly appointed Grade III Development Officer receives Rs. 49,886 basic in 2026 under the phased payment in Circular 10/2025, and the full Rs. 53,060 from January 2027. Adding the Rs. 17,800 cost of living allowance gives about Rs. 67,700 a month in 2026 before deductions.

What is the salary of a Grade I development officer?

Grade I starts at step 23 of MN 4-2025, which is Rs. 75,470 when fully paid. In 2026 the amount paid at that step is Rs. 68,806, or about Rs. 86,600 with the cost of living allowance. The top of the scale, step 37, pays Rs. 94,100 from January 2027.

Is a development officer the same as a community development officer?

Not usually. A Development Officer in the Development Officers' Service is a permanent graduate post in government on MN 4-2025. Community development officer is a broader job title used by NGOs, projects and private employers, where pay is set by the employer. Our community development officer guide covers those roles.

How are development officers recruited?

Most Development Officers joined through government graduate employment programmes rather than a regular annual exam. In 2011, for example, the Cabinet approved jobs for 15,000 graduates as Development Officers, with a one-year training period before appointment to Grade III. The service minute set an age range of 21 to 35. New drives are announced by the government.

Do development officers get a pension?

Yes. Development Officers appointed to the permanent Development Officers' Service are pensionable public servants, so EPF is not deducted. They contribute to the widows' and orphans' pension scheme. Trainees on a graduate programme are paid a training allowance until they are appointed to Grade III.

Is a development officer paid more than a Management Service Officer?

Yes. MN 4-2025 starts at Rs. 53,060 when fully paid, against Rs. 48,470 for a Grade III Management Service Officer on MN 2-2025, a gap of Rs. 4,590 a month. At the top, MN 4 reaches Rs. 94,100 compared with Rs. 82,800 for MN 2.

Can a development officer become an SLAS officer?

Not automatically. The Sri Lanka Administrative Service is a separate executive service on SL 1-2025, which starts at Rs. 82,150. Graduates in the public service can sit the SLAS open competitive exam if they meet its age limit, and serving officers can enter through the limited and merit streams when they meet the conditions in each notice.

Sources

Public Administration Circular 10/2025 (PDF) - Ministry of Public Administration (Schedule I mapping, MN 4-2025 scale, Schedule III tables)
Government Salary Scales 2025 (English PDF mirror) - Gazette.lk
Auditor General's Special Report on the Performance of the Development Officers in the Public Service (PDF) - National Audit Office (service minute, recruitment history, officer numbers)
Development Officers' Service - Ministry of Public Administration
Public Administration Circular 03/2024 - cost of living allowance