🎨 Color Vision Test — Free Red-Green Screening
Check whether you can distinguish the red-green shades used in colour vision plates, before you reach the medical stage of a railway, defence or police recruitment. Free, instant, and nothing you enter is stored.
A real colour vision test uses standardised printed plates under controlled lighting. Your screen’s brightness, colour calibration and any night-mode filter all affect what you see here, so this test can be wrong in either direction. Use it as an early indication only. For anything that matters — and certainly before concluding you cannot apply for a post — get tested by a qualified optometrist or ophthalmologist.
You’ll be shown 8 plates. Each one may contain a number. Pick what you see — or “No number visible” if you genuinely can’t make one out.
- Sit about an arm’s length from the screen.
- Turn off night mode / blue-light filter, and use normal screen brightness.
- Don’t strain or guess for a long time — answer with your first impression.
- If you normally wear glasses or lenses, keep them on.
What number do you see?
Why colour vision matters for government jobs
Colour vision is part of the medical standard for a large share of the vacancies listed on this site. Railway (RRB) posts are graded into medical categories such as A1, A2, B1, B2 and C1, with the stricter grades applied to safety-critical roles like Assistant Loco Pilot, where signals must be read correctly. Defence, police, coast guard and some PSU recruitments carry their own colour vision requirements too.
The important detail: the standard is set per post, in that post’s own official notification, and it is revised from time to time. Plenty of government jobs have no colour vision requirement whatsoever. So the useful thing to do is check the medical standard printed in the notification for the specific post you want — not to assume a general rule applies everywhere.
How this test works
Each plate is a disc filled with dots of varying size. A number is hidden in it using dots that differ from the background mainly in hue (along the red-green axis) while staying at a similar lightness. If your colour vision is typical, the number separates from the background clearly. If you have a red-green deficiency, the number blends in and may be unreadable — because the lightness cue that would otherwise give it away has deliberately been removed.
The plates here are generated by the page itself rather than being reproductions of any published test, and the first plate is a control: its colours differ in brightness as well as hue, so nearly everyone can read it. Missing that one usually points at a display problem rather than a vision one, and the result will tell you so.
What this test cannot tell you
- It cannot diagnose you. Only a qualified eye-care professional can confirm a colour vision deficiency and its severity.
- It cannot tell you the type. Clinical testing distinguishes protan from deutan deficiency and grades severity; this screens broadly for red-green difficulty.
- It cannot predict your medical result. The official board applies its own standard, with its own equipment.
- It depends on your screen. Calibration, brightness, colour profile and ambient light all change what you see.
Frequently asked questions
Which government jobs require normal colour vision?
Colour vision appears in the medical standards for a large share of railway, defence, police, coast guard and some PSU posts. Railway (RRB) vacancies in particular are graded into medical categories such as A1, A2, B1, B2 and C1, and safety-critical roles like Assistant Loco Pilot sit in the stricter grades. The exact standard, and the medical category a post falls under, is stated in that post’s own official notification — always read it there rather than relying on a general guide, because standards differ between posts and are revised from time to time.
Can an online colour vision test replace the official medical exam?
No. A clinical test uses standardised printed plates under controlled lighting, and the official medical is conducted by an authorised board. A browser cannot control your screen’s calibration, brightness, colour profile, night-mode filter or the light in your room, so an online test can give a wrong answer in either direction. Treat this as an early indication only, and get a proper examination from a qualified optometrist or ophthalmologist if anything concerns you.
What is red-green colour blindness?
It is the most common form of colour vision deficiency, in which reds, greens, oranges and browns become difficult to tell apart. It is usually inherited, affects men far more often than women, is present from birth rather than developing later, and does not change over time. Most people who have it see perfectly well in every other respect and often do not realise anything is different until a test like this one.
Is this colour vision test free?
Yes. It is completely free, needs no account or login, and runs entirely inside your browser. Your answers are not sent anywhere or stored.
What should I do if the test suggests a colour vision deficiency?
Do not treat this result as final, and do not give up on an application because of it. Book a proper colour vision test with a qualified optometrist or ophthalmologist, who can confirm whether a deficiency exists and how significant it is. Also check the medical standard in the notification of the specific post you want, because many government posts have no colour vision requirement at all.