WHERE AND HOW TO OBTAIN APPLICATION. Examinations for the postal service usually are held in the fall, about the first Wednesday or Saturday in November of each year. Prospective applicants should write to the secretary of the civil service district in which they reside--a list of these will be found in the chapter under that heading--for the exact date and place of the mental test and the time when applications may be had. The blank, a copy of which is given elsewhere in this book, must be carefully and correctly filled and all questions must be answered. This requirement must not be overlooked, as to do so would mean the sending of the application back to the applicant for correction, thus causing loss of valuable time. All answers must be written in ink, the application in the handwriting of the applicant and the vouchers in the handwriting of the signers. There must be no discrepancy in the name of the applicant in any part of the application or in the vouchers. For New York: Physical examinations take place after the mental examinations, and only when called for appointment. To make this point clear, applicants must see that all names are signed alike in every part of the application. For instance: John Doe must be John Doe everywhere and not J. Doe in one place and John Doe elsewhere. Applications or vouchers which are executed or dated more than six months before the date of filing will not be accepted. After the blank is properly executed, it must be filed with the secretary of the local board of examiners. So far as possible file applications personally. If circumstances are such that the application must be mailed, register it and obtain a receipt for same. All applications must be sworn to before a Notary Public. Whenever extra examinations may become necessary, to meet the needs of the service, due announcement will be made of the dates and places of such examinations, and also of the time allowed for the filing of applications. A person cannot at the same time be an applicant for or eligible from examination for more than one first-class post office for which examinations ordinarily are held annually in November. This restriction will not apply, however, when an examination is held for any of these offices on a date other than that of the regular annual examination. A person who passes an examination can not be examined again for the same post office within approximately one year of the date of the examination he has passed. A person who fails in an examination may take the next examination regardless of the time intervening. A request for a change in the designation of the position desired by an applicant must be made in writing and be received by the district secretary on or before the date set for the close of receipt of applications, otherwise no change will be made.