The examinations for entrance to the service must be held in the United States and in the Philippine Islands, and applicants are required to be tested in both English and Spanish.
"Disloyalty to the United States of America as the supreme authority in the Islands is made a complete disqualification for holding office, and every applicant for admission to the service must, before being admitted to examination, take the oath of loyalty.

By an amendment to the Civil Service Act on January 26, 1901, it is further declared that all persons in arms against the authority of the United States in the Philippine Islands, and all persons aiding or abetting them, on the first day of April, 1901, shall be ineligible to hold office.
"A minimum age limit of eighteen years and a maximum age limit of forty years are fixed for those who enter the lowest grades in the service.

This avoids the difficulty and embarrassment that would result from the admission of men advanced in years to positions where the duties can be better performed by younger and more energetic persons.
"The Board is given authority to investigate matters relative to the enforcement of the act and the rules, and is empowered to administer oaths, to summon witnesses, and to require the production of office books and records in making such investigations.

Without such a provision it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to conduct satisfactory investigations, but with the authority conferred by the act, the Board can make a rigid inquiry into the facts of every case arising under the act and the rules.
"The act provides for the ultimate classification of all positions in the service, from laborers to heads of bureaus and offices, and the Board may, in its discretion, determine the efficiency of those now in the service as well as those who may enter hereafter through its examinations.

This authority will enable the Board to ascertain the fitness of all employees so that only the most competent will be retained in the service.
"As a check upon the illegal payment of salaries the act provides that whenever the Board finds that a person has been appointed in violation of its provisions or of the rules of the Board, and so certifies to the disbursing and auditing officers, such payments shall be illegal, and if payment is continued the disbursing officer shall not receive credit for the same and the auditing officer who authorizes the payment shall be liable on his official bond for the loss to the government." In its third annual report the Civil Service Board mentioned the following among its distinctive duties:-- "All appointments to classified positions are required to be made on a form prescribed by the Board, and the Board's attestation is required in each case before the Civil Governor or Secretary of Department will approve the appointment and before the disbursing officer will pay any salary.
"The papers in all cases of reduction, removal and enforced resignation are required to be submitted to the Board for recommendation before transmission to the Civil Governor or Secretary of Department for final action.
"The Board is required to keep a record of all unclassified as well as classified employees in the Philippine civil service, showing among other things date of appointment, original position and salary, place of employment, all changes in status and grade, and all accrued and sick leave granted.
"From its service records the Board is required to compile annually, for publication on January 1, a roster of the officers and employees under the Philippine Government.
"Applications from employees, classified and unclassified, for accrued and sick leave for more than two days must be made on a form prescribed by the Board and forwarded to it for verification of service record and previous leave granted and for recommendation before final action is taken by the Civil Governor or Secretary of Department." These extracts from official reports clearly show that the act was indeed of a very advanced type, and if honestly enforced would of necessity lead to the establishment and maintenance of "an efficient and honest civil service," for which purpose it was enacted.
In 1905 the insular government dispensed with boards as administrative agencies, and in accordance with this general policy, a bureau of civil service with a director at its head was substituted for the Civil Service Board, thus securing greater administrative efficiency and increased economy.
At first the Civil Service Act applied to comparatively few positions, as only a few bureaus and offices had been created, but as the government was organized and grew, the different bureaus and offices were placed in the classified service, the acts organizing them leaving in the unclassified service positions to which in the judgment of the commission the examination requirements of the act should not apply.