Like all civil servants until the introduction of Competitive examinations in the 1850s, Blunt had studied at Haileybury in Hertfordshire in 1846 with Highly Distinguished distinction and stood at 7th position with 2nd class among students of Bengal.
In 1820 William Blunt became the Commissioner in Cuttack and Superintendent of Tributary Mahals. In 1829, George Stockwell succeeded Blunt as the Superintendent of Tributary Mahals. He was Special Commissioner to David Scott (Agent to the Governor-General on the North-East Frontier) during the Burmese War of May 1828.
On 20 March 1835 he was posted as Governor of the Presidency of Agra where he served for over eight months till 1 December 1835.
From December 1835 to April 1836 (possibly later) he was a judge of the Courts of Ṣadr Dīwānī ʿAdālat and Ṣadr Nizāmat ʿAdālat at the Bengal Presidency.
In 1797 he was appointed as Senior Member of the Board of Customs, Salt and Opium. From 11 November 1830 to 20 March 1835 he was Member of the council of the Governor General. In 1841 he was Officiating Member of the Board of Customs, Salt and Opium and the Marine Board at Loudon buildings in Calcutta (Now Kolkata).
