Maharashtra Public Service Commission State Service

The MPSC State Service Exam, widely called Rajyaseva, is the main route to senior Group A and Group B posts in the Maharashtra government. The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) conducts it in three stages: a Preliminary Examination, a descriptive Main Examination and an Interview.

This page gives you the full picture in one place: where the 2026 cycle stands, the pattern, syllabus, eligibility, selection process and a practical way to prepare. It also separates rules that stay the same every year from details that belong only to the 2026 cycle, so you know what to rely on and what to recheck.

Table of Contents

MPSC State Service Exam at a Glance

The table below holds the evergreen facts. Cycle-specific items such as vacancies and dates are covered in later sections.

The Preliminary Examination is a common screening test. The same prelims is used for the State Service, Forest Service and engineering services, and each service then has its own Main Examination. This page is about the State Service only.

Latest Update on the 2026 Cycle

The 2026 cycle was advertised under Advertisement No. 132/2025. The Preliminary Examination was held on 31 May 2026 and its result came on 22 June 2026. The State Services Main Examination 2026 was scheduled for 3 October 2026, but MPSC postponed it in late September 2026 and said revised dates would be announced separately.

Two more developments matter for your planning:

• Re-evaluation of the 2025 Mains: Reports say MPSC will re-evaluate answer sheets of the State Services Main Examination 2025 after objections from candidate groups. This may affect later timelines.

• Pattern change from 2027: MPSC has announced that optional subjects will be removed from the State Services Main Examination from the 2027 cycle. The 2026 cycle is not affected. The details are in the exam pattern section below.

As of the date this page was prepared, no new Mains date had been confirmed. Keep checking the notices on https://mpsc.gov.in for the revised schedule.

Important Dates

These dates belong to the 2026 cycle (Advertisement No. 132/2025).

Dates can change. Track the official notices on https://mpsc.gov.in and the messages on your registered email and mobile number.

Posts and Vacancies

The advertisement for the 2026 cycle reported 87 posts in total: 79 in the State Service (General Administration Department) and 8 in the Maharashtra Veterinary Services. Vacancies were later revised through corrigenda, and some secondary sources report a much higher figure for the Main Examination. Treat every number you see outside the Commission's notices as indicative and confirm the final post-wise and category-wise list in the latest corrigendum.

Posts filled through the State Service typically include Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Commissioner of Police, Tehsildar, Assistant Commissioner (State Tax), Block Development Officer and similar Group A and Group B posts. The exact list changes with each advertisement, because it depends on requisitions sent by government departments.

Eligibility Summary

This is a summary. The full rules, including relaxations and post-specific conditions, are on the MPSC State Service eligibility page.

Educational qualification

A bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university is the general requirement. Some posts ask for a specific degree, for example a veterinary degree for the Veterinary Services. Final-year students can usually apply for the Prelims but must hold the degree by the stage the advertisement specifies.

Age limit and other conditions

• Age: 19 to 38 years for the Open category in the State Service. Reserved categories, orphans, ex-servicemen and meritorious sportspersons are reported to get an upper limit of 43 years, and candidates with benchmark disabilities 45 years. The advertisement states the date on which age is counted.

• Nationality: Indian citizen.

• Language: Knowledge of Marathi (reading, writing and speaking) is required.

• Physical standards: Needed only for certain posts such as Deputy Superintendent of Police, as listed in the advertisement.

Application Fee and How to Apply

For the 2026 cycle, the fee reported for the Open category was Rs. 544, and Rs. 344 for reserved categories, economically weaker section, persons with disabilities and orphans. Bank or gateway charges are extra and the fee is not refunded. Check the current advertisement before paying.

Applications are made online on the Commission's application portal, https://mpsconline.gov.in.

1. Register on the portal with a valid email address and mobile number, and create your profile.

2. Fill in your personal, educational and category details exactly as they appear in your certificates.

3. Select the services and posts you want to be considered for.

4. Upload your photograph, signature and any required documents in the specified size.

5. Pay the fee online and download the confirmation for your records.

Common reasons for rejection are a mismatch between profile details and certificates, wrong category selection and missing documents. Fill the form only after reading the advertisement once, start to finish.

Exam Pattern

The pattern below is the one that applies to the 2026 cycle. A shorter Mains pattern applies from 2027, covered after the tables. The complete explanation, with marking rules and strategy, is on the MPSC State Service exam pattern page.

Preliminary Examination

Both papers are objective. Each wrong answer carries a negative mark of one-fourth of the marks for that question. The Prelims score is used only to shortlist candidates for the Mains and is not added to the final merit.

Main Examination (2026 cycle)

This gives 1,750 marks for merit, plus 275 marks for the Interview, a total of 2,025.

Change from the 2027 cycle

Under the revised scheme, both optional papers are dropped. The Mains then has seven papers: Marathi, English, Essay and General Studies I to IV. Written merit marks fall to 1,250. The Interview carried 275 marks in the original announcement of June 2026, and later reports mention a corrigendum reducing it to 175 marks. Confirm the final figure on the official website before you plan around it.

Syllabus Summary

MPSC publishes a paper-wise syllabus. In short, the Prelims tests general studies with a strong Maharashtra angle plus aptitude and reasoning, and the Mains tests analytical writing across history, polity, economy, science, ethics and language. The full topic list is on the MPSC State Service syllabus page.

Selection Process

1. Preliminary Examination: Paper I decides your rank for shortlisting, and you must also score at least 33% in Paper II.

2. Main Examination: Candidates shortlisted in the Prelims are called for the Mains. The language papers must be cleared, but their marks do not count in merit.

3. Interview: Candidates who clear the Mains are called for the Interview. Document verification and, for some posts, physical or medical checks follow.

4. Final merit: Prepared on the total of the Mains merit papers and the Interview, and posts are allotted by merit, category and your service preference.

Because preference matters, study the post list before the preference stage. Some services, such as Deputy Superintendent of Police, have extra physical conditions.

Reservation applies as per Maharashtra government rules. Vacancies are divided by social category and also by special groups such as women, sportspersons, persons with disabilities and orphans, which is why the Commission publishes separate cut-offs for these groups. Keep your caste, non-creamy layer, EWS or other certificates ready in the format and validity the advertisement specifies, because a certificate problem at verification can cost you the post even after a good rank.

Pay and Career Path

Selected candidates are paid according to the Maharashtra government pay matrix for the post, and Group A posts sit on higher pay levels than Group B. We have not listed amounts here because they depend on the post and on allowances such as dearness allowance and house rent, and MPSC advertisements usually give only the pay level. Check the advertisement for the pay level of the post you want.

Career growth follows departmental promotion rules. For example, administrative posts lead towards senior positions in revenue administration, and some officers can later be considered for induction into the Indian Administrative Service under state government rules.

How to Prepare for the MPSC State Service Exam

Start with the syllabus and the last few years of questions, then build a plan that moves from concepts to practice to revision.

• Months 1 to 3, build the base: Cover Maharashtra and Indian history, geography, polity and economy from standard sources. Read one newspaper daily and keep short monthly notes.

• Months 4 to 6, add depth: Start answer writing for the Mains in parallel with Prelims topics. Practise essays and the ethics case studies weekly.

• Final phase, test and revise: Attempt full-length papers on a fixed schedule and spend as much time on analysis as on the test itself.

Paper II is qualifying, but it eliminates many candidates who ignore it. Give CSAT a steady 30 to 45 minutes a day, especially if numerical aptitude is your weak area.

Cut-off Reference

The Prelims cut-off is announced category-wise for men, women and special categories. For the 2026 Prelims, secondary reports put the Open category cut-off at 98.00 for the general list and 92.00 for women, based on Paper I. In the 2022 Prelims, the Open general figure was reported as 106.5.

Cut-offs change every year with paper difficulty, vacancies and the number of candidates. Treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass. Category-wise figures and the Mains trend are on the MPSC State Service cut-off page.