Uttar Pradesh Provincial Civil Services

UPPCS is the Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services Examination held by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) to fill senior Group A and Group B posts in the state, such as Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Block Development Officer. The 2026 cycle was announced through advertisement A-1/E-1/2026 on 25 June 2026 for about 500 vacancies, and the Preliminary Examination is proposed for 6 December 2026.

This page gives you the whole exam in one place: key dates, vacancies, eligibility, fee, pattern, syllabus, selection process, preparation tips and cut-off basics. Figures that are not final are marked tentative, and each detail points you to the official notice on the UPPSC website so you can confirm it before you act.

Table of Contents

UPPCS 2026 at a glance

Notification overview

The commission published advertisement A-1/E-1/2026 on 25 June 2026. It states that about 500 vacancies are presently expected and that the number may change as departments send further requirements. The exam follows three stages: an objective Preliminary Examination, a conventional Main Examination and an interview.

The notice also repeats a rule that matters for every applicant: the One Time Registration (OTR) number is the only registration number for applying to any UPPSC post, and application, exam and interview details are shown on the Candidate Dashboard after login.

The previous cycle, advertisement A-1/E-1/2025, has reached the interview stage on the commission's website. Do not mix the two cycles when you read notices, since each advertisement has its own post list, dates and result notices.

Important dates

The Prelims date comes from the commission's 2026 exam calendar, which lists it as a proposed date. Proposed dates can change. Track the official notices page on uppsc.up.nic.in and your registered email for the e-admit card and exam centre.

The application window for this cycle has closed. If you could not apply, use the time to prepare for the next notification, because the pattern and subjects change slowly from one cycle to the next.

Vacancies and posts

The advertisement mentions about 500 vacancies across Group A and Group B posts. Such posts have included Deputy Collector, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Block Development Officer, Assistant Regional Transport Officer and Naib Tehsildar, among others.

A post-wise split for 2026 was not confirmed in the sources we could verify, so treat the total as indicative. The commission publishes a separate details-of-posts notice for each advertisement, and that notice is the document to rely on. Candidates give their post preferences later in the process, so the rank you earn decides which post you get.

Eligibility

Educational qualification

A Bachelor's degree from a recognised university is the general requirement. Some posts ask for more, such as a postgraduate degree or a subject-specific qualification. Read the qualification line for the posts you want in the advertisement.

Age limit

Candidates must have completed 21 years and must not have crossed 40 years on 1 July 2026. That means a date of birth between 2 July 1986 and 1 July 2005 for the general age band. Persons with disabilities (PH) of Uttar Pradesh have an upper limit of 55 years.

Relaxation categories are tied to Uttar Pradesh in the notice. Check the exact wording and any further categories in the advertisement.

Application fee and registration

For the Preliminary Examination, the fee for Unreserved, EWS and OBC candidates is Rs. 125, made up of Rs. 100 exam fee and Rs. 25 online processing fee. Reported fees for SC/ST candidates are Rs. 65 and for PH candidates Rs. 25, so confirm both in the advertisement.

1. Register on OTR: Generate your One Time Registration number on the commission's portal if you do not have one.

2. Fill the application: Open the advertisement on the commission's site, choose the exam and complete the form from the Candidate Dashboard.

3. Pay the fee: Pay online before the last date and note the reconciliation window.

4. Check and correct: Use the correction window to fix errors and keep a saved copy of the submitted form.

Exam pattern

The Preliminary Examination has two compulsory objective papers marked on OMR sheets, and you must appear in both. Paper I decides merit. Paper II is the CSAT paper and only needs to be cleared at 33 percent.

Older pages may still show a different Mains structure, so follow the official notification.

Syllabus summary

Prelims Paper I covers current events, Indian history and the national movement, Indian and world geography, polity and governance, economic and social development, environment and ecology, and general science. Paper II tests comprehension, reasoning, basic numeracy, data interpretation and language skills at Class X level.

The Mains papers add depth: Hindi language, essay writing, heritage and geography, polity and international relations, economy and technology, ethics, and two Uttar Pradesh papers. The commission publishes the syllabus in the appendix of its notification. Our topic checklist is built around that structure, so use it as a working list and verify it against the notice.

Selection process

1. Preliminary Examination: Merit is decided by Paper I marks. About fifteen times the number of vacancies are declared successful for the Main Examination.

2. Main Examination: Eight conventional papers. About three times the number of vacancies are called for the interview.

3. Interview: 100 marks. Final selection is based on the total of Main (written) marks and interview marks.

The notice sets minimum qualifying marks at 35 percent for SC/ST candidates and 40 percent for other categories, and candidates below these marks are not placed in the merit list.

How to prepare for UPPCS

Start with the structure, because it shapes your plan. Prelims rewards broad accuracy in General Studies, while Mains rewards written answers across eight papers, two of which are specific to Uttar Pradesh. The same reading serves both stages, so build one set of notes and revise it twice.

• Months 1 to 3: Cover core subjects such as history, polity, geography and economy from standard sources, and read one newspaper daily.

• Months 4 to 6: Add the Uttar Pradesh papers, short notes and monthly current affairs, and begin topic tests.

• Final phase before Prelims: Attempt full-length timed papers, review every wrong answer the same day and keep a running error log.

• After Prelims: Switch to daily answer writing for Mains, with weekly essay practice.

Good notes save revision time at every stage. You can browse UPPCS study notes on Testkart and match each topic to the syllabus checklist, then use previous year papers to judge real difficulty.

Cut-off reference

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass. The commission's rule gives you a floor: 40 percent for most categories and 35 percent for SC/ST candidates, which works out to 80 and 70 marks out of 200 in Paper I.

Check results on uppsc.up.nic.in.