Union Public Service Commission Civil Services

The UPSC Civil Services Exam (CSE) is the national recruitment examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and more than 20 other Group A and Group B services. It runs once a year in three stages: an objective Preliminary Examination, a written Main Examination and a Personality Test.

The 2026 cycle is now at the Mains result stage, and the dates for CSE 2027 are already fixed in the UPSC annual calendar. This page brings together what you need to plan an attempt: the latest status of both cycles, important dates, vacancies, eligibility and attempts, fees, exam pattern, syllabus summary, cut-offs, salary and a stage-wise preparation approach.

Table of Contents

UPSC Civil Services Exam

Latest Updates: CSE 2026 and CSE 2027

• CSE 2027 calendar fixed: UPSC's annual calendar, released on 20 May 2026, lists the CSE 2027 notification for 13 January 2027, the last date to apply as 2 February 2027, the Prelims on 23 May 2027 and the Mains from 20 August 2027 for five days.

• CSE 2026 Mains completed: The Main Examination was held on 21, 22, 23, 29 and 30 August 2026. UPSC has not announced a result date; in the 2025 cycle the Mains result came about 72 days after the last paper.

• CSE 2026 Prelims result: Declared on 15 June 2026. A total of 13,343 candidates qualified for the Mains against 1,016 vacancies.

• Vacancy revision: The CSE 2026 notification of 4 February 2026 listed 933 vacancies, including 33 for persons with benchmark disabilities. The figure was revised to 1,016 when the Prelims result was published. Older pages may still show 933.

• New rules for serving officers: From CSE 2026, officers already appointed to the IAS or IFS through an earlier examination cannot appear, and IPS officers who reappear cannot be allotted the IPS again.

UPSC CSE Important Dates

CSE 2027 (upcoming cycle)

CSE 2026 (current cycle)

The CSE 2027 dates come from the UPSC calendar and are tentative. In 2026, the notification was issued three weeks after the calendar date, so track the "What's New" section on the official UPSC website and your registered email.

Vacancies and Services Offered

Vacancies are announced in the notification and can change before the final result. The figures below are as notified for each cycle.

Through one examination, candidates are allotted services based on rank, category, preference and medical fitness.

The Indian Forest Service has its own Mains, but its Prelims is held through the CSE Prelims, so many candidates apply for both.

UPSC Civil Services Eligibility Criteria

Nationality

For the IAS, IFS and IPS, a candidate must be a citizen of India. For other services, certain categories such as subjects of Nepal or Bhutan can also apply, as listed in the notification.

Educational Qualification

You need a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university. Final-year students can sit the Prelims, but they must submit proof of passing the degree with the Mains application (DAF-I). Your stream has no effect on eligibility or on the choice of optional subject.

Age Limit and Relaxation

Candidates must be at least 21 and must not have reached 32 years on 1 August of the exam year. For CSE 2027, this means a General category candidate should be born between 2 August 1995 and 1 August 2006, subject to confirmation in the 2027 notification.

Number of Attempts

An attempt is counted once you appear in even one paper of the Prelims. Applying and not appearing does not use up an attempt. For details on documents, relaxation rules and physical standards.

Application Fee and How to Apply

Applications are submitted only online through the UPSC online application portal:

1. Complete One-Time Registration (OTR): Create your profile once with personal details and identity proof. It stays valid for future UPSC exams.

2. Fill the common application: Add education, category and contact details, and upload your photograph and signature in the specified format.

3. Choose exam-specific details: Select the CSE application, your exam centre, optional subject and medium.

4. Pay the fee and submit: Pay online if applicable, review every field and submit before the last date. Keep a printout.

Common reasons for trouble later include a mismatch between the name on the ID proof and the form, an unclear photograph, and choosing a centre that fills up early. Apply in the first week of the window.

UPSC CSE Exam Pattern

Preliminary Examination

Both papers are objective, and one-third of the marks for a question are deducted for a wrong answer. CSAT is qualifying: you need at least 33% in it, and the merit for Mains is drawn from GS Paper I alone.

Main Examination

Each Mains paper is descriptive and three hours long. The language papers need 25% each to qualify, and there is no negative marking in the Mains. Some older pages still mention negative marking at this stage, which is incorrect.

Personality Test

The interview carries 275 marks and has no minimum qualifying mark. In recent cycles, UPSC has called roughly two to three times as many candidates as there are vacancies.

What this means for you:

• Prelims is a filter: Its marks are not counted in the final rank, but a single mark can decide whether you reach the Mains.

• Do not ignore CSAT: Each year some candidates clear the GS cut-off and still miss the Mains because they fall below 66 marks in CSAT.

• Optional carries real weight: At 500 of 1,750 marks, the optional is close to a third of your Mains merit.

UPSC Civil Services Syllabus Summary

For paper-wise topic lists and a study order, read the full UPSC Civil Services syllabus.

Selection Process and Final Merit

1. Preliminary Examination: Screening test. Candidates who clear the GS Paper I cut-off and score 33% in CSAT are called for the Mains, roughly 12 to 15 times the number of vacancies in recent years.

2. Main Examination: Seven merit papers (1,750 marks) and two qualifying language papers. Qualified candidates submit DAF-II and are called for interview.

3. Personality Test: A board interview of 275 marks that assesses suitability for public service.

4. Final merit and allocation: The final rank uses Mains plus interview marks, out of 2,025. Services and cadres are then allotted by rank, preference, category and medical fitness.

Previous Year Cut-off

UPSC publishes cut-offs only after the final result. The CSE 2025 cut-offs were released with the final result in March 2026.

Cut-offs change every year with paper difficulty, vacancies and the number of candidates. Treat these as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.

Salary and Career Growth

Officers recruited through the UPSC Civil Services Exam are paid on the 7th Central Pay Commission pay matrix. The table shows the starting basic pay of the levels an IAS officer typically moves through. Actual in-hand pay is higher because of dearness allowance, house rent allowance and other allowances, and it varies by posting and city.

The stage names above are a general guide. Promotion timelines differ by service and cadre.

How to Prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Exam

Most successful candidates prepare for Prelims and Mains together, because much of the General Studies content is shared. A practical sequence looks like this:

• Build the base first: Read NCERT textbooks for history, geography, polity, economy and science before moving to standard reference books.

• Read news every day: Follow one national newspaper and make short monthly notes, since current affairs feed both the Prelims and every Mains paper.

• Pick your optional early: Choose by interest, background and the availability of material, then finish the first reading within six to eight months.

• Write answers from the start: Practise two to three Mains-style answers daily and one essay a week, and get them reviewed.

• Use previous year papers: Solve the last ten years of Prelims and Mains questions to understand what UPSC actually asks.

• Test in the real format: From about five months before the Prelims, take timed full-length tests for both GS Paper I and CSAT, and review every wrong or skipped question.