Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission Forest Inspector

The UPSSSC Forest Inspector exam is how the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) recruits for the post of Van Daroga (वन दरोगा) in the Forest and Wildlife Department of Uttar Pradesh. Coaching pages call the post Forest Inspector or Forester, and some wrongly call it Forest Guard. The official post name is Van Daroga, a Pay Level 5 post filled through a written mains exam that only holders of a valid UPSSSC PET score card can apply for.

The latest completed cycle was Advertisement 06-Exam/2022, which offered 701 posts on the basis of PET-2021 scores. As of 21 October 2026, the commission has not announced a new Van Daroga advertisement. This guide covers that cycle's dates, vacancies, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, physical standards, salary and cut-offs, so you can start preparing before the next notification arrives.

Table of Contents

UPSSSC Forest Inspector

UPSSSC Forest Inspector Notification and Latest Status

Advertisement 06-Exam/2022 invited online applications from 17 October 2022 for 701 Van Daroga posts. Only candidates who had appeared in PET-2021 and received a score card with a valid numerical score could apply. Candidates with a zero or negative PET score, absolute or normalised, were not shortlisted.

The commission shortlisted 15 times the category-wise vacancies for the written exam, plus everyone tied at the last cut-off score. After the written exam, it called 1,697 candidates to the physical standards test in its notice of 27 September 2023. The physical test result was published on 2 March 2024 with 1,402 successful candidates, and document verification for them ran from 21 to 30 May 2024, as the commission's document verification notice records.

What happens next

The commission's exam calendar for January to December 2026, issued on 3 August 2026, does not list a Van Daroga exam, and no Van Daroga advertisement appears among its live notices on 21 October 2026. Any new advertisement will name the PET whose score card it accepts, so keep your latest PET score card and registration number safe. PET-2026 itself is scheduled for 25 October, 30 October and 1 November 2026.

Van Daroga is not the Forest Guard exam

UPSSSC runs a separate recruitment for Van Rakshak (Forest Guard) and Vanya Jeev Rakshak (Wildlife Guard), for example Advertisements 10-Exam/2023 and 12-Exam/2026. Those posts have a different qualification, different physical standards and a different syllabus. If a page mixes the two, follow the advertisement that names Van Daroga.

Important Dates

The table below records the 2022 cycle so you can see how long each stage takes. Dates marked "as reported" come from news coverage rather than a commission notice we could open.

The next cycle will follow its own schedule, and the commission can change dates. Track the notices on upsssc.gov.in and your registered email and mobile number.

Vacancy Details

The 2022 advertisement split the 701 posts as follows. The commission noted that total and category-wise numbers could go up or down.

Within these, horizontal reservation covered 140 posts for women, 35 for ex-servicemen, 14 for dependants of freedom fighters and 14 for outstanding sportspersons. No posts were identified for persons with disabilities. The next cycle's vacancy count is not known yet.

UPSSSC Forest Inspector Eligibility

Educational qualification

Under the 2022 advertisement, you needed one of the following from a university established by law in India, or a qualification the government recognises as equivalent:

• Science degree: A bachelor's degree with two or more of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Forestry, Geology, Agriculture, Statistics and Environmental Science.

• Engineering degree: A bachelor's degree in engineering.

• Veterinary degree: A bachelor's degree in veterinary science.

Other things being equal, preference went to candidates who had served at least two years in the Territorial Army or held an NCC "B" certificate.

PET requirement

A valid UPSSSC PET score card is compulsory. PET is a screening test, and your normalised PET score decides whether you are shortlisted for the Van Daroga mains. It does not count in the final merit.

Age limit

You must be at least 21 and not above 40 years old on 1 July of the year in which the vacancies are advertised. For the 2022 cycle, that date was 1 July 2022.

Physical standards

Application Fee and How to Apply

Dependants of freedom fighters, ex-servicemen, women, persons with disabilities and outstanding sportspersons paid according to their original category. Shortlisted candidates paid a separate mains exam fee before downloading the admit card.

1. Log in with your PET registration number: Use your personal details or an OTP sent to your registered mobile number or email.

2. Check the auto-filled details: Your name, category, date of birth and address come from your PET application.

3. Enter your qualification: Answer Yes or No for the essential qualification and fill in your university, year, roll number and marks.

4. Confirm photo and signature: These carry over from PET and cannot be changed here.

5. Accept the declaration and pay: Pay by card, net banking or SBI e-challan, and make sure the payment is reconciled.

6. Submit and print: Keep a printout of the final form for document verification.

Applications commonly fail because the PET score card is missing or invalid, the degree lacks two of the listed subjects, the age is outside the limit, the fee was never reconciled, or an EWS certificate is not valid for the required financial year.

UPSSSC Forest Inspector Exam Pattern

This scheme is based on the 2022 cycle's scheme and syllabus notice and should be confirmed against the next official UPSSSC advertisement. The figures below are as per the last cycle.

Each question carries one mark and is objective, multiple choice. A wrong answer costs one-fourth of the marks for that question. The 2022 written exam was planned in one shift; if the commission holds it over several shifts, scores are normalised.

• One paper decides your rank: There is no separate general studies or language section, so subject depth matters more than speed tricks.

• Guessing has a cost: Four wrong answers wipe out one correct answer, so attempt only where you can eliminate options.

• Physical tests are a hard gate: A strong written score is wasted if you cannot walk 25 km (men) or 14 km (women) in four hours.

Older pages may still show a general awareness, Hindi and reasoning pattern for this post, so follow the official scheme.

UPSSSC Forest Inspector Syllabus Summary

This scheme is based on the 2022 cycle's scheme and syllabus notice and should be confirmed against the next official UPSSSC advertisement. The commission published a list of 26 topics for the 2022 written exam. Grouped by theme, they look like this:

Selection Process

1. PET shortlisting: 15 times the category-wise vacancies, ranked on normalised PET score.

2. Written mains exam: 100 questions on subject knowledge; selection is made on the basis of this exam.

3. Physical standards and walking test: Height, chest and the timed walk, all pass or fail.

4. Document verification: Educational, category and age-relaxation certificates checked against originals.

5. Medical examination: Candidates must be fit in mind and body to perform field duties.

Salary and Career

In-hand pay depends on the dearness allowance rate and your posting, so treat any in-hand figure you see online as indicative. The post is governed by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Forest (Deputy Range Forest Officer and Van Daroga) Service Rules, 2021, which also set promotion rules. Field duties involve forest protection, plantation work and enforcement under forest and wildlife laws.

How to Prepare for UPSSSC Forest Inspector

• Secure your PET score first: Without a strong normalised PET score you never reach the mains, so prepare for PET seriously.

• Learn the Acts closely: Section-level facts from the Indian Forest Act, Wildlife Protection Act and Forest Conservation Act are high-yield.

• Map Uttar Pradesh's protected areas: Know the state's national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves, and where they lie.

• Keep climate topics current: The 2022 list named COP-27; expect the next list to move to recent conferences.

• Train for the walk: Build up to timed long walks weeks before the physical test, not after the result.

Practise with mock tests

For timed practice, you can take online tests on Testkart and use the section-wise analysis to see which topic groups cost you marks. Pair them with previous year papers to understand the real difficulty level. Short topic notes on Testkart can also help with the Acts, protected areas and ecology terms that need regular revision.

Cut-off Reference

The written exam cut-off below is the score candidates needed in the 2022 cycle to be called for the physical standards test, out of 100.

Cut-offs change with difficulty, vacancies and the number of candidates. Treat these as a benchmark only and aim for a clear margin above them.