Union Public Service Commission Recruitment 2026 - Civil Services Examination 2026 (Total 933 Posts)

Opening Overview

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released Examination Notice No. 05/2026-CSE for Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026 for recruitment to IAS, IFS, IPS and other Central Services. A total of approximately 933 vacancies are expected. Online applications can be submitted up to 24/02/2026 (06:00 PM).

Post Details Table

Important Dates

Application Fee

Payment Mode: Fee can be paid through Net Banking, Visa/Master/RuPay Credit/Debit Card, or UPI.

Age Limit

• Minimum Age: 21 Years
• Maximum Age: 32 Years
• Age Calculation Date: 01/08/2026
• Candidate must be born not earlier than 02/08/1994 and not later than 01/08/2005.

Age Relaxation (Upper Age Limit):

• SC / ST: 5 Years
• OBC: 3 Years
• Defence Services Personnel (disabled in operations and released): 3 Years
• Ex-Servicemen (as per rules): 5 Years
• ECOs/SSCOs (as per rules): 5 Years
• PwBD: 10 Years

Vacancy Details

The number of vacancies is approximately 933.

• Includes 33 vacancies reserved for PwBD, as per notice:
  • Blindness & Low Vision: 7
  • Deaf & Hard of Hearing: 11
  • Locomotor Disability (including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims, muscular dystrophy): 8
  • Multiple Disabilities (excluding combination of Blind & Deaf): 7

Note: Final vacancies may change after confirmation from Cadre Controlling Authorities. Reservation is applicable for SC / ST / OBC / EWS / PwBD as per Government rules.

Eligibility / Qualification

Educational Qualification

• Candidate must hold a Graduate Degree from a recognized University / Institution or equivalent.
• Candidates who are appearing / awaiting result of the qualifying exam can apply for the written stage, but must produce proof of passing as per UPSC rules at later stage.

Nationality

• For IAS / IFS / IPS: Candidate must be a Citizen of India.
• For other services: Candidate must be either:
  • Citizen of India, or
  • Subject of Nepal / Bhutan, or
  • Tibetan refugee (came to India before 01/01/1962 for permanent settlement), or
  • Person of Indian origin migrated from specified countries for permanent settlement (as per notice),
  • Subject to eligibility certificate wherever required.

Number of Attempts

• General / EWS: 6 Attempts
• OBC: 9 Attempts
• SC / ST: Unlimited Attempts
• PwBD:
  • General / EWS / OBC: 9 Attempts
  • SC / ST: Unlimited Attempts

Note: Appearing in any one paper of Preliminary Exam counts as an attempt.

Selection Process

1. Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination (Objective Type) – Screening
2. Civil Services (Main) Examination (Written)
3. Interview / Personality Test
4. Document Verification (original documents checked after qualifying for Interview/Personality Test)
5. Medical Examination (as per service requirements)

Exam Pattern

Preliminary Examination (Objective)

• Total Prelims Marks: 400
• Negative Marking: 1/3rd (0.33) marks deducted for each wrong answer.
• If more than one answer is marked, it is treated as wrong.
• No penalty for unanswered questions.
• Question papers are set in English and Hindi.

Main Examination (Written + Interview)

Qualifying Papers (Not counted for merit):

• Paper A: One Indian Language (from Eighth Schedule) – 300 Marks
• Paper B: English – 300 Marks

Papers Counted for Merit:

• Written Total (Merit): 1,750 Marks
• Personality Test: 275 Marks
• Grand Total: 2,025 Marks

Salary / Pay Scale

Salary and service conditions will be as per the rules of the allocated service/cadre under Government of India (IAS/IPS/IFS and other Central Services).