UPSC CSE 2026

Exam Scheduled

Civil Services Examination

UPSCCivil Services~12L applicants/yrUPSC CSE 2027 →

Eligibility

EducationYou need a Bachelor's degree (any discipline) from a recognized university - final-year students can apply provisionally.
AgeYou need to be born between 2 Aug 1994 and 1 Aug 2005 (21-32 years) as a General candidate - SC/ST get a 5-year upper-age relaxation, OBC 3 years.

Key dates

Registration opens

4 Feb 2026

Registration closes

24 Feb 2026

Admit card release

UPSC released the CSE Mains e-admit card on 14 Aug 2026 (confirmed).

14 Aug 2026

Exam date

21 Aug 2026

Fees & links

Application fee

₹100(₹0 SC/ST/reserved)

Official website

https://upsc.gov.in

About UPSC CSE

UPSC CSE is India's entrance exam for the IAS, IPS, IFS, and 20+ other Group A/B central civil services - widely considered the country's most prestigious and competitive government exam. Three stages: Prelims (screening only, not counted in final rank), Mains (9 written papers, counted), and a Personality Test (interview).

Exam pattern

Mode

Prelims/Mains offline pen-and-paper; Interview in-person

Selection process

Final merit ranks only Mains + Interview marks (2025 total) among candidates who cleared the qualifying-only Prelims. Rank determines which service (IAS, IPS, IFS, etc.) and cadre a candidate is allotted, combined with their service preferences.

Qualifying cutoff

The minimum score needed to qualify, by category, over the last 2 years.

Category	2025 marks	2024 marks
General	92.66/200	87.98/200
EWS	89.34/200	85.92/200
OBC-NCL	92/200	87.28/200
SC	84/200	79.03/200
ST	82.66/200	74.23/200

This is the Prelims (GS Paper I) cutoff only - qualifying Prelims doesn't count toward final rank, which comes from Mains + Interview. CSAT (GS Paper II) is separately qualifying at a flat 33% for everyone.