The Civil Services Examination
Two successive stages: the Preliminary Examination (objective, for selecting candidates for the Main Examination) and the Main Examination (written papers and a personality test). The cycle runs over about a year; for CSE 2026 the notification was issued on 4 February 2026.
01Preliminary Examination (screening)
- Two objective papers of 200 marks each, two hours each, set in Hindi and English.
- GS Paper I decides who qualifies for Mains (cut-off fixed by UPSC each year).
- GS Paper II (CSAT) is qualifying: a minimum of 33% is required.
- Each wrong answer costs one-third of the marks for that question; a question left blank has no penalty, and marking two answers counts as wrong.
- Candidates must appear in both papers. About twelve to thirteen times the number of vacancies are admitted to Mains.
- Prelims marks are not counted in the final merit.
02Main Examination (written)
- Nine descriptive papers of three hours each.
- Qualifying papers: Paper A, one Indian language from the Eighth Schedule (300 marks), and Paper B, English (300 marks). A minimum of 25% is needed in each; their marks are not counted for ranking. Paper A is not compulsory for candidates from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, and for eligible candidates with hearing impairment.
- Merit papers (250 marks each): Paper I Essay; Paper II GS I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society); Paper III GS II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations); Paper IV GS III (Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management); Paper V GS IV (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude); Papers VI and VII, the optional subject.
- The seven merit papers total 1,750 marks.
03Personality Test (interview)
- 275 marks, with no minimum qualifying marks.
- About twice the number of vacancies are called for interview.
- Final merit: 1,750 written marks + 275 interview marks = 2,025. Services are allotted by rank and the preferences given.
ELIGIBILITY · CSE 2026
Who can apply?
- Education: a graduate degree from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students may apply but must show proof of passing before the interview.
- Age: at least 21 and under 32 years on 1 August of the exam year (for CSE 2026: born between 2 August 1994 and 1 August 2005).
- Upper age relaxation: SC/ST up to 5 years; OBC up to 3 years; persons with benchmark disabilities up to 10 years; defence personnel disabled in operations up to 3 years; eligible ex-servicemen and ECOs/SSCOs up to 5 years. Relaxations can be cumulative across categories.
- Number of attempts: General and EWS 6; OBC 9; SC/ST unlimited (until the upper age limit); persons with benchmark disabilities 9 (General, EWS, OBC) or unlimited (SC/ST). Appearing in even one Prelims paper counts as an attempt.
- Nationality: IAS, IFS and IPS require Indian citizenship; other services allow certain other categories as set out in the notification.
- Final authority: the official notification of the year you appear in.
How the marks work
PrelimsGS I: 200 · CSAT: 200 (qualifying, 33%)Mains merit papersEssay + GS I–IV + Optional I–II = 1,750Interview275 marks · Final total: 2,025 Official notifications and resources
