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Age limit (as on 1 August 2026)

• ·UPSC counts age on 1 August 2026: you must have turned 21 and not yet turned 32 on that day, so born on or after 2 August 1994 and on or before 1 August 2005. If your 32nd birthday falls on 1 August 2026, you are out. (p12, para 3(II)(1))
• ·Relaxation raises only the upper limit. SC, ST or OBC candidates who are also ex-servicemen or PwBD get both relaxations added together. The notice gives EWS candidates no age relaxation and says the limits "can in no case be relaxed" beyond these. (p13, Note-I and Note-V)
• ·UPSC goes by the date of birth in your Class 10 (matriculation) certificate or an equivalent, and won't accept a horoscope, an affidavit, a municipal birth extract or a service record. Once your date of birth is in the UPSC records, it cannot be changed in this exam or any later one. (p13-14, para 3(II)(3) and Notes I-II)
• ·Attempts are capped separately from age: 6 for General and EWS candidates, 9 for OBC, 9 for PwBD candidates in the General, EWS or OBC categories, and no limit for SC and ST candidates while they are within the age limit. Appearing in even one paper of the Preliminary counts as an attempt. (p14-15, para 3(IV) and Notes II-III)

Age relaxation

Source: UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2026 (Examination Notice No. 05/2026-CSE, F.No. 1/2/2025-E.I(B)) (4 February 2026). Each row gives the page and para. Checked on 6 October 2026.

Educational qualification

You need a graduate degree in any subject from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students and those waiting for a result can sit the Preliminary and Main exams; proof of passing is needed only if you're called for the interview.

All services

A graduate degree from a university set up by a Central or State Act, an institution set up by an Act of Parliament, or a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956; or an equivalent qualification. (p14, para 3(III))

Nationality: For the IAS, IFS and IPS you must be a citizen of India. For the other services, a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 to settle permanently, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia) or Vietnam to settle permanently can also apply, with a certificate of eligibility from the Government of India. (p12, para 3(I))

• ·If you have written your final exam and the result isn't out, or you are still to write it, you can apply. You must show proof of passing (degree certificate, final mark sheet or provisional certificate) only if you qualify for the interview. (p14, para 3(III) Note-I)
• ·MBBS and similar medical graduates who have not finished the internship can apply with a certificate that they passed the final professional exam; the completed-internship proof is due at the interview. (p14, Note-IV)
• ·Professional and technical qualifications that the Government recognises as equivalent to a degree are accepted. (p14, Note-III)
• ·A candidate already appointed to the IAS or IFS through an earlier exam, who is still a member of that service, cannot sit CSE 2026. Someone already selected for the IPS cannot choose the IPS again. (p15, para 3(V)(1)-(2))
• ·Candidates must meet the physical standards in Appendix-III of the CSE 2026 Rules. (p16, para 3(VI))

Posts and age band

These are the 23 services the notice lists. It gives no pay level or pay scale for any of them, so this page shows none. The notice prints Group A or Group B against every service except the IAS, IFS and IPS, which it lists without a group. You give your service preferences, and IAS/IPS home-cadre preferences, when UPSC asks for them; they cannot be changed afterwards except as the notice allows. (p5; p11, para B.5 and Notes I-III)