The Union Public Service Commission published the UPSC CSE 2025 Notification. Read to know more about the Eligibility, Age Limit, Age Relaxation, Application Process, Exam Date, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, etc.
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) released the much-awaited notification for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) of 2025.
UPSCย selects candidates for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and other prestigious civil services through theย Civil Services Examination.
UPSC CSE 2025 Exam Date Schedule and Key Information
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most prestigious and competitive examinations in India. Aspiring candidates preparing for the coveted services, such as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS), must stay updated with the official exam schedule to effectively plan their preparation.
The UPSC has released the exam dates for the 2025 cycle, including the Prelims, Mains, and Interview stages.
Key Dates for the UPSC 2025 Exam:
- UPSC Prelims 2025: Scheduled for 25th May 2025.
- The Preliminary exam comprises two objective-type papers: General Studies (Paper I) and Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT – Paper II). Both papers are crucial as they serve as a screening test for the Mains examination.
- Only candidates who clear the Prelims cutoff will be eligible to appear for the Mains examination.
- The last date for receipt of online applications: is 11th February 2025.
- UPSC Mains 2025: Scheduled to begin on 22nd August 2025.
- The Mains examination consists of nine descriptive papers, including language papers, Essay, General Studies (four papers), and Optional subjects (two papers).
- The Mains exam plays a decisive role in determining the candidateโs ranking and selection for the final stage.
- UPSC Interview 2025:
- The dates for the Personality Test (Interview) will be announced after the declaration of the Mains results.
- The Interview stage assesses the candidateโs personality, decision-making ability, and overall suitability for a career in public service.
Download the UPSC CSE 2025 notification
Click below to download the notification
Number of Vacancies Reported: 979
The number of vacancies to be filled through the examination is expected to be approximately 979.
As per the official UPSC Notification 2025, theย UPSC Vacancy 2025 has approximatelyย 1129 vacancies, out of whichย 979 are for UPSC CSE 2025ย and the remainingย 150 for Indian Foreign Service.
How to Apply?
Candidates are required to apply online by using the website http://upsconline.gov.in.
The applicant needs to register himself/herself first at the One Time Registration (OTR) platform, available on the Commissionโs website, and then proceed to fill up the online application for the examination.
OTR Profile (Registration) has to be registered only once in a lifetime.
This can be done anytime throughout the year. If the candidate is already registered, he/she can proceed straightway to filling up the Online Application for the examination.
UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to appear in the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2024, an aspirant must fulfil the following eligibility conditions:
Nationality:ย The candidate must be a citizen of India.
Educational Qualification:ย The candidate must hold a graduate degree from any recognized university. Those in the final year of graduation can also apply.
UPSC CSE Age Limit
The candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years (general category).
There is an age relaxation of up to 3 years for OBC candidates and 5 years for SC/ST candidates.
The minimum age limit to appear for the UPSC CSE Preliminary exam is 21 years. The upper age limit varies for different categories:
- For General category candidates: 32 years
- For OBC category: 35 years
- For SC/ST category: 37 years
Note: Check theย ClearIAS UPSC age calculatorย to determine if you are eligible to apply or to find out how many attempts are left.
Number of Attempts Allowed
General category candidates are allowed 6 attempts for the UPSC Civil Services Exam.
The OBC category has 9 attempts while SC/ST candidates can appear any number of times till the upper age limit.
For OBC and SC/ST candidates, the relaxation in the number of attempts is applicable only till they are within the prescribed age limits.
UPSC CSE Age Relaxation
The UPSC provides age relaxation for certain categories of candidates:
- For OBC: Up to 3 years
- For SC/ST: Up to 5 years
- Defence service personnel with 3 years of continuous service: Up to 5 years
- Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers: Up to 5 years
- Disabled Defense service personnel: Up to 10 years
- Widows/divorced women/women judicially separated: Up to 35 years (with no attempts limit)
The age relaxations are admissible up to the prescribed age limits. Candidates have to produce the relevant certificates to avail of these relaxations.
UPSC CSE Exam Pattern
The UPSC CSE selection process consists of 3 successive stages:
- Preliminary Exam
- Mains Exam
- Interview
UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam Pattern
The prelims stage consists of two objective-type papers of 200 marks each:
- Paper 1:ย General Studies
- Paper 2:ย CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test)
The marks secured in prelims will not be counted for the final merit list. Itโs just a screening test with minimum qualifying marks.
UPSC CSE Main Exam Pattern
The main exam has 9 papers totalling 1750 marks:
- 1 Essay Paperย (250 marks)
- 4 General Studies Papersย (250 marks each, total 1000 marks)
- 2 Optional Subject Papersย (250 marks each, total 500 marks)
- Qualifying Paper A:ย Modern Indian language (300 marks)
- Qualifying Paper B:ย English (300 marks)
Candidates have to choose one optional subject for the main exam. The marks obtained in the main exam will be counted for merit ranking.
Also read:ย When Should You Apply for the UPSC CSE?
UPSC CSE Interview/Personality Test
The final stage is an interview/personality test of 275 marks. The final merit list is prepared based on marks obtained in the Main exam + Interview.
Application Process for UPSC Civil Services Examination
Eligible candidates can apply online only through the UPSC websiteย upsconline.nic.in. The online registration process involves two stages:
Part 1 Registration:ย Fill in basic details, upload photo/signature
Part 2 Registration:ย Fill out the detailed application form, choose the exam centre, upload documents
The application fee is Rs. 100 for the general category and nil for SC/ST/Female/PWD candidates. Fee can be paid online through Net banking, Credit/Debit card, or offline through SBI challan.
Before starting the application process, keep scanned copies of the photograph, Signature, ID proof, Category certificate (if applicable), and PWD certificate (if applicable) โ as per the prescribed size and format.
Facilities for PWD candidates
UPSC provides several facilities for Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwD) candidates such as scribes, extra time, assistive devices, exemption from application fees, and so on to allow them to take the exam on equal footing.
PWD candidates must carry a disability certificate issued by a competent medical authority as per UPSC format.
UPSC CSE Admit Card 2025
The UPSC CSE prelims admit cards will be released 3-4 weeks before the respective exam date.
Candidates have to download their admit cards from the UPSC portal and carry a print-out on exam day along with an original photo ID proof.
Documents Required During Filling the Application Form
Before initiating the online application process, candidates are required to prepare certain documents to ensure a smooth and efficient submission. Here are the details of the documents to have ready:
Photograph and Signature:
- Scan a recent photograph and signature in .jpg format.
- Ensure that each file does not exceed 300 KB and is not less than 20 KB in size.
Photo ID Card Details:
- Choose one Photo ID Card from options such as Aadhaar Card, Voter Card, PAN Card, Passport, Driving Licence, or any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government.
- Have the details of the selected Photo ID Card ready for input during the online application process.
Uploading Scanned Photo ID:
- Candidates must upload a scanned copy of the Photo ID Card, the details of which have been provided in the online application form.
- This uploaded Photo ID Card will serve as a reference for all future communications and is recommended to be carried during the Examination/Personality Test.
UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus 2025
The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam is an important step in the selection process, consisting of two papers, each carrying 200 marks (General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II).
Both papers involve multiple-choice, objective-type questions. Paper II is qualifying in nature which means, aspirants have to secure only 33% to qualify for Paper II.
Itโs important to note that the marks obtained in the prelims are not considered for the final ranking; they solely serve as a qualification for the main exam.
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Paper I โ (200 marks) Duration: Two Hours
UPSC CSE Paper I syllabus is as follows:
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography โ Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance โ Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
- Economic and Social Development โ Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
- General issues on Environmental Ecology, Bio-diversity, and Climate Change โ not requiring subject specialization.
- General Science.
UPSC CSE Syllabus for Paper II โ (200 marks) Duration: Two Hours
UPSC CSE Paper II syllabus is as follows:
(Note: Not counted for merit rank in prelims but a Qualifying Paper; only 33% marks needed)
- Comprehension.
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
- Decision-making and problem-solving.
- General mental ability.
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) โ Class X level.
- Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc.) โ Class X level.
UPSC CSE 2025: Important dates
Event
|
Date
|
---|---|
Notification Release Date
|
22nd Jan 2025
|
Start of Online Registration
|
22nd Jan 2025
|
Last date for Online Registration
|
11th Feb 2025
|
Date of Preliminary Exam
|
25th May 2025
|
Date of Main Exam
|
22nd Aug 2025
|
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