Upcoming UPSC Exams 2025-26
| Exam Name | Notification Date | UPSC Exam Date |
|---|---|---|
| Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2025 | TBA | August 22, 2025 (Friday) |
| N.D.A. & N.A. Examination (II), 2025 | March 28, 2025 | September 14, 2025 (Sunday) |
| C.D.S. Examination (II), 2025 | ||
| Reserved for UPSC RT/ Examination | TBA | October 4, 2025 (Saturday) |
UPSC Posts & Vacancies
There are two categories of posts for which UPSC conducts the civil service examination. They are Group A and Group B. The list of the important Group A & Group B posts is given below.
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
- Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
- Indian Police Service (IPS)
- Indian P & T Accounts & Finance Service, Group ‘A’
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
- Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), Group ‘A’
- Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’
- Indian Revenue Service (I.T.), Group ‘A’
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service, Group ‘B’ (Section Officer’s Grade)
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Civil Service, Group ‘B’
- Delhi, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli Police Service, Group ‘B’
For detailed information on all key UPSC posts, check the linked article.
UPSC 2025 Exam Dates
The UPSC uploaded the exam dates for UPSC 2025 on its official website on 25 April 2024.
| Event | Date |
| UPSC Exam Calendar 2025 | April 25, 2024 |
| UPSC 2025 exam notification | 22 January 2025 |
| UPSC 2025 exam application form (Acceptance dates) | 22 January 2025 to 11 February 2025 |
| UPSC 2025 admit card | To be released |
| UPSC 2025 Civil Services Prelims exam | 25 May 2025 |
| UPSC 2025 Civil Services Mains exam | From 22 August 2025 (Five days) |
Candidates can check the UPSC 2024 exam dates to know the dates for the UPSC 2024 exam.
UPSC 2025 vacancies
UPSC will release the 2025 vacancy details and the official Notification. Candidates must note that lakhs of candidates applied for the 2024 Civil Services exam, which had a provision of 1056 vacancies. Candidates must now have an idea about the competition involved in the exam. For detailed information on UPSC vacancies, candidates can refer to the official notification of the respective exam.
UPSC Eligibility
The UPSC IAS eligibility criteria are decided by the Commission. Let’s check the UPSC IAS 2025 eligibility criteria in this section.
UPSC IAS Exam 2025 Eligibility – Nationality
Candidates planning to appear for the Indian Administrative Services must be a citizen of India. For other posts, candidates can check the nationality details on the official notification by the Commission.
Age Limit for IAS 2025
The candidates must have attained 21 years of age and be less than 32 years of age as of 1st August 2025 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August 1993 and not later than 1st August 2004.
Candidates must also be aware of the minimum age limit and maximum age limit for different categories. The details are given below.
| Category | Minimum Age Limit for UPSC | Maximum Age Limit for UPSC |
| IAS exam Age Limit for General Category | 21 | 32 |
| EWS | 21 | 32 |
| SC/ST | 21 | 37 |
| IAS OBC Age Limit | 21 | 35 |
UPSC IAS Exam 2025 – Number of attempts
The number of attempts for various categories of candidates planning to appear for UPSC IAS 2025 is given below.
| General/EWS | SC/ST | OBC | PwBD | |
| Number of attempts | 6 | unlimited | 9 | 09 for General/EWS/OBC Unlimited for SC/ST |
Candidates can check the detailed UPSC eligibility criteria in the linked article.
UPSC Online Application
The UPSC 2025 Online application process will start once the official notification is released. The UPSC online application form needs to be filled out carefully as a minor mistake or error might lead to the rejection of the candidature.
The online UPSC application registration process has 2 parts:
- Part 1 comprises basic details such as name, age, address etc.
- Part 2 registration comprises the selection of the UPSC exam centre, payment of fees and uploading the photo, signature and ID proof.
Candidates can check the details of the UPSC online application process in the linked article.
UPSC application fee
Candidates are required to pay a fee of Rs. 100/- as the UPSC online application fee either by remitting the money in any Branch of the State Bank of India by cash or by using the Net Banking facility of any bank or by using Visa/Master/RuPay/Credit/Debit Card/UPI Payment. The categories of candidates exempted from fee payment are Female/SC/ST/Persons with Benchmark Disability Candidates.
UPSC Exam Pattern
The UPSC exam consists of three stages: the Preliminary examination, the Main examination, and the Personality Test.
UPSC Prelims: The UPSC Preliminary examination is an objective type test consisting of two papers, namely the General Studies Paper I and the General Studies Paper II, also known as the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT).
UPSC Mains: The Main examination is a subjective type test consisting of nine papers, including an Essay paper, four General Studies papers, two optional papers, and two language papers. Candidates who clear the UPSC Mains examination are eligible for the final round, i.e. UPSC interview.
UPSC Interview: The Personality Test, also known as the Interview, is conducted for the candidates who have qualified for the Main examination. This part of the examination assesses a candidate’s personality, behaviour, response to situations, knowledge of surroundings, mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, a balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, and other aspects. Candidates who are selected in this round finally get to attend the training for different posts and services based on preferences and ranks.
UPSC Mains Syllabus
The UPSC IAS mains exam comprises 9 theory papers, and the marks of 7 of those papers are considered for preparing the final merit list. The other two papers, English and Indian Language, are qualifying in nature.
The important topics in the UPSC IAS Mains syllabus are
- Compulsory Indian Language – paper A
- Paper B – English
- Essay
- General Studies I – Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society
- General Studies II – Governance, Constitution, Welfare Initiatives, Social Justice & International Relations
- General Studies III – Technology, Economic Development, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management
- General Studies IV – Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
- Optional Subject – Paper I
- Optional Subject – Paper II
Candidates can download the detailed UPSC Mains syllabus from the linked article.