UPSC Exam 2026: Notification, Exam Date, Eligibility and Selection Process

The UPSC Exam 2026 is one of the most awaited competitive examinations in India, conducted annually by the Union Public Service Commission. Every year, lakhs of aspirants appear for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) with the dream of serving the nation through prestigious services such as IAS, IPS, IFS, and IRS.

The UPSC Notification 2026 is scheduled to be released on 14 January 2026, officially kick-starting the Civil Services Examination cycle for the year. This article provides a complete, SEO-friendly and exam-oriented overview of the UPSC Exam 2026, covering notification details, exam dates, eligibility criteria, exam pattern, and the selection process in detail.

UPSC Notification 2026: Official Announcement

The UPSC Notification 2026 will be published on the official websites upsc.gov.in and upsconline.nic.in. Along with the notification, the online application process for UPSC CSE 2026 will also begin.

The notification is a comprehensive document that contains:

• Important exam dates

• Category-wise eligibility criteria

• Number of vacancies

• List of services

• Exam pattern and syllabus

• Application fee and instructions

• Reservation rules and attempt limits

Aspirants are strongly advised to read the notification carefully before applying, as even a minor mistake in eligibility or form submission can lead to disqualification at later stages.

UPSC Notification 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates who want to qualify for the UPSC 2026 examination to become IAS/ IPS/ IFS and other officers must fulfil all the eligibility requirements mentioned in the official notification. It is the minimum necessary qualification needed to take the exam. Details on UPSC IAS 2026 eligibility conditions are provided here.

UPSC Age Limit 2026

A candidate must be at least 21 years old and not have exceeded 32 years of age. Check the upper age limit relaxation for the UPSC Exam below in the table:

UPSC Exam 2026 Educational Qualification

A candidate must possess an equivalent degree or hold a graduate degree from any of the Indian universities established by an act of the central or state legislature, or from one of the other educational institutions recognised as universities under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956.

UPSC Vacancy 2026

The UPSC Notification 2026 will unveil the overall vacancies for the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026. This examination classifies posts into two groups:

• Group A, comprising All India Services, and
• Group B, consisting of Central Services

UPSC Notification 2026 Selection Process

The selection process for the UPSC CSE exam 2026, typically involves three stages:

• Preliminary Examination (Objective in Nature)
• Mains Examination (Descriptive in Nature)
• Personality Test/Interview

UPSC Exam Pattern 2026

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) comprises three stages: Preliminary Examination, Main Examination, and Personality Test (Interview). Here is the detailed UPSC 2026 Exam Pattern for each stage:

UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

There are two papers in the Civil Service Prelims Examination. The questions are objective in nature.

• General Studies Paper 1 [which deals with subjects like History, Polity, Economics etc.
• General Studies Paper 2 [which deals with subjects like Mental Ability, English Comprehension etc. This paper is popularly known as CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test).

The UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern Overview have been mentioned below in the table:

• UPSC Exam for Prelims is objective i.e. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) are being asked.
• Negative Marking is there in the UPSC Prelims Exam for every incorrect answer. The negative marking for incorrect answers will be 1/3rd (0.66) of the allotted marks of that question.
• The GS Paper II is CSAT in the UPSC Prelims Exam is qualifying in nature and candidates should score a minimum of 33% in this paper to qualify for the next stage of the UPSC Exam i.e. the Mains.
• Blind candidates are given an extra time of 20 minutes for each paper in the UPSC Exam for Prelims.
• The candidates must appear in both the papers of the civil services prelims exam for the evaluation.
• The marks scored by the candidates in the preliminary examination are not counted for the final score. It is only a screening test where candidates not secure the cut-off marks are eliminated.

UPSC Mains Exam Pattern 2026

The next phase of the UPSC Exam is the Mains Exam, which is a written exam and consisting of 9 papers in total of which Paper A (Compulsory Indian Language); Paper –B (English Language) are qualifying in nature, while the other papers like Essay, General Studies Papers I, II, III, and IV, and Optional Papers I and II are considered for the final ranking.

• The candidates can select their medium of writing the UPSC Mains Exam as Hindi English or any other language listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• The Indian Languages included in the UPSE exam are languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The candidates who score above the prescribed cut-off marks in the UPSC Exam (Mains) will get a summons for the Personality Test.
• The final ranking of the candidates is based on the marks obtained by them in the Main Examination and Personality Test/Interview Round of the UPSC Exam.

UPSC Interview/Personality Test

Candidates who clear the Mains stage of the UPSC Exam with the required cut-off marks qualify for the final stage of the UPSC Exam i.e., the Personality Test or Interview round with the UPSC Board Members. The Commission will send the candidates who qualify for the final stage an e-summon for a face-to-face discussion round with the board members.

In this round, the board assesses the personality traits of the candidates and questions will be asked on their hobbies, current affairs, general knowledge, situation questions, etc. to evaluate if they are fit for a career in the civil services or not. The UPSC personality test will be held only in the UPSC Bhavan in New Delhi.

Number of Attempts for UPSC Exam

As per the UPSC Notification 2026, the number of attempts allowed for the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) varied based on the candidate’s category:

UPSC Syllabus 2026

UPSC Syllabus is released by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) every year along with the UPSC Notification PDF. The Syllabus for the IAS exam is comprehensive and covers a wide range of subjects to assess a candidate’s knowledge, aptitude, and analytical abilities.

With the help of a detailed UPSC CSE Syllabus, candidates can easily rectify which topics, news articles, information, and current affairs are required to read. Being familiar with the IAS Syllabus is crucial if you want to succeed in the upcoming UPSC Civil Services exam. All of the UPSC IAS Exam toppers have one thing in common, they always follow the Syllabus seriously.

UPSC Syllabus 2026 PDF

UPSC Syllabus PDF: Candidates can download the UPSC IAS Syllabus PDF from the link provided here. Click on the mentioned link for the UPSC Syllabus PDF here.

UPSC Syllabus PDF Download Link

UPSC Prelims Exam Subjects

The UPSC subjects in the civil services exam are designed to judge you on your understanding of things around you as only an informed person can make decisions as a civil servant. The Subject for Prelims has been mentioned below:

UPSC Exam Subjects for GS Paper I

Given below is the UPSC Exam Subjects for Prelims list for the two papers which are objective type each. Both are conducted on the same day and the total marks for the two papers are 400 (200 marks each).

• Current Affairs National and International
• Static GK
• History of India and Indian National Movement
• Art and Culture
• Indian and World Geography
• Indian Polity and Governance
• Economic and Social Development
• Environment and Ecology
• Science and Technology

UPSC Exam Subjects for GS Paper II

• English Comprehension
• Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability
• Basic Numeracy
• General Mental Ability
• Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Data Interpretation

Subject List for UPSC Mains Exam 2026

Check the subjects that will be asked in the UPSC Exam for Mains 2026 in the table as provided below:

UPSC Optional Subjects 2026

Check the subjects that will be asked in the UPSC Exam for Mains Optional in the table as provided below:

UPSC 2026 Exam Posts

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most sought-after exams and offers recruitment to various prestigious posts in the government. Here is a list of some important Group A and Group B posts for UPSC 2026 is given below.

UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

UPSC is a highly competitive exam, with lakhs of students appearing for it each year. As we all know the UPSC Syllabus is very vast. Each of its sub-topics is a graduation subject in itself. Does this mean that UPSC wants aspirants to fathom it all? The answer is no. UPSC wants aspirants to be smart enough to be able to cover the entire syllabus as per the requirements of the exam.

This is where the role of the UPSC Previous Year Question Papers comes in. They act as a guiding light in an aspirant’s preparation journey. Going through them carefully, one can understand the nature of questions asked by UPSC and the probable areas. This will make preparation more exam-oriented. Here we are providing year-wise question papers from 2014 to 2022 for both UPSC Prelims (both general studies and CSAT) and UPSC Mains (from a general studies perspective).

Download here: UPSC Previous Year Question Papers PDF

UPSC Exam Preparation Tips and Strategy

The UPSC Exam Preparation strategy has been discussed below:

• Checking the trend, more current affairs-based questions are being asked in both, the Prelims and Mains stages of the UPSC exam. Select only credible sources like PIB, The Hindu, Yojana etc. and align the current events as per the UOSC Exam Syllabus. For the UPSC exam, current affairs usually comprise events of national and international importance in the last 10-12 months.
• Go through the previous years’ UPSC exam questions to gauge the amount of preparation needed from your end.
• Read the NCERT books and make notes. You will have to make at least two sets of notes i.e. short notes for Prelims and descriptive notes for UPSC Mains.
• The preparation for Prelims and Mains must be done simultaneously until 1-2 months before the date of the Prelims exam. Identify the syllabus overlap between Prelims and Mains and focus on those areas first.
• Select an Optional subject for the UPSC Exam based on your aptitude, interest and experience. Few optional subjects have a significant overlap with the General Studies syllabus in Mains, however, their syllabi are rather vast so do your due diligence before finalising one.
• Go through the standard books for each subject. Find the UPSC Exam book list, Current Affairs notes, NCERT notes and other information in the links below.
• Do not take lightly the CSAT paper in Prelims and Ethics paper in Mains. Similarly, the two qualifying language papers in Mains are also important as failing to score at least 25% in them will automatically eliminate you from the UPSC Exam process notwithstanding your stellar performance in all the other papers.
• Take out time for MCQ solving practice for Prelims and answer writing practice for Mains.
• Multiple times revisions, update your notes and revise some more.

How to Prepare for UPSC Exam?

Check the strategy for preparing for the UPSC Exam here below:

Build the Foundation

Candidates require a solid foundation to adequately prepare for this difficult exam. According to the proverb, a solid foundation creates a more substantial structure. Therefore, before continuing, you must comprehend the exam, its format, syllabus, and all requirements for preparation. Your foundation can be built by following the steps provided below.

• Understanding the Exam: The UPSC is India’s most difficult competitive exam, and a variety of criteria determine how difficult it is. Therefore, one must be aware of the exam’s format, sample questions, and dates before studying.
• UPSC CSE consists of three stages: the preliminary exam, the main exam, and the personality test, sometimes known as an interview. To begin, complete old test questions to get a feel for the format and scoring system.
• Understanding UPSC Syllabus: After learning about the exam’s format, you must comprehend the curriculum. The UPSC exam covers a wide range of topics, therefore it’s important to follow your syllabus carefully to keep your study on track.
• Planning for the UPSC Exam: To achieve your ultimate objective, you must make an achievable daily goal. It entails choosing the exam year and organizing your studies accordingly.

Strategies Your Preparation

• Since every person is unique, you shouldn’t copy their approach. Unfortunately, people start to follow the top scorers and other successful individuals uncritically.
• However, it would be great if you developed a unique approach for yourself because you are unique from others and are the only one who truly understands your strengths and shortcomings.
• Another crucial thing to remember is that if you want more successful results, it’s good to slightly alter your plan. It’s okay to make minor adjustments and alterations to your study schedule if it doesn’t work for you. There’s no perfect strategy.

Resources

• Pick the NCERTs as your starting point for preparing for the UPSC, then move on to the books recommended by your teachers or mentors.
• Purchasing ten separate books on a single topic is completely pointless. Limit yourself to one or two reliable books. As a result, you’ll have less high-quality text to edit during revision.

Time Management

• Time management is a key concern when preparing for any competitive exam. An aspirant candidate needs to follow a regimen that is organized and disciplined. However, you are organized but flexible, and you can follow a precise schedule that is time-bound.
• Your timetable might be flexible, but to be effective, you must have goal-oriented, time-bound study sessions. Keep a record of your preparations if you set goals for your study time.
• To better manage your time, prioritize your tasks. You might already be working or attending college, which limits your time for independent study. To use your time efficiently, give priority to your weak areas.

Test Series

• You’ve planned out your preparation and mastered time management. Despite your diligent study habits, you are nonetheless unprepared. Accumulated knowledge is useless if it isn’t put to the test.
• For a test with a broad syllabus and several subjects, like the UPSC. It’s crucial to periodically check your readiness by enrolling in a test series. You can enroll in any test series that works best for you.
• Test series allow you to compete with other hopefuls and become more accustomed to the exam setting while also testing your preparedness. It enables you to practice writing responses and having teachers assess them.

Stay Updated

• UPSC tests your personality and knowledge, so it’s essential to stay updated through news, newspapers and current affairs magazines. Current Affairs are bound to be asked in interviews and prelims to test how aware you are.
• Therefore, be sure to keep up with news, government initiatives, and important economic and political decisions made by the government generally or during crises.

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