UPSC Eligibility Criteria - Age Criteria for UPSC
Understanding the UPSC eligibility criteria is the first and most important step before starting preparation for UPSC civil services. It will give insights into the age criteria for UPSC, educational qualification for UPSC, nationality, and attempt limitation in UPSC. The UPSC civil services examination is the gateway to India’s top services including Indian Administrative Services (IAS), Indian Police Services (IPS), and other group “A” & “B‘‘ services. Every year lakhs of aspirants from different states appear for the UPSC civil services exam which is the most prestigious and challenging exam. However, the eligibility criteria for the UPSC exam is a must-known fraction of the journey, so it is critical to understand the UPSC eligibility standards.
Every year, the Civil services examination is conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and lakhs of aspirants appear in this exam to become IAS, IPS, and top-level officers. The UPSC civil services exam pattern has three stages - Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The preliminary stage of the UPSC CSE is a kind of screening test that filters out candidates for the mains stage. The UPSC CSE prelims consist of 2 papers - GS & CSAT (both are objective type papers). CSAT is qualifying in nature (33%) whereas marks in GS paper are calculated for merit.
The Mains Stage - The mains section of the UPSC CSE has 9 papers - 2 Language papers, 1 Essay paper, 4 GS papers, and 2 Optional papers. The 2 language papers are qualifying in nature and require 25% marks to qualify. The remaining 7 papers are merit papers, marks scored on those 7 papers are calculated for the merit, and qualified candidates are eligible for the Interview round. The Interview part consists of 275 marks and the marks of those 7 papers and Interviews are calculated for the final merit. Based on rank and preference, services are allotted to the candidates.
| Educational Qulaification | Any Graduate (final-year students can apply) |
| Age Limit | 21 - 32 Years |
| No. of Attempts | Genereal - 6 OBC - 9 SC/STs - Unlimited |
| Age Relaxation | General - N/A OBC - 3 years SC/STs - 5 Years |
| Nationality | Indian Only |
| Reservation in Posts | Yes |
Note - UPSC calculates your age as of August 01 of the exam year. Calculate your attempt- UPSC Age Calculator
The age criteria for the UPSC exam are designed to recruit young officers who can contribute to the growth of the nation. For General category candidates, the minimum age is 21 years and the maximum age is 32 years with 6 attempts. For the OBC category candidates, the minimum age is 21 years and the maximum age is 35 years with 9 attempts. For the SC/STs category candidates, the maximum age is 37 years with unlimited attempts. For the PwD category candidates, the maximum age is 42 years. A candidate should not touch the maximum age before the 1st of August of the exam year.
| S.no. | Category | Min. Age | Max. Age | Attempts |
| 1. | General & EWS | 21 | 32 | 6 |
| 2. | OBC (NCL) | 21 | 35 | 9 |
| 3. | SC/STs | 21 | 37 | Unlimited |
| 4. | PWD | 21 | 42 | Gen/OBC/PWD/EWS -9 SC/STs - Unlimited |
| 5. | Disabled & Discharged Defence Services Personnel | 21 | Genereal - 35 OBC - 38 SC/STs - 40 |
As per the Category |
| 6. | Ex-Service, Commissioned Officers | 21 | Genereal - 37 OBC - 40 SC/STs - 42 |
As per the Category |
The upper age limit can be extended by up to five years for Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe candidates, up to three years for Other Backward Classes eligible for reservation, up to three years for Defense Services Personnel disabled in operations, and up to five years for ex-servicemen or Emergency Commissioned Officers who meet specific criteria.
Additionally, ECOs/SSCOs may be granted a five-year extension if they have completed an initial assignment of five years, which has been further extended by the Ministry of Defence with the provision for civil employment.
For General category candidates, the age limit is set from 21 to 32 years. A general category candidate can apply for the UPSC civil services examination when he/she turns 21 years old and the maximum age for General category candidates is 32 years. The number of attempts is limited to 6 for General candidates. The General category candidate should not turn 32 before the 1st of August of the exam year.
For OBC category candidates, the age limit is set from 21 to 35 years. An OBC category candidate can apply for the UPSC civil services examination when he/she turns 21 years old and the maximum age for OBC category candidates is 35 years. The number of attempts is limited to 9 for OBC candidates. The OBC category candidate should not turn 35 before the 1st of August of the exam year. The reservation for OBC category candidates is available for those who have an OBC - NCL certificate, a person who belongs to the OBC - Non-Creamy Layer category can only avail of the benefits of reservation and community benefits.
For SC/ST category candidates, the age limit is set from 21 to 37 years. An SC/ST category candidate can apply for the UPSC civil services examination when he/she turns 21 years old and the maximum age for SC/ST category candidates is 37 years. The number of attempts is unlimited for SC/ST candidates. The SC/ST category candidate should not turn 37 before the 1st of August of the exam year.
up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories viz.
Candidates of PwBD category will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if they (after such Medical Examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) are found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services to be allocated to the candidates of PwBD category by the Government.
The Commission accepts the date of birth as stated in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate, a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation, or an extract from a University's Register of Matriculates. This extract must be certified by the appropriate university authority or in the Higher Secondary examination certificate, or an equivalent examination certificate. Candidates are only required to submit the birth date certificate when applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other documents regarding age, such as horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporations, Service records, and similar documents, will be considered.
IAS, IPS, IFS - For Indian citizens only. Only Indian citizens can apply for these 3 posts - Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Services, and the Indian Foreign Services.
Other Services in UPSC CSE - Indian, Nepali, Bhutan, Tibetan Refugee before 1962, Indian-origin persons migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia, and Vietnam.
Candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) requires a certificate of eligibility that has been issued by the Government of India, but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him/her by the Government of India.
To be eligible, a candidate needs to have a Graduate degree from a University that is recognized by an Act of the central or State Legislature in India, or from other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament, or declared to be deemed as a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. Alternatively, the candidate must hold an equivalent qualification.
For final-year graduation students, there is an option for them to apply for UPSC civil services but to sit in the mains exam, candidates need to submit proof of passing the final exam and in case of unavailability of proof, the candidate will not be allowed by the commission to sit in the mains examination.
Candidates who have cleared their final professional M.B.B.S. or an equivalent professional exam leading to a medical degree or certificate but have not finished their internship when submitting their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be conditionally accepted to the Civil Services Examination. They must submit a copy of a certificate from the relevant authority of the University/Institution showing that they passed the necessary final professional exam. In such instances, candidates will need to present the original degree or a certificate from the competent authority of the University/Institution confirming the completion of all requirements, including the internship, for the Degree award during their interview.
Candidates who are already in the government service, whether in a permanent or temporary capacity or those who are serving in public sector enterprises, are required to submit an undertaking in writing that ensures that the candidate has informed their head of office about the candidate application for UPSC CSE. And in case, the commission receives a withdrawal of the application request from the employer will lead to the rejection of the application and candidature as well.
Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria are allowed to make six (6) attempts at the CSE examination. However, candidates from the SC/ST/OBC and PwBD categories who are otherwise eligible will have relaxation in the number of attempts available to them. The specific number of attempts permitted to these candidates as per relaxation is outlined below:
| Number of Attempts | Category to which the Candidate Belongs | ||
| SC/STs | OBC | PwBD | |
| Unlimited | 09 | GL/EWS/OBC - 9 SC/STs - Unlimited |
|
After filling out the application form, candidates go through the prelims that consist of 2 papers - GS & CSAT. If a candidate appears in any preliminary paper of UPSC civil services, shall be taken as an attempt in the civil services examination. Merely filling out the application form will not count as an attempt.
On IAS & IFS Officer: A candidate who has been selected for the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service based on a previous Examination and remains a member of that Service will be ineligible to take the Civil Services Examination. If such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024 is completed and continues in that Service, they will not be allowed to participate in the Civil Services (Main) Examination even if they have qualified in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. If a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the start of the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2024 but before the Commission declares the results and remains a member of that Service, the candidate will not be considered for any Service/Post based on the result of the CSE.
On An IPS Officer: An individual who has been selected for the Indian Police Service through a previous exam and remains a part of the service cannot choose the Indian Police Service based on the outcome of the CSE.
Candidates, excluding female/Schedule caste/Schedule Tribe/Persons with Benchmark Disability(PwBD) Candidates who are exempted from paying the fee, must pay a fee of Rs. 100/- (Rupees One Hundred only).
Reservation is available for other backward classes (OBC), Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Trbe (SC), Economically weaker section (EWS), Persons with benchmark disabilities, Ex-Servicemen, and candidates seeking reservation in their respective categories must ensure that they are eligible for the reservation in accordance with the rules prescribed in the examination rules/notices. To support their claims, they should be able to provide proof of eligibility or certificates that support their claims for the reservation. A candidate can avail the community reservation benefits only if their caste is included in the Central Government's reserved communities list.
When applying for the CSE-2024, OBC candidates must present an OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate, which must be based on their income for the Financial Years (FY) 2020–2021; 2021–2022, and 2022–2023. The certificate must be issued on or after April 1, 2023 (after the completion of FY 2022-23), but not later than March 5, 2024, which is the deadline for submitting applications for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2024.
The Economically Weaker Section reservation is granted to candidates who meet Central Government criteria and have an Income & Asset Certificate issued by the Government.