UPSC Prelims 2026 is the first phase of the UPSC Civil Services Examination, followed by the UPSC Main and the Interview. It is a screening round and consists of two papers- the General Studies I and the General Studies II Paper. The General Studies II Paper is commonly called the Civil Services Aptitude Test, or CSAT.
Prelims are qualifying in nature- therefore, their score doesn’t get added to the candidate’s final score. However, a candidate’s Prelims score is extremely essential, as the success rate of Prelims is a mere 1%. Thus, candidates need to have complete information about the exam to form a well-rounded preparation strategy and secure a high score to proceed to the next round.
Read in HindiBefore getting into the details of the UPSC Prelims, here are some key exam highlights.
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UPSC Prelims 2026: Key Highlights |
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Name of the Exam |
UPSC Civil Services Examination, 2026 |
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Conducted by |
Union Public Service Commission |
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Level |
National |
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Exam Frequency |
Annual |
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Mode of the Exam |
Pen and Paper Mode/Offline |
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Test Centres |
Across Nation |
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Exam Stages |
03 Stages- Preliminary Exam, Main Exam, and Personality Test |
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Exam Fee for Prelims Exam |
Rs.100 |
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Official Website |
https://www.upsc.gov.in/ |
As per the official UPSC Calendar 2026, UPSC Prelims 2026 is scheduled for 24th May, 2026.
Additionally, the UPSC Mains 2026 is scheduled to be held from 21st August 2026. The Personality Test Round will tentatively be held in the first few months of 2027, based on trends from past years. The important dates for the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026 are as follows.
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UPSC 2026 Exam Dates |
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Event |
Date |
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Release of Notification - UPSC CSE 2026 |
14.01.2026 |
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UPSC Online Registration for UPSC CSE 2026 (Begins on) |
14.01.2026 |
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Deadline to Apply For UPSC CSE 2026 |
03.02.2026 |
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UPSC CSE Prelims 2026 Exam |
24.05.2026 |
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UPSC CSE Prelims 2026 Result |
June (Tentative) |
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UPSC CSE Mains 2026 Exam |
21.08.2026 |
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Personality Test Round |
Jan- April 2027 (Tentative) |
UPSC will release its official notification on 14th January, 2026. The notification is the only credible source of information for any proposed changes in the number of vacancies, eligibility criteria, exam pattern, syllabus, etc. Thus, candidates must look out for the official UPSC Prelims 2026 Notification. The notification release will mark the beginning of the registration process, which will continue till 3rd February 2026.
For more details about the UPSC Notification 2026, read the linked article.
UPSC Prelims consists of 2 papers held on one day- namely, the General Studies I and General Studies II Paper.
Each paper carries 200 marks each and lasts for 2 hours. The GS I Paper consists of 100 questions and has a negative marking of 0.66 marks for each wrong answer. CSAT consists of 80 questions with a negative marking of 0.83 for each incorrect answer.
Candidates need to score equal to or more than the cut-off marks in the GS-I Paper and 33% marks in CSAT to qualify. Following is the UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern.
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UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern |
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Paper Name |
Type |
Number of Questions |
Time Duration |
Marks |
Negative Marking |
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General Studies I |
Objective |
100 |
2 hours |
200 |
0.66 |
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General Studies II (Civil Services Aptitude Test) |
Objective |
80 |
2 hours |
200 |
0.83 |
UPSC releases the eligibility criteria in the official notification. The following are the broad parameters that a candidate must meet in order to be eligible for UPSC Prelims.
Following is the UPSC Prelims Eligibility Criteria according to the official UPSC notification. A candidate must meet these broad parameters in order to be eligible for UPSC Prelims.
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UPSC Eligibility Criteria |
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Age Limit |
21 to 32 years |
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Age Relaxation |
OBC - 3 years SC/ST - 5 years PwBD - 10 years |
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Educational Qualification |
Graduation (Bachelors) |
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Nationality |
Indian Citizens Only |
For more details regarding UPSC Exam age relaxations for special categories, read about UPSC Exam Eligibility Criteria in detail.
UPSC Registration 2026 will begin from 14th January 2026, immediately after the release of the UPSC 2026 Notification. It will continue till 3rd February 2026. It is expected to be followed by a correction window, the details of which will be released along with the notification.
The first step to being well-prepared for any exam is to have a clear understanding of the syllabus. Following is the UPSC Prelims Syllabus for the GS I and GS II Paper.
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UPSC Prelims Syllabus |
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Paper |
Syllabus |
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General Studies I Paper |
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General Studies II Paper (CSAT) |
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Candidates are given a choice between numerous UPSC Prelims Exam Centres, pan-India. These centres are allotted on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is recommended that candidates register early to secure their preferred exam center.
Following is the list of UPSC Prelims Exam Centres.
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UPSC Prelims Exam Centres |
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Agra |
Dispur |
Kohima |
Rajkot |
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Ahmedabad |
Faridabad |
Kolkatta |
Ranchi |
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Aizawl |
Gangtok |
Kozhikode (Calicut) |
Sambalpur |
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Ajmer |
Gautam Buddh Nagar |
Leh |
Shillong |
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Aligarh |
Gaya |
Lucknow |
Shimla |
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Almora (Uttarakhand) |
Ghaziabad |
Ludhiana |
Siliguri |
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Ananthapuru |
Gorakhpur |
Madurai |
Srinagar |
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Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) |
Gurgaon |
Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) |
Srinagar (Uttarakhand) |
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Bareilly |
Gwalior |
Mumbai |
Surat |
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Bengaluru |
Hyderabad |
Mysuru |
Thane |
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Bhopal |
Imphal |
Nagpur |
Thiruvananthapuram |
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Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) |
Indore |
Nasik |
Tiruchirapalli |
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Chandigarh |
Itanagar |
Navi Mumbai |
Tirupati |
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Chennai |
Jabalpur |
Panaji (Goa) |
Udaipur |
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Coimbatore |
Jaipur |
Patna |
Varanasi |
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Cuttack |
Jammu |
Patna |
Vellore |
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Dehradun |
Jodhpur |
Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
Vijayawada |
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Delhi |
Jorhat |
Puducherry |
Vishakhapatnam |
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Agartala |
Dharwar |
Kochi |
Raipur |
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Ananthapuru |
Gorakhpur |
Madurai |
Srinagar |
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Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) |
Indore |
Nasik |
Tiruchirapalli |
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Jamshedpur |
Pune |
Vijayawada |
Warangal |
The UPSC Prelims Admit Card will be released on the official UPSC Website approximately two weeks before the UPSC Prelims 2026 exam date, according to the previous years' trends. Admit Cards are crucial for gaining entry into the exam centre. Therefore, aspirants are advised to check the website regularly for updates closer to the exam date.
The UPSC Prelims 2026 Result can be expected in June 2026. The UPSC Prelims result is announced on the official UPSC website, typically 15-20 days after the exam is conducted. Candidates can visit the website to check their qualification status for the UPSC Main examination. The UPSC Prelims Result 2025 was announced 18 days after the UPSC Prelims Exam, which was held on 25th May 2025. To read more about UPSC Prelims 2025 Result, read the linked article.
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There are 2 papers in UPSC Prelims held on one day, the General Studies I and General Studies II Paper, which is also called Civil Services Aptitude Test or CSAT. To qualify for the Main, candidates must score more than the cut-off in the GS-I Paper and more than 33% in CSAT.
UPSC Prelims consists of 2 papers- GS I and CSAT. Each paper carries 200 marks each and lasts for 2 hours. The GS I paper has 100 questions and a negative marking of 0.66 marks for each incorrect answer. CSAT consists of 80 questions with a negative marking of 0.83 for each incorrect answer.
Yes, final year students can apply for UPSC Prelims, provided they get their degree before the Main examination, since proof of passing the degree examination has to be provided in the Detailed Application Form.