Civil Services Examination or CSE is an examination commenced by Union Public Service Commission or UPSC. This examination is organized to recruit eligible candidates into the Central Government high Civil Service Post.
A government can be divided into three parts i.e. Parliament, Judicial, and Executive body. UPSC CSE examinations are conducted to recruit candidates for the Executive body of the branch. The posts that come under CSE are Indian Administrative Services, Indian Police Services, Indian Forest Services, Indian Foreign Services.
In this article, we will discuss Civil Services Examination 2024 Dates, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, and Syllabus.
Civil Services Eligibility Criteria
The following are the eligibility criteria for the Civil Services examination-
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Nationality
The candidate must have a citizenship of India or A citizen of Nepal or a subject of Bhutan, or a Tibetan refugee who settled permanently in India before 1 January 1962, or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India
Age Limit
| Category | Minimum Age Limit for UPSC | Maximum Age Limit for UPSC |
| Civil Services exam Age Limit for General Category | 21 | 32 |
| EWS | 21 | 32 |
| SC/ST | 21 | 37 |
| Civil Services OBC Age Limit | 21 | 35 |
Attempt Limit
| Category | Number of Attempts |
| General | 6 |
| OBC | 9 |
| SC/ST | Unlimited (Up to age limit) |
| Disabled Defence Services Personnel | 9 |
| Ex-Servicemen | 9 |
| Persons with Benchmark Disability – EWS (Economically Weaker Section) | 9 |
Education Qualification
For participating in the Civil Services Examination, the candidates must have a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.
Civil Services Examination 2024 Important Dates
The following are the important dates for Civil Services Examination-
| Events | Examination Date |
| Notification Date for Civil Services Examination | 14 Feb, 2024 |
| Online Registration for Civil Services Examination | 14 Feb, 2024 |
| Last date for applying for Civil Services Examination | 05 Mar, 2024 |
| Preliminary Admit Card | To be Notified |
| Preliminary Examination Date | 26 May, 2024 |
| Mains Admit Card | To be Notified |
| Mains Examination | 20 Sep, 2024 |
| Final Result Date | To be Notified |
| Interview schedule | To be Notified |
UPSC Civil Services Application Form
The following are the application form for the Civil Services examination-
- Visit the official website of UPSC and navigate to the examination tab followed by clicking on the Active Examination tab
- After clicking on the active examination, a page with all the examination that are available to participate appear
- You have to click on the UPSC Civil Services Examination followed by getting yourself registered for the next step
- After registration is successful, login to your account using your login credentials
- After logging in, fill the application form with correct details like name, address, educational qualification, etc.
- After filling the educational qualification, the candidate must upload the necessary documents followed by clicking on the submit button
- After submission of the form you have to pay the application fee using a credit/debit card, UPI, Net banking, etc.
- Make sure you take a print out of the application form and payment receipt for the future use
Documents required for Civil Services Examination
The following are the documents required for filling the application form for the Civil Services examination-
For Preliminary Examination
- A scanned photograph of yourself
- A scanned signature of yourself
- Government-issued Photo-id card
- Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/Passport/Driving License/Any other Photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government
For Mains Examination
- Matriculation or secondary school leaving certificate for proof of age
- University awarded degree or equivalent qualification recognized by UPSC
- EWS Certificate (if any)
- SC/ST certification (if any)
- Disability certificate (if applicable
- Documents supporting non-creamy layer OBC status (if applicable
- Certificate for proof of hailing from the north-eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya or Sikkim (if applicable)
- Undertaking for government servants (if applicable)
- Disabled while in defense service (if applicable)
- Certificate supporting age relaxation claim (if applicable)
UPSC Civil Services Application Fee
The following are the application form for UPSC Civil Services-
| Category | Application Fee |
| For General/OBC/EWS Category | Rs.100 for Preliminary and Rs.200 for Mains examination |
| For SC/ST candidates | Nil |
UPSC Civil Services Examination pattern
The following are the examination pattern for the UPSC Civil Services examination-
| Civil Services Exam Pattern For Mains | ||
| Papers | Subjects | Marks |
| Paper A | One of the Indian languages (listed in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India) mentioned below to be selected by the candidate (Qualifying) | 300 |
| Paper B | English (Qualifying) | 300 |
| Paper I | Essay | 250 |
| Paper-II | General Studies I (Indian heritage and culture, history and geography of the world and society) | 250 |
| Paper III | General Studies II (Governance, constitution, polity, social justice, and international relations) | 250 |
| Paper IV | General Studies III (Technology, economic development, biodiversity, environment, security, and disaster management) | 250 |
| Paper V | General Studies IV (ethics, integrity, and aptitude) | 250 |
| Papers VI, VII | Two papers on subjects to be selected by the candidate from the list of optional subjects below (250 marks for each paper) | 250 |
| Sub Total (Written Test) | 1750 | |
| Personality Test (Interview) | 275 | |
| Total Marks | 2025 |
UPSC Civil Services Post
The following are the UPSE civil services post-
All India Civil Services
- Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
- Indian Police Service (IPS)
- Indian Forest Service (IFoS)
Group ‘A’ Civil Services
- Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
- Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IAAS)
- Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS)
- Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS)
- Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
- Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
- Indian Information Service (IIS)
- Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
- Indian Communication Finance Services (ICFS)
- Indian Postal Service (IPoS)
- Indian Railway Accounts Service (IRAS)
- Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS)
- Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS)
- Indian Revenue Service (IRS)
- Indian Trade Service (ITS)
- Railway Protection Force (RPF)
Group ‘B’ Civil Services
- Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Service
- DANICS
- DANIPS
- Pondicherry Civil Service
- Pondicherry Police Service
UPSC Civil Services Syllabus
The following are the syllabus for the UPSC Civil Services examination-
General Studies-I
History
- Modern Indian History
- World History
- Art & Culture
- Indian Heritage & Culture
Geography
- Human Geography
- Physical Geography
- Geomorphology
- Indian Geography
- Climatology
- Oceanology
Indian Society
- Diversity in Indian Society
- Role of Women
- Poverty
- Urbanization
- Social Empowerment
- Regionalism
- Communalism
- Secularism, etc.
General Studies-II
Polity
- Constitution
- Governance
- Social Justice
- International Relations
General Studies-III
Economic Development
- Agriculture
- Science & Technology
- Environment & Ecology
- Security, and
- Disaster Management
General Studies-IV
Ethics
- Attitude
- Aptitude
- Emotional Intelligence
- Moral Thinkers
- Public Organizations and Probity in Governance
Optional Subject
You have to choose any one optional subject of your choice and two papers will be from this optional subject-
- Agriculture
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
- Anthropology
- Botany
- Chemistry
- Civil Engineering
- Commerce and Accountancy
- Economics
- Electrical Engineering
- Geography
- Geology
- History
- Law
- Management
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Medical Science
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Political Science and International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
Literature
- Assamese
- Bengali
- Bodo
- Dogri
- Gujarati
- Hindi
- Kannada
- Kashmiri
- Konkani
- Maithali
- Malayalam
- Manipuri
- Marathi
- Nepali
- Odia
- Punjabi
- Sanskrit
- Santhali
- Sindhi
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Urdu
- English
UPSC Civil Services 2024 Admit Card
The Admit card for UPSC CSE is not yet released, we will update the admit card status once the examination has been released by the UPSC.
UPSC Civil Services 2024 Result
The result for UPSC CSE 2024 is not yet released, we will update the admit card status once the examination has been released by the UPSC.
FAQ
The minimum qualification for the UPSC Civil Services examination is a graduation degree from a recognized university in any stream.
Yes, UPSC Aspirant can have a tattoo on his body however, it should not be visible i.e. the tattoo should not be on his forearm, fingers, hands, neck, face, or other visible parts.
Around 180 IAS officers are selected every year through the UPSC civil services examination.
Around 9 Lakhs to 10 Lakhs candidates apply for the civil services examination of which 5 Lakhs candidates participate in the Preliminary exams and for the mains exam around 15-18 thousand candidates each year.
No, you can’t change the UPSC CSE exam center when it is allotted.
Priya Bansal is a seasoned education writer with a passion for creating insightful and engaging content. With a background in education and a knack for research, she excels at producing articles, blogs, and resources that inform and inspire. Priya’s work contributes to the enrichment of educational discourse and empowers learners of all ages.
