UPSC FAQ

FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) about UPSC/Civil Service Examination

Q. How to apply for Examinations conducted by the UPSC?
Answer – Candidates can apply online for the UPSC Examinations by accessing the online portal hosted on the UPSC’s website

Q. How much time is given to the candidates for applying online?
Answer – Time for applying online is clearly mentioned in the Examination Notice. A candidate gets about 3 weeks time to apply online and can fill up the online application by following the instructions provided on the website for filling up online application.

Q. What happens if a candidate submits multiple online applications?
Answer – While a candidate should avoid submitting more than one online application, in case of doing so, the data provided in the last application (highest RID Number), that is successfully submitted online, is accepted by the Commission. All previous applications are ignored as these are amalgamated with the last completed & finally submitted application. If an applicant (who has already submitted an application successfully) wants to make amendments in the application, then he has to submit a fresh application on or before the last date of submission of application of the Examination. Therefore, it must be ensured that fee is submitted against the last online application only, which should also be complete in all respects including its final submission. Fee paid against one RID shall not be adjusted against any other RID number.

Q. Can a candidate change his/her Community Status?
Answer – A candidate is eligible to get the benefit of community reservation if his/her caste/tribe is included in the reserved community as may be determined by the Central Government and he/she has claimed for the same. The Commission does not entertain a request for change of community from unreserved to reserved category once the examination process is initiated. However, in some exceptional cases where a particular caste/tribe is included in the list of reserved community within 3 months from the date of submission of application, the Commission may consider a request of change of community as a special case. In case of a candidate unfortunately becoming physically disabled during the course of the examination process, the candidate should produce valid document showing him/her acquiring a disability to the extent of 40% or more as mentioned in the relevant rules to enable him/her to get the benefits of PwBD reservation.

Q. Can a candidate change the Date of Birth from what he/she has submitted in the online application?
Answer – The Commission does not allow change of Date of Birth that has been furnished by a candidate and recorded by the Commission on any ground whatsoever.

Q. When are the e-Admit Cards issued?
Answer – The eligible candidates are issued e-Admit Cards around three weeks before the commencement of the Examination. The e-Admit Cards are made available on the UPSC’s website for downloading by the candidates. The Admit Card is not sent by post.
If a candidate is not issued his/her e-Admit Card or does not receive any other communication regarding his/her candidature for the Examination around three weeks before the commencement of the examination, he/she should immediately contact the Commission at the concerned email ID. Information in this regard can also be obtained from the Facilitation Counter located in the Commission’s Office either in person or over phone numbers. Phone numbers are given in notification.

Q. Are requests for change of Centre/ Venue accepted? 
Answer – The candidates should note that no request for change of Centre / Venue is accepted.

Q. What is the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination?
Answer – UPSC conducts Preliminary Examination of the Civil Services Examination for recruitment to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and other Central Services and posts in accordance with the Rules published by the Government (Department of Personnel & Training) in the Gazette of India Extraordinary. This Examination is meant to serve as a screening test only; the marks obtained in the Preliminary Examination by the candidates, who are declared qualified for admission to the Main Examination, are not counted for determining their final order of merit. Only those candidates, who are declared by the Commission to have qualified in the Preliminary Examination in the year, will be eligible to appear at the Main Examination of that year provided they are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination.

Q. Is there any negative marking at the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination?
Answer – Candidates should note that there is penalty (negative marking) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. (i) For each question for which a wrong answer has been given by the candidate, one-third (1/3rd) of the marks assigned to that question is deducted as penalty. (ii) If a candidate gives more than one answer, it is treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happens to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question. (iii) If a question is left blank, i.e. no answer is given by the candidate; there will be no penalty for that question.

Q. What are the minimum educational qualifications prescribed? 
Answer – The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or any other educational institution established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

Q. Which is the language / medium of question papers? 
Answer – The question papers (other than the literature of language papers) are set in Hindi and English.

Q. What are the age limit and the number of attempts permitted to write the UPSC Civil Services Exam?
Answer – Number of attempts: General Category- FOUR (4) OBC- SEVEN (7) SC/ST- No restriction

Q. If a candidate has not appeared in the prelim examination, will it be counted as an attempt?
Answer – No. An attempt is counted only if a candidate has appeared in at least one paper of the Prelim exam.

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