UPSC Age Limit and UPSC Eligibility for IAS Exam

UPSC Notification 2023 Download

i) UPSC Age limit

The age limit for UPSC applies equally to all the services for which the UPSC selects candidates. The eligibility of nationality and educational qualifications are the same for all students. However the number of attempts and age limits vary. The diagram below shows clearly the UPSC exam age limit for different communities based on age limit and the number of attempts within that age limit. For Physical abilities the eligibility varies from service to service. Please visit our UPSC jobs page to see details of service on pages dedicated to them.

A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2023 . The upper age limit for IAS as well as all other services as explained in diagram above is relaxed for OBC, SC, ST and other categories of aspirants. The age limit for UPSC has been very well explained in the video below. Watch it to get a clear understanding of the age limit for OBC and other categories. The IAS age limit for female is the same as male. There is no discrimination based on gender.

UPSC age limit relaxation for OBC SC/ST

1. Up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
2. Up to a maximum of three years in the case of candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates;
3. Up to a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof;
4. Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2023 and have been released:

   on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2023, otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency); or	on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or
   on invalidment.

5. Up to a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years of Military Service as on 1st August, 2023 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three months notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
6. Up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories viz.

   blindness and low vision;	deaf and hard of hearing;
   locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;	autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness;
   multiple disabilities from amongst person under clauses (i) to (iv) including deaf-blindness.

UPSC gives cumulative age-relaxation for age limit

NOTE I:
Candidates belonging to either the SC or the ST or the OBC category who are also covered under any other clauses of para 3(II)(2) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen or PwBD, will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both categories.

NOTE II:
The term Ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as Ex-servicemen in the Exservicemen (Re-employment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.

NOTE III:
The age concession under para 3(II)(2) (d) and (e) will be admissible to Ex-servicemen i.e. a person who has served in any rank whether as combatant or non-combatant in the Regular Army, Navy and Air Force of the Indian Union and who either has been retired or relieved or discharged from such service whether at own request or being relieved by the employer after earning pension.

NOTE IV:
Notwithstanding the provision of age-relaxation under para 3(II) (2) (f) above, 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.

Note-V :
Save as provided under para 3(II) (2) above, the age-limits prescribed can in no case be relaxed.

ii) Number of Attempts within Age Limit

The UPSC has raised the upper age limit and number of attempts of applicants of the Civil Service Examination with effect from 2015. The upper age limit will be 32 years for the unreserved (general) category with 6 attempts. It will be 35 years for OBC candidates with 9 attempts; and will be 37 years for SC/ST candidates with unlimited number of attempts. For physically handicapped candidates the age limit is 42, 45 and 47 years for General, OBC and SC/ST category respectively while the number of attempts is 9 for General and OBC and unlimited for SC/SC category.

Every candidate appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six (6) attempts at the CSE. However, relaxation in the number of attempts will be available to the SC/ST/OBC and PwBD category candidates who are otherwise eligible.

UPSC age limit & Attempts in Tabular Format

iii) Academic Eligibility for IAS

1. A candidate must hold a Graduate degree of any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the central or State Legislature in India or 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 or possess an equivalent qualification.

Note-I : Candidates who have appeared at a qualifying examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s Examination but have not been informed of the result as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination along with their application (i.e. Detailed Application Form-I) for the Main Examination, failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. Such proof of passing the requisite qualifying examination should have been issued latest by the closing date of Detailed Application Form-I of the Main Examination

Note-II : In exceptional cases, the Commission may treat a candidate who does not have any of the foregoing qualifications as a candidate, provided that the candidate has passed an examination conducted by any other institution the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies the admission to the Civil Services Examination.

Note-III : Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services Examination.

Note-IV : Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S or any other equivalent professional examination leading to a medical degree or certificate but have not completed their internship by the time of submission of their applications for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Civil Services Examination, provided they submit along with their application a copy of certificate from the concerned authority of the University/Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview the original degree or a certificate from the concerned competent authority of the University/Institution that they had completed all requirements (including completion of internship) for the award of the Degree.

iv) Restrictions on applying for IAS exam given by UPSC:

1. A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service will not be eligible to appear at the Civil Services Examination-2023. In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2023 is over and the candidate continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2023 notwithstanding having qualified in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2023. If such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2023 but before the result thereof is declared by the Commission and continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be considered for appointment to any Service/Post on the basis of the result of the CSE-2023.
2. A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service shall not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service on the basis of the result of the CSE-2023.

v) Restrictions Relaxed on applying for the IAS exam:

The candidates who are appointed to other services barring the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) on the results of an earlier examination are eligible to take this examination again.

vi) Other Eligibility Criteria:

Nationality:

1. For the Indian Administrative Service, the Indian Foreign Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
2. For other services, a candidate must be either:—
   1. a citizen of India, or
   2. a subject of Nepal, or
   3. a subject of Bhutan, or
   4. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
   5. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (b), (c), (d) and (e) shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India.

A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination 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.

Creamy layer in OBC:

Creamy layer is referred to the relatively forward and better-educated members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) defined by their economic condition. Those earning more than Rs.8 lakhs per annum as a family, must appear for the UPSC exam as a general category applicant availing neither reservations nor age limit relaxations.

Apart from the economic criteria there are others who may not avail of the advantages as an OBC

• Certain castes that come under BC and MBC.
• Parents employed under Group A services like IPS, IAS, and IFS.
• Parents working under Group B and C of the Central Government and,
• Parents working under Group 1 of the State Government.

Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)

10% reservation under Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category is available for those persons who are not covered under the existing scheme of reservations for the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the socially and Educationally Backward Classes.  No relaxation in age, number of attempts, fees etc. is available to them.

Eligibility for reservation under EWS?

• A ‘general’ candidate not covered under reservation for SC, ST or OBC.
• Family’s gross annual income should be below Rs. 8 lakhs for the previous financial year.
• The family that includes parents and siblings or spouses below 18 years of age, should not own agricultural land of size 5 acres or above.
• The family should also not own a residential flat of area 1000 square feet or above.
• Nor should the family own a residential plot
  • In notified municipalities - of area 100 square yards or more
  • In other than in notified municipalities of area 200 square yards or more.

Note: A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary is eligible to take the examination but the offer of appointment may be given to only those candidates who have submitted the necessary eligibility certificate issued to him/her by the Government of India.

Note: The Candidates applying for the Civil Service Examination should ensure that they fulfil all eligibility conditions and criteria for admission to examination. Their admission to all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions. Mere issue of admission certificate to the candidate will not imply that his/her candidature has been finally cleared by the UPSC. UPSC take up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for Interview/ Personality Test.

1. What are the Job Prospects and Remuneration?
2. Application Procedure
3. UPSC Exams Centers
4. Procedure of the Civil Services Examination
5. Eligibility - Academic, Age limit and Nationality
6. What are the Number of Attempts one can take?
7. About Preliminary Examination
8. About Mains Examination Syllabus
9. UPSC Interview
10. What are the Cut-Off Marks?
11. How To Prepare For Prelims
12. Strategy for General Studies Preliminary Examination 2020
13. How to choose a Subject?
14. List of Civil Service jobs
15. Civil Services Vacancies(New)
16. How to choose a Civil Service (New)
17. Selection of Persons with Disabilities(New)
18. Number of Candidates Appeared and Recommended
19. UPSC contact Nos