Civil Service Examination : Eligibility

Pin It

Application Procedure

Syllabus

Exam Date 2024

The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility condition for admission to examination. Commission take up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for interview/Personality Test.

Educational Qualifications :

Graduates in any discipline from a recognised university. Candidates having professional and technical qualifications recognised by the government are also eligible.

Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission's examination but have not been informed of the results as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the 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 examination with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination.
In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who has not any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his admission to the examination.
Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S. or any other Medical Examination 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 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 medical examination. In such cases, the candidates will be required to produce at the time of their interview 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.

Nationality :

For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India
For other services, a candidate must be either :
(a) a citizen of India, or
(b) a subject of Nepal, or
(c) a subject of Bhutan, or
(d) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India with the intention of permanently settling in India. or
(e) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Srilanka, 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.

Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.

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 by the Government of India.

Age Limits :

(a) Candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on the 1st August of the year in which examination is being held.
(b) The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable:
   (i) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe.
   (ii) upto 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.
   (iii) upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during a particular period
   (iv) upto 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.
   (v) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on the 1st August of the year in which examination is being held and have been released (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from the 1st August of the year in which examination is being held) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment.
   (vi) upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on the 1st August of the year in which examination is being held 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 month's notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.
   (vii) upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons.

Personal Attributes :

The aspiring candidates are expected to have keen interest in the General Studies and are supposed to have a good amount of interest in current affairs. Regular and detailed reading of a good national newspaper, a standard competition magazine and a basic book on general knowledge is the essential pre-requisite. Another important point is efficient time planning.

Physical Standards :

Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination.

Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Physically disabled categories in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

Number of Attempts:

Every candidate appearing at the Civil Services Examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted four attempts at the examination.

Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply in the case of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates who are otherwise eligible.

Provided further that the number of attempts permissible to candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes, who are otherwise eligible, shall be seven. This relaxation will be available to the candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

Provided further that a Physically handicapped will get as many attempts as are available to other non-physically handicapped candidates of his or her community, subject to the General Category shall be eligible for seven attempts. The relaxation will be available to the physically handicapped candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates.

Note:-

(i) An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Examination.
(ii) If a candidate actually appears in any one paper in the Preliminary Examination, he/she shall be deemed to have made an attempt at the Examination.
(iii) Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.

Restrictions on applying for the examination :

A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to compete at this examination.

In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS/IFS after the Preliminary Examination of Civil Services Examination and he/she continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination.

Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination but before the result thereof and continues to be a member of that service, he/she shall not be considered for appointment to any service/post on the basis of the result of this examination viz. Civil Services Examination.