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UPPSC PCS

UPPSC PCS Exam Pattern, Syllabus & Cut-Off

Notification, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, calendar and how cut-offs work — the official picture of the UPPSC PCS exam, kept current.

Notification & calendar

UPPSC publishes the PCS notification on its official calendar, typically early in the year, followed by prelims, mains and the interview.

Always verify dates on the commission's site (uppsc.up.nic.in) — this page is updated with every official change.

Eligibility

  • A bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university.
  • Age 21–40 years, with category-wise relaxations as per state rules.
  • No attempt limit — you may appear as long as you remain age-eligible.

Exam pattern

1

Stage 1 — Prelims

Two objective papers: GS-I (150 questions, 200 marks, decides the cut-off) and CSAT GS-II (qualifying at 33%).

2

Stage 2 — Mains

Descriptive papers: Essay and General Studies including UP-specific GS papers, per the latest notified pattern.

3

Stage 3 — Interview

A 100-mark personality test with a strong Uttar Pradesh awareness component.

Syllabus at a glance

  • General Studies — history, geography, polity, economy, environment, science & tech, current affairs.
  • UP-specific — history, culture, geography, economy and schemes of Uttar Pradesh.
  • CSAT — comprehension, reasoning and Class-X level numeracy.

How the cut-off works

There is no fixed UPPSC cut-off. The qualifying marks change every cycle with the number of vacancies, the difficulty of the paper and how candidates perform.

  • The prelims cut-off is decided mainly by GS-I (Paper I); CSAT only has to be cleared at 33%.
  • Separate cut-offs apply for each category (Gen, OBC, SC, ST and others) as notified.
  • Final selection is based on Mains plus Interview marks, not on the prelims score.

Official cut-offs are released only by the commission (UPPSC) after each cycle, in its result PDFs at uppsc.up.nic.in. We do not publish unofficial figures.

Exam FAQs

Three — Prelims (objective, screening), Mains (descriptive) and the Interview. Final ranks come from Mains + Interview marks.
Yes. Question papers are bilingual and you may write the mains in Hindi or English.
Yes, prelims carries negative marking as notified by the commission — accuracy matters as much as coverage.
UPPSC dedicates significant weight to Uttar Pradesh — its history, geography, economy, culture and schemes — across prelims, mains and the interview. This is the portion most all-India platforms under-prepare.

UpRankers is independent and not affiliated with UPPSC. Details here are compiled from official notifications for guidance — always confirm with the commission's publications.