Eligibility criteria for UPSC Civil Services

The candidates must be a minimum of 21 years and must not be older than the 32 years of age to appear for the exam. Get the detailed eligibility criteria here for UPSC.

NATIONALITY

For Indian administrative service, Indian Foreign Service, & Indian Police Service

• A candidate must be a citizen of India.

For other services

• A citizen of India.
• A subject of Nepal.
• A subject of Bhutan.
• A Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 to get permanently settled in India.
• A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zaire, and Vietnam to get permanently settled in India.

AGE LIMITS:

As per the UPSC IAS Age Limit, the minimum age of the candidate should be 21 years and the maximum age should be 32 years as of the 1st of August, 2023 i.e., the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1991, and not later than 1st August, 2002.

However, there shall be a relaxation on the upper age limit of the candidates who belong to the reserved category.

Category	Age Relaxation
Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe	5 Years
Other Backward Classes	3 Years
Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence	3 Years
Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years of Military Service and have been released	5 Years
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PWBD) categories	10 Years

Note: The date of birth approved by the commission is that which is submitted in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or equivalent recognized by an Indian University.

IAS Age Limit
Category	Minimum Age Limit for UPSC	Maximum Age Limit for UPSC
General	21	32
EWS	21	32
SC/ST	21	37
OBC	21	35
Disabled Defence Services Personnel	31	35
Ex-Servicemen	21	37
PwBD	31	42

Educational Qualification

• As per UPSC IAS Educational Qualification, the candidates should possess a Graduation Degree from any recognized University in order to apply for the post.
• Candidates who are in their final year of the qualifying examination or awaiting results can also apply for the UPSC prelims exam. However, they will be required to will submit proof of passing the qualifying examination along with their application (i.e. Detailed Application Form-I) for the Main Examination
• Candidates who have professional and technical qualifications recognized by the Government as equivalent to a professional and technical degree are also eligible.
• Candidates who have passed the final professional M.B.B.S. or any equivalent professional examination but have not completed their internship at the time of application submission for the Civil Services (Main) Examination, will be provisionally admitted to the Civil Services Examination. However, they need to submit along with their application a copy of the certificate from the concerned authority of the University/Institution that they had passed the requisite final professional

UPSC IAS Number of Attempts 2023

As per the official notification, every candidate attempting the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be allowed up to six (6) attempts at the CSE. However, there shall be a relaxation in the number of attempts for the SC/ST/OBC and PwBD category candidates who are otherwise eligible. The number of attempts available to the reserved category candidates as per relaxation is shared below:

UPSC Exam Age Limit for General, SC/ST, OBC & Other categories
Category	UPSC Age Limit- Upper Relaxation	Number of Attempts
General/ EWS	32	6
OBC	35	9
SC/ST	37	Unlimited (Up to age limit)
Disabled Defence Services Personnel	35	9
Ex-Servicemen	37	9
Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD)	42	9