UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria

Introduction to UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria

To appear for UPSC Civil Services Exam, there are some eligibility criteria that candidates must satisfy. As this job comes up with lots of responsibilities, the candidate must be eligible for certain criteria decided by UPSC. The candidate shall ensure that he falls within the eligibility criteria failing to which the UPSC has full authority to cancel the candidate’s candidature. We will discuss the criteria for the UPSC exam in the coming sections in detail. Let us discuss the UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria.

What is UPSC Exam?

UPSC, or Union Public Service Commission, is recruiting committee for Civil Services across All India for group A and group B posts. The commission was formed in 1926, and its headquarter is in Delhi.

UPSC conducts an examination for CSE or Civil Services Examination. The committee designs the exam in a peculiar way so that candidates’ ability to present his/her capabilities in a consistent manner can be tested. The Exam is conducted for high-level posts in IAS, IFS, IPS, etc.

Types of UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria

There are different types of eligibility criteria that a candidate must satisfy in order to appear for the exam, such as:

1. Nationality

• The applicant must be an Indian citizen.
• A person of Indian origin but has the intention of settling in India.
• Came to India before 1962 and permanently settled in India.

2. Educational Qualification

• UPSC requires the candidate must be graduated or equivalent from a Govt recognized
• UPSC doesn’t have minimum percentage criteria. If the candidate is graduated, then what percentage he got doesn’t matter. He can appear for the exam.

3. Special Criteria

• If the applicant is already serving as IAS or IFS and wants to change, he cannot appear for the exam while already on the post.
• The applicant can resign and appear for the exam again

UPSC Exam Eligibility

UPSC Exam eligibility is measured by the number of attempts the candidate is allowed to take:

• Candidates are limited by the number of attempts to appear for the exam: Below are the attempts one candidate can take:
  • Unreserved / General / EWS: 6 Attempts
  • Other Backward Classes: 9 Attempts
  • ST / SC: Unlimited only if the candidate is within the age limit
  • Disabled Person: Unlimited only if the candidate is within the age limit

Because of Covid-19 Govt has allowed them to appear in exams even though they have exhausted their attempts. The only condition is that they must fall within the age criteria.

Below are the rules to count attempts for  a candidate:

• If the candidate has appeared in any one of the UPSC Pre exams, it counted as an attempt.
• If the candidate has appeared for per and mains both.

UPSC Eligibility Age

Age is one of the factors that a candidate must attain in order to appear for an exam. As the job comes up with a lot of responsibility, the candidate needs to be mature enough to understand the various scenarios that may come up with the job.

The Official age eligibility criteria for UPSC goes as below:

• The minimum age to appear for the exam is 21 years as of July 1 of the current year.
• The maximum age the candidate is allowed to appear for the exam is 32 years.
• If the candidate wants to appear for UPSC 2021 exam, he must be born Aug 2000 and must not exceed Aug 1989.
• There are some relaxations as well
  • ST-SC: 5-year age relaxation
  • OBC: 3-year age relaxation
  • Defense Service Personnel: 5 years of relaxation
  • PWD, blind and acid attack victims: 10 years

Recommended Articles

This is a guide to UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria. Here we discuss the Introduction, definition, and different types of Eligibility Criteria along with their Age limits. You may also have a look at the following articles to learn more –

1. Introduction to UPSC CSE Syllabus
2. UPSC CSE Eligibility
3. Guide to UPSC CSE Age Limit
4. UPSC Exam| How to Apply for the UPSC Exam?