Eligibility

(I) 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:—

  • (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 before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
  • (e) ) 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.

(I) Age Limits

(a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the year intended to appear in CS Examination. Necessary action to make corresponding changes in respective Rules/Regulations pertaining to various services is being taken separately.

(b) The upper age-limit prescribed above will be relaxable:

  • (i) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate belongs to a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;
  • (ii) 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;
  • (iii) 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;
  • (iv) up to 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 1st August, 2019 and have been released;
  • (a) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2019 otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency; or
  • (b) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service; or
  • (c) on invalidment.
  • (v) ) 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, 2019 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.
  • (vi) up to a maximum of 10 years in the case of
  • (a) ) blindness and low vision;
  • (b) deaf and hard of hearing;
  • (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;
  • (d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; and
  • (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness.
  • (vii) up to a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu and Kashmir during the period from the 1st day of January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989.
  • Note I:— Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes and the Other Backward Classes who are also covered under any other clauses of Rule 6(b) above, viz. those coming under the category of Ex-servicemen, persons domiciled in the State of J & K , Persons of Benchmark Disabilities [viz. (a) blindness and low vision; (b) deaf and hard of hearing; (c) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy; (d) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness; and (e) multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (a) to (d) including deaf-blindness etc.] will be eligible for grant of cumulative age-relaxation under both the categories.
  • Note II:— The details of Functional Classification (FC) and Physical Requirements (PR) of each service is indicated in this Notice which are identified and prescribed by the respective Cadre Controlling Authorities (CCAs) as per the provisions of Section 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Only those category (ies) of disability (ies) mentioned in the Notice shall apply for the examination under Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) categories. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply. Therefore, the candidates belonging to the Persons with Benchmark Disability categories are advised to read it carefully before applying for the examination.
  • Note III:— The term Ex-servicemen will apply to the persons who are defined as Ex-servicemen in the Ex-servicemen (Re-employment in Civil Services and Posts) Rules, 1979, as amended from time to time.
  • Note IV:— The age concession under para 3(II)(iv) and (v) 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 his/her own request or being relieved by the employer after earning his or her pension.
  • Note V:— Notwithstanding the provision of age relaxation under para 3 (b)(vi) above, candidates of Persons with Benchmark Disability will be considered to be eligible for appointment only if he/she (after such physical examination as the Government or appointing authority, as the case may be, may prescribe) is found to satisfy the requirements of physical and medical standards for the concerned Services/Posts to be allocated to the Persons with Benchmark Disability by the Government. Save as provided above, the age-limits prescribed can in no case be relaxed. The date of birth, accepted by the Commission is that entered in the Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate or in a certificate recognized by an Indian University as equivalent to Matriculation or in an extract from a Register of Matriculates maintained by a University which extract must be certified by the proper authority of the University or in the Higher Secondary or an equivalent examination certificate. These certificates are required to be submitted only at the time of applying for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. No other document relating to age like horoscopes, affidavits, birth extracts from Municipal Corporation, Service records and the like will be accepted. The expression Matriculation/Higher Secondary Examination Certificate in this part of the Instruction include the alternative certificates mentioned above.
  • Note I:— Candidate should note that only the date of birth as recorded in the Matriculation/Secondary Examination certificate or an equivalent certificate on the date of submission of application will be accepted by the Commission, and no subsequent request for its change will be considered or granted.
  • Note II:— Candidates should also note that once a date of birth has been claimed by them and entered in the records of the Commission for the purpose of admission to an Examination, no change will be allowed subsequently or at any other Examination of the Commission on any grounds whatsoever.
  • Note II:— The candidate should exercise due care while entering their date of birth in the online Application Form for the Preliminary Examination. If on verification at any subsequent stage, any variation is found in their date of birth from the one entered in their matriculation or equivalent Examination certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the Rules.
  • (III) Minimum Educational Qualifications : The candidate must hold a degree of any of 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 Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply. University Under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
  • Note I:— The candidate should exercise due care while entering their date of birth in the online Application Form for the Preliminary Examination. If on verification at any subsequent stage, any variation is found in their date of birth from the one entered in their matriculation or equivalent Examination certificate, disciplinary action will be taken against them by the Commission under the Rules. (III) Minimum Educational Qualifications :The candidate must hold a degree of any of 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 Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply. University Under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
  • Note II:— In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who does not have any of the foregoing qualifications as a qualified candidate provided that he/she has passed examination conducted by the other Institutions, the standard of which in the opinion of the Commission justifies his/her admission to the examination.
  • Note III:— Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by the Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the examination.
  • Note IV:— 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 (IV) Number of attempts: Every candidate appearing at the examination, who is otherwise eligible, shall be permitted six attempts at the examination: Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts will not apply in the case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 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 nine. The relaxation will be available to the candidates who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates : Provided further that candidates of Persons with Benchmark Disability will get as many attempts as are available to other candidates who do not belong to Persons with Benchmark Disability of his or her community, subject to the condition that a candidate of Persons with Benchmark Disability belonging to the General Category shall be eligible for nine attempts. Necessary action to make corresponding changes in respective Rules/regulations pertaining to various services is being taken separately. The relaxation will be available to the candidates of Persons with Benchmark Disability who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates. Government strives to have a workforce which reflects gender balance and women candidates are encouraged to apply.
  • Note I:— An attempt at a Preliminary Examination shall be deemed to be an attempt at the Civil Services Examination.
  • (I):— 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.
  • (II):— Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.
  • (III)):— Notwithstanding the disqualification/cancellation of candidature, the fact of appearance of the candidate at the examination will count as an attempt.
  • (IV) Restrictions on applying for the examination:
  • (a) 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, 2019 is over 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, 2019 notwithstanding his/her having qualified in the Preliminary Examination, 2019. Also provided that if such a candidate is appointed to IAS/IFS after the commencement of the Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2019 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, 2019.
  • (b) A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Police Service on the results of an earlier examination and continues to be a member of that service will not be eligible to opt for the Indian Police Service in Civil Services Examination, 2019.
  • (VI) Physical Standards: Candidates must be physically fit according to physical standards for admission to Civil Services Examination, 2019 as per guidelines given in Appendix-III of Rules for Examination published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary each year in February/March.