UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026 Age Limit

The UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026 Age Limit is different for a wide spectrum of categories like General, OBC, SC/ST, PwBD, and Ex-Servicemen for both the Preliminary and Main exams. Your age will be considered as of August 1, 2026, and the minimum age limit is 21 years and the maximum age limit is 32 years for General and EWS category candidates. However, candidates belonging to OBC, SC/ST, PwBD, and ex-servicemen categories can avail themselves of age relaxations.

UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026 Age Limit

To appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026, you must have obtained a Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university in India. No changes have been introduced to the upper and lower age limits to apply for the UPSC CSE exam 2026. Find the minimum and maximum age limits for different categories as mentioned below.

UPSC Exam 2026 Age Limit for General Category

• If you belong to the General category, you must have attained the age of 21 years to be eligible to apply for the UPSC Civil Services Exam 2026.
• At the time of the Mains exam, your age must not have reached 32 years, as of August 1, 2026. This implies, your birth date must not be earlier than August 2, 1994 and not later than August 2, 2005. If you turn 32 on or before August 1, 2026, you will not be considered eligible for the UPSC exam 2026.
• However, to ensure that all categories get equal opportunity and inclusivity in the UPSC Civil Services 2026 exam, age relaxation is provided to candidates belonging to various categories.

The age relaxation for each category as offered by UPCS has been provided in the table below:

UPSC Exam 2026 Age Limit for SC/ST Category

• If you belong to the SC/ST category, you become eligible for maximum age relaxation of 5 years.
• This implies that the maximum age limit for SC/ST candidates is 37 years in the UPSC exam 2026.
• Hence, you must be born in or after August 1988 to avail of the age relaxation.

UPSC Exam 2026 Age Limit for PwBD Category

• If you belong to the Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) category, you can avail yourself of age relaxation up to a maximum of 10 years.
• Thus, the maximum age limit for PwBD candidates to appear for the UPSC 2026 exam is 42 years.
• However, you must possess the following disabilities to be recognized under this category:

1. Blindness and low vision
2. Deaf and hard of hearing
3. Locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy
4. Autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness
5. Multiple disabilities from amongst persons under clauses (i) to (iv), including deaf-blindness.

UPSC Exam 2026 Age Limit for OBC Category

• You are entitled to avail yourself of age relaxation up to a maximum of three years for the UPSC exam 2026 if you belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
• Thus, you are eligible to appear for the exam until you attain the age of 35 years.
• It is mandatory for you to be born on or after August 1990.
• Additionally, you will not be qualified for age relaxation if you are not considered eligible to avail of the reservation applicable to OBC candidates.
• Cumulative age-relaxation under both OBC & PwBD categories will be provided to you if you belong to the OBC category that is also covered under the Ex-servicemen or PwBD categories.

UPSC Exam 2026 Age Limit for Ex-servicemen

According to eligibility requirements laid by UPSC, Ex-servicemen are eligible for a variety of age relaxations as mentioned below:

UPSC 2026 Age Limit for General Ex-servicemen

• Only Ex-servicemen, such as Commissioned Officers, Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs), and Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs), who have completed at least five years of military service and have been released by August 2026 will be considered eligible under this category.
• Age relaxation of up to 5 years will be granted to them.

UPSC 2026 Age Limit for Defence Services Personnel

Up to 3 years of age relaxation will be allowed to Defense Services personnel who were released due to a physical impairment acquired during hostilities with a foreign nation or a troubled area. However, they can only avail of this age relaxation if they meet the UPSC 2026 eligibility criteria.

UPSC 2026 Age Limit for ECOs/SSCOs with Extended Service

Up to 5 years of age relaxation will be granted to ECOs/SSCOs if:

• they have completed five years of initial military service by August 2026
• they are undergoing prolonged service, i.e. their service has been extended beyond five years

To add to this, General category candidates are allowed to take the UPSC exam 6 times. The number of attempts for OBC and PwBD candidates increases to a maximum of 9 times. In contrast, SC, ST, and PwBD (SC/ST) category candidates have the privilege to appear for the exam for an unlimited number of times.

For further details on the UPSC CSE 2026 exam & eligibility criteria, reach out to us on the Collegedekho QnA Zone or call us at 1800-572-9877.

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