Every year, UPSC releases the UPSC IAS Eligibility Criteria 2025 in the information brochure upon the start of the application form. Before filling out the UPSC CSE Application Form 2025, aspirants are advised to check out the minimal UPSC CSE 2025 Eligibility Criteria in order to not lose their candidature.
Eligibility criteria stipulate the minimum UPSC IAS Age Limit 2025, nationality, educational qualifications, and number of attempts available for each category. The general UPSC CSE 2025 age limit is 21 years to 32 years. The upper age limit is subject to change as per the different categories of the candidates.
Check out the UPSC IAS 2025 Eligibility Criteria, like age limit, nationality, educational requirements, number of attempts, physical standards, and many more, from here:
UPSC 2025 Eligibility Criteria Overview:
Check out the broad details of UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria 2025 from the below table:
UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria | |
Specifications | Eligibility Criteria |
Age Limit | Generic: 21years to 32 years |
Age Relaxation | General: 0 Years OBC: 3Years SC/ST: 5 Years |
Minimum Educational Qualification | Graduate |
Nationality | Indian |
Number of Attempts | General/EWS – 6 OBC/PwBD – 9 SC/ST – Unlimited |
UPSC CSE Age Limit 2025
UPSC CSE Age Limit specifies the minimum and maximum age limit for the candidates who are interested in applying for UPSC exam 2025. UPSC IAS Age Limit 2025 differs from category to category and candidates must check out these upper age limit meticuluously in roder to not lose their candidature.
UPSC Age Limit 2025 | |
Category | Age Limit |
General | Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 32 years |
OBC | Three years relaxation Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 35 years |
SC/ST | Five years relaxation Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 37 years |
Defence Services Personnel, disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country | Three years relaxation Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 35 years |
Ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and Emergency Commissioned Officers (ECOs)/ Short Service Commissioned Officers (SSCOs) who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2025 | Five years relaxation Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 37 years |
PwBD | Ten years relaxation Lower Age Limit: 21 years Upper Age Limit: 42 years |
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories include:
(i) blindness and low vision;
(ii) deaf and hard of hearing;
(iii) locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy;
(iv) autism, intellectual disability, specific learning disability and mental illness;
(v) multiple disabilities from amongst person under clauses (i) to (iv) including deaf-blindness.
Related Links | |
Public Administration Optional | |
UPSC Syllabus | |
UPSC CSE Admit Card 2025 | |
Prelims Study Material | |
UPSC Prelims | |
UPSC Mains | |
IAS Toppers |
UPSC CSE Qualifications 2025
Aspirants willing to appear in UPSC Civil services exam 2025, need to attain the below mentioned eaducational qualifications:
Specifications | Educational Requirements |
Generic Requirements | Graduate degree of any of the 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 University |
Final Year Student/ Result Awaiting | Candidates in their final year of graduation or awaiting results are also eligible to appear for the UPSC Prelims Examination. However, they must provide proof of having passed the required examination while applying for the UPSC Mains Examination. |
Possessing professional or technical qualifications | Candidates possessing professional and technical qualifications which are recognised by Government as equivalent to professional and technical degree would also be eligible for admission to the Civil Services Examination. |
Final Year MBBS/ Medical Student | Medical students who have passed the final year of MBBS or any another medical degree course, but have not completed their internship, can also apply for UPSC CSE Exam 2025. However, they need to submit a certificate of course completion from the concerned authority of the University/Institution along with their Mains Exam application. |
UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria 2025: Nationality
- For IAS, IFS & IPS
The criteria pertaining to the nationality of candidates aspiring to join the esteemed Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the prestigious Indian Police Service (IPS), and the distinguished Indian Foreign Service (IFS) are explicitly defined as follows:
For these premier services, it is mandatory that the candidate be a citizen of India.
- For all other Services
However, for all other services encompassed within the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) examination framework, the eligibility criteria regarding nationality are somewhat broader, accommodating individuals who fall into any one of the following categories:
- An individual holding citizenship of India.
- An individual recognized as a citizen of Nepal.
- An individual recognized as a citizen of Bhutan.
- A Tibetan refugee who arrived in India prior to the first day of January in the year 1962 with the clear intention of establishing permanent residency within the Indian territory.
- A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) who has migrated to India from specific countries, namely Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, the East African nations of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ethiopia, Zaire, and Vietnam, with the aim of settling permanently in India.
It is important to note that candidates who are citizens of Nepal, citizens of Bhutan, or Tibetan refugees are required to provide a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India. While these candidates are permitted to appear for the Civil Services Examination prior to obtaining this essential certificate, the formal offer of appointment will only be extended upon the official issuance of the certificate of eligibility by the Government of India.
Number of Attempts in UPSC CSE Exam 2025
The number of attempts allowed for the UPSC CSE Exam 2025 varies based on the category of the candidates. Here are the attempt limits:
Category | Number of Attempts |
General | Six attempts until the age of 32 years |
OBC | Six attempts until the age of 32 years |
SC/ST | Unlimited attempts until the age of 37 years |
Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) | Nine attempts until the age of 42 years |
EWS Category | Six attempts until the age of 32 years |
UPSC CSE Eligibility Criteria 2025: Restrictions on Applying
(1) Existing IAS or IFS officers are ineligible for CSE-2025 at any stage. Appointment to these services after Prelims disqualifies Mains; appointment after Mains begins but before results disqualifies final selection.
(2) Candidates previously selected for IPS cannot opt for or be allocated IPS in CSE-2025.
UPSC CSE Physical and Medical Eligibility
It is of paramount importance that individuals aspiring to the esteemed position of a Bureaucrat demonstrate the requisite physical fitness and capabilities, a crucial aspect meticulously outlined within the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) eligibility framework.
- Following the successful navigation through the various stages of the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), candidates are required to undergo a comprehensive medical evaluation. Only upon satisfactory clearance of this specific medical assessment do candidates attain the final eligibility for appointment to the coveted ranks of Civil Servants.
- For the selection of officers, particularly those destined for roles within the Indian Police Service (IPS) overseeing districts, the Indian Railway services, and the police services of regions such as Pondicherry, adherence to specific standard physical measurements, encompassing weight, height, and chest dimensions, is deemed necessary.
- Conversely, for those opting for non-technical domains within the Civil Services, the stipulated physical standards are less rigorous. Nevertheless, it remains an expectation that all candidates possess a fundamental level of physical fitness and maintain a sound state of mental well-being to effectively discharge their duties.
- The precise parameters defining these physical standards are meticulously detailed within the guidelines provided in Appendix-III of the official Rules for Examination, as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, serving as the definitive reference for these requirements.
