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 University under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.
NOTES:
- Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s examination but have not been informed of the results as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination. All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite examination with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination. The applications for the Main Examination are called sometime in the month of August/September.
- In exceptional cases the Union Public Service Commission may treat a candidate who has not 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.
- 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 examination.
- 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.
NATIONALITY
- For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.
- For other services, a candidate must be either:
- a citizen of India, or
- a subject of Nepal, or
- a subject of Bhutan, or
- a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
- 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.
- Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.
Note: 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.
AGE LIMITS
A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years as on 1st August of the year in which he/she is appearing for the Preliminary Examination. That is, a candidate appearing for the Preliminary Examination of the year 2018 should be between 21-32 years of age as on 1st August, 2018.
AGE RELAXATION
The upper age limit prescribed above (of not having attained the age of 32 years as on 1st August) will be relaxed as in:
| Category | Age Relaxation |
| For candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe | Upto a maximum of 5 years |
| For candidates belonging to Other Backward Classes who are eligible to avail of reservation applicable to such candidates | Upto a maximum of 3 years |
| For candidates domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989 | Upto a maximum of 5 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 | Upto a maximum of 3 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 (of the year in which s/he is appearing for the Preliminary Examination) and have been released (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August of the year in which he/she is appearing for the Preliminary Examination) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment. | Upto a maximum of 5 years |
| In the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August of the year in which s/he is appearing for the Preliminary Examination 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. | Upto a maximum of 5 years |
| For blind, deaf-mute and orthopedically handicapped candidates | Upto a maximum of 10 years |
For more details (rules, exceptions, explanation, etc) on any of these criteria,Download IAS EXAM SYLLABUS
