UPSC Prelims Result 2026 Highlights: PIB fact checks prelims paper leak claim

UPSC typically qualifies candidates for Mains at approximately 12 to 13 times the total number of vacancies. With 933 posts notified, this year 13,343 candidates have qualified for Mains.

Both the GS Paper I and CSAT have negative marking of one-third of marks for each wrong answer. This year’s GS Paper I was described by experts as “analytically heavier” than recent years, potentially lowering attempted questions and compressing scores at the top end.

UPSC CSE 2026 fills vacancies across 21 Group A and Group B central government services. While IAS, IPS, and IFS attract the most attention, the examination also recruits for the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), Indian Revenue Service (Customs and GST), Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Defence Accounts Service, Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Indian Trade Service, Indian Corporate Law Service, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service, and several others

Step 1: Visit the official UPSC website at upsc.gov.in.

Step 2: On the homepage, click on the link for "Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2026 Result".

Step 3: Download the result PDF containing the roll numbers of qualified candidates.

Step 4: Open the PDF and use the Ctrl + F search function to enter your roll number.

If your roll number appears in the list, you have qualified for the Civil Services (Main) Examination 2026. Download and save the PDF for future reference.

UPSC has announced the CSE Prelims result today, on June 15. 13,343 candidates have qualiified for Mains.

UPSC has announced the CSE Prelims result at upsc.gov.in. Students can now check their qualifying status by logging in on the official website.

Out of the 8,19,372 candidates who have registered for UPSC CSE 2026 Prelims, approximately 2.70 lakh did not appear for the examination on May 24. The 67% attendance rate, while in line with historical UPSC attendance trends, points to the large volume of speculative or exploratory registrations that occur each cycle. UPSC registration does not require a significant financial commitment, the application fee is only Rs 100 for General category male candidates, which contributes to a high gap between registrations and appearances in this examination.

The results will be published in a PDF. To check the results, candidates have to visit the official website at upsc.gov.in. Then open the PDF and use the Ctrl+F or Find function to search for their roll number. Candidates who have qualified for the Mains, their roll number will appear in the list. The PDF consists of roll number in numerical order. Along with the results, category wise cut-off marks is also released by the UPSC.

UPSC does not send individual SMS or email alerts to candidates about the Prelims results or any other phase of the Civil Services Examination. Candidates should check the official website upsc.gov.in or its associated portal upsconline.nic.in for updates on results. When the results are announced, the commission posts a notice on its official website. For telephonic inquiries, UPSC’s Facilitation Counter at Dholpur House, New Delhi, is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on working days at the numbers 23385271, 23381125, or 23098543.

For the first time in 2026, UPSC has released the provisional answer key on May 28, four days after the exam. This change gives candidates the ability to assume scores, identify potential errors, and engage with the examination outcome much earlier than was possible in any previous UPSC CSE cycle.

Candidates selected for the Indian Administrative Service go to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie for a Foundation Course, which usually lasts two to three months and is attended by officers from the Indian Forest Service and some Central Services. The training academy for the Indian Police Service is located at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. Officers of the Indian Foreign Service receive their training at the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service in New Delhi. Training schedules start after the appointment and allocation of cadres.

UPSC maintains a consolidated reserve list after every CSE cycle for use in case vacancies arise due to a recommended candidate declining appointment, being found medically or documentarily ineligible, or due to court orders. In the 2024 cycle, the reserve list comprised 230 candidates across categories. In the 2025 cycle, the figure has not yet been officially confirmed.

The CSE exam is conducted in three stages:

Stage 1: Prelims (OMR, qualifying exam)

Stage 2: Mains (Written, 9 papers, 1750 marks) — August 21, 2026

Stage 3: Personality Test/Interview (275 marks)

– Notification released: January 14, 2026

– Application window: Jan 14 – Feb 3, 2026

– Prelims exam: May 24, 2026

– Mains exam: August 21, 2026 (5 days)

– Interview: January-February 2027 (expected)

– Final result: April-May 2027 (expected)

Regardless of the outcome, a candidate’s attempt is counted each time they appear in one or more Preliminary exam papers under UPSC regulations. A candidate has used up one attempt if they take the GS Paper 1, CSAT, or both papers. A candidate does not use an attempt if they register but do not appear in any paper. Subject to the upper age limit, the maximum attempts are six for General, nine for OBC, and unlimited for SC and ST. These restrictions are cumulative for all years and do not reset in between cycles.

21 Group A and Group B central government positions are filled by UPSC CSE 2026. The exam is used to recruit for the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), Indian Revenue Service (Customs and GST), Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Defence Accounts Service, Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Indian Trade Service, Indian Corporate Law Service, Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service, and several other positions, though IAS, IPS, and IFS receive the most attention.

Candidates are assigned to services according to their DAF-submitted rank, category, and preference order.

The official website, upsc.gov.in, will host the UPSC CSE Prelims 2026 results in PDF format. Candidates can view their results by opening the PDF and searching for their roll number using the Ctrl+F (or Find) function. The qualifying roll numbers will be listed in numerical order in the PDF. Those whose roll numbers are on this list are eligible to take the Mains exam.

Along with the result PDF, UPSC will also release category-wise cutoff marks. In order to determine the minimal score needed in General Studies Paper 1 for their particular category during that exam cycle, candidates can utilize these cutoff marks.

The UPSC Prelims result will only be available on the official website at upsc.gov.in. The result will be published under the ‘What’s New’ section of the homepage. Candidates are advised to only follow the official website to access results and avoid any fake links.

The examination is expected to fill approximately 933 vacancies, including 33 positions reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). Among these, 7 vacancies are designated for candidates with blindness and low vision, 11 for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, 8 for candidates with locomotor disabilities, which includes individuals with cerebral palsy, leprosy-cured persons, people with dwarfism, acid attack survivors, and muscular dystrophy. Additionally, 7 vacancies are reserved for candidates with multiple disabilities within the aforementioned categories, excluding the combination of blindness and deafness (B+D).

After the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination results are announced, the Commission will open a 10-day application window for candidates who qualify for the Civil Services (Main) Examination. During this period, qualified candidates must log in to the official portal to update or reconfirm their details before submitting the application form. This step is mandatory for the issuance of the e-Admit Card. Candidates who do not complete this process within the specified time will not be allowed to participate in the subsequent stages of the examination. Additionally, those required to pay the examination fee must complete their payment during this window.

Candidates must compulsorily indicate their order of preference for the services participating in the Civil Services Examination 2026 and for which they are willing to be considered for appointment. If recommended by the UPSC, candidates will be considered for allocation only to the services listed in their preference order, subject to meeting all other eligibility and allocation criteria prescribed by the government.

Candidates who do not submit preferences for aCandidates must indicate their order of preference for the services participating in the Civil Services Examination 2026, for which they are willing to be considered for appointment. If recommended by the UPSC, candidates will only be considered for allocation to the services listed in their preference order, provided they meet all other eligibility and allocation criteria set by the government.

Candidates who do not submit their preferences for any of the participating services will not be considered for service allocation, even if they qualify in the examination.ny of the participating services will not be considered for service allocation, even if they qualify in the examination.

The UPSC typically releases a name-wise list of qualified candidates a few days after announcing the preliminary results, in addition to the roll-number-wise result PDF. Once the official announcement is made, the IE Education portal will provide the UPSC Prelims Result 2026 in a name-wise PDF format.

The UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination cutoff is determined solely by candidates’ scores in General Studies (GS) Paper I. The CSAT (Paper II) is qualifying in nature, and candidates must secure at least 33 per cent marks, or 66 out of 200, to clear it.

A high score in CSAT cannot compensate for a GS Paper I score below the cutoff. Similarly, qualifying the CSAT alone does not make a candidate eligible for the Main examination unless they also meet the required cutoff in GS Paper I. For reference, the General category cutoff in GS Paper I for the 2025 examination was 92.66 marks out of 200. The UPSC CSE 2026 Preliminary Examination results are expected to be announced by June 15.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced over 400 vacancies across 98 distinct posts under its direct recruitment scheme. Eligible candidates can apply for the posts through the Online Recruitment Applications (ORA) portal at upsconline.nic.in/ora.

According to the recruitment notification, the online application window which began on June 13 will go till July 3, 6 pm.

The advertised vacancies span a diverse range of departments and ministries within the Central Government, as well as Union Territory administrations. Notable opportunities include positions such as Junior Scientific Officers, Operations Officers, Air Safety Officers, Assistant Directors, and various medical and teaching faculty roles, including Associate Professors and Assistant Professors at the College of Military Engineering in Pune.

Delhi emerged as the largest examination hub in the country, with 70,885 candidates appearing across 144 examination venues. Hyderabad recorded 44,209 candidates at 100 centres, while Patna saw 39,147 aspirants taking the test across 79 locations.

A total of around 5.49 lakh candidates appeared for the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, accounting for nearly 67 per cent of the 8.19 lakh registered applicants