In its latest notification dated February 4, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has revised the attempt limits and eligibility for candidates already accepted into civil services.
In line with previous years, where the Commission specified certain restrictions for candidates in the civil services, this year the UPSC has outlined specific and expanded restrictions for the Indian Administrative, Police, and Foreign Services in its Civil Services Examination (CSE) Prelims 2026 notification.
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Under the revised rules, the restrictions on candidates already appointed to the IPS and other Group A services, including the IAS and IFS, have been clarified. The rules now specify when these candidates may or may not participate in later rounds of the civil services examinations.
Detailed recruitment notification
The recruitment notification for the Civil Services Exam 2026 was published on Wednesday, and eligible candidates can apply online at the UPSC website (upsc.gov.in). The last date to submit applications is February 24.
The Civil Services Exam will be held to recruit candidates for civil services, including the India Administrative Service (IAS), India Police Service (IPS), India Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and other Group A and Group B services across India.
According to the CSE 2026 recruitment notification, there will be a total of 933 vacancies available, as compared to 979 vacancies last year and 1,105 vacancies two years ago.
Eligibility curbs
Along with the notification, UPSC has added eligibility restrictions, with IPS becoming a key focus group. According to the 2026 notice, a candidate appointed to the IAS or IFS based on an earlier examination and who continues as a member of that service will not be eligible to appear in CSE 2026.
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If an appointment to IAS or IFS occurs after the CSE 2026 preliminary exam but before the mains, the candidate will not be allowed to take the UPSC Main exam even if they passed the prelims. If the appointment happens after the mains exam has started but before the results are announced, the candidate will not be considered for any service based on CSE 2026. Some restrictions were in place in earlier years, but there are now stricter limits for the IPS.
For the Indian Police Service, the UPSC has made the restrictions clearer: a candidate who has been selected or appointed to the IPS based on a previous exam will not be able to choose or be assigned to the IPS again based on the CSE 2026 result.
Can candidates assigned to IPS or other Group A services take the CSE 2027 again?
The commission has established a clear framework for candidates assigned to IPS or any Central Service Group A through CSE 2026 who want to sit for CSE 2027. These candidates can only take part in CSE 2027 if they receive a "one-time exemption from joining training" from the relevant authority.
They can postpone joining only the foundation course. If they do not join training or obtain an exemption, their service allocation under CSE 2026 will be cancelled, as stated in the notice.
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If they are recommended again in CSE 2027, candidates will have the choice to accept either the service assigned in 2026 or in 2027, while the other allocation will be cancelled.
However, they cannot take part in CSE 2028 or any later exam unless they resign from the allocated service. Seniority will be determined based on the service they ultimately join and will not be reduced.
