New Delhi. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the notification of Civil Services Examination-2026. This time recruitment will be done for a total of 933 posts. The last date for application has been fixed as 24th February. Along with the notification, the Commission has made many important changes in the examination process and service rules, which will impact lakhs of candidates.
UPSC has clarified that now entry into the examination centers will be available only after face authentication. Along with this, the biggest change has been made in the rules related to re-examination after selection. Now the facility of repeatedly appearing for civil services examination while in service will not be the same as before. These new rules will come into effect from 2026.
According to the Commission, there has been no change in the old rules related to IAS and IFS, but the opportunity to improve ranks for other services, especially Group-A and IPS, has been limited. Under the new provisions, the selected officer will get an opportunity to improve his performance only once.
For example, if a candidate is selected in IPS in 2026, he can re-appear in 2027 to improve his rank. However, if after this he wants to appear in the examination again, it will be mandatory for him to resign from the service. That is, the way to take the examination repeatedly while in service has been completely closed.
Moreover, candidates who are already selected or appointed in IPS will not be able to get IPS again from CSE-2026. Whereas, if a candidate gets selected in IAS or IFS after Prelims but before Mains, then he will not be allowed to write Mains exam.
UPSC has also clarified that if the candidates selected in CSE-2026 want to improve their rank in CSE-2027, then permission will have to be taken for it. This exemption will be limited to the Foundation course only and will be considered as a “one-time exemption”. If the candidate neither joins the training nor takes this exemption, the service availed on the basis of both CSE-2026 and CSE-2027 will stand automatically cancelled. Resignation will be mandatory for appearing in CSE-2028 or later examination.
It is noteworthy that every year more than 10 lakh candidates appear in the Civil Services Examination. About 10 lakh applications were received in 2025, out of which 14,161 candidates reached Mains and final selection was done on 979 posts. About 13 lakh applications were received in 2024 and 2023 also. After the new rules, major changes can be seen in the strategy and career planning of Civil Services Examination.