New Delhi, Feb 5: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has made face authentication mandatory for all aspirants at examination centres and introduced strict eligibility restrictions for candidates already appointed to certain services.
These changes were announced in an official notification for the Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2026, released on Thursday.
The commission announced 933 vacancies for this year’s recruitment cycle, which include 33 posts reserved for persons with benchmark disability. The preliminary examination of the competitive examination will be held on May 24, it said.
The prestigious exam is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages — preliminary, main and interview– to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others.
“In order to ensure a secure and smooth examination process, all candidates will be required to undergo face authentication at the examination venue mandatorily. Candidates are advised to enter the examination venue well in time for face authentication/identity verification and frisking,” the UPSC notification read.
Applicants are strongly advised “to use their Aadhaar card as ID documents for easy, effortless and seamless verification and authentication of ID and other details”, it said.
The notification clarifies new “restrictions” aimed at candidates who have already secured positions through previous examinations.
According to the notification, any candidate currently serving in the IAS or the IFS “will not be eligible to appear” for the 2026 examination.
If a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the preliminary exam, they will not be eligible to appear in the “main” phase of the test “notwithstanding having qualified” in the prelims. If appointed after the commencement of the main exam but before the results are declared, they will not be considered for any service/post under the CSE 2026 results.
Candidates allocated to the IPS or Central Service Group ‘A’ in the CSE-2026 “will have the option to appear in immediate subsequent CSE-2027” exam, provided they obtain a one-time exemption from joining their training from the concerned authority.
The UPSC has also cut down from existing seven to five days, the time frame for making representation on the question paper.
Other Backward Classes candidates applying for CSE-2026 must produce OBC (non-creamy layer) certificate based on the income for the financial year 2022-2023, 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 and issued on/after April 1, 2025 (after the completion of FY 2024-25) but not later than the closing date of the submission of application form for civil services prelims, which is February 24, the UPSC said.
Applicants are also required to upload their photograph and capture their “live photograph” while filling up the Common Application Form (CAF). They are required to sign three times (one below the other) on a plain white paper using a black ink and upload the same while filling up the CAF, the notification said.
“The candidates will not be allowed to withdraw their applications after the submission of the same. Further no correction /alteration/modification in any field(s) of the application form is allowed after submission,” it said, adding that applicants are required to submit their applications online via the official website at https://upsconline.nic.in.
