UPSC Age Limit Calculator (CSE)
See your exact age on 1 August, the date UPSC counts age on for the Civil Services Examination, whether you are within 21-32 or your relaxed limit, and how many of your attempts are left, using the CSE 2026 notice.
- 100% free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
- Updated October 2026
1Your date of birth
Type it as day, month, year, for example 15-08-2001.
2Exam and age limits
The cutoff date fixed in the notice.
Leave the limits empty to see only your exact age on that date. The upper limit is applied the way current notices print it: "18-27 years" means born not earlier than the cutoff date minus 27 years plus one day.
3Your result
Enter your date of birth
Exact years, months and days, plus the total days.
Pick the exam, post and category on the left. The check uses the born-between dates of the official notice.
| Category | Upper age (years) | Born not earlier than | Born not later than |
|---|
This is a helper, not a decision. Your final eligibility is decided by the recruiting body under its notice, using the date of birth in your Class 10 certificate. Read the notice before you apply.
The UPSC age rule, word for word
UPSC states its age limit more precisely than most recruiters. The Civil Services Examination 2026 notice (No. 05/2026-CSE, dated 4 February 2026) says a candidate "must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 32 years on the 1st of August, 2026", that is, born not earlier than 2 August 1994 and not later than 1 August 2005.
So the limit is about one date only. It does not matter how old you are when you apply in February or when you sit the Prelims in May; what counts is your age on 1 August of the exam year. And "not attained 32" means you must still be 31 on that day: if your 32nd birthday falls on or before 1 August, you are out under the general limit.
Relaxation in the upper age limit
| Category | Relaxation | Upper limit (CSE 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| General and EWS | none | under 32 |
| OBC eligible for reservation | 3 years | under 35 |
| SC and ST | 5 years | under 37 |
| PwBD (benchmark disabilities listed in the notice) | 10 years | under 42, more with SC/ST/OBC |
| Ex-servicemen, ECOs and SSCOs with at least 5 years of military service, released as the notice describes | 5 years | under 37, more with SC/ST/OBC |
| Defence services personnel disabled in operations | 3 years | under 35, more with SC/ST/OBC |
Note-I of the notice makes these cumulative for SC, ST and OBC candidates who also fall in another group, so an OBC candidate with a benchmark disability gets 3 + 10 = 13 years. Apart from these, the notice says the age limits "can in no case be relaxed". Pick your category and, if it applies, the PwBD or ex-serviceman option in the calculator; the table under the result shows the born-between dates for each category.
Attempts are counted separately
Being within the age limit is not enough if you have used up your attempts. The CSE 2026 notice allows:
- 6 attempts for General and EWS candidates;
- 9 attempts for OBC candidates, and for PwBD candidates of the General, EWS and OBC categories;
- no limit for SC and ST candidates, and SC/ST PwBD candidates, as long as they are within the age limit.
An attempt at the Preliminary Examination counts as an attempt at CSE, and sitting even one Prelims paper counts, even if your candidature is cancelled later. Type the number of attempts you have used into the calculator and it shows how many are left for your category.
Your date of birth is the one on your certificate
UPSC accepts only the date of birth in your Matriculation or Secondary School Leaving Certificate (or an equivalent certificate the notice lists). Horoscopes, affidavits and municipal birth extracts are not accepted, and once a date is in your UPSC registration it cannot be changed for later exams. Enter that same date here.
Planning for the next CSE
If you are close to the upper limit, it helps to know the last exam year you can take. The calculator shows "within the upper limit until" a date: any cutoff up to that day still passes, if the rules stay the same. Since CSE counts age on 1 August, compare that date with 1 August of each coming year. Treat this as planning only. The CSE 2027 notice had not been issued on 24 October 2026, and each year's notice is the one that applies.
Other exam age calculators
Need more options? Open the full Age Calculator for Exams (Age as on Cutoff Date).
Frequently asked questions
What is the UPSC CSE age limit for OBC candidates?
The upper limit of 32 is relaxed by 3 years for OBC candidates eligible for reservation, so an OBC candidate for CSE 2026 must not have reached 35 on 1 August 2026, meaning born on or after 02-08-1991. The minimum age of 21 stays the same.
Is the UPSC age limit different for female candidates?
No. The CSE 2026 notice sets the same 21-32 limit and the same relaxations for women and men. Women are exempt from the application fee, but that is a fee rule, not an age rule.
How many attempts does a General candidate get in UPSC CSE?
Six. OBC candidates and PwBD candidates of the General, EWS or OBC categories get nine, and SC and ST candidates have no limit on attempts while they are within the age limit. Appearing in even one paper of the Prelims counts as an attempt.
Can I calculate my age for UPSC CSE 2027?
UPSC had not issued the CSE 2027 notice by 24 October 2026. You can change the cutoff date to 01-08-2027 in the calculator to see your age on that date under the 2026 rules, and the page will say clearly that the date was changed. Confirm against the 2027 notice when it is published.
Do SC/ST and PwBD relaxations add up for UPSC?
Yes. Note-I of the CSE notice says SC, ST and OBC candidates who are also ex-servicemen or PwBD get cumulative relaxation under both. So a PwBD candidate from the SC category gets 5 + 10 = 15 years over the limit of 32.