New Delhi: In its latest Civil Services Preliminary Examination notification, the Union Public Service Commission has updated the rules on the number of attempts and eligibility for candidates who are already in the civil services. The Commission had, in the past, placed certain restrictions on such candidates, but in the upcoming 2026 exams notification, these restrictions have been expanded and made clearer, especially for those appointed as IAS, IPS and IFS.
The new rules, released on 4 February on the UPSC website, clarify when candidates already serving in the IPS and other Group ‘A’ services, including the IAS and IFS can or cannot appear in future civil services examinations (CSE). According to the new rules, candidates already in IAS and IFS, cannot retake the CSE unless they resign.
If a person is in the IPS and appears for the exam again, they may do so, but the IPS will be permanently locked, and the candidate will not be eligible for the service again a second time. Adding that if a candidate gets a service in the CSE 2026, they will only be allowed one improvement attempt in 2027.
Multiple attempts end once the one-time improvement window is exhausted.
“A candidate who is appointed to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) based on the results of an earlier Examination and continues to be a member of that Service will not be eligible to appear at the Civil Services Examination-2026,” says the UPSC notification.
“In case such a candidate is appointed to the IAS or IFS after the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-2026 is over and the candidate continues to be a member of that Service, the candidate shall not be eligible to appear in the Civil Services (Main) Examination-2026,” the notification added.
In the past, however, individuals from other services could give the exam multiple times to improve their ranks so they could get a better service or cadre. For example, if a candidate became IPS, they could still appear again to improve their rank to become IAS or IFS, but now they can appear only once and can opt only for either IAS or IFS if they get it.
Also Read: IAS, IPS cadre allocation has structural problems. Why the revised policy doesn’t solve them
IPS rank improvement pathway narrowed
Many IPS officers reappear in the Civil Services Examination to improve their rank and move to preferred services. UPSC 2023 topper Aditya Srivastava, for instance, had earlier qualified for the IPS and was undergoing training before securing Rank 1 and moving to the IAS.
Now the UPSC wants to change such practices.
“A candidate who has been selected or appointed to the Indian Police Service on the basis of the results of the earlier examination shall not be eligible to opt for or be allocated to the Indian Police Service on the basis of the result of CSE-2026.”
But the 2027 attempt comes with stricter conditions. If a candidate gets a better service, they must choose between the service offered in 2026 and the new one. If they get no service in 2027, they can go back to their 2026 service. However, once candidates use the 2027 improvement attempt, they will be ineligible for the CSE unless they resign.
With respect to a candidate who has been allocated to any service based on CSE-2025 or earlier years, they will be given a one-time opportunity to appear in either CSE-2026 or CSE-2027 without the need to resign from service.
As of now, candidates from other services are allowed to appear to improve their rank for a better service and cadre, but now they won’t be able to do so.
“If he/she is finally recommended on the basis of CSE-2027, he/she can accept the service allocated either on the basis of CSE-2026 or CSE-2027… His/her allocation to the service other than the one opted shall stand cancelled at this stage,” says the UPSC notification.
Coaching institutes and mentors working with civil services aspirants say the move could significantly alter preparation strategies, as officers already in service will now have a far narrower window to attempt reminder exams for rank improvement. “Earlier, many officers would continue preparing even during training because multiple improvement attempts were possible. Now the stakes of that one attempt become much higher,” a Delhi-based UPSC mentor on the condition of anonymity told ThePrint.
Also Read: A UPSC aspirant faced a riddle in his interview. It featured JP Morgan and a diamond necktie
Training, attempt and seniority rules revised
The other change is that candidates must either join training or obtain a formal exemption — they cannot simply skip it.
“If such a candidate neither joins the training… nor take exemption… his/her allocation of service… shall stand cancelled.”
All candidates must join the Foundation Course and training. If they don’t join the training or don’t take the exemption, their service allocation will be cancelled. The seniority will be counted from the service they finally joined, not when they first cleared the exam.
“The seniority of such candidates will be decided according to his/her joining the service,” says the notification.
The 2025 notification focused more on IAS and IFS but with less detail, while the 2026 rules are clearer and stricter for IPS, regulating repeat attempts and service allocation. The revised rules are aimed at bringing greater predictability to cadre planning and training cycles, which often get disrupted when selected candidates skip or defer joining to reappear in the exam.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)