New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission released the notification for Civil Service Examination 2026 on Wednesday. This year’s notification has come with new rules that promise to strengthen identity checks and tighten the exam process — real time pictures, no correction window, and mandatory face authentication at exam centres.
The candidates are worried about the no correction windows rule as this denies them the opportunity to correct the mistakes in the forms.
“All the other things are great but they should have given us the correction window. India is a diverse country and people from across the country fill these forms and things can get complicated. Someone could file something by mistake, it had happened to previous toppers. The form is very lengthy. Mistakes could happen,” said Suboor, a UPSC aspirant.
The Commission has clarified that there will be no correction window once the final submission of the application is received. Therefore, UPSC has advised applicants to review entries carefully before submission, as requests for post-submission corrections will not be entertained.
“If you have created one URN and made a mistake of misspelling the name or put wrong certification of caste, before that there used to be a one week window after the last date of submission. They should provide the correction window. If anyone makes mistakes, they’ll have to send an email and follow up,” said Vibhor Singh, an aspirant studying in Karol Bagh.
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New rules mandate the candidate to click their photograph at the time of uploading the application online. This is apart from uploading a passport-size photograph. This will put more safety and authentication in the process.
The move is intended to curb impersonation and ensure better identity validation.
The online application can be filled by a four-module system. Candidates will have to create an account and they will be given a universal registration that will lead them to fill the common application form and examination-specific form. All of this will be linked through a lifetime Universal Registration Number (URN) that will remain constant across UPSC exams.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)