UPSC PRELIMS: Exam Date for 2025, Last 5 Years Cut-Off, Registration Process, & Applicant Criteria!

Primebook Team2024-09-19

After 2024, all UPSC aspirants are looking forward to appearing for the prelims round in 2025 and the Union Public Service Commission has already released the official calendar for the UPSC exam 2025. So, if you are one of the UPSC aspirants, who want to apply for the exam, here’s a brief glimpse of all the details you would need, from application form availability dates, the last date of form submission, and exam dates to the last 5 years' cut-off marks (category-wise), step-by-step registration process, and applicant criteria.

About UPSC Exam Prelims

The UPSC exam is an entrance test for civil service jobs in India. It’s considered one of the world's toughest exams and consists of three rounds – Prelims, Mains, and Interview. The candidates who pass all three rounds can unlock their dream of becoming an IPS, IAS, or IFS officer.

The UPSC prelims round consists of two MCQ-based papers, General Studies Paper 1 and Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT), of 200 marks each. There’s a negative marking for every wrong answer, which is one-third of the stipulated marks for the particular questions. The goal of this UPSC prelims round is to identify the general awareness, knowledge of current affairs, analytical and problem-solving abilities, and aptitude of the candidates appearing for the exam, thereby filtering out the candidates for the next round.

UPSC Prelims 2025 Application & Exam Date

Availability of UPSC Prelims Application Form	Since 22nd January 2025
Last Date of Submission for UPSC Prelims Application Form	Extended to 21st February 2025
UPSC Prelims Exam Date	25th May, 2025

UPSC Prelims Last 5 Years Cut-Off

Category	Expected Cut-Off 2024	2023 Cut-Off	2022 Cut-Off	2021 Cut-Off	2020 Cut-Off
General	85-95	75.41	88.22	87.54	92.51
SC	65-75	59.25	74.08	75.41	74.84
ST	60-70	47.82	69.35	70.71	68.71
OBC	82-92	74.75	87.54	89.12	89.12
PwD 1	55-65	40.40	49.84	68.02	70.06
PwD 2	52-62	47.13	58.59	67.33	63.94
PwD 3	40-50	40.40	40.40	43.09	40.82
PwD 5	42-52	33.68	41.76	45.80	42.86
EWS	75-85	68.02	82.83	80.14	77.55

Also Read: Why Primebook Is The Best Laptop for UPSC Exam Preparation?

UPSC Prelims Registration Process

Here’s a step-by-step guide to the registration process for UPSC prelims 2025.

Step 1: Visit the official UPSC website and navigate to the section named “Apply Online”. Hereby, click on the given link to find the Application form for UPSC Prelims 2025.

Step 2: Next, you have to complete the compulsory one-time registration (OTR) by filling out your name, date & year of birth, phone number, email address, parents/guardian’s name, and other essential personal information.

Once done, you need to click on the box given beside – “Agree to terms and conditions” and tap the submit button.

Step 3: Then, you will receive a One-Time-Password (OTP) on your provided email address and phone number.

Upon verification with this OTP, a registration number will be generated for your UPSC Prelims application.

Step 4: Now, you have to log in to the application portal using your stipulated registration credentials and proceed to fill in other requisite details, such as nationality, marital status, community, category, last educational qualification, etc.

When done with filling in the details asked for in the form, make sure you revise it thoroughly and submit it.

Step 5: In this step, you have to upload all the necessary scanned documents in the mentioned format and size to support your information claims.

The typical documents required for UPSC prelims application are identity proof, signature, photograph, bachelor’s degree certificate, category certificate (if applicable) etc.

Step 6: Here, you have to select your preferred UPSC Prelims exam centres from the given list, read the given declaration, and hit the “ I agree” option.

Step 7: The final step is to make payment for the UPSC Prelims registration via NET Banking, Credit/Debit Card, UPI, and so forth.

That’s it! You will soon receive a message about your successful completion of the UPSC prelims application on your given phone number and email. Download the PDF and store it somewhere safe for future reference.

UPSC Prelims Applicant Criteria

Eligibility/ Applicant Criteria for UPSC Prelims
Nationality	Indian
Age Limit	The minimum age limit is 21 years and the maximum is 32 years (following August 1st of the exam year). Age relaxation of 3 years is provided to OBC candidates, 5 years to SC & ST candidates; to defence service personnel with 3 years of continuous service and ex-servicemen including commissioned officers, and 10 years to disabled defence service personnel.
Academic Qualification	Bachelor’s Degree in any academic discipline from a recognized university or qualification in an equivalent exam.
Number of Attempts	General candidates are eligible for 6 attempts, OBC candidates for 9 attempts, and SC & STs for unlimited times (within their stipulated age bar).

To sum up, make sure you submit the UPSC exam application form within the designated timeline and start preparing right away. You can take note of the UPSC prelims syllabus, explore e-learning apps and platforms offering tutorial courses for UPSC, sit for several mock tests, and search for effective preparation strategies to crack the exam.

For more updates on the UPSC exam 2025, stay connected with Primebook’s Student Corner.