"Not more than 35" can still mean you must be 34 — read the birth-date line

Eligibility Updated 2026-10-07 · 8 min read

Two notifications can both be summarised as "age limit 35" and disagree about a 35-year-old. When we read nineteen state notices twice, independently, this was the single most common point the two readings disagreed on — and in nine of them the real limit turned out to be a year below the printed number.

Rule 1: the birth-date line decides

Most notices print the age limit twice: once as an age and once as a range of birth dates. When the two seem to disagree, the birth dates are the rule — they leave nothing to interpret.

West Bengal's WBCS advertisement (Advt. 08/2024 ↗) says "not more than 36 years on the 1st January of the year of examination (i.e. born not earlier than the 2nd January, 1988". Age is counted on 1 January 2024. A candidate born on 1 January 1988 turns 36 on that very day — and is born earlier than 2 January 1988, so is out. A candidate born on 2 January 1988 is still 35, and can apply. The real limit is 35 completed years.

Odisha's OCS advertisement (Advt. 05 of 2025-26 ↗) does the same: "must not be above the age of 42 years as on the 1st day of January, 2025, i.e. he/she must not have been born earlier than 2nd January, 1983". Born 1 January 1983 means exactly 42 on the counting date — out. The limit is 41 completed years. Telangana's Group 1 (Notification 02/2024 ↗) prints "Maximum Age (46 years): An applicant should not be born before 02/07/1978" for a 1 July 2024 date: 45.

Rule 2: "not attained" and "not completed" mean one year less

Himachal Pradesh's HAS advertisement (Advt. 59/8-2026 ↗) says: "A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 35 years on or before 01-01-2026." To attain an age is to reach that birthday, so the limit is 34 completed years. TNPSC heads its age column "Maximum Age (Should not have completed)" (Group I, 05/2026 ↗), so its printed 34 means 33.

Rule 3: check the other language

Gujarat's Class 1–2 advertisement (Advt. 5/2026-27 ↗) says in English: "A candidate shall not be less than 20 years of age and not be more than 35 years of age as on 16/04/2026." On its own, that reads as inclusive. The Gujarati version of the same rule says the candidate must not have completed 35 years. Bilingual notices are one document; where the English is loose, the other language often is not.

Rule 4: "born between" needs no arithmetic

Kerala PSC skips ages: "Candidates who have born between 02.01.1993 and 01.01.2004 (both dates included) are eligible to apply" (KAS, Cat. 01–03/2025 ↗). The Coast Guard does the same: "Candidate should be born between 01 Nov 2005 to 01 May 2009" (CGEPT 01–02/2027 ↗). Compare your date of birth with the two dates, check whether they are inclusive, and you are done.

When there is no birth-date line

Some notices give only the age. Andhra Pradesh's Group 1 table says "18-44" under "Age as on 01.07.2026" and nothing more; Haryana's HCS says "not more than 42". Read those as inclusive — a candidate who has completed 44 years can apply to APPSC — but treat a candidate within a few days of the boundary as the case to confirm with the commission, because the commission's own birth-date rule, wherever it is printed, decides.

The same arithmetic, with real birth dates

Under Himachal's rule, a candidate born on 1 January 1991 turns 35 on 1 January 2026 — they attain 35 on the date and are out. One born on 2 January 1991 is still 34, and can apply. Under West Bengal's, the earliest eligible birth date is 2 January 1988 for a 1 January 2024 counting date. Both notices would be summarised as "35" and "36" by a careless reader; the limits that decide are 34 and 35.

Reading your own notification

The notification says	What the limit is
"born not earlier than [date]"	Work it out from the date — usually one below the printed age
"must not have attained the age of 35"	34 completed years
"should not have completed 35 years"	34 completed years
"not more than 35 years", with no birth date anywhere	Usually 35 completed years — check any other language version
"born between [date] and [date] (both dates included)"	Compare dates; no age arithmetic

Every exam page on this site gives the limit in completed years, worked out this way, with the notice's own sentence beside it.

Frequently asked

What does 'must not have attained the age of 35' mean?

That the candidate must still be 34 on the date the notification fixes. Reaching your 35th birthday on or before that date takes you out.

Does 'not more than 36 years' let a 36-year-old apply?

Not if the notice also gives a birth date that rules them out. West Bengal's WBCS says 'not more than 36' and 'born not earlier than the 2nd January, 1988' for a 1 January 2024 date — so a candidate who is already 36 on that date cannot apply.

What does 'both dates included' mean in an age limit?

That a candidate born on either of the two dates given is eligible — the window is inclusive at both ends.