UPSC CDS 2026: Eligibility, Age Limit, Vacancy & Selection Process
CDS is the graduate route into a commissioned officer role, and it is the exam most people discover only after aging out of NDA. Its most underused feature is the Officers Training Academy entry, which has a higher age limit than the other academies and no separate Mathematics paper.
UPSC CDS 2026 at a glance
| Conducting body | Union Public Service Commission |
|---|---|
| Examination | Combined Defence Services Examination |
| Total vacancies | Not announced |
| Qualification | Bachelor's degree; Engineering degree for Air Force Academy |
| Age limit | 19–25 years as on 01 Jan 2027 (relaxation below) |
| Application dates | Not announced not yet verified as published ↗ |
| Application fee | ₹200 (nil for women, SC and ST) |
| Exam date | Not announced not yet verified as published ↗ |
| Salary | ₹56,100 – ₹1,77,500 per month (Level 10 (on commissioning)) |
| Apply online | UPSC application portal ↗ |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in ↗ |
Are you eligible for UPSC CDS 2026?
UPSC CDS counts your age on 01 Jan 2027, and nobody gets relaxation — a single day over is out. Enter your date of birth and we will check it exactly.
UPSC CDS age limit and relaxation 2026
The age limit for UPSC CDS 2026 is 19 to 25 years as on 01 Jan 2027. That is the tightest band of any graduate exam we track, and it is worth converting into attempts: a candidate finishing a degree at 19 has roughly 6 cycles before it shuts. Count yours before building a year around this exam.
| Category | Relaxation | Effective maximum age |
|---|---|---|
| Every category | No relaxation | 25 years |
There is no OBC, SC/ST or PwD extension for this entry. The window is the same for every candidate, which is why missing it costs a full cycle. Full age relaxation rules →
UPSC CDS posts and salary
| Post | Department | Pay level | Monthly pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Military Academy (IMA) | Indian Army | Level-10 | ₹56,100–1,77,500 |
| Indian Naval Academy (INA) | Indian Navy | Level-10 | ₹56,100–1,77,500 |
| Air Force Academy (AFA) | Indian Air Force | Level-10 | ₹56,100–1,77,500 |
| Officers Training Academy (OTA) | Short Service Commission | Level-10 | ₹56,100–1,77,500 |
UPSC CDS selection process
| Stage | Details |
|---|---|
| Written exam | English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics. OTA has no Mathematics paper. |
| SSB Interview | Five-day Services Selection Board process. |
| Medical | Detailed military medical examination. |
Who should apply for UPSC CDS
For graduates under 25 wanting a commissioned military career. Note the age limits differ by academy — OTA runs to 25, IMA and INA are tighter — so check the specific entry rather than the headline number.
- The OTA entry does not include the Elementary Mathematics paper, which materially changes preparation.
- Air Force Academy requires an engineering degree or Physics and Mathematics at graduation level.
- Age limits differ by academy — IMA and INA are tighter than OTA.
UPSC CDS 2026 — आयु सीमा और योग्यता
संयुक्त रक्षा सेवा परीक्षा (UPSC CDS) 2026 के लिए आयु सीमा 01 Jan 2027 को 19 से 25 वर्ष है। इस प्रवेश में किसी भी श्रेणी को आयु में छूट नहीं मिलती।
शैक्षणिक योग्यता: स्नातक; वायुसेना अकादमी के लिए इंजीनियरिंग डिग्री। पदों की संख्या अभी घोषित नहीं · वेतन ₹56,100 से ₹1,77,500 प्रति माह · आवेदन की तिथियाँ अभी घोषित नहीं।
अपनी योग्यता मुफ़्त जाँचें →UPSC CDS 2026 — frequently asked questions
What is the difference between NDA and CDS?
Does CDS OTA have a Mathematics paper?
Can women apply for CDS?
What UPSC CDS is actually like
CDS is the graduate route to a commission — IMA, INA, AFA or the Officers Training Academy. The OTA route grants a Short Service Commission, which is a genuinely different proposition from the permanent commission the other academies lead to, and candidates apply without reading which one they are choosing.
The written paper is more manageable than CSE by a wide margin: English, General Knowledge and Elementary Mathematics at a level a serious graduate can prepare in months rather than years. The filter is the SSB, which passes a small fraction of those who reach it. Because CDS runs twice a year and the age band is wide enough for several attempts, candidates who take SSB feedback seriously between attempts convert at a much higher rate than those who simply reappear.
One difference worth understanding before you apply: the Officers Training Academy route grants a Short Service Commission of a fixed initial term, while IMA, INA and AFA lead to a permanent commission. Both are real careers and the training differs accordingly, but candidates regularly tick OTA without registering that they have chosen a different kind of service.
Verified 2026-08-17 4 of 7 critical fields checked against the official notification. Checked against the notification on upsc.gov.in ↗.
UPSC CDS — official documents
Published by Union Public Service Commission on upsc.gov.in. Every link below goes to the commission's own file, not to a copy. Dates are the ones the commission declared on each document.
UPSC CDS 2026 — important links
| Apply online | Applications for UPSC exams open on upsconline.gov.in ↗ |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in ↗ |
| Check your eligibility | Am I eligible for UPSC CDS? — free |
| Admit card, result, answer key | Admit cards · Results · Answer keys |
| Syllabus and exam pattern | Selection process for UPSC CDS |
| Where UPSC publishes them | Admit cards, results and syllabus appear on the official site linked above. |
| How we track this exam | |
| New UPSC notices on upsc.gov.in are picked up every 4 hours; dates read from them are marked until someone confirms them. | |
Questions about UPSC CDS
Ask anything about eligibility, dates or documents for this exam. We answer here so the next person with the same question finds it. Nothing appears until we have read it.
No questions yet. Ask the first one.
Vacancy figures, dates and salaries are compiled from official notifications and change between cycles. Age limits vary between posts within the same exam. Always confirm against the official notification on upsc.gov.in before applying.