AFCAT Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

Objective, online, English only.

Three wrong answers cancel one right one. A blind guess between four options loses marks on average; one narrowed to two is worth taking.

The exam runs in two shifts a day over two days, and marks are normalised before the result, using a formula printed in the notification.

On the day

No one gets in once verification starts, two hours before the paper. No exceptions.

From the Air Force's scheme of syllabus. Numerical Ability is at matriculation level; everything else is at graduation level.

English

Comprehension, error detection, sentence completion, synonyms and antonyms, cloze test, idioms and phrases, analogy, sentence rearrangement, one-word substitution.

General Awareness

History, geography, sports, national and international organisations, art and culture, personalities, environment and ecology, polity, economy, basic science, science and technology, current affairs, and defence.

Numerical Ability

Decimal fractions, time and work, average and percentage, profit and loss, ratio and proportion, simple and compound interest, time and distance (trains, boats and streams), area and perimeter, probability, number system and series, mixtures and alligation, clocks.

Reasoning and Military Aptitude

Verbal and non-verbal reasoning. That's all the document says. Defence knowledge is tested under General Awareness, not here.

AFSB tests have no syllabus.

Indian citizens only, under the Citizenship Act 1955.

Age is counted on 1 January of the year the course starts. For AFCAT 01/2025 that was 1 January 2026. Only the Class 10 certificate (or a university-recognised equivalent) is accepted as proof of date of birth.

You must be unmarried when the course starts and can't marry during training.

Degree, subjects and minimum marks differ by branch and stream, so read the qualification table in the notification for the branch you want.

For Flying, you're permanently barred if you've failed the CPSS or PABT before, or were suspended from flying training at the Air Force Academy.

Government employees need a no objection certificate at AFSB. Eligibility is checked at AFSB on day one, and anyone who doesn't meet it is sent home that day.

1. AFCAT, which only qualifies you for AFSB. NCC Special Entry Flying candidates skip it.
2. AFSB, five to six days.

The CPSS can be taken only once. Fail it and you can never be selected for Flying.

If you clear the written paper, you pick your own AFSB date and venue and generate your call-up letter. Boards are at Dehradun, Mysuru, Gandhinagar, Varanasi and Guwahati. Avoid asking to change dates; Air Headquarters decides, by email to the centre that called you.

After recommendation come the medical and a merit list against that course's vacancies. You sign an indemnity bond accepting the tests at your own risk.

A Flight Cadet gets a fixed stipend of ₹56,100 a month during the year of training.

On top: Dearness Allowance, branch allowances such as flying pay or technical pay, field and hardship allowances where they apply, housing, medical cover for you and your family, canteen, LTC and group insurance.

AFCAT entry is a Short Service Commission. Its length and the chances of a permanent commission are set out in each notification.

Apply online through careerindianairforce.cdac.in, which links to the AFCAT portal during an application window.

Pay by card or net banking.

NCC Special Entry Flying candidates don't sit AFCAT. They go straight to AFSB and pick their board on the form.

The form asks whether you've taken the CPSS or PABT (batch, date, chest number and board) and whether you've been to an AFSB or SSB before. A previous CPSS or PABT failure bars you from Flying.

Admission at every stage is provisional. An admit card or call-up letter doesn't mean you've been accepted.

One employer, the Indian Air Force. Everyone selected joins as an officer on a Short Service Commission.

Training is mainly at the Air Force Academy, Dundigal. Vacancies are published each cycle by branch, separately for men and women.

The online test is held at centres across India, over two days with two shifts each. Your centre and shift are on the admit card.

The gate closes when verification starts, at 08:00 or 13:00, two hours before the paper.

Travel to AFSB is paid for your first visit only: AC-III, AC chair car or bus fare by the shortest route. You need the physical tickets and a bank account in your own name, and must claim within a month.

AFCAT runs twice a year. Notifications come out in June and December, with exams in August and February. The portal is down between windows, so watch Career in IAF, careerindianairforce.cdac.in and Employment News from late May and late November.

That's fourteen months from applying to joining. The exam date and shift are on your admit card; your AFSB date you choose yourself, so log in as soon as the result is out.

Download it from the career portal during the cycle. It shows the centre, date and shift. Bring it with your ID for verification and biometrics.

After the result you choose your AFSB slot and generate the call-up letter yourself, so log in early.

For AFSB, bring every original document, an NOC if you're in government service, and hard-copy tickets for the travel claim. Keep your own copies of everything, as the portal disappears between cycles.

The written result comes after normalisation and only decides who goes to AFSB. At AFSB you're screened on day one, then go through the psychological and group tests and the interview. Flying candidates who are recommended take the CPSS.

A recommendation leads to a medical and then the merit list for the course. It isn't a selection on its own, and candidature can be cancelled at any stage if you turn out to be ineligible.

The Air Force doesn't publish AFCAT cut-offs or qualifying marks. Results come out in normalised marks, so you can't compare a raw score from a remembered paper.

Vacancies are small, typically tens of posts per branch split between men and women, and the real selection happens at AFSB. Each notification lists the vacancies for that course.

1. Read your cycle's notification first. Don't build a plan around an engineering paper the recent notifications don't set.
2. Prepare for AFSB from day one. The board, not the paper, is where most people are cut.
3. Drill school arithmetic for speed and accuracy. Numerical Ability is matriculation level.
4. Read up on defence: the services, equipment, exercises and appointments. It's a named GK topic.
5. Guess only when you've narrowed it to two.
6. Get fit before AFSB. The notification tells candidates to build up their running.
7. Think hard before applying for Flying. One CPSS failure ends it for good.
8. Save every document while the portal is up: notification, syllabus, model papers, admit card, call-up letter.

The Air Force has published model question papers on the AFCAT portal under Download Papers. The portal is offline between cycles, but an AFCAT model question paper with its answers from the AFCAT 01/2015 set is still available as an archived copy. That set also includes the old engineering papers.

New model papers, the notification and the scheme of syllabus go up on the portal when the June or December cycle opens. There are no answer keys for real papers.

• IAF careers portal: careerindianairforce.cdac.in
• Air Force officer entries: Career in IAF
• AFCAT 01/2025 notification (archived copy): AFCAT 01/2025 notification
• AFCAT scheme of syllabus (archived copy): scheme of syllabus
• Model question paper (archived copy): AFCAT model question paper and its answers
• Employment News
• Agniveervayu, the separate airman entry: agnipathvayu.cdac.in

Who conducts AFCAT?

The Indian Air Force, through C-DAC. Not UPSC.

Is there an Engineering Knowledge Test?

The AFCAT 01/2024 and 01/2025 notifications don't mention one. Check your cycle's notification.

What is the marking?

+3 right, −1 wrong, 0 blank.

Is the paper bilingual?

No, English only.

What is the age limit?

20 to 24 for Flying (26 with a CPL), 20 to 26 for Ground Duty, on 1 January of the course year.

Can I be married?

No, not at the start of the course or during training.

What is the fee?

₹550 plus GST. Nil for NCC Special Entry.

How long is AFSB?

Five to six days, but you go home on day one if you fail Stage-I or the document check.

Can I choose my AFSB centre?

Yes. You pick the date and venue and generate your own call-up letter.

Why is the AFCAT website down?

It's offline between application windows. It comes back when the June or December notification opens.