BPSC Exam Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Preliminary

The five option rule, from 2 May 2026

A correct answer earns full marks; a wrong answer loses a third; marking E costs nothing; marking nothing loses a third, exactly like a wrong answer. The Commission says it made the change because many candidates left several questions unanswered. Leave the last twenty questions untouched and you now lose six and two thirds marks for doing nothing.

Qualifying marks, at the Preliminary and the Mains

Set by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms resolution 2374 of 16 July 2007 and the General Administration Department memorandum 962 of 22 January 2021. About ten times the total notified vacancies go through to the Mains, with everyone on the category cut-off mark included. Depending on applications, the Preliminary may run in more than one shift or set.

Mains (Written)

Only three papers count, for 900 marks, and the Essay is worth as much as either General Studies paper: a third of the written merit. Question papers are in Hindi and English; answers in non-language subjects may be in Hindi (Devanagari), English or Urdu script, but in one language only, with English renderings of technical terms allowed. The Mains has its own online application and fee after the Preliminary result, and the service and post preference is recorded there. A post you did not list cannot be claimed later.

Personality Test and final merit

The interview is about 11.8 per cent of the final score, and results are published category-wise. Ties break on higher Mains marks, then higher marks in the optional (the one place it counts), then the older candidate, then Devanagari alphabetical order. Posts are allotted on merit, recorded preference and available vacancies.

A medical board constituted by the Commission examines every candidate after the interview, with ₹16 deposited in cash; failing a service's requirements means no appointment to it.

Preliminary

Four of the seven heads name Bihar. National preparation material covers the other half of the paper and leaves that half untouched.

Mains optional subjects

Thirty-four subjects at codes 04 to 37, including Pali and Maithili. Because the optional is objective and uncounted, choose the subject you can clear at the state minimum with the least time taken from the two General Studies papers and the Essay. It does break ties, after Mains marks and before date of birth.

The other three examinations

For Child Development Project Officer, Financial Administrative Officer and Sub-Divisional Welfare Officer it is reversed: the optional is subjective, 300 marks, three hours and counted, and there is no Essay. Their Mains merit is General Studies I (300) plus General Studies II (300) plus the optional (300).

The advertisement gives the Preliminary syllabus in one paragraph and no topic-by-topic Mains General Studies syllabus. The Commission's separate syllabus section is on bpsc.bihar.gov.in.

Education

Enter your graduation in the educational qualification column, and select any post with a special qualification or optional subject when applying, or your claim to it fails.

Age, as on 1 August 2026

Date of birth is taken from the matriculation certificate. Relaxations: 10 years for persons with disability; for ex-servicemen, 3 years plus defence service, provided actual age does not exceed 57 (for SC and ST ex-servicemen the maximum rises by 3 years for the prisons service and 5 years for others, in place of the category relaxation); full time NCC cadets and instructors enrolled after 1 January 1963 may deduct their NCC service, with up to three years' excess allowed; serving Bihar Government employees get 5 years while they still have attempts left.

Attempts

Unlimited for everyone except Bihar Government servants. The general limit was abolished by DPAR resolution 6519 of 10 September 2003, but gazetted resolution 22218 of 12 December 2022 caps a serving Bihar Government servant at five attempts across their whole service, counted from that date.

Reservation

Only for original residents of Bihar, settled by the permanent address in the application; a permanent residence certificate is compulsory for any claim.

For the freedom fighter quota, an heir's identity card is not accepted; the certificate must be in the prescribed proforma signed by the District Officer of the home district. A married woman's caste or non-creamy-layer certificate must be in her father's name and address. For EWS, a married woman living with her husband takes the income and asset certificate from his permanent residence but must also show residence based on her father's address; that certificate is valid for one year. Reservation not claimed in its column is never given at any stage.

Candidates must be healthy, of sound build and free of defects that would hinder duties. DSP candidates face the Bihar Police Service physical rules in Appendix Ka. Anyone debarred for malpractice by UPSC, a State PSC or another selection commission cannot sit the Preliminary.

1. Preliminary: one objective General Studies paper, 150 marks, screening only. About ten times the notified vacancies go through.
2. Mains (Written): five papers, three of which count, for 900 marks. Separate application and fee, where you record your optional and your service preference.
3. Personality Test: 120 marks, about two and a half times the requisitioned vacancies called. Attendance is compulsory, and originals of every uploaded certificate must be produced.
4. Medical examination by the Commission's board.

At both shortlisting steps, everyone on the category cut-off mark goes through, so the line never splits a tie. The marks, qualifying bars and tie-break are under the exam pattern.

Posts are allotted by merit, recorded preference and vacancy, and the Commission may recommend a candidate for any post they expressed a wish for and are found suitable for.

You fill the online application yourself and answer personally for anything wrong, misleading, omitted or partial in it. A candidate whose candidature is cancelled ceases to be a candidate and is not given their marks.

The advertisement gives the level, not a rupee figure; pay in each level comes from the Bihar Government's pay rules. Of the 1,077 Table I posts, 365 are Revenue Officer at Level-7 and 100 are Sub-Divisional Officer at Level-9, so most successful candidates land some way down their preference list. All three Table II posts, Child Development Project Officer, Financial Administrative Officer and Sub-Divisional Welfare Officer, are Level-9, the same as the Bihar Administrative Service entry post, which makes them worth applying for alongside the Combined Competitive Examination.

Online only at bpsc.bihar.gov.in. For the 72nd cycle the advertisement came out on 5 May 2026 and applications ran from 7 to 31 May 2026.

Applying to all four examinations costs ₹400, or ₹1,200 without an Aadhaar number. The Mains carries its own fee. If a payment fails, follow the Commission's standing notice on refund and chargeback disputes rather than paying again.

Certificates must be dated by the closing date

Every certificate you rely on must be dated on or before the last date of the Preliminary application, or the extended date. One issued later is not valid. Upload them with their number and date entered, and bring the same originals to the interview:

• Matriculation certificate (date of birth).
• Graduation degree or provisional certificate.
• SC and ST caste certificate, with a permanent residence or domicile certificate.
• BC and EBC non-creamy-layer certificate from the circle or revenue officer of your permanent circle, with a permanent residence certificate.
• EWS income and asset certificate in the Annexure I proforma.
• Freedom fighter grandchild certificate in the prescribed proforma.
• Disability certificate: one from a state government medical college or hospital, Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer is accepted provisionally and must be confirmed by a government medical college or hospital before selection.
• Age relaxation certificate and a no objection certificate where applicable.

Scribes are allowed for candidates with benchmark disability of 40 per cent or more under section 2(r) of the RPwD Act, 2016, and, under GAD letter 2568 of 11 February 2025, for those below 40 per cent who cannot write. Mark Yes in the scribe column and attach the certificate and affidavit; it cannot be arranged on the day.

One merit list feeds the Bihar Administrative, Revenue, Finance, Panchayat, Supply, Rural Development and Education Services; the Home Department as DSP (Police Branch) and Probation Officer (Prisons); and the Commercial Taxes, Election, Prohibition, Excise and Registration, Labour Resources, Cooperative, Minority Welfare, SC and ST Welfare, Planning and Development, Urban Development and Housing, Rural Development, Revenue and Land Reforms, Panchayati Raj, Food and Consumer Protection and Social Welfare departments.

The Commission runs other recruitments under their own numbered advertisements and rules, among them the 33rd Bihar Judicial Services Competitive Examination (12/2026), Prosecution Officer (13/2026), Auditor, Panchayati Raj (09/2026), Assistant Conservator of Forests (02/2026), Factory Inspector (03/2026), Boiler Inspector (06/2026), School Teacher TRE 4.0 (14/2026) and Stenographer (01/2026), as well as Assistant Section Officer and District Statistical Officer. Check the advertisement number before trusting any rule.

Centres are across Bihar, allotted by the Commission and printed on the admit card; the advertisement carries no standing centre list. The Preliminary may run in more than one shift or set depending on applications, so an answer key circulating afterwards may not be for your set.

The 72nd Preliminary was set for Sunday 26 July 2026 and postponed on 20 July for unavoidable reasons, with a new date to follow on bpsc.bihar.gov.in. Bring the admit card and the identification the Commission specifies, and at the interview the same original certificates you uploaded.

Age is reckoned on 1 August 2026, after the date first set for the Preliminary; the age date, certificate date and exam date are independent. Certificates must be dated by 31 May 2026, the last application date. The cycles overlap: the 71st Mains was advertised on 1 December 2025, five months before the 72nd Preliminary, so a candidate can be preparing for both in one year. Watch the Commission's notices list, not reported dates.

Admit cards and every other notice appear on bpsc.bihar.gov.in, in dated lists of Advertisements, Notices, Programs, Interviews and Results giving the advertisement number, subject and document. For the 72nd cycle that list carried the important notice and advertisement on 5 May 2026, the corrigendum on 6 May and the postponement on 20 July, after the 2 May notice on option E. The admit card for the rescheduled Preliminary will be posted there.

Identity is verified at the centre: candidates who gave no Aadhaar number paid the extra ₹200 biometric fee per examination. Carry the matriculation certificate, which settles your date of birth, and a permanent residence certificate if you claim reservation.

Results for each stage go up as dated notices under Results on bpsc.bihar.gov.in, alongside Corrigendum to Results, Final Results and a District Allocation List. The final list is category-wise, and post-wise as well for the three Table II examinations.

For those three examinations the tie-break skips the optional step, since their optional is already in the Mains total: Mains marks, then date of birth, then alphabetical order. After the merit list come allotment by merit and preference, and the medical board.

Three bars apply, and only one of them moves:

• Preliminary qualifying marks: 40 per cent general, 36.5 Backward Class, 34 Extremely Backward Class, 32 SC, ST, women and disabled. Fixed by resolution.
• Mains qualifying marks: the same four percentages. Fixed.
• The Preliminary cut-off: the mark at which the shortlist of ten times the vacancies closes in each category. It is an outcome, not a rule, so it is never published in advance.

For the 72nd cycle, ten times 1,186 posts means a Preliminary shortlist of about 11,860, and two and a half times means about 2,965 called to interview. This is the first cycle under the five option sheet, where an unmarked question costs a third of a mark, so earlier cut-offs do not transfer. Stage results appear under Results on bpsc.bihar.gov.in.

Mark every question

Since 2 May 2026 an unmarked question costs a third of a mark; marking E costs nothing. Build the habit of marking E on anything you skip and keep time to sweep the sheet. Fifteen blanks on the 150 mark paper is five marks thrown away. Material printed before May 2026 trains four-option habits.

Put the hours where the marks are

General Studies I and II and the Essay, 300 marks each, plus the 120 mark interview. The Essay is a third of the written merit and is the most under-prepared paper. The Preliminary, General Hindi and the CCE optional add nothing to the rank.

Do not over-prepare the CCE optional

Clear the minimum and move on. If you also apply for the Table II examinations, their optional is 300 marks and counted, so the calculation reverses.

Cover the Bihar half

Bihar's history, geography and rivers, economy since independence, and role in the national movement are four of the seven Preliminary heads.

Get certificates before you apply

Everything must be dated by the last application date. A married woman's caste certificate must be in her father's name. Unclaimed reservation is lost for good.

Record the service preference with care

Services run from Level-9 to Level-6, and with 365 Revenue Officer posts against 100 SDO posts, most selected candidates are allotted down the list.

No previous year question papers are published with the 72nd cycle's notices. The Commission's site carries its syllabus section, exam calendar and stage results, and the advertisement is the authority on the pattern. The Preliminary date, postponed in July 2026, will be announced there.

• Bihar Public Service Commission, with advertisements, notices, programmes, interviews, results, the syllabus section and the exam calendar
• Advertisement, Integrated 72nd Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination, 5 May 2026, sixteen pages
• Important notice, 5 May 2026, with the application window and the 1,230 requisitioned posts
• Notice of 2 May 2026 introducing option E and the penalty for an unmarked question
• Advertisement, Integrated 71st Combined Main (Written) Examination, 1 December 2025

What does "Integrated" mean?

One Preliminary screens for four examinations: the Combined Competitive Examination, Child Development Project Officer, Financial Administrative Officer and Sub-Divisional Welfare Officer, each with its own fee and Mains optional.

How many vacancies are there?

1,230 as advertised on 5 May 2026, cut to 1,186 the next day when 44 Sugarcane Officer posts were removed. Table I has 1,077 posts before that deletion and Table II 153.

What happens if I leave a question blank?

You lose a third of a mark, the same as a wrong answer. To skip a question, mark option E, which costs nothing.

Does the Mains optional count?

Not in the Combined Competitive Examination, except to break ties. It is 100 objective questions in two hours. In the three Table II examinations it is subjective, 300 marks, and counted.

What is the final merit out of?

1,020: General Studies I, General Studies II and the Essay at 300 each, plus a 120 mark interview.

What is the age limit?

As on 1 August 2026: 37 for unreserved men, 40 for unreserved women and BC and EBC candidates, 42 for SC and ST. The minimum is 20, 21 or 22 depending on the service.

Can I claim reservation if I am not from Bihar?

No. Only original residents of Bihar, on the permanent address in the application and a permanent residence certificate. Women who are original residents get 35 per cent horizontal reservation.

What is the fee?

₹100 per examination, plus ₹200 per examination if you do not give an Aadhaar number, and a separate Mains fee.

When is the 72nd Preliminary?

It was due on 26 July 2026 and was postponed on 20 July. The new date will be on the Commission's website.