KPSC KAS Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Preliminary (selection only)

Objective, two hours a paper, two marks a question, set in Kannada and English. Degree level, except Mental Ability at X or SSLC level. The marks don't count for merit.

Negative marking: one fourth (0.25) of a question's marks off for a wrong answer; two answers marked counts as wrong; blanks cost nothing. On some questions the penalty is built in instead: the most appropriate and the not so appropriate answer get different marks. The Rules don't say which questions.

Main Examination (descriptive)

All papers are compulsory. Answer each paper entirely in Kannada or entirely in English. The qualifying papers are at First Language SSLC standard and don't count for merit.

Where the scheme comes from

Other amendments are dated 24 November 2014, 16 December 2016 and 30 May 2019.

Preliminary

Mains

Qualifying papers: six blocks of 25 marks

The detailed Mains syllabus is on the KPSC syllabus page.

Qualification

A bachelor's or master's degree from a university established by law in India, or equivalent (Rule 7). If your result isn't out, you can sit the Preliminary, but you must send proof of passing with your Mains application (a downloaded marks card attested by the Controller or Registrar), or you won't be admitted to the Mains. Medical graduates who haven't finished internship are admitted provisionally and must show the degree or completion certificate at the interview.

Age, on the last date for applying

Minimum 21. The extra five years come from Government Order DPAR 262 SENENI 2025 of 29 January 2026, as a one-time measure; don't count on it next cycle. On top: ex-servicemen get years served plus three; physically handicapped candidates and widows (not remarried, with a certificate) get 10 years.

Only the SSLC marks card, SSLC transfer certificate or cumulative record extract is accepted as proof of date of birth.

Physical standards

This cycle includes Prisons and Excise posts.

Reservation codes

Disability categories for the Assistant Commissioner post were set by a Karnataka notification of 15 November 2023 under section 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

You must clear both Kannada and English at 35 per cent to reach the interview at all.

The Personality Test (25 marks)

• Board of four: two Commission Members and two advisors (retired All India and Central Services officers, Vice-Chancellors, and professors from the IITs, IIMs, IIPA, state training institutes and Karnataka universities). All must know Kannada. The senior Member presides.
• The board doesn't see your Mains marks, only your record of career.
• Candidates are called in ascending order of register number; boards are assigned by draw of lots at 9 a.m. on the day.
• About 25 to 30 minutes each; at most nine a day, five in the morning and four after lunch. Board members change weekly.
• Each member marks separately; your mark is the average of all four. Marks below 40 per cent or above 80 per cent must be justified in writing.
• It assesses leadership, decision-making, breadth of interest, teamwork, motivation and logical thinking, and isn't meant to retest knowledge. The Rules call it "a natural, though directed and purposive conversation."

Written and interview marks are published together with the 1:1 select list, not before.

The notification doesn't state pay scales; each post follows the Karnataka scale for its group and cadre.

Commercial Taxes alone has 124 of the 319 posts, and Group-B outnumbers Group-A 202 to 117. The category-wise split of every post is in Annexure 1 of the notification.

Apply online only at kpsconline.karnataka.gov.in, starting with a One Time Registration. Fill it carefully: it's used for every future notification.

Upload your photo, signature and all age, qualification and reservation documents, then pay by net banking, card or UPI. Unpaid fees, missing uploads or unclear documents mean rejection. Bring the originals of everything you uploaded to document verification.

No refunds, no late payment, no DDs or postal orders.

• Corrections only until the last date. After submitting, no changes, except that wrong residence, category, parents' names or qualification can be raised with the Commission within one month.
• To change your address, go in person to the Commission's central office with the application printout, admission ticket copy, an ID such as Aadhaar and a self-attested letter.
• Caste, income and reservation certificates must be valid on the last date for applying, in the Annexure 2 formats.
• Helpline: 080-30574957, 080-30574901, 080-22356487, 080-22200090.

The Rules were amended in 2009, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022. Related orders include PH roster points of 25 September 2020 and the scribe rules of 9 November 2020.

Two sites: kpsc.kar.nic.in for notifications, the KAS rules page, syllabus and results, and kpsconline.karnataka.gov.in for applying. KPSC also runs many departmental recruitments and twice-yearly Departmental Examinations, with different rules.

The notification says only that exams are held "at any centre or place fixed by the Commission." No centre list is published with it; your centre appears on the admission ticket.

Disability certificates must follow the format in Government Order SWD 115 SENENI 2005 of 19 November 2005: signed by three doctors, countersigned by the Medical Superintendent, Chief Medical Officer or head of hospital, with an attested photo showing the disability.

The deadline moved because caste, income and internal reservation certificates were delayed by problems with the Nadakacheri and Seva Sindhu servers, and rural candidates couldn't pay online. Nothing else changed.

The last date for applying fixes your age and certificate validity. A tentative schedule of exams and results goes up on the KPSC notifications page.

Download the admission ticket from kpsconline.karnataka.gov.in. Keep it with your application printout and an ID such as Aadhaar. The exam schedule is posted in advance on kpsc.kar.nic.in.

Results and the select list are published on the KPSC results page. Written and Personality Test marks come out with the 1:1 select list, not before.

The written exam is 98 per cent of the merit. The Preliminary marks play no part after the shortlist. If you fail Kannada or English, your marks in the other papers aren't published.

KPSC doesn't publish KAS cut-off marks in advance; marks come out with the select list on the KPSC results page. Fixed bars: 35 per cent (52.5 of 150) in each language paper.

With 319 posts, 1:15 and 1:3 mean roughly 4,800 candidates in the Mains and about 960 at interview. The RPC and HK cadres have separate cut-offs. Older cut-offs are a poor guide: the scheme changed in 2020 and the interview shrank to 25 marks in 2022.

1. Put the written exam first. The interview is 25 of 1275 marks; it can't rescue weak papers.
2. Don't take Kannada or English for granted. If you didn't study in Kannada, practise it properly, especially translation from English.
3. Read Karnataka into everything. State history, geography, current events and programmes run through the Preliminary; GS 1 covers Karnataka's heritage; one essay is on a state or local topic.
4. Guess carefully in the Preliminary. 0.25 off per wrong answer, and some questions have graded answers, so 50-50 guesses are riskier than usual.
5. Bank Mental Ability. 60 marks at class X level.
6. Practise two essays in three hours, and three-section answers for each GS paper.
7. Get certificates before the deadline. This cycle showed the portals can't be relied on at the last minute.

No sample papers are available for this exam as of now. The closest official guides are the Gazetted Probationers Rules with the 2020 amendments, which set out the full scheme and Preliminary syllabus, and the Mains syllabus on the KPSC syllabus page. Check any coaching material against the 2022 amendment: the interview is 25 marks.

• Karnataka Public Service Commission: notifications, KAS rules page, syllabus, results
• KPSC online applications
• Gazetted Probationers 2026-27 notification (31 July 2026)
• Corrigendum (31 August 2026): deadline extended to 7 September 2026
• Gazetted Probationers Rules, 1997, with latest amendments
• Amendment Rules, 2022: Personality Test at 25 marks

How many posts are there?

319 in 2026-27: 117 Group-A and 202 Group-B, with 297 in RPC and 22 in Hyderabad-Karnataka.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, 0.25 per wrong answer in the Preliminary, with graded marking on some questions.

Is the interview really worth only 25 marks?

Yes, since the 2022 amendment.

What if I fail Kannada or English?

You can't go to interview, and your other marks aren't published.

Can I write the Mains in Kannada?

Yes. Each paper must be wholly in Kannada or wholly in English.

What is the age limit?

21 to 40 for General Merit, 43 for 2A to 3B, 45 for SC, ST and Cat-1, plus five years this cycle only.

What is the fee?

₹600 GM, ₹300 for 2A to 3B, ₹50 ex-servicemen; SC, ST, Cat-1 and PH pay nothing.

When is the Preliminary?

15 November 2026, tentatively.