MPSC State Service Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Joint Preliminary

• Objective, in Marathi and English.
• One fourth (25 per cent) of the marks is deducted for a wrong answer, in all of Paper 1 and all of Paper 2 except the Decision making and problem solving questions. Two answers count as wrong; a blank costs nothing. Totals can be fractions.
• You must sit both papers or you won't be evaluated.
• Prelims answer sheets of candidates who don't qualify are not re-checked.

State Services Main

Every Main paper is three hours and descriptive. There's no objective paper in the Mains at all.

• Papers 3 to 7 must all be in the same language. Optionals with a fixed medium must be answered in it; where both are allowed, your Prelims choice binds both papers. Answers in the wrong medium aren't marked.
• No supplementary answer book is given under any circumstances.
• Answer sub-questions consecutively. A sub-question written on a later page is ignored.
• A scientific (not programmable) calculator is allowed for the Electrical, Mechanical and Civil Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Commerce and Accountancy optionals. An Outline Stencil is allowed in Geography.

Interview

275 marks. About three times the posts in each category are called, on the combined marks of Papers 3 to 9. You also need a minimum percentile of the top scorer's total:

If you reach the interview on a disabled, orphan or sportsperson cut-off, you get no other concession.

MPSC publishes the syllabus separately, under Candidate Information, Examination, Syllabus of Examination on mpsc.gov.in. The Scheme of Examination of 24 December 2025 (with a corrigendum of 27 April 2026) is the standing document behind it, and the notification defers to it.

GS is 1000 of the 1750 counted marks, and the optional 500. The list of optional subjects, and the medium fixed for each, is in the syllabus on MPSC's website, not in the notification. The same optional choice applies to the Maharashtra Forest Service Main, which also has two optional papers.

In the Prelims, Paper 1 is wholly degree standard. Paper 2 mixes degree, Tenth and Twelfth standard, and its Decision making and problem solving block carries no negative marking.

Citizenship, language and qualification

An Indian citizen with knowledge of Marathi and a degree from a recognised university (or an equivalent the state recognises), except for three cadres:

You must hold the qualification by the last date of the Mains application. Final-year students can sit the Prelims, but under the corrigendum of 2 September 2026 must pass the degree by the last date of the Mains application, including any required internship or workshop.

Age, as on 1 April 2026

(20 January 2026 for Industries Officer (Technical).)

The minimum is 18 or 19, depending on the cadre.

Physical measurements (police and excise only)

The other twelve cadres have no physical standard.

Reservation

• Disability suitability is set cadre by cadre in Annexure 1. Disabled candidates aren't eligible for Deputy Superintendent of Police. It follows the RPwD Act, 2016 and state orders of 29 May 2019 and 31 July 2025.
• Creamy-layer VJ(A), NT(B), NT(C), NT(D), SBC, OBC and SEBC candidates get no reservation or age relaxation and pay the open fee.
• The recruitment is subject to Bombay High Court Writ Petition No. 3468 of 2024, on the SEBC Act of 26 February 2024 and the order of 27 February 2024.

Need a scribe or extra time? Ask in writing, in the prescribed form, within seven days of applying, and get prior permission. Otherwise you won't get either.

1. Joint Preliminary: about twelve times the posts of each service go through.
2. Main exam application: a fresh application, fee and district centre on mpsconline.gov.in, with a compulsory cadre preference list.
3. Main exam: nine papers.
4. Interview, with documents checked against originals. No originals, no interview, and latecomers are turned away.
5. Medical by an authorised board, before or after the interview, which settles which cadres you're fit for.
6. Preference list, once, after the general merit list.
7. Provisional Selection List, then the Final Merit List and Final Recommendation List.

The two-stage Prelims cut-off

The line is first set so about twelve times the posts qualify, then lowered as far as needed so each reserved category and sub-category has twelve times its posts. Candidates who get in on that second pass can only be selected against their reserved post. Horizontal reservations (sportspersons, orphans, disabled) have their own cut-off for each cadre.

The same rule runs to the end. A reserved candidate who qualified only on their category's lower standard isn't considered for an unreserved post. An open candidate who reached the Mains on a relaxed line is eligible only for the reserved post concerned.

Applying for the Mains

Without the fresh application and fee you won't be admitted. The only claim you can add is the date you got your degree, if it came after the Prelims application.

Preferences

• After the general merit list, everyone interviewed gets one chance to submit cadre preferences online. They can't be changed.
• If you don't submit, the preference you gave in the Mains application is final.
• Preferring a cadre you aren't eligible for is at your own risk.

Ties are broken under MPSC's press note of 12 September 2022. Recommendation lists go up on the website and to your profile. For police and excise cadres, the department re-checks physical measurements before appointment.

Mobile phones and electronic devices are banned at every stage, and malpractice falls under the Maharashtra Competitive Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

The notification says only that Group-A and Group-B posts are paid at Seventh Pay Commission pay matrix levels. It gives no rupee figures.

After appointment

• Departmental and professional exams, where the department requires them.
• Hindi and Marathi language exams, unless passed or exempt.
• A computer handling certificate under the IT department's order of 4 February 2013 (and letters of 8 January 2018 and 16 July 2021).
• Probation under the GAD order of 22 June 2021, and a bond for a fixed amount under the order of 24 April 2015.

Seniority follows the Maharashtra Civil Services seniority rules of 2015 for the combined probationary training batch. Departments are allotted (except for Section Officer) under the Revenue Department Allotment Rules, 2021.

Apply online on mpsconline.gov.in through your existing profile: update it, upload documents, pay, and choose a district centre. The cadre preference list is compulsory at this stage.

Plus bank charges and tax, non-refundable. Challan payment has been discontinued: pay online by card, net banking or UPI, through SBI or the gateway offered. Don't log out until you see Payment Successful and get a receipt. MPSC won't look into failed transactions.

Documents (PDF, 50 KB to 500 KB each)

• S.S.C. or equivalent, and proof of age
• Proof of the qualification claimed
• Caste proof and a 2025-2026 non-creamy-layer certificate
• EWS certificate for 2025-2026 dated before 20 January 2026
• Disability certificate with UDID card or enrolment number
• Ex-serviceman proof; sportsperson proof with a sports certificate verification report; orphan proof
• Domicile certificate, for any reservation claim including unreserved women
• Name change proof for married women
• Proof of knowledge of Marathi, where applicable
• Small family declaration

You can't submit without them. MPSC's press notes of 3 October 2025 and (for DigiLocker) 7 May 2026 explain how.

Scribes and extra time follow the Social Justice department's guidelines of 5 October 2021.

mpsc.gov.in carries notifications, schemes, syllabi, results, merit and recommendation lists, past papers and the specimen answer booklet. mpsconline.gov.in carries your profile, application, fee, admission certificate, interview letter and preferences.

MPSC also runs the Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C Combined exams, the Civil Judge Junior Division and JMFC exam, departmental recruitments and limited departmental exams. Check the advertisement number before relying on any rule.

The Prelims is held at thirty-seven centres: Ahilyanagar, Akola, Alibag, Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Beed, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Kudal, Latur, Mumbai (Central), Mumbai (West), Nagpur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Nashik, Dharashiv, Parbhani, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Thane, Wardha, Washim, Yavatmal, Palghar and Navi Mumbai.

The Mains is at six: Amravati, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi Mumbai and Pune.

You choose one district centre when applying and can't change it, or the sub-centre MPSC assigns. If a centre can't run or is full, you're moved to the nearest one.

2026 Main timetable (11.00 to 14.00 each day)

Bring the admission certificate and one original ID (Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, PAN, or smart-card driving licence only) with a photocopy. An e-Aadhaar must be a clear colour print showing name, address, gender, photo, date of birth and the generation and download dates. If your name has changed, bring the marriage certificate or gazette notification with a copy.

The 2 September corrigendum revised Annexure 1's disability suitability for Assistant Block Development Officer and Accounts Officer (citing orders of 11 October 2021 and 7 August 2023), rewrote paragraph 6.3(three) on final-year candidates, and changed nothing else.

Later dates appear on MPSC's advertisements listing, its Tentative Schedule and Current Status pages, and Schedule for Interviews.

Download the admission certificate from your profile on mpsconline.gov.in, usually seven days before the exam. You'll get an SMS. No certificate, no entry. If it isn't there, contact MPSC with proof of application three days before the exam.

Interview letters come to your online account, with an SMS, but the result on the website is the official one. If another body's exam clashes, MPSC won't reschedule.

The notification is a summary. MPSC's General Instructions to Candidates (Chapter 4 covers uploads) and the scheme of 24 December 2025 fill in the rest, and the website version is authoritative.

The interview is a little under fourteen per cent of the total, more than most state commissions give it. Results, the seat-number list of Mains qualifiers, merit lists and recommendation lists go up on mpsc.gov.in.

MPSC doesn't publish cut-offs in advance. The fixed bars are 33 per cent in Prelims Paper 2, 25 per cent in each Mains language paper, and the interview percentile floor. The Prelims line (on Paper 1 only) and the interview line (on Papers 3 to 9) float.

With 238 posts, the ratios put roughly 2,850 into the Mains and about 700 into the interview, before the second-stage relaxations.

The scheme was revised in 2025 and again in December 2025, so an older cut-off describes a different exam. Results and merit lists for each cycle are on mpsc.gov.in.

1. Choose your optional before the Prelims. It's 500 of 1750 counted marks and can't be changed.
2. Clear Prelims Paper 2 and focus on Paper 1. Taking Paper 2 from 40 to 70 per cent buys nothing. Answer every Decision making question, since those carry no penalty.
3. Attempt Paper 1 selectively. A quarter off for each wrong answer.
4. Train for nine descriptive papers over five weeks. The fortnight before the optional is your best revision window.
5. Practise to the length of the answer book, and answer sub-questions in order.
6. Don't take the language papers for granted. They're first, 300 marks each, and failing either ends the attempt.
7. Check your admission certificate shows the medium you chose.
8. Check which cadres you're eligible for before listing preferences.
9. Use MPSC's past papers and specimen answer booklet on mpsc.gov.in.

MPSC publishes previous question papers and a specimen answer booklet on mpsc.gov.in, under its Previous Question Papers and Specimen Answer Booklet pages. The Mains is now nine descriptive papers, so older objective Mains papers describe a different exam.

• Maharashtra Public Service Commission: notifications, syllabus, past papers, results
• mpsconline.gov.in: application, fee, admission certificate, preferences
• Notification No. 018/2026, 25 August 2026
• Corrigendum, 2 September 2026
• Scheme of Examination, 24 December 2025
• Advertisements, Notifications and Corrigendums: watch here for the next cycle

Is there a separate State Services Preliminary?

No. You sit the Joint Preliminary, common to nine Main exams, with a separate result for each.

Do both Preliminary papers count?

No. Paper 2 only needs 33 per cent. The cut-off is on Paper 1. You must sit both.

What is the final total?

2025: 1750 written plus 275 interview.

When do I choose the optional subject?

When you apply for the Prelims. It can never be changed.

Will I get extra answer sheets?

No.

I'm in the final year of my degree. Can I apply?

You can sit the Prelims, but must pass the degree by the last date of the Mains application.

What is the fee?

₹544 open, ₹344 for backward class, EWS, orphan and disabled candidates.

Can I change my exam centre?

No.