UPSC - IES Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Three stages, 1,300 marks in total.

Stage I: Preliminary (objective)

One third of a question's marks is deducted for a wrong answer. Marking more than one answer counts as wrong, with the same penalty, even if one of them was right. A blank costs nothing.

Stage II: Main (conventional)

Written answers, derivations, diagrams and numerical solutions. Irrelevant matter, signs or marks on the answer script are penalised.

Stage III: Personality Test

Grand total: 500 + 600 + 200 = 1,300 marks.

Preliminary Paper I: General Studies and Engineering Aptitude

Common to all four disciplines: current issues of national and international importance; engineering aptitude covering logical reasoning and analytical ability; engineering mathematics and numerical analysis; general principles of design, drawing and safety; standards and quality practices in production, construction, maintenance and services; basics of energy and environment: conservation, pollution and degradation, climate change and environmental impact assessment; basics of project management; basics of material science and engineering; information and communication technologies; and ethics and values in the engineering profession.

Discipline papers

Civil Engineering: building materials, solid mechanics, structural analysis, design of steel and concrete structures, construction practice and management, fluid mechanics, hydraulic machines, hydrology, water resources, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, foundation engineering, surveying and geology, transportation engineering.

Mechanical Engineering: fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, IC engines, refrigeration and air conditioning, turbomachinery, power plant engineering, renewable energy, engineering mechanics, strength of materials, theory of machines, machine design, manufacturing and industrial engineering, materials science, mechatronics and robotics.

Electrical Engineering: engineering mathematics, electrical materials, electric circuits and fields, electrical and electronic measurements, computer fundamentals, basic electronics, analog and digital electronics, systems and signal processing, control systems, electrical machines, power systems, power electronics and drives.

Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering: basic electronics, materials and components, network theory, electronic measurements, analog and digital circuits, control systems, communication systems, electromagnetics, advanced communication topics including microwave, fibre optic and satellite communication.

Nationality

A citizen of India, a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, a Tibetan refugee who came to India before 1 January 1962 intending to settle permanently, or a person of Indian origin who migrated from certain specified countries. Some services are open to Indian citizens only.

Age

21 to 30 years as on 1 January 2026 for ESE 2026: born between 2 January 1996 and 1 January 2005. Age is counted on 1 January of the exam year, earlier than most bank exams use.

Educational qualification

A degree in engineering from a recognised university or institution, or an equivalent: Sections A and B of the Institution of Engineers (India) exams, a degree or diploma in engineering from a recognised foreign university, Graduate Membership of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, or Associate Membership of the Aeronautical Society of India, among others in the notification. Final-year students may apply.

1. Stage I, Preliminary, objective, 500 marks. Screens for the Main, and its marks count in the final merit, unlike the Civil Services Preliminary.
2. Stage II, Main, conventional, 600 marks across two discipline papers.
3. Stage III, Personality Test, 200 marks, before a UPSC board.

Final merit is on all 1,300 marks. Services and departments are allotted on merit and preference, within the vacancies reported for your discipline. Cut-offs differ a lot between the four disciplines.

Level 10 of the 7th Pay Commission matrix, the same entry grade as an IAS or IPS officer. Dearness, house rent and transport allowances come on top.

The services all start at the same level but do very different work in very different places: the Indian Railway Service of Engineers, the Central Engineering Service, the Indian Defence Service of Engineers and the Border Roads Engineering Service, for example. Which you get depends on rank, category and your preference list.

Fee

Pay at any State Bank of India branch, or online by Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, credit or debit card, UPI, or net banking. Payments by any other mode aren't recognised.

The window closes at 18:00

Apply on upsconline.gov.in. The 2026 window ran from 26 September to 16 October 2025, until 18:00, when the link was disabled. UPSC doesn't extend it.

Your engineering category is fixed here

Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, or Electronics and Telecommunication. It decides Paper II of the Preliminary and both Main papers, and it can't be changed later on any ground.

For PwBD candidates

The 2026 notification advises candidates with blindness not to apply, because no ESE service has vacancies identified for it, and candidates with low vision to apply only under Electronics and Telecommunication. Each service's functional classification is in Annexure I of the Rules.

ESE recruits Group A engineering officers to services under several ministries. The exact list is in each cycle's notification, and it consistently includes:

• Indian Railways: the Indian Railway Service of Engineers, of Mechanical Engineers, of Electrical Engineers, and of Signal Engineers, along with the Indian Railway Stores Service.
• Central Public Works Department and the Central Water Engineering Service.
• Ministry of Defence: the Indian Defence Service of Engineers, the Indian Naval Armament Service and the Defence Quality Assurance Service.
• Border Roads Engineering Service.
• Central Power Engineering Service, the Indian Telecommunication Service and the Indian Supply Service, among others.

The 2026 notification puts vacancies at approximately 474, including 26 for candidates with benchmark disabilities: 15 for locomotor disability, 7 for hard of hearing, 1 for low vision and 3 for specific learning disability and multiple disabilities. The figure is liable to change.

Not every service takes every discipline, so the split by discipline matters more than the total.

The Preliminary is held at centres across India, the Main at a smaller set, and the Personality Test only at the Commission's office in New Delhi.

Centres are allotted first come, first served and close once full, so a late application narrows the choice. You can't change centre after applications close.

No late entry under any circumstances. The gate closes before each session starts.

Both recent cycles were notified in September, with the Preliminary in late January or early February. Dates are on the ESE 2027 exam page and in the UPSC calendar.

UPSC issues an e-Admission Certificate on upsconline.nic.in. Nothing is sent by post or email.

It's released on the last working day of the week before the exam. If you changed your scribe within seven days of the exam, you get it three days before instead.

You also get a Photo ID Card at registration; carry it to the exam and to the Personality Test. Keep your registered email working all cycle. The helpline during the application period is 011-24041001.

All three stages count towards the final merit.

After the cycle UPSC publishes category-wise cut-offs for each stage, marks of recommended candidates, and marks for candidates who weren't recommended, so you can see your own score.

UPSC publishes category-wise cut-off marks for each stage after the cycle closes, on its cut-off marks page.

Civil, Mechanical, Electrical and Electronics and Telecommunication are ranked separately against their own vacancies, so there are four sets of cut-offs and they can differ widely in the same year. Always compare within your discipline, category and year.

1. Prepare for a written paper. The Main wants derivations, diagrams, stated assumptions and units. Objective practice alone doesn't build that, and it's where well-prepared candidates lose marks.
2. Bank marks in the Preliminary. Its 500 marks are part of the 1,300 that decide your rank.
3. Don't neglect Paper I. General Studies and Engineering Aptitude is 200 marks, common to all disciplines, and the section engineers most often skip.
4. Write to time. Two three-hour conventional papers reward answer planning and legibility.
5. Guess sparingly. The penalty is one third, heavier than the quarter in bank exams.
6. Use the real papers. Start with UPSC's previous question papers, and read the specimen answer booklet before the Main, since both Main papers are conventional.
7. Look at your own discipline's cut-offs, not the overall picture. With 199 Civil posts against 72 Electrical in ESE 2026, the competition isn't the same in each stream.

UPSC publishes the real papers. Past ESE papers are in its previous question papers archive, and the current Preliminary papers, one per discipline, usually go up on the exam's page within weeks of the test.

Official answer keys follow once the whole cycle is over. For the conventional Main there's a specimen question cum answer booklet.

Official website: upsc.gov.in

ESE 2027 notification (PDF): Engineering Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2027

ESE 2026 notification (PDF): Engineering Services Examination, 2026

ESE 2027 exam page: official exam page

Active examinations: UPSC active examinations

Online application portal: upsconline.gov.in

Is UPSC IES the same as ESE?

Yes. Engineering Services Examination is the formal name; IES is the older one people still use.

Do Preliminary marks count towards the final result?

Yes. 500 for the Preliminary, 600 for the Main and 200 for the Personality Test, 1,300 in all.

Is the Main examination objective?

No. Both Main papers are conventional. Only the Preliminary is objective.

Which engineering branches can apply?

Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics & Telecommunication. You compete only within yours.

What if I mark two answers to one question?

It counts as wrong and takes the one-third penalty, even if one was correct.

Is Paper I the same for every discipline?

Yes. General Studies and Engineering Aptitude, 200 marks, common to all four.