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UPPSC PCS (Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services)

Evidence status: 🟡 secondary (2026-10-01). The three-stage structure (Preliminary Examination, Main Examination & Interview) for the Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services Examination, the current cycle (Advt. A-1/E-1/2025, at interview stage as of September 2026), and the commission's previous-paper archive were confirmed against official uppsc.up.nic.in pages fetched this run (see Official sources). The prelims question/marks figures below follow the standing PCS pattern but were not re-confirmed against the 2025 advertisement PDF this run — that advertisement is closed and its PDF is no longer on the live notice board. Always read the current notice before you apply or pay a fee.

UPPSC's Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services exam recruits officers for Uttar Pradesh's state and upper subordinate services. It is one of the most-attempted state exams. See the advertisement for the exact post list.

At a glance
Conducted by Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission
Stages Preliminary (objective) → Main (written) → interview
Current cycle Advt. A-1/E-1/2025; interviews in progress (official notice board, September 2026)

Official sources

Exam pattern

Prelims (standing pattern — confirm against the notification): General Studies I (150 questions, 200 marks), which decides who reaches the Mains, and General Studies II / CSAT (100 questions, 200 marks), which is qualifying at 33%. Only GS I marks count for the prelims merit. Mains: written papers (general Hindi, essay, general studies, including UP-specific papers), then an interview. The notification has the paper list and marks.

Syllabus

General studies as in UPSC CSE (polity, history, geography, economy, environment, science and technology, current affairs), with state-specific history, geography, economy and culture. The main exam adds essays, a language paper and GS papers. The commission's notification has the exact syllabus.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Prepare the shared UPSC GS modules once. They cover most of every state PSC.
  2. Add the state's own history, geography, economy and schemes from official state sources.
  3. Solve the commission's own previous papers from its website: each commission has its own style.

Free resources