A candidate must hold a degree of any of the Universities incorporate by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of amendment or declared to deemed as a University under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956 or possess an equivalent qualification.
Note: Candidates who have appeared at an examination the passing of which would render them educationally qualified for the Commission’s examination but have not been informed of the result as also the candidates who intend to appear at such a qualifying examination will also be eligible for admission to the Preliminary Examination.All candidates who are declared qualified by the Commission for taking the Civil Services (Main) Examination will be required to produce proof of passing the requisite examination along with their application for the Main Examination failing which such candidates will not be admitted to the Main Examination.

(a) A candidate must have attained the age of 21 years and must not have attained the age of 30 years on 1st August of the year in which he/she is appearing for the Preliminary Examination (e.g.,a candidate appearing for the preliminary examination of the year 2009 should be between 21-30 years of age as on 01st, August 2009) i.e. he/she must have been born not earlier than 02nd Augustn 1979 and not later than 01st, August, 1988.

(b) The upper age limit prescribed above will be relaxable:

• upto a maximum of five years if a candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from  the 1st January, 1980 to the 31st day of December, 1989.

• upto a maximum of three years in the case of Defence Services personnel disabled in operations during hostilities with any foreign country or in a disturbed area and released as a consequence thereof:

• upto a maximum of five years in the case of ex-servicemen including Commissioned Officers and ECOs/SSCOs who have rendered at least five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2008 and have been released (i) on completion of assignment (including those whose assignment is due to be completed within one year from 1st August, 2008) otherwise than by way of dismissal or discharge on account of misconduct or inefficiency, or (ii) on account of physical disability attributable to Military Service, or (iii) on invalidment.

• upto a maximum of five years in the case of ECOs/SSCOs who have completed an initial period of assignment of five years Military Service as on 1st August, 2008 and whose assignment has been extended beyond five years and in whose case the Ministry of Defence issues a certificate that they can apply for civil employment and that they will be released on three month’s notice on selection from the date of receipt of offer of appointment.

• upto a maximum of 10 years in the case of blind, deaf-mute and Orthopaedically handicapped persons. 

(1) For the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service, a candidate must be a citizen of India.

(2) For other services, a candidate must be either :—

• Provided further that candidates belonging to categories (b), (c) and (d) above will not
  be eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary, may be admitted to the examination but the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificate has been issued to him by the Government of India.

Number of attempts :
Every candidate appearing at the examination who is otherwise eligible shall be permitted four attempts at the examination. Provided that this restriction on the number of attempts permissible to candidates belonging to other Backward Classes who are otherwise eligible shall be seven.
Notes: