UPSC CSE 2025 Cut-Off Marks Officially Released for All Examination Stages
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has formally announced the cut-off marks for the highly competitive Civil Services Examination (CSE) 2025. These critical scores have been disclosed for all three phases of the selection process: the preliminary examination, the mains examination, and the final result following the personality test interview.
Preliminary Examination Cut-Off Details
According to the commission's official notification, the preliminary examination cut-off has been determined exclusively based on performance in General Studies (GS) Paper 1. The commission clarified that GS Paper 2, commonly referred to as the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), serves as a qualifying paper where candidates must achieve a minimum of 33 percent marks.
The category-wise cut-off marks for the preliminary stage are as follows:
- General Category: 92.66 marks
- Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 89.34 marks
- Other Backward Classes (OBC): 92.00 marks
- Scheduled Castes (SC): 84.00 marks
- Scheduled Tribes (ST): 82.66 marks
For candidates belonging to Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) categories, the cut-off marks demonstrate a wider range, spanning from 76.66 marks down to 40.66 marks depending on specific disability classifications.
Mains Examination and Final Cut-Off Marks
The cut-off required to qualify for the personality test interview after successfully clearing the mains examination has been established as follows:
- General Category: 739 marks
- EWS Category: 706 marks
- OBC Category: 717 marks
- SC Category: 700 marks
- ST Category: 694 marks
The final cut-off marks, which incorporate scores from both the mains examination and the personality test interview, have been calculated as:
- General Category: 963 marks
- EWS Category: 926 marks
- OBC Category: 931 marks
- SC Category: 905 marks
- ST Category: 902 marks
Total Recommendations and Result Timeline
The UPSC has recommended a total of 958 successful candidates for appointment to prestigious civil services including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and various other central services. The final results for UPSC CSE 2025 were officially declared on March 6, 2026.
The commission further announced that detailed marks obtained by individual candidates will be accessible through the official UPSC website within fifteen days following the result declaration. This timeline indicates that candidate marks should be available by approximately March 20, 2026.
Tie-Breaking Rules for Equal Scores
UPSC has provided comprehensive clarification regarding the tie-breaking procedures implemented when two or more candidates achieve identical total marks in the examination process. The hierarchy for resolving such ties follows this specific order:
- The candidate securing higher combined marks in the compulsory papers of the written examination and the personality test receives higher ranking. These compulsory papers include Essay, General Studies Paper 1, General Studies Paper 2, General Studies Paper 3, and General Studies Paper 4.
- If the tie persists after applying the first criterion, the candidate with superior marks exclusively in the compulsory written papers is placed higher in the ranking.
- Should candidates remain tied even after considering written paper scores, the older candidate in terms of age is granted higher rank in the final merit list.
These standardized procedures ensure fairness and transparency in the final ranking process for one of India's most challenging competitive examinations.
