UPSC IFoS Highlights

Notification

The UPSC has released the UPSC IFoS 2026 Official Notification and opened the online application window to apply. The eligibility criteria, exam pattern, and other details regarding the exam have also been released in the official notification.

Dates

Vacancy

As per the latest notification, the total number of vacancies declared by the UPSC is 110 tentatively.

Reservation will be made for candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and PWD in respect of vacancies as may be fixed by the Government.

Eligibility Criteria 2026

All the criteria are mentioned in the official notification by the conducting body. The primary criteria are that the candidate must be Indian to apply for the UPSC IFoS 2026 exam. Here are other important criteria:

• The candidates can be minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 32 years on Jan 1 2026, on the year of examination. This means the candidate should not be born before August 2, 1989, and not after August 1, 2000.
• Candidates must have a graduation degree in Botany/ Chemistry/ Geology/ Mathematics/ Physics/ Statistics/ Zoology or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture or Forestry or engineering.

2026 Online Application

• The application process for UPSC IFoS 2026 has started on 4 February 2026, 2026. The date for submission of the online application process for UPSC IFS Prelims 2026 is 24 May 2026 (Sunday).
• The fees for the UPSC IFoS 2026 application are INR 100 for general category male candidates and OBC. SC/ST/PWD/ex-servicemen and women are exempted from fees payment.
• The payment can be done through net banking, debit, and credit card, or by submitting cash to the respective and authorized bank branch along with the print-out of the e-challan.

Admit Card

The candidates who fill the application form successfully will be able to download the admit card for UPSC IFoS 2026 Prelims exam.

The conducting body releases separate admit cards for each test.

• The UPSC IFoS 2026 Prelims exam is conducted on 24 May 2026 (Sunday).
• The facility of downloading the UPSC IFS 2026 Mains Admit Card will remain available till the day of the exam. The candidates can download their admit card by using roll number, registration number, and other details on the login page.

Exam Centers

There are 80 cities from all over the countries which have exam centers for IFS prelims 2026

• Allotment of Centres will be on the "first apply-first allot" basis, and once the capacity of a particular Centre is attained, the same will be frozen.
• Applicants, who cannot get a Centre of their choice due to ceiling, will be required to choose a Centre from the remaining ones.

Exam Pattern

The UPSC IFoS has three stages of the exam as Prelims, Mains, and Interview. Here is the UPSC IFoS 2026 exam pattern for the mains and prelims exams.

UPSC IFoS Prelims Exam Pattern

• The UPSC IFoS prelims have two papers- general studies 1, and general studies 2.
• Each paper has 200 marks and the total marks of prelims are 400.
• Both papers have objective-type questions.
• Each question carries 1 mark and there is a negative marking of 0.33 marks if the answer is wrong. There is no negative marking if you leave a question unattempted.
• The candidates will get two hours for each paper which means a total of 4 hours is allotted for the prelims exam.

UPSC IFoS Mains Exam Pattern

• There are six papers to be completed for the mains exam.
• Paper 1 and 2 have 300 marks each while, Paper 3, 4, 5, and 6 carry 200 marks each.
• The total marks for the mains exam are 1400 marks.
• The candidates will get 3 hours for each paper.
• The papers are descriptive.

Syllabus

The syllabus for UPSC IFoS is vast and unlike IAS, in the mains, the syllabus gets limited and focused on the knowledge solely required for the job of an IFoS officer. Read UPSC IFoS Exam Pattern and Syllabus in Detail.

Job Profile

The final merit list is however prepared based on the marks acquired in the mains along with the marks from the interview. The prelims marks are not considered though it is an important determinant on whether you qualify for Mains at all.

UPSC IFoS- Personality test/interview

The candidate will have a face-to-face interview with the board of experts. The candidate will be expected to have a thorough understanding of their academic subject as well as curiosity and awareness about what is happening around them as well as outside their state.

Results

UPSC releases the results of both Prelims and Mains on their official website. The results are released in the form of a PDF and can be downloaded and printed out for future purposes.

This your, the result for UPSC IFoS 2026 Prelims exam is expected to be declared in the month of 24 May 2026 (Sunday).

Cutoff

Here are the cutoff marks of the UPSC IFoS 2019:

Salary

The UPSC IFoS salary varies depending on the designation and place of posting. But what makes the job role most lucrative is the option to travel all over the country to some of the most spectacular locations. Here are the salary details.

Apart from in-hand salary, Travel allowances are very high, and Personal and well-furnished bungalows and quarters in some of the best locations in the country, wherever you are posted.

The IFoS officers can get promoted based on their years of service as well as experience and skills developed in their tenure. There are posts like the forest range officer which is an entry-level post in this department.

FAQ's