The online application window ran from 16/09/2026 to 06/10/2026 (6:00 PM) and is now closed. This page covers the exam dates, timing, pattern, vacancies, eligibility, centres and key instructions from the official notification.
UPSC ESE Prelims and Main Exam Date 2027
UPSC ESE Prelims 2027 Exam Timing
The Prelims is held in two sessions on the same day, 31 January 2027. Both papers are objective type (multiple choice).
Entry to the exam venue closes 30 minutes before the start of each session. No candidate is allowed in after entry closes.
UPSC ESE 2027 Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme
The Engineering Services Examination has three stages. Marks from all three stages decide the final rank.
Prelims, Main and Interview marks add up to 1,300 in total. The Prelims marks of candidates who qualify for the Main exam are counted in the final merit.
UPSC ESE Prelims Negative Marking
- Each question has four options.
- For every wrong answer, one-third (1/3) of the marks assigned to that question is deducted.
- Marking more than one answer is treated as a wrong answer, even if one of the answers is correct.
- There is no penalty for a question left blank.
Calculator Rule
Battery-operated pocket calculators are permitted only for the conventional (Main) papers. They are not allowed in the objective-type Prelims papers.
UPSC ESE 2027 Vacancy Details
UPSC expects approximately 480 vacancies, including 19 vacancies for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD). The number of vacancies is liable to change.
The category-wise (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics & Telecommunication) and reservation-wise vacancy split is Not Available Officially in the notification. Reservations apply for SC, ST, OBC, EWS and PwBD candidates as fixed by the Government of India.
Engineering Categories and Services
A candidate can apply for only one of the four categories. Recruitment is for Group A and Group B services and posts, including the following.
Candidates are allotted services strictly by merit rank, their service preferences and the number of vacancies, subject to medical fitness.
UPSC ESE 2027 Syllabus Overview
Paper I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) is common to all candidates. It covers ten topic areas, and each topic carries roughly 5% to 15% of the paper:
- Current issues of national and international importance
- Engineering aptitude: logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Engineering mathematics and numerical analysis
- Design, drawing and safety principles
- Standards and quality practices
- Energy, environment and climate change
- Basics of project management
- Basics of material science and engineering
- ICT tools and applications in engineering
- Ethics and values in the engineering profession
Paper II of the Prelims covers the combined syllabus of Paper I and Paper II of the candidate's chosen discipline. The detailed discipline-wise syllabus is in Section III of the official notification.
UPSC ESE 2027 Important Instructions for the Exam Day
- Carry the e-Admit Card and the same photo ID entered in the URN profile (Aadhaar, Voter ID, PAN, Passport, Driving Licence or another government-issued photo ID).
- Reach the venue early for face authentication, identity verification and frisking. Entry closes 30 minutes before each session.
- Use a black ball pen only to write and mark answers on the OMR sheet. Pencil, ink pens and other colours are not permitted.
- Errors in the Roll Number or Test Booklet Series Code on the OMR sheet can lead to rejection of the answer sheet.
- Mobile phones, smart watches, AI-enabled glasses, Bluetooth devices, pen drives and similar devices are banned, even in switched-off mode. No safe-keeping arrangement is made at the venue.
- Do not carry a calculator into the Prelims exam hall.
- Candidature at all stages is provisional until UPSC verifies eligibility against original documents after the candidate qualifies for the Personality Test.
UPSC ESE 2027 Important Links
