UPSC Exam Fees and Concessions

The UPSC exam fee is ₹100 for the Civil Services preliminary exam, paid with your application form, and a further ₹200 if you qualify for the main exam. Women, SC, ST and PwBD candidates pay nothing at either stage; men in the General, EWS and OBC categories pay, unless they are PwBD. You pay online only, and the fee is never refunded.

These are the fees in the CSE 2026 notice, the latest UPSC has published. Check the CSE 2027 notice, due on 13 January 2027 according to UPSC's calendar, for that exam's fees.

How much you pay

Stage	Fee	When you pay
Preliminary exam	₹100	With your application, before the last date
Main exam	₹200	In the 10-day window after the prelims result

So a candidate who pays and reaches the mains pays ₹300 in all (₹100 + ₹200). The notice sets no fee for the personality test.

Who doesn't pay

The notice exempts these candidates from both fees:

• women candidates;
• Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates;
• Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates;
• persons with benchmark disability (PwBD).

Nobody else is exempt. General, EWS and OBC candidates pay unless they are women or PwBD.

Fee by category

Candidate	Prelims fee	Mains fee
General, male	₹100	₹200
EWS, male	₹100	₹200
OBC, male	₹100	₹200
SC, male or female	Nil	Nil
ST, male or female	Nil	Nil
PwBD, any category	Nil	Nil
Women, any category	Nil	Nil

Conditions on the PwBD exemption

The notice attaches two conditions to the exemption for persons with benchmark disability:

• A certificate with your application. You must submit, with your registration and online application, a certified copy of your Certificate of Disability from a Government hospital or medical board.
• Eligibility for appointment. The exemption is for candidates who are otherwise eligible for appointment to the services under the standards of medical fitness for them, including any concessions for persons with benchmark disability. Being exempt from the fee does not by itself make you eligible for appointment; that depends on the medical examination the Government prescribes.

How to pay

You pay while filling in the exam-specific part of the online application, using one of these:

• net banking from any bank;
• a Visa, Mastercard or RuPay card, credit or debit;
• UPI.

The notice says payment through any other mode is neither valid nor acceptable. An application without the prescribed fee is summarily rejected, unless you have claimed exemption. During the CSE 2026 application window, the notice listed fee payment among the problems its helpline (011-24041001) would handle.

The mains fee window

If you qualify for the mains, UPSC opens a 10-day window after the prelims result. Every qualified candidate has to log in in this window, update or reconfirm their details and submit the form; candidates who aren't exempt pay the ₹200 here. If you miss the window, the notice says you won't be allowed to take part in the later stages.

No refunds

The notice is plain: a fee once paid is not refunded under any circumstances, and it can't be held in reserve for another exam or selection. You also can't withdraw your application after submitting it. So check that you are eligible, and that your age and attempts allow you to sit, before you pay.

If you sat the previous year's exam and want to apply again, the notice says to apply without waiting for that exam's result or an offer of appointment. A fee you pay this way isn't refunded either, even if you are selected in the earlier exam.

For the rest of the form, see notification and application form.