CDS 2 2025 - Union Public Service Commission will soon issue the UPSC CDS 2 admit card 2025 at upsc.gov.in. Earlier, the commissin opened the CDS 2025 application correction window from July 7 to 9, 2025 for candidates to make changes in their application form. The UPSC CDS 2 exam 2025 is scheduled to be conducted on September 14, 2025. The UPSC CDS 2025 application form was activated from May 28 to June 20, 2025.
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The UPSC CDS 2 notification 2025 was released on May 28, 2025 at upsconline.nic.in/upsc.gov.in. As per the eligibility criteria, graduates between 20 to 24 years of age are eligible to apply for UPSC CDS exam. Before filling up the application form, candidates must check CDS 2 eligibility criteria 2025 carefully. Those who submit the CDS 2025 application form will be issued the admit card. Check the below table to know more about the CDS 2 2025 exam.
Aspirants can check the CDS 2 2025 highlights from the below table.
Particulars | Details |
Full Exam Name | Combined Defence Services Examination |
Short Exam Name | CDS |
Frequency of Conduct | Twice a year |
Exam Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission |
Languages | English, Hindi |
Mode of Application | Online |
Application Fee | Rs 200 for Offline and Online |
Exam Mode | Offline |
Counselling Mode | Offline |
Duration of the Exam | 6 Hours |
The CDS exam date 2025 and other crucial dates are announced by the Commission. Candidates can check the UPSC Calendar 2025 to know all the important dates of CDS 2025. They can also check CDS 2 2025 exam dates along with other crucial dates given in the table below.
Events | CDS 2 2025 Dates |
CDS 2 notification date 2025 | May 28, 2025 |
CDS 2 application form release date | May 28, 2025 |
CDS 2 application form last date to apply | June 20, 2025 (extended date) |
| CDS 2 application correction facility | July 7 to 9, 2025 |
CDS 2 2025 admit card date | To be notified |
CDS 2 2025 exam date | September 14, 2025 |
CDS 2 question papers 2025 release date | To be notified |
CDS 2 2025 result date | To be notified |
CDS 2 SSB Interview date | To be notified |
CDS 2 cut-off date | To be notified |
| UPSC CDS 2 final result | To be notified |
Union Public Service Commission has prescribed the CDS 2025 eligibility criteria in the official notification at upsc.gov.in. There are three sections to check in the CDS eligibility criteria 2025 which are age limit, nationality and educational qualification. A candidate must be an Indian citizen between 20 to 24 years of age to be eligible to apply for UPSC CDS 2 2025 recruitment.
As per the educational qualification, candidates having a bachelor’s degree can apply for CDS 2 2025 exam for IMA (Indian Military Academy), INA (Indian Naval Academy), AFA (Air Force Academy) and OTA (Officer Training Academy). To apply for CDS 2 2025 recruitment, candidates must be physically fit and their eyesight too as per the prescribed format.
The commission provided the CDS 2025 application form correction window from July 7 to 9, 2025. Candidates were able to fill the UPSC CDS application form from May 28 to June 20, 2025 (extended date). The CDS 2025 application form apply link was activated at upsconline.nic.in/ upsc.gov.in. Those meeting the eligibility criteria can fill the CDS 2 application form 2025. Candidates must check the eligibility criteria carefully before applying for CDS 2 2025 exam.
First, go to the official website of UPSC - upsc.gov.in.
Click on Examination>Active Examination>Online Application for CDS 2 2025 given on the Homepage.
Click on “CDS 2 2025 Part 1”.
Now, you will be directed to a new page and then, enter your details correctly.
Select your preferences carefully and move on to Part 2 of the CDS 2 application form.
Pay the required application fee through online/offline mode as detailed below.
Check all details and click on the Submit button.
Save, download and take two or three prints out for future reference.
The exam conducting authority announced the CDS 2 vacancy 2025 in the official notification. a total of 453 CDS vacancies have been announced this time. The CDS 2025 vacancies have been announced for Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA) and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA for Men and Women).
The Union Public Service Commission prescribed the CDS 2 2025 exam pattern in the official notification. UPSC CDS exam will be conducted in two stages - Written Examination and Interview. For IMA, INA and AFA, the questions will be asked from General Knowledge, English, and Elementary Mathematics while for OTA, questions will be coming from English and General Knowledge.
The maximum marks according to the CDS paper pattern 2025 is 300 marks for IMA, INA and AFA while for OTA is 200 marks. A deduction of ⅓ mark will be applicable for the written exam of CDS 2 2025. The questions will be in two languages i.e., English and Hindi with MCQs type.
The Union Public Service Commission specified the CDS 2 2025 syllabus in the official notification. The exam authority will take two papers in the written exam for OTA and three papers in the written examination for IMA, INA and AFA. The questions are asked from important topics of General Knowledge, English and Elementary Mathematics. The level of questions are from classes 10th and 12th in the CDS 2 written exam 2025. To know more about CDS 2 syllabus 2025, candidates must go through the table given below.
Subjects | Topics |
Mathematics |
|
English |
|
General Knowledge |
|
Union Public Service Commission shared the CDS 2 2025 exam centres in the official notification. Candidates have to choose their choice of exam centre while filling the CDS 2 application form. Aspirants can go through the details of CDS exam centres 2025 in the table below.
| AGARTALA | GHAZIABAD | NAVI MUMBAI |
| AGRA | GORAKHPUR | PANAJI (GOA) |
| AJMER | GURGAON | PATNA |
| AHMEDABAD | GWALIOR | PORT BLAIR |
| AIZAWL | HYDERABAD | PRAYAGRAJ (ALLAHABAD) |
| ALIGARH | IMPHAL | PUDUCHERRY |
| ALMORA (UTTARAKHAND) | INDORE | PUNE |
| ANANTPUR (ANDHRA PRADESH) | ITANAGAR | RAIPUR |
| CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR [AURANGABAD (MAHARASHTRA)] | JABALPUR | RAJKOT |
| BENGALURU | JAIPUR | RANCHI |
| BAREILLY | JAMMU | SAMBALPUR |
| BHOPAL | JODHPUR | SHILLONG |
| BILASPUR (CHHATISGARH) | JORHAT | SHIMLA |
| CHANDIGARH | KARGIL | SILIGUDI |
| CHENNAI | KOCHI | SRINAGAR |
| COIMBATORE | KOHIMA | SRINAGAR (UTTARAKHAND) |
| CUTTACK | KOLKATA | THANE |
| DEHRADUN | KOZHIKODE (CALICUT) | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM |
| DELHI | LEH | TIRUCHIRAPALLI |
| DHARAMSHALA | LUCKNOW | TIRUPATI |
| DHARWAD | LUDHIANA | UDAIPUR |
| DISPUR | MADURAI | VARANASI |
| FARIDABAD | MANDI | VELLORE |
| GANGTOK | MUMBAI | VIJAYAVADA |
| GAYA | MYSORE | VISHAKHAPATNAM |
| GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR | NAGPUR | HANUMAKONDA (WARANGAL URBAN) |
Union Public Service Commission will soon release the UPSC CDS 2 2025 admit card for the written exam on the official website. Candidates appearing in the exam can download the CDS 2 admit card 2025 by using their login credentials - registration number and date of birth. The CDS 2 2025 admit card consists of the exact exam date, exam venue, candidate’s name, roll number, etc. It is mandatory to carry the CDS 2 hall ticket 2025 to the exam centre with a valid and original identity proof on exam day.
Various institutes will release the CDS 2 2025 exam analysis for candidates after the conclusion of the exam. Candidates will be able to check difficulty level, good attempts, types of questions asked, etc. here. With the help of the CDS 2 exam analysis 2025, candidates can measure their performance in the exam and expected cut-off.
The exam conducting authority will release the official CDS 2 2025 answer key on the official website after the written exam. Various coaching institutes will also release the unofficial answer key after the conclusion of the written exam. Candidates will be able to calculate their expected scores in the exam with the help of the unofficial CDS 2 answer key 2025. The answer key will be released set wise at upsc.gov.in.
The Commission will release the CDS result 2025. The UPSC CDS 2 2025 result will be released in PDF format at upsc.gov.in. Candidates who appeared in the exam can check their qualifying status on the official website. The authority releases the written exam result and the final result separately.
UPSC CDS 2 result 2025 consists of candidates’ roll numbers, subjects, scores, etc. Aspirants who qualify for the written exam are eligible to appear in the SSB Interview round. Those who clear both stages of CDS 2 2025 will be provided admission to the opted defence academy out of IMA, INA, AFA and OTA.
Union Public Service Commission will release CDS 2025 cut off for the written examination at upsc.gov.in. Those who score equal to or more than the CDS 2 cut off 2025 will be called for SSB Interview round. The cut off is the minimum mark that a candidate will have to score equal to or more than to qualify for the CDS 2 exam 2025. Candidates can check the CDS cut off previous years to know the probable cut off in the upcoming exam.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Candidates need at least 3 to 6 months to crack CDS 2025 exam on the first attempt. A daily routine is required to be followed to cover the complete syllabus of the exam.
The Combined Defense Services exam is one of the toughest exams to clear in India. But with proper dedication and extra effort, candidates can clear the CDS exam without coaching.
The CDS 2 eligibility criteria for candidates is to pass a Bachelor’s degree.
Candidates were able to fill the CDS 2 2025 application form from May 28 to June 20, 2025 (extended date).
CDS 2 exam will be held on September 14, 2025.
On Question asked by student community
Choosing the best CDS coaching in Lucknow really depends on what kind of learning environment you’re looking for. Some students prefer centres with strict discipline and regular mock tests, while others focus more on experienced faculty or smaller batch sizes. From what I’ve observed and heard from fellow aspirants, Shield Defence Academy is one of the institutes worth considering—they maintain consistent classes, focus on basics, and their test series is fairly well-structured.
Hello aspirant,
No, after tenth grade, you are not eligible to take the CDS exam. Candidates must hold a bachelor's degree in order to sit for the CDS exam. It is intended for people who are in their last year of graduation or who have finished their college education. You must finish your 12th grade before you can graduate if you recently passed the 10th. You can then apply for the CDS exam to become an officer in the Indian Armed Forces.
Thank you
Hey! Since your date of birth is 07 Nov 2006 and you will complete graduation in 2029, here’s how many chances you’ll get for CDS (INA, IMA, AFA) and AFCAT:
For CDS exams, the age limit is usually 19–24 years.
For AFCAT, Flying Branch requires 20–24 years and Ground Duty goes up to 26 years.
By 2029, you will be around 22–23 years old, so you’ll be perfectly eligible at that time. Since CDS requires a graduate degree, you can only start applying after 2029 once you finish graduation. From that year onwards, you’ll have around 2–3 years window where you can appear for CDS (IMA, INA, AFA) as well as AFCAT.
Dear Candidate,
You are eligible for CDS 2026, but for IMA, INA and AFA post, you must be born between 2 Jan 2003 – 1 Jan 2008.
For OTA ( male and female ), all 2003 born candidates are eligible.
Hi dear candidate,
The age limit for various roles in CDS are:
1) IMA: 19 to 24 years of age, 8 to 9 attempts.
2) INA: 19 to 24 years of age, 8 to 9 attempts.
3) OTA: 19 TO 25 years of age, 10 to 11 attempts.
This is all considering your DOB as of 26 Oct, 2005 as you are 19 years old in Aug 2025.
Know more at:
CDS Exam Dates 2025 (Out) - Check UPSC CDS 2 Complete Exam Schedule
CDS Selection Process 2025 - Written Exam, SSB Interview, DV, Pay Scale
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