UPSC IFS 2026 - Notification (January 14), Application, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates

UPSC IFS 2026 - Notification (January 14), Application, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates

Edited By Meghana Mohana Krishnan | Updated on Jun 06, 2025 04:12 PM IST

Union Public Service Commission will release the UPSC IFS notification 2026 on January 14, 2026. Candidates will also be able to access the UPSC IFS 2026 application form on the same day. The UPSC IFS application form last date 2026 is February 3, 2026. The commission will conduct the UPSC IFS exam once a year.

This Story also Contains
  1. UPSC IFS 2026 - Overview
  2. UPSC IFS 2026 Exam Dates
  3. UPSC IFS 2026 Application Form
  4. UPSC IFS 2026 Eligibility Criteria
  5. UPSC IFS 2026 Exam Pattern
  6. UPSC IFS 2026 Syllabus
  7. UPSC IFS 2026 Vacancy
  8. UPSC IFS 2026 Admit Card
  9. UPSC IFS 2026 Answer Key
  10. UPSC IFS 2026 Result
  11. UPSC IFS 2026 Cut Off
  12. UPSC IFS 2026 Selection Process
UPSC IFS 2026 - Notification (January 14), Application, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates
UPSC IFS 2026 - Notification (January 14), Application, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates

The UPSC IFS exam 2026 for prelims is scheduled to be conducted on May 24, 2026. Whereas, the UPSC IFS 2026 Mains exam will be conducted on November 22, 2026. The UPSC IFS 2026 will be conducted in offline mode. The exam recruits potential candidates for various forest services. Check the below article to know all the basic details related to the UPSC IFS 2026 exam.

UPSC IFS 2026 - Overview

Exam Name

Union Public Service Commission Indian Forest Service

Short form

UPSC IFS

Conducting body

Union Public Service Commission

Exam mode

Offline

Application mode

Online

Application fee

100

Exam level

National

Number of vacancies

TBA

Website

upsc.gov.in

Stages in UPSC IFS

  • Prelims.

  • Mains

  • Interview/ Personality test

UPSC IFS 2026 Exam Dates

The UPSC IFS exam dates 2026 includes dates like application dates, admit card date, result date, etc. The UPSC IFS exam date of prelims and Mains will be intimated beforehand through the Annual Calendar. Check the below table to know the UPSC IF 2026 exam dates -

UPSC IAS Exam Dates 2026

Event

UPSC IFS Dates

UPSC IFS Notification date

January 14, 2026

IFS Application form date 2026

January 14, 2026

UPSC IFS application form last date

February 3, 2026

UPSC IFS application correction facility 2026

To be announced

Admit Card date for prelims

To be announced

UPSC IFS Exam Date 2026

May 24, 2026

Result Date

To be announced

UPSC IFS Mains exam date

November 22, 2026

IFS Mains result date 2026

To be announced

Interview

To be announced

UPSC IFS 2026 Application Form

The UPSC IFS application form will be released on January 14, 2026 on the official website. Before filling the UPSC IFS application form 2026, candidates need to make sure they fulfil the eligibility criteria. The last date to submit the UPSC IFS application form is February 3, 2026.The detailed steps on how to apply for the UPSC IFS exam will be available in the official notification.

Steps to Apply -

  • Visit the official website, upsc.gov.in.

  • Click on the ‘Apply Online’ link to fill the application form

  • Complete the UPSC IFS 2026 registration process.

  • Fill all the required details in the IFS 2026 application form

  • Upload the required documents in online mode

  • Pay the application fee

  • Save a copy and take a printout for future reference

Also check -

UPSC IFS 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates can check the detailed UPSC IFS eligibility 2026 in the official notification. They need to make sure that they fulfil the UPSC IFS 2026 eligibility criteria before applying for the exam. The candidate’s documents will be checked at every stage of the UPSC IFS selection process.

Nationality: Candidates must be a citizen of India.

Age limit: Aspirants must be 21 to 32 years of age to be eligible for IFS 2026.

Educational Qualification:

  • A bachelor's degree with atleast one of the subjects - Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics, Zoology.

  • A bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Forestry or Engineering

Number of Attempts: Eligible candidates can appear for UPSC IFS exam for 6 attempts. The General, PwD and EWS category candidates are eligible for 9 attempts.

UPSC IFS 2026 Exam Pattern

The UPSC IFS exam pattern differs for every stage. The UPSC IFS 2026 exam pattern gives information about the exam duration, total marks, the subjects and more. The details of the UPSC IFS exam pattern 2026 will be specified in the official notification.

IFS Prelims Exam Pattern 2026

Paper

Number of Questions

Total Marks

Time Duration

General Studies Paper 1

200

200

2 hours

General Studies Paper 2

200

200

2 hours

Total

400

400

4 hours

IFS Prelims Marking Scheme 2026

Marks for correct answer

+1

Marks for incorrect answer

-1/3

Marks for unanswered questions

-

IFS Mains Exam Pattern 2026

Name of the papers

Total marks allotted

Time Duration

Paper 1 (General English)

300

3 hours

Paper 2 (General Knowledge)

300

3 hours

Paper 3

200

3 hours

Paper 4

200

3 hours

Paper 5

200

3 hours

Paper 6

200

3 hours

IFS Marking Scheme

Stage

Total marks

Marks awarded

Marks deducted

Prelims

400

1

-1/3

Mains

1400

-

-

Personality test

300

-

-

UPSC IFS 2026 Syllabus

Before starting the preparation, candidates are recommended to thoroughly go through the UPSC IFS syllabus 2026. The UPSC IFS syllabus will be specified in detail in the official notification. Candidates will be able to check all the topics, sub-topics, the list of optional subjects and their syllabus.

UPSC IFS 2026 Vacancy

The number of UPSC IFS vacancies 2026 will be given in the official notification. More than 100 UPSC IFS vacancies are announced every year. The UPSC IFS 2026 vacancies are tentative and may change any time based on the commission’s requirement. There will be certain UPSC IFS vacancies which are reserved for certain categories.

UPSC IFS 2026 Admit Card

The UPSC IFS admit card 2026 will be released by the Union Public Service Commission on the official website. UPSC IFS 2026 admit card will contain information regarding the name of the candidate, roll number, registration number, exam date and time, venue of exam center, exam day guidelines and more. Candidates will be able to download the admit card of UPSC IFS 2026 using their login credentials. The UPSC IFS admit card for prelims and mains will be released separately.

UPSC IFS 2026 Answer Key

The UPSC Board will release the UPSC IFS answer key 2026 in online mode after the conclusion of the exam. Candidates can check the answer key of UPSC IFS 2026 from the official website, upsc.gov.in. The UPSC IFS answer key will be released as subject wise in pdf format.

A direct link to UPSC IFS answer key 2026 will be made available on this page after its release. With the help of answer key and UPSC IFS question papers 2026, candidates will be able to calculate the probable scores in the exam.

UPSC IFS 2026 Result

Candidates will be able to check the UPSC IFS result 2026 on the official website.The UPSC IFS 2026 result will take a few weeks to release after the exam is conducted. Candidates can access the UPSC IFS result in PDF format which consists of roll numbers of all the qualified candidates.

The result of UPSC IFS 2026 will be released in 3 stages, prelims, mains and final stage. Candidates qualifying in one stage of the exam will be eligible to appear for the next stage.

UPSC IFS 2026 Cut Off

The UPSC IFS cut off 2026 is the minimum marks which needs to be scored to clear the exam. The UPSC IFS cut off marks will be released after the final results are released. The UPSC IFS 2026 cut off will be available in a separate section on the official website.

The UPSC IFS cut off will be mentioned for all the categories and the final UPSC IFS cut off 2026 will also be available in the same PDF.

UPSC IFS 2026 Selection Process

The UPSC IFS selection process consists of 3 stages. Candidates need to clear all the stages to get selected for the post. The UPSC IFS selection process 2026 consists of Preliminary, Mains and personality test.

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