Uttar Pradesh · Government Exams

UPPSC RO and ARO

Review officers and assistant review officers are the drafting and file-handling cadre of the Uttar Pradesh Secretariat, the commission itself and the Board of Revenue — the officers who write the notes, précis and letters that move a file. The commission recruits them through one examination: an objective preliminary of general studies and Hindi, a main examination of a general studies paper, a conventional Hindi and drafting paper with an objective vocabulary section, and a Hindi essay, and no interview. For the assistant review officer, Hindi typing at 25 words a minute and a computer certificate are qualifications.

The 2023 cycle is the whole recent history. Advertised on 9 October 2023 for 411 posts, its preliminary of 11 February 2024 was cancelled by the Chief Minister on 2 March 2024 after the paper circulated online; its re-examination, first fixed for three shifts in December 2024 and withdrawn under the November protests, was held on 27 July 2025 in a single three-hour sitting for 10.76 lakh applicants; the mains followed on 2 and 3 February 2026 and the final result on 6 April 2026, with 419 selected. No new advertisement has been issued.

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UPPSC RO and ARO · checked 19 September 2026

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

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19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

UPPSC RO and ARO: the facts that matter now

01
Advt A-7/E-1/2023, 9 October 2023 — 411 posts, 419 at result: review officer 338, assistant review officer 79, accounts 2
Latest cycle
02
Cycle closed with the final result of 6 April 2026; no 2025 or 2026 advertisement; nothing in the 2026 calendar
Status
03
Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission
Conducted by
04
General studies 140 questions and general Hindi 60, 200 marks; one-third off per wrong answer; re-held 27 July 2025 in one sitting
Prelims

Notification

UPPSC RO and ARO notification and key dates

Checked 11 September 2026. No RO/ARO window is open and no new cycle is advertised: the commission’s live notifications page carries none, and its 2026 calendar lists only the 2023 mains of 2 and 3 February 2026. The 2023 cycle ran as follows. Applications from 9 October to 9 November 2023, extended to 24 November. Preliminary 11 February 2024 at 2,387 centres, cancelled on 2 March 2024 by the Chief Minister’s order with a re-examination within six months and a Special Task Force inquiry. Re-examination first notified on 5 November 2024 for three shifts on 22 and 23 December, withdrawn on 14 November after the Prayagraj protests and referred to a committee — the commission’s 2025 calendar records the referral — then fixed for one day and held on 27 July 2025. Result 16 September 2025 with 7,509 through. Mains moved from 31 January to 2 and 3 February 2026. Final result 6 April 2026, 419 selected.

The 2023 cycle, from the advertisement, the commission’s calendars and press reports of its notices.
Event	Date	Detail
Advertisement A-7/E-1/2023	9 October 2023	411 posts; applications to 9 November, extended to 24 November
Preliminary	11 February 2024	2,387 centres in 58 districts; 10,69,725 applicants
Cancellation	2 March 2024	Ordered by the Chief Minister after the paper circulated; FIR at Civil Lines, Prayagraj, 4 March
Three-shift re-examination notified and withdrawn	5 and 14 November 2024	Withdrawn after the protests; committee constituted
Re-examination	27 July 2025	One sitting, 9.30 to 12.30; about 2,382 centres; 10,76,004 applicants; 4,54,589 appeared
Preliminary result	16 September 2025	7,509 shortlisted — 6,093 review officer, 1,386 assistant, 30 accounts
Mains	2 and 3 February 2026	General studies and Hindi and drafting on day one; essay on day two
Final result	6 April 2026	419 provisionally selected from 5,930 who sat the mains

Check the commission directly

UPPSC — home and latest notices UPPSC — notifications and advertisements UPPSC — examination calendar 2026 RO/ARO 2023 advertisement — archived copy

Overview

What UPPSC RO and ARO is, and who it suits

The 2023 advertisement’s vacancy table shows the cadre: 322 review officers for the Secretariat, 9 for the commission and 3 for the Board of Revenue; 40 assistant review officers for the Secretariat, 23 for the Board of Revenue and 13 for the commission; and one assistant review officer for accounts at the commission — 411 in all, at pay level 8 for review officers and level 7 for assistants. By the preliminary result of September 2025 the posts had become 419, and the commission shortlisted 6,093 candidates for the 338 review officer posts, 1,386 for the 79 assistant posts and 30 for the two accounts posts from 4,54,589 who sat the re-examination.

The scheme in the advertisement is a preliminary of two objective papers — general studies of 140 questions in two hours and general Hindi vocabulary and grammar of 60 in one hour, 200 marks with one-third off per wrong answer — and a mains of 400: general studies of 120 objective questions in two hours; general Hindi and drafting in two parts, a conventional paper of 100 in two and a half hours on headings and précis, tabular précis of a government letter, correspondence, English-Hindi vocabulary and idioms and computer knowledge, and an objective vocabulary paper of 60 in half an hour; and a Hindi essay of 120 in three hours, three essays of 600 words. Merit is the mains total alone. The 2025 re-examination merged the two preliminary papers into one three-hour sitting of 200 questions.

What the cycle settled

One sitting, with biometrics — the re-examination of 27 July 2025 ran from 9.30 to 12.30 at about 2,382 centres in all 75 districts with biometric and iris verification, under the state’s 2024 unfair-means law.
No interview — the advertisement’s plan of examination has none; selection is on the mains total, and press descriptions of an interview stage are wrong.
Typing is a qualification — the assistant review officer must possess 25 words a minute in Hindi typing, with preference for English typing, and the O-level or an equivalent computer qualification; whether the commission tests speed after the mains was not found.
Fifteen per post, and a floor — about fifteen candidates per post to the mains, within the minimum efficiency standard of 40 per cent, or 35 for SC and ST.

The leak and the law

The Special Task Force’s case, as the press reported it, found the February 2024 paper leaked twice — scanned at a Prayagraj centre before the sitting and taken from the Bhopal printing press — with a mastermind also charged in the police constable leak of the same month, more than a dozen arrests through 2024 and one absconder taken in June 2026. The government promulgated the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Ordinance on 1 July 2024, later enacted, with imprisonment up to life and fines up to ₹1 crore, and the commission applied it from the July 2025 re-examination onward.

Eligibility

Who can apply for UPPSC RO and ARO

From the 2023 advertisement. Age on 1 July 2023 for that cycle.
Post	Qualification
Review officer	A bachelor’s degree of a university established by law in India, or equivalent, by the closing date.
Assistant review officer	A bachelor’s degree; the O-level certificate of the DOEACC Society or equivalent — a diploma in computer science or O-level for the commission’s posts; a minimum of 25 words a minute in Hindi typewriting, with preference for English typewriting.
Assistant review officer, accounts	A bachelor’s degree in commerce with accountancy; preference for two years in the Territorial Army or an NCC B certificate.

Age, domicile, fee and standard.
Requirement	Rule
Age	21 to 40 on 1 July — born between 2 July 1983 and 1 July 2002 in the 2023 cycle; 55 for PwD; five years for SC, ST and OBC of Uttar Pradesh and the state’s employees and players; fifteen for PwD of the state; ex-servicemen under the rules.
Domicile	Reservation and age relaxation only for permanent residents of Uttar Pradesh.
Fee — preliminary	₹125 for unreserved, EWS and OBC — ₹100 plus ₹25 processing; ₹65 for SC and ST; ₹25 for PwD; ₹65 for ex-servicemen.
Fee — mains	₹225; ₹105 for SC and ST and ex-servicemen; ₹25 for PwD.
Minimum efficiency standard	40 per cent; 35 for SC and ST. About fifteen candidates per post to the mains.
Pay	Review officer level 8, ₹47,600 to ₹1,51,100; assistant review officer level 7, ₹44,900 to ₹1,42,400.

No condition of Hindi at the intermediate examination appears in the advertisement; the Hindi requirement is the examination itself — a 60-mark Hindi paper in the preliminary and 280 of the mains’ 400 marks in Hindi drafting, vocabulary and essay — and, for the assistant, the typing speed. The 30-words-a-minute figure sometimes quoted was not found in the advertisement.

Selection process

How UPPSC RO and ARO selection works

Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.

Stages change between cycles. Confirm the structure in the notification for the cycle you are sitting.
Stage	Format	What it involves
Preliminary examination	Objective, 200 marks	General studies, 140 questions and marks, and general Hindi vocabulary and grammar, 60 — two papers of two hours and one in the advertisement, one sitting of three hours in the 2025 re-examination. One-third off per wrong answer. About fifteen candidates per post go through.
Main examination	400 marks over two days	General studies, 120 objective questions in two hours; general Hindi and drafting — Part 1 conventional for 100 in two and a half hours, Part 2 objective vocabulary for 60 in half an hour; Hindi essay, three essays of 600 words for 120 in three hours. The 2023 mains was held on 2 and 3 February 2026.
Final result and verification	Merit on the mains; no interview	Selection by preference and reservation on the mains total, provisional until documents are verified — 419 candidates on 6 April 2026 from 5,930 who sat the mains.
ARO qualifications	Typing and computer certificate	Hindi typing at 25 words a minute, the O-level certificate or a computer science diploma for the commission’s posts, and a commerce degree with accountancy for the accounts post — held as qualifications.

Exam pattern

UPPSC RO and ARO exam pattern and marking

Preliminary examination, from Appendix 3 of the 2023 advertisement.
Paper	Questions	Marks	Time	Content
General studies	140	140	2 hours	General science; Indian history and the national movement; polity, economy and culture; agriculture, commerce and trade; population, ecology and urbanisation; world geography and India’s natural resources; current events; general intelligence; special knowledge of Uttar Pradesh
General Hindi	60	60	1 hour	Opposites, sentence correction, one-word substitution, words of the same use, adjective and noun, synonyms — ten each
Total	200	200	One sitting of three hours in the 2025 re-examination	One-third of the question’s marks off per wrong answer

Main examination, from Appendix 4.
Paper	Marks	Time	Content
General studies — objective	120, 120 questions	2 hours	As the preliminary
General Hindi and drafting — Part 1, conventional	100	2½ hours	Heading, précis and explanation of a passage 21; tabular précis of a government letter 15; correspondence 24; definitional vocabulary English to Hindi and Hindi to English 10 and 10; idioms 10; computer knowledge 10
General Hindi and drafting — Part 2, objective vocabulary	60	½ hour	Five items of twelve questions
Hindi essay	120	3 hours	Three essays of 600 words at 40 each, one from each of three sections
Total	400	—	Merit on the mains total; no interview

What the advertisement says and the press does not

The plan of examination lists a preliminary and a mains and states that selection is by merit on the total marks of the main written examination. There is no interview and no typing-test stage in it; the assistant review officer’s typing speed is a qualification. The objective papers carry the commission’s standard rule — one-third of the question’s marks off for a wrong answer, more than one answer wrong, a blank free — in the preliminary and the mains alike.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 11 September 2026 against the 2023 advertisement in the web archive — the commission’s own copy now redirects — the commission’s examination calendars of 2025 and 2026, and its live notifications page. The cancellation, the re-examination’s conduct, the results and the Special Task Force case are from press reports of the commission’s notices and the government’s statements; the commission’s re-examination notice and result documents had rotated off its home page and were not found. Press accounts differ on small points — the objection deadline for the 2025 key, and the split of the 411 posts — and the advertisement’s table is followed here.

Official documents and pages

RO/ARO 2023 advertisement — A-7/E-1/2023, archived copy UPPSC — examination calendar 2026 UPPSC — previous question papers UPPSC — answer keys UPPSC — notifications

Exam resources

Everything for UPPSC RO and ARO

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

UPPSC RO and ARO SyllabusUPPSC RO ARO syllabus — general studies with Uttar Pradesh, the general Hindi vocabulary and grammar items, the drafting paper’s heads, and the Hindi essay.UPPSC RO and ARO Exam PatternUPPSC RO ARO exam pattern — 200-mark objective prelims with one-third negative marking, 400-mark mains with drafting and Hindi essay, and no interview.UPPSC RO and ARO Previous PapersUPPSC RO ARO previous papers — the commission’s archive by year, including the 2025 re-examination paper, and the answer-key page.UPPSC RO and ARO Mock TestsUPPSC RO ARO mock tests — 200-question three-hour prelims sittings scored at one-third off, and timed précis, correspondence and essay practice for the mains.UPPSC RO and ARO PreparationUPPSC RO ARO preparation — waiting for the next advertisement, the Hindi-heavy mains, the ARO typing and computer qualifications, and the unfair-means law.UPPSC RO and ARO Study MaterialUPPSC RO ARO study material — general studies with Uttar Pradesh, a Hindi vocabulary and grammar reader, government drafting manuals, and essay practice.

More Uttar Pradesh preparation

All Uttar Pradesh examsEvery exam in this category Previous-year papersPast papers with solutions Current affairsDaily, weekly and monthly Exam updatesNotifications and results

Questions

UPPSC RO and ARO — FAQs

When is the next UPPSC RO ARO exam?

No new advertisement has been issued. The 2023 cycle closed with the final result of 6 April 2026, the commission’s live notifications page carries no RO/ARO recruitment, and its 2026 calendar lists only the 2023 mains of 2 and 3 February 2026.

What is the UPPSC RO ARO exam pattern?

A preliminary of general studies, 140 questions, and general Hindi vocabulary and grammar, 60 — 200 marks, objective, with one-third of the question’s marks deducted per wrong answer, held in one three-hour sitting in the 2025 re-examination; then a mains of 400 — general studies 120 objective, general Hindi and drafting 100 conventional and 60 objective, and a Hindi essay of 120 — with merit on the mains total and no interview.

Is there an interview for UPPSC RO ARO?

No. The advertisement’s plan of examination has a preliminary and a mains only, and states that selection is by merit on the total marks of the main written examination. The assistant review officer’s Hindi typing speed of 25 words a minute is an eligibility qualification, not a test stage.

What is the eligibility for UPPSC RO ARO?

A bachelor’s degree for review officer; for assistant review officer, a degree plus the O-level certificate or an equivalent computer qualification and Hindi typing at 25 words a minute, with preference for English typing; for the accounts post, a commerce degree with accountancy. Age 21 to 40 on 1 July, with five years for SC, ST and OBC candidates of Uttar Pradesh and fifteen for PwD of the state; no relaxation for other states’ candidates.

What is the UPPSC RO ARO fee?

₹125 for unreserved, EWS and OBC candidates at the preliminary — ₹100 plus ₹25 processing — ₹65 for SC and ST and ex-servicemen, and ₹25 for PwD; ₹225, ₹105 and ₹25 at the mains.

Why was the UPPSC RO ARO exam cancelled?

The preliminary of 11 February 2024 was cancelled by the Chief Minister on 2 March 2024 after the paper circulated on social media, with a Special Task Force inquiry and a re-examination ordered. The inquiry, as reported, found the paper leaked from a Prayagraj centre and from the printing press, with more than a dozen arrests. The re-examination was held on 27 July 2025 in a single sitting after a three-shift plan was withdrawn under the November 2024 protests.

What was the UPPSC RO ARO 2023 result?

The re-examination of 27 July 2025, sat by 4,54,589 candidates, shortlisted 7,509 on 16 September 2025 — 6,093 for 338 review officer posts, 1,386 for 79 assistant posts and 30 for two accounts posts. The mains of 2 and 3 February 2026 was sat by 5,930, and the final result of 6 April 2026 selected 419 provisionally, subject to document verification.

What is the Uttar Pradesh Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act?

The state’s anti-leak law, promulgated as an ordinance on 1 July 2024 after the RO/ARO and police constable leaks and later enacted, providing imprisonment up to life and fines up to ₹1 crore, attachment of property and cognisable, non-bailable offences for leaking or cheating in public examinations. The commission has applied it to every sitting since, including the RO/ARO re-examination of July 2025 and the PCS preliminary of October 2025.

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