CDS 2026 Notification, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Vacancies, Cut-off and Free Mock Tests

The four entries and what they require

• Indian Military Academy — permanent commission in the Army. A degree in any discipline. Three written papers.
• Indian Naval Academy — permanent commission in the Navy. Generally an engineering degree. Three written papers.
• Air Force Academy — permanent commission in the Air Force. Physics and mathematics at class 12, or an engineering degree. Three written papers, plus an additional aptitude test at the SSB.
• Officers Training Academy — short service commission. A degree in any discipline. Two written papers — English and General Knowledge only.

Other conditions

• Final-year candidates — May apply and must submit proof of graduation — by the date the notification fixes — before the SSB for Army, Navy and Air Force first-choice candidates, and before the course for OTA.
• Fee — ₹200 online; women, SC and ST candidates are exempt.
• NCC C certificate holders — Reserved seats at the IMA, INA and AFA; the Air Force seats through NCC Special Entry are separately notified.
• Physical standards — Height, weight, vision and other standards by service in the notification’s appendix, examined by a medical board after the SSB.

The CDS process, from registration to recommendation

1. Create the account and the Universal Registration Number profile on upsconline.nic.in The Commission’s portal has four modules: account creation, universal registration (the URN profile with your identity, photograph, signature, photo-ID and educational particulars), a common application form, and an examination-specific form. The first three are filled once and reused for every UPSC examination; the URN profile must be locked before an examination form can be submitted, and the photo-ID entered there is the one carried to every stage.
2. Fill the examination-specific form in the notified window Choose the centre, the medium and language options, the optional subject or service preferences where the notification asks for them, claim any category, PwBD or fee-remission benefit with the certificate details, and submit before 6 p.m. on the last date. A withdrawal window of about a week usually follows the closing date for candidates who no longer wish to appear.
3. Pay the fee ₹200 online; nil for women, SC and ST candidates.
4. e-Admit card Issued on the portal about a week to ten days before the examination; it is not posted. Print it, check the photograph and the centre, and carry it with the photo-ID named in the URN profile. Centres are allotted first-come, and a candidate who does not get a preferred centre is allotted another in the same region.
5. The written examination Objective papers are answered on an OMR sheet in black ballpoint pen, with the question paper series and roll number coded by hand — the Commission publishes a note on the common OMR mistakes that lead to rejection. Conventional papers are handwritten in the question-cum-answer booklet. Provisional answer keys are opened for representations on the portal within a week of an objective paper.
6. Result and the next stage Results are published as roll-number lists on upsc.gov.in with a press note; marks and cut-offs are released only after the final result. Qualified candidates get a window on the portal to pay the next-stage fee, update details and submit the detailed application form where the examination has one.
7. Written result and SSB registration Qualified candidates are listed by roll number with the academies they qualified for; they register on joinindianarmy.nic.in and are allotted Selection Centre dates. Candidates who opted for more than one academy attend one SSB and are considered for each in preference order.
8. SSB: stage I on the day of reporting Officer Intelligence Rating tests and the Picture Perception and Description Test; candidates are screened in or out the same day on the combination of the two.
9. SSB: stage II over four days Psychology tests, Group Testing Officer tasks and the interview, then the conference. Air Force candidates who are recommended also take the Computerised Pilot Selection System, a once-in-a-lifetime test; those who failed it or the earlier PABT are not eligible for the flying branch.
10. Medical examination and the final merit list Recommended candidates are medically examined by a board; the final merit list combines written and SSB marks, which carry equal weight, and is published by UPSC with a press note. The Services then issue joining instructions for the course.

A five-month plan

1. Months 1–2: General Knowledge and English History, geography, polity, economy, science, defence and current affairs; grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and error spotting.
2. Month 3: Elementary Mathematics (IMA, INA, AFA) Class-10 arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration and statistics to speed; OTA candidates use the month for deeper GK.
3. Month 4: full mocks A full three-paper mock every week with the deduction applied and an error log; SSB practice — group discussion, self-description, fitness.
4. Month 5: revision and the examination Revise from notes; keep current affairs to the date; prepare the PIQ form for the SSB.

Official documents

Combined Defence Services Examination (II) 2026 — notification (20 May 2026) Combined Defence Services Examination (I) 2026 — notification (10 December 2025) CDS I 2026 written result (8 May 2026) CDS II 2025 final result — IMA, INA, AFA (30 March 2026) CDS II 2025 final result — OTA (7 August 2026) CDS II 2025 cut-off marks (14 August 2026) Join Indian Army — SSB registration UPSC online application portal