UPSC IFoS 2026: Indian Forest Service Notification, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Cut-off and Free Mock Tests

How IFoS differs from the Civil Services Examination

• Shared prelims — the same screening paper, with candidates able to apply for both examinations.
• Two optional subjects, not one — four papers of 200 marks each, drawn from a science and engineering weighted list.
• No essay paper and no general studies papers — the mains structure is General English, General Knowledge and the two optionals.
• Physical standards apply — including height and chest requirements and a walking test, which the Civil Services Examination does not have.

Qualification

• Degree — A bachelor’s degree with at least one of animal husbandry and veterinary science, botany, chemistry, geology, mathematics, physics, statistics or zoology, or a bachelor’s degree in agriculture, forestry or engineering, from a recognised university. Final-year candidates may apply and must prove passing with the detailed application form.

Physical standards and other conditions

• Walking test — 25 km in four hours for men and 14 km for women, taken after recommendation, along with the medical examination.
• Fee — ₹100 with the common prelims application and ₹200 on admission to the IFoS mains, paid in a ten-day window after the screening result; nil for women, SC, ST and PwBD.
• Applying with the CSE — One prelims application covers both; a candidate ticks both examinations and, if screened for both, sits both mains.

The UPSC IFoS 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 ₹100 with the common preliminary application; nil for women, SC, ST and PwBD. Candidates admitted to the IFoS main examination pay a further ₹200 in the ten-day window after the screening result.
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. Screening result and the mains fee window The IFoS screening list is published with the CSE prelims result. Admitted candidates pay the mains fee and file the detailed application form with their two optional subjects, which must be a permitted combination.
8. The main examination Six papers over seven days in November — General English, General Knowledge and two papers in each optional — answered in English only. A minimum of 5 per cent in each paper applies.
9. Personality test, walking test and medical About twice the vacancies are interviewed for 300 marks. Recommended candidates take the walking test and the medical examination, and are allotted state cadres by rank and preference.

A twelve-month plan

1. Months 1–4: optionals and GS foundations Choose a permitted pair with material available — forestry, botany, zoology, agriculture and geology are the common choices — and work paper 1 of each while covering the prelims GS syllabus.
2. Months 5–8: prelims mode with the IFoS margin Weekly prelims mocks aiming 10–15 marks above the CSE cut-off; CSAT to a safe 40 per cent; paper 2 of each optional in parallel.
3. Months 9–12: mains Answer writing in the optionals and General Knowledge, General English practice, and the walking test trained on foot.

Official documents

Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2026 — revised notification (6 February 2026) IFoS 2026 screening result (15 June 2026) IFoS 2025 final result (8 May 2026) IFoS 2025 minimum qualifying marks (11 May 2026) UPSC annual calendar 2026 UPSC online application portal