The Number of Attempts for the General Category to appear for the UPSC Civil Services Exam is 6 Attempts up to the age of 32 Years. The Number of Attempts to become an IAS Officer for each reservation category is different, as announced by UPSC in their official notification released every year in the month of February. A few years ago, the maximum age limit was 26, and the maximum number of attempts was 4. The number of attempts was changed to 6 in the year 2014.
How Many Attempts for UPSC?
Here is a table of the number of UPSC attempts and the upper age limit for each category:
| Category | Age Limit | Number of Attempts |
| General | 32 | 6 |
| OBC | 35 | 9 |
| SC/ST | 37 | Unlimited |
| PwBD | 42 |
9 for General and OBC Unlimited for SC/ST |
| EWS | 32 | 6 |
The upper age limit for the UPSC 2025 prelims is calculated on August 1, 2025. This means that the candidate must be below the mentioned maximum age of 32 years (general category), 35 years (OBC), 37 years (SC/ST), 35 years (defence personnel), 37 years (ex-servicemen), or 42 years (blind, deaf-mute, and orthopedically handicapped persons) on August 1, 2025
In special cases, OBC/SC/ST candidates may get additional age relaxation. For example, an OBC ex-serviceman will get an age relaxation of 3 + 5 = 8 years, so their upper age limit will be 40 years.
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