- UPSC notified the Engineering Services Examination 2026 on 26 September 2025 for approximately 474 vacancies
- The Preliminary (Stage-I) exam was held on 8 February 2026 and its result was declared on 26 February 2026, with the Main (Stage-II) exam held on 22 June 2026
- The application fee stays at Rs 200, with female, SC, ST and PwBD candidates exempted.
What Is the IES or Engineering Services Examination?
The Engineering Services Examination, still popularly called IES, is the national exam through which the Union Public Service Commission recruits engineers to Group-A technical services of the Government of India. Selected officers plan and manage public infrastructure such as railways, roads, power, telecommunications and defence production across central departments.
UPSC conducts the examination once a year under rules notified by the Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunications. Recruitment is made to Group-A services and posts, so successful candidates enter as gazetted officers, typically at the Assistant Executive Engineer or Assistant Director level, and progress into senior engineering management roles.
- UPSC conducts the exam annually for Group-A engineering services and posts
- The 2026 cycle was notified on 26 September 2025 in the Gazette of India Extraordinary
- Approximately 474 vacancies were advertised for 2026, including 26 for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities
- The exam runs in three stages: Preliminary, Main and Personality Test
Which Engineering Branches and Services Does ESE Cover?
Recruitment is made under only four categories: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. A candidate applies for exactly one category. Participating services include the Central Engineering Service, Central Engineering Service (Roads), Indian Telecommunications Service, Indian Radio Regulatory Service and defence engineering posts.
Because the four categories map directly to the posts on offer, the discipline paper you sit in both stages is fixed by the category you choose at application. UPSC states clearly that a candidate may apply for admission in respect of any one of these categories, so the choice cannot be changed later.
| ESE 2026 Category | Discipline |
|---|---|
| Category I | Civil Engineering |
| Category II | Mechanical Engineering |
| Category III | Electrical Engineering |
| Category IV | Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering |
What Is the IES Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme?
Stage-I carries 500 marks: Paper-I on General Studies and Engineering Aptitude for 200 marks in two hours, and Paper-II on the chosen discipline for 300 marks in three hours, both objective. Stage-II has two conventional papers of 300 marks each. Stage-III, the Personality Test, carries 200 marks.
The three stages together carry 1,300 marks, and marks scored in the Preliminary stage count towards the final merit list rather than being merely qualifying. The number of candidates admitted to the Main examination is about six to seven times the approximate number of vacancies for that year.
| Stage 2026 | Papers | Duration | Maximum Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage-I Preliminary | Paper-I General Studies and Engineering Aptitude | 2 hours | 200 |
| Stage-I Preliminary | Paper-II Discipline specific | 3 hours | 300 |
| Stage-II Main | Paper-I Discipline specific (conventional) | 3 hours | 300 |
| Stage-II Main | Paper-II Discipline specific (conventional) | 3 hours | 300 |
| Stage-III | Personality Test | - | 200 |
Negative marking applies to the objective papers only. Each question has four alternatives, and one-third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. Marking more than one answer counts as wrong, while an unattempted question carries no penalty. Conventional papers must be answered in English.
When Are the IES Exam Dates for the 2026 Cycle?
For ESE 2026 the notification appeared on 26 September 2025 and the online application window closed on 16 October 2025 at 6 PM. The Preliminary examination was held on 8 February 2026, its written result was declared on 26 February 2026, and the Main examination was held on 22 June 2026.
| ESE 2026 Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Notification released | 26 September 2025 |
| Application window | 26 September 2025 to 16 October 2025 (6 PM) |
| Preliminary (Stage-I) exam | 8 February 2026 |
| Preliminary written result | 26 February 2026 |
| Main (Stage-II) exam | 22 June 2026 |
| Personality Test (Stage-III) | Announced by UPSC after the Main result |
UPSC publishes each year's schedule in its annual examination calendar and confirms it in the detailed notification. Candidates should treat only the dates on upsc.gov.in as final, because centres and dates are liable to change at the discretion of the Commission.
UPSC IAS Syllabus ExplainedRead →Who Is Eligible for the IES Exam in 2026?
A candidate must hold a degree in Engineering from a recognised Indian university, or an equivalent qualification such as Sections A and B of the Institution of Engineers (India) examinations. For ESE 2026 the candidate had to be at least 21 and under 30 years of age as on 1 January 2026, and must satisfy the nationality rules.
The age window for ESE 2026 means candidates born not earlier than 2 January 1996 and not later than 1 January 2005. The upper limit is relaxable by five years for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, by three years for eligible Other Backward Classes candidates, and up to 35 years for certain serving government employees.
- Age as on 1 January 2026: minimum 21 years, maximum 30 years, with statutory relaxations
- Qualification: a degree in Engineering, or a recognised equivalent professional examination
- Nationality: Indian citizens, plus the other categories listed in the UPSC notification
- Physical standards: candidates must be certified medically fit for the services applied for
UPSC also notes that persons with benchmark disabilities in the blindness category should not apply, as no vacancies are earmarked for them in the services covered by this examination. Low vision candidates are advised to apply only under the Electronics and Telecommunication category.
How Much Is the IES Exam Fee and How Do You Apply?
The ESE 2026 application fee is Rs 200. Female candidates and those from the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities categories are exempt from paying it. Applications are accepted online only, through the UPSC online portal, after creating an account and generating a Universal Registration Number.
The fee can be paid by cash at any branch of the State Bank of India, or online using a Visa, Master or RuPay credit or debit card, UPI, or the internet banking facility of any bank. Applications cannot be withdrawn once submitted, and no changes are permitted to a submitted form.
- Apply online only at the UPSC online application portal
- Create an account, generate a Universal Registration Number, then complete the Common Application Form
- Keep one photo ID such as Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID, passport or driving licence ready
- Upload the photograph and signature exactly as specified; the photo must match your appearance at every stage
- e-Admit Cards are downloaded from upsc.gov.in and are never posted
Where Are the IES Exam Centres Located?
The Preliminary examination is held at roughly fifty centres spread across the country, from Agartala and Aizawl to Thiruvananthapuram and Srinagar. The Main examination uses a shorter list of about twenty-four cities. Centres are allotted on a first-apply-first-allot basis and each has a ceiling on candidate numbers.
Selected Preliminary Examination Centres
- Delhi, Noida (Gautam Buddh Nagar), Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurugram
- Mumbai, Nagpur, Panaji (Goa), Ahmedabad and Udaipur
- Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Madurai and Tirupati
- Kolkata, Patna, Ranchi, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Raipur
- Chandigarh, Shimla, Jammu, Srinagar and Dehradun
- Dispur (Guwahati), Shillong, Agartala, Aizawl, Imphal, Kohima, Itanagar, Gangtok and Jorhat
Only Chennai, Dispur, Kolkata and Nagpur are exempt from the candidate ceiling for the Preliminary examination, so applying early improves the chance of getting a preferred city. The centres and the date of the examination are liable to be changed at the discretion of the Commission.
How Is the IES Result Declared and the Merit List Decided?
UPSC publishes each stage result on upsc.gov.in as a downloadable PDF listing qualified roll numbers, followed by a version with names. Preliminary marks count towards final merit, Main marks are added, and the Personality Test contributes 200 marks to the total of 1,300 that determines the final ranking.
- Open the official UPSC website and go to the Examination results section
- Select the Engineering Services Examination for the relevant year
- Open the written result PDF for roll numbers or the version listing names
- Download and save the PDF, then check your roll number
For ESE 2026 the Preliminary written result was declared on 26 February 2026, in both a roll-number list and a name-wise list. Qualifying at each stage is provisional and subject to UPSC verifying eligibility against original documents, which it does only after a candidate qualifies for the Personality Test.
Can Computer Science Engineers Apply for the IES Exam?
A computer science graduate holds a degree in Engineering, so the basic qualification is met. However, recruitment happens only under four categories, and none of them is computer science. A CSE candidate must therefore apply under one of the four disciplines and sit that discipline's papers, most often Electronics and Telecommunication.
That is a demanding switch, because Paper-II in both stages is entirely discipline specific. Candidates from computer science backgrounds who choose the Electronics and Telecommunication category need to cover analog and digital circuits, signals and systems, communication systems and electromagnetics at the depth expected of that branch.
- The four ESE categories are Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics and Telecommunication
- There is no separate computer science paper in the examination
- The discipline paper carries 300 marks in Stage-I and 600 marks in Stage-II
- General Studies and Engineering Aptitude in Paper-I is common to every category