In general, to appear for the UPSC CSE exam, a candidate must be 21 years of age and should not exceed 32 years of age as of the date of examination. The upper limit varies depending on the category of the candidates. The OBC candidates can appear for the exam until 35 years while the same is 37 years for SC/ST candidates. For the Defence Services personnel who were injured during operations, the age limit is 35 years.
The number of attempts for the General category is six until 32 years of age, and that of OBC categories is nine until reaching their upper age limit. However, SC/ST candidates get unlimited attempts until they reach 37 years of age.