NEW DELHI: UPSC's 2027 annual calendar schedules the Civil Services Preliminary Examination for 23 May 2027. Its notification is planned for 13 January, with applications due by 2 February. The programme also lists dates for both NDA and CDS cycles, allowing candidates to separate the application deadline from the examination date.
The schedule below comes from the official programme dated 20 May 2026, checked on 26 October 2026 at 03:02 IST. It is an annual planning document, not a fresh notification issued on the date of this article.
| Examination | Notification | Application deadline | Exam begins |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Services prelims | 13 January 2027 | 2 February 2027 | 23 May 2027 |
| Civil Services mains | Not listed in this row | Not listed in this row | 20 August 2027 |
| NDA and NA I; CDS I | 2 December 2026 | 22 December 2026 | 11 April 2027 |
| NDA and NA II; CDS II | 12 May 2027 | 1 June 2027 | 19 September 2027 |
How to read the UPSC 2027 application dates
Keep separate reminders for the notification and the deadline. A reminder set only for the exam month would miss the application period. In the CSE example, simple date subtraction puts the planned deadline 20 days after the notification date. That interval is a calculation from the calendar, not an additional registration extension.
The year also needs attention when entering reminders. An examination carrying the label 2027 can have its notification and application deadline in the preceding year. Recording only the day and month creates an avoidable ambiguity in a preparation diary.
The calendar does not supply vacancies, fees or a complete eligibility test for these examinations. Those details cannot be inferred from a scheduled date. A candidate comparing examinations needs the relevant detailed notice as well as a calendar entry.
How to download the official UPSC calendar PDF
UPSC's website places Calendar under its Examination menu. The calendar index displays Annual Calendar 2027 with an upload date of 20 May 2026. It also contains older programmes, making the year in the document title a useful check.
- Open the official UPSC website and select Examination, then Calendar.
- Locate Annual Calendar 2027 rather than an older year's entry.
- If the index download does not open, use the official Annual Calendar 2027 landing page.
- Open its PDF attachment and confirm the year and document date before saving it.
The attachment on that landing page opened during this check even though another calendar-index download timed out. The direct PDF linked above is the attachment that was actually read.
Where should candidates check later notices?
The Commission's Active Examinations page lists examination-specific entries. Check the complete examination name, stage and year when looking for the relevant notice. A preliminary examination and a main examination are separate entries, and records for different years can appear together.
UPSC expressly allows the annual programme's notification dates, examination start dates and durations to change if circumstances require. A saved calendar is therefore a planning reference; a later official revision needs to be read before relying on an older entry.
Related exam coverage includes the NDA written-result and SSB registration guide, IBPS examination-day checklist and CTET examination and admit-card guide.
