Documents Required for UPSC Exam: Check List of Certificates Required for UPSC Prelims, Mains and Interview

Documents Required for UPSC: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts the Civil Service exam every year to recruit eligible candidates for Group A and B services like Indian Administrative Service (IAS), IFS, IPS, and IRS.  The UPSC is a highly difficult and renowned examination for individuals seeking entry into India's civil service. To apply for the UPSC IAS examination, candidates must possess specific documents. First and foremost, identity verification requires an original government-issued picture ID, such as an Aadhar card, passport, or driver's licence. 

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In this article, you will read about the documents required for the UPSC online exam application and the various stages of the IAS exam.

Documents Required for UPSC Prelim

Candidates have to submit a passport-sized picture on the application form. Certificates and marksheets are important for determining the educational qualifications of the candidate. UPSC also requests to candidates provide age proof, such as a 10th grade marksheet, birth certificate’, etc. Candidates who are claiming any kind of reservation, such as a caste or category reservation or a physical disability reservation, have to provide supporting documents. Applicants need to carefully examine the official UPSC notification to verify that they meet the particular document criteria, as any disparities may result in disqualification. Overall, careful attention to document submission is necessary for a successful application procedure for the UPSC IAS examination. Check the list of documents below that are required while applying for online application form

• A scanned photograph of candidate
• A scanned signature of candidate
• Government-issued Photo-id card, such as an Aadhaar Card/Voter Card/PAN Card/ Passport/ driving License/ or any other photo ID card issued by the State/ or central government.

Instructions for uploading the photograph of candidate in UPSC Form 

• The photograph uploaded by the candidate should not be more than 10 days old from the start of the online application process (i.e., the application commencement date).
• Candidates should ensure that the name of the candidate and the date on which the photograph was taken are clearly mentioned on the photograph.
• The candidate’s face should occupy 3/4th of the space in the photograph.
• The candidates must ensure that their appearance matches their photograph at each stage of the Examination process, i.e. at the time of Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality Test. For instance, If a candidate uploads a bearded photograph, he must appear with the same look in the Preliminary, Main (Written) and Interview/Personality tests. The same would be the case with spectacles, moustaches, etc.

Documents Required for UPSC Main Examination

The candidates who are declared successful in the preliminary examination must fill the DAF -1 (Detailed Application Form -1) in accordance with the Rules of the Examination. The candidates will be required to provide scanned documents/certificates in support of their date of birth, category {viz., SC/ST/ OBC (without OBC Annexure), /EWS [Economically Weaker Sections] (without EWS Annexure), /PwBD / Ex-Serviceman} and educational qualification with the required examination fee. Check the list of documents required for filling the UPSC Main examination form

Proof of age: Matriculation or a secondary school leaving certificate is acceptable.

Certificate of educational qualification: University awarded degree certificate or an equivalent qualification recognised by the UPSC.

EWS Certificate (if applicable): EWS certificate in accordance with the government rules. 

OBC/SC/ST Certificate (if applicable): Category certificate issued by the authorised officer in the district where your parents reside.

Disability certificate (if applicable): must be issued by a medical board constituted by the central or state government showing percentage of disability

Documents supporting non-creamy layer OBC status (if applicable): Proof in support of service/landholding/status/income from different sources/property held by your parents in support of non-creamy layer OBC claim.

Undertaking for government servants (if applicable): Undertaking stating that you have intimated in writing to your Head of the Office/Department about you taking the UPSC CSE.

J&K Domicile (if applicable): Issued by the District Magistrate under whose jurisdiction you had resided in J&K between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989. Please check the latest data for exact year information.

Disabled while in defence service (if applicable): Issued by the Director-General Resettlement, Ministry of Defence, stating that you were disabled while in service and were discharged from duty on account of it.

Documents Required for UPSC Personality Test

The candidates selected for the interview/personality test will be required to go the venue with all their original documents and recent photographs. The documents include educational qualification, experience, age proof, and a community/PH certificate. Check the list of documents below. 

• Three recent passport size photographs
• Attestation Form. The Attestation Form is available on the Commission's website (under Recruitment/ Proforma). The same may be downloaded and filled up.
• TA Bill Form (For outstation candidates only) The TA Bill Form is available on the Commission's website (under Recruitment/Proforma). The same may be downloaded and filled up.
• Degree or diploma certificate along with mark sheets pertaining to all the academic years as proof of educational qualification claimed. In the absence of Degree/Diploma certificate, a provisional certificate along with mark sheets pertaining to all the academic years will be accepted.
• Certificate(s) in the “prescribed proforma” from the Head(s) of Organization(s) /Department(s) for the entire experience claimed, clearly mentioning the duration of employment (date, month & year), indicating the basic pay and consolidated pay, nature of duties performed/experience obtained in the post(s) with duration(s). Only experience in the field relevant to the post would be considered. experience certificate not in prescribed proforma would be considered on merits by the Commission.
• Caste certificate in the prescribed proforma in case of candidates seeking reservation as SC/ ST/ OBC from the competent authority, clearly indicating the candidate’s caste, the Act/ or order under which the caste is recognised as SC/ ST/ OBC and the village/ town the candidate is ordinarily a resident of.
• A declaration in the “prescribed proforma” by the candidate seeking reservation as OBC that he/she does not belong to the creamy layer on the crucial date, in addition to the community certificate (OBC). Unless specified otherwise, the prescribed last date for receipt of the online Recruitment Application on ORA website for the post is to be treated as crucial date.
• Physically Handicapped (PH) certificate in “prescribed proforma” issued by the competent authority by Physically Handicapped persons eligible for appointment to the post on the basis of prescribed standards of Medical Fitness

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