
CDS Exam Pattern 2026: The Commission releases the exam pattern for the UPSC CDS exam in the notification. The CDS 1 exam will be conducted on April 12, 2026. It is important for a candidate to have a clear understanding about the exam pattern. As, it will help in the preparation. The exam pattern is divided into written exam and SSB interview. For INA, AFA and IMA the pattern of an exam is same but for OTA it is slightly different.
The CDS exam will be held in an offline mode that is pen-paper based. The paper pattern highlights details including the marking scheme, total marks, exam duration, shift timings, etc. The written test carries 300 marks and for OTA it is 200 marks. SSB Interview for IMA, INA, and AFA is for 300 marks each while for OTA, it is 200. Scroll down to know in detail about the CDS exam pattern 2026.
Also Read:
- Highlights of CDS Exam Pattern 2026
- CDS Exam Pattern for INA, AFA, IMA
- CDS Exam Pattern OTA
- CDS Negative Marking
- CDS Exam Pattern 2026 for SSB Interview
- CDS Previous Years' Paper Analysis
- Instructions to fill CDS Answer Sheet
- CDS Syllabus 2026
- CDS Best Preparation
- CDS Exam Pattern FAQs 2026
Exam On - 12 Apr '26