UPSC IAS Exam Centers 2026: City-wise Test Centers for Prelims Exam
Indian Administrative Services 2026 ( IAS )
The Union Public Service Commission will release the Civil Service (IAS) exam centre list in the IAS 2026 notification. The Commission conduct the Civil Sercice (IAS) Prelims in all the major cities a state capitals. The exam will be conducted in offline mode across the nation on May 24, 2026. The candidates will be required to select the IAS exam centre in the application form.
The UPSC allot the Civil Service exam centre in first apply first allot basis. So it is suggested that to get the exam centre of one choice, one should apply as early as possible. The Civil Service (IAS) application will start on January 14, 2026. The Commission will inform the candidates about their exam centre only through their admit card.The Commission is expected to release the UPSC IAS admit card by May 10, 2026.
- UPSC IAS Exam Centres List - Prelims
- UPSC IAS 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
- UPSC IAS Exam Centres List - Main Exam
- UPSC IAS Exam Centres 2026 FAQs
UPSC IAS Exam Centres List - Prelims
The number of UPSC IAS prelims exam centres are as follows.
| Agartala |
Gorakhpur |
Patna |
| Agra |
Gurgaon |
PortBlair |
| Ajmer |
Gwalior |
Puducherry |
| Ahmedabad |
Hyderabad |
Pune |
| Aizawl |
Imphal |
Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
| Aligarh |
Indore |
Raipur |
| ALMORA (UTTARAKHAND) |
Itanagar |
Rajkot |
| Anantpuru (Andhra Pradesh) |
Jabalpur |
Ranchi |
| Aurangabad |
Jaipur |
Sambalpur |
| Begaluru |
Jammu |
Shillong |
| Bareilly |
Jodhpur |
Shimla |
| Bhopal |
Jorhat |
Siliguri |
| Bilaspur |
Kochi |
Srinagar |
| Chandigarh |
Kohima |
Srinagar (Uttarakhand) |
| Chennai |
Kolkata |
Surat |
| Coimbatore |
Kozhikode (Calicut) |
Thane |
| Cuttack |
Leh | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dehradun |
Lucknow |
Tiruchirapalli |
| Delhi |
Ludhiana |
Tirupati |
| Dharwad |
Madurai |
Udaipur |
| Dispur |
Mumbai |
Varanasi |
| Faridabad |
Mysuru |
Vellore |
| Gangtok |
Nagpur |
Vijayawada |
| Gaya |
Navi Mumbai |
Vishakhapatnam |
| Gautam Buddh Nagar | Nasik | Warangal |
| Ghaziabad | Panaji (Goa) |
Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) |
| Mandi, (Himachal Pradesh) |
|
|
Commonly asked questions
The IAS prelims exam is conducted offline in a pen and paper mode. The IAS prelims exam is conducted in two shifts on a single day. The candidates are required to appear in both the papers and clear both of them. The IAS prelims result is prepared based on the marks scored in the General Studies paper 1. The IAS prelims General Studies paper 2 is qualifying only.
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the IAS 2026 exam on May 24, 2026. The Commission is expected to release the IAS admit card online in the last week of April 2026.
The Union Public Service Commission mention the number and names of the exam cities in the official notification. The UPSC IAS Notification 2026 has been postponed and will be released soon at upsc.gov.in. The IAS prelims exam is conducted offline simultaneously across the nation. The candidates are required to opt for three exam centres in the IAS application and the Commission allots the exam centre on first apply first allot basis.
UPSC IAS 2026 Exam Dates & Schedule
Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of IAS 2026 exam
| Dates | Past Exam Dates |
|---|---|
| 22 Aug ' 25 - 31 Aug ' 25 | IAS Main 2025 Exam Date |
| 25 May ' 25 | IAS Prelims 2025 Exam Date |
| 13 May ' 25 - 25 May ' 25 | IAS Prelims Admit Card 2025 Issue Date |
UPSC IAS Exam Centres List - Main Exam
The UPSC IAS main exam is conducted on weekends and most of the time it takes two weekends to complete. The candidates need to make accommodations or travel various times to the exam centre. So the candidates need to include the travelling time to the UPSC IAS exam centres in their UPSC IAS preparation plan to avoid the hassles of the last minute. The candidates can see the UPSC IAS exam centre list for IAS main exam as notified by the UPSC.
| Ahmedabad |
Dehradun |
Mumbai |
| Aizawl |
Delhi |
Patna |
| Prayagraj (Allahabad) |
Dispur (Guwahati) |
Raipur |
| Bangaluru |
Hyderabad |
Ranchi |
| Bhopal |
Jaipur |
Shillong |
| Chandigarh |
Jammu |
Shimla |
| Chennai |
Kolkata |
Thiruvananthapuram |
| Cuttack |
Lucknow |
Vijayawada |
Note: The official website informs that the exam centres (for both preliminary and mains) will be allotted on a first-apply-first allot basis. Once the capacity of a particular UPSC IAS exam centre is attained, the same will be frozen and applicants will have to choose a centre from the remaining options. Applicants are, therefore, advised to apply early so that they can get an exam centre of their choice.
UPSC IAS Exam Centres 2026 FAQs
The candidates can see here important questions related to UPSC IAS exam centre.
IAS Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The UPSC IAS Notification 2026 has been postponed due to administrative reasons. The Commission released a notice on its official website - upsc.gov.in regarding this. The Commission will also revise the last date for UPSC applications.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The Union Public Service Commission will release the IAS Prelims Answer Key 2026 in May 2027. The Commission releases the official answer key after the declaration of final result.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the IAS prelims exam on May 24, 2026. The Commission will release the IAS prelims result 2026 in the first week of June.
V
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The Cadre Controlling Authority for Indian Foreign Service is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is recruited through the Civil Service Exam.
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 days ago
The Cadre Controlling Authority for Indian Police Service is the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It comes directly under the supervision of Home Minister of India.
N
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 days ago
The Union Public Service Commission will notify the UPSC Civil Service vacancies in the official notification. The number of vacancies for IAS is 180 and for IPS it is 150. Rest of the vacancies are notified for the Central Civil Services.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
The Union Public Service Commission mention the age limit in the official notification. The upper age limit for the General Categoary candidates is 32 years. The Commission provides age relaxation to certain reserved categories.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
No, the Indian Foriegn Service is a Central Civil Service. It is organised and controlled by the Ministry of External Affairs. It is recruited through the UPSC Civil Service Exam conducted annually.
R
Beginner-Level 5
Answered 2 days ago
The Union Public Service Commission will release the Civil Service (IAS) notification 2026 on its official website - upsc.gov.in. The Commission will mention the number of vacancies (tentative) in the notification. The Commission is releasing over one thousand vacancies in the recent years.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a week ago
Yes, the UPSC IAS previous year question papers are very important because they provide a clear picture of the exam. The UPSC IAS PYQs hints about the most frequently asked topics in the exam. It also provides the tentative weightage of the sections in the UPSC IAS syllabus.
N
Beginner-Level 5
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