UPSC Engineering Services Examination (ESE) 2027
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
Applications close 7 Oct
Updated 1 Oct 2026 · details from the official notice
01
Overview
The engineering route into Group A central services, with a 17-month cycle.
The Engineering Services Examination, often called IES, recruits engineers into Group A and Group B posts across central services — railways, defence engineering, telecom, power, roads and ordnance factories. UPSC issued Examination Notice No. 02/2027-ENGG on 16 September 2026, and applications close on 6 October 2026.
It is a long cycle. The preliminary exam is on 31 January 2027 and the main exam on 18 June 2027, with the personality test after that.
Vacancies are approximate
The notice says the number of posts is expected to be approximately 480, including 19 for persons with benchmark disabilities, and is liable to alteration. Branch-wise splits circulating online are not in the notice, and the two versions in wide circulation do not agree with each other.
Quick snapshot
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Examination | Engineering Services Examination, 2027 |
| Notice | No. 02/2027-ENGG, dated 16 September 2026 |
| Conducting body | Union Public Service Commission |
| Branches | Civil; Mechanical; Electrical; Electronics & Telecommunication |
| Vacancies | About 480, including 19 for PwBD |
| Applications | 16 September – 6 October 2026 |
| Preliminary (Stage-I) | 31 January 2027 |
| Main (Stage-II) | 18 June 2027 |
| Official website | upsc.gov.in |
02
Eligibility
An engineering degree, and age 21 to 30 on 1 January 2027.
Age limit
You must have turned 21 and must not have turned 30 on 1 January 2027 — that is, born between 2 January 1997 and 1 January 2006. The upper limit relaxes to 35 for certain serving government employees, and the usual relaxations apply to SC, ST, OBC, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates as set out in the notice.
Qualification
- A degree in engineering from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification the notice accepts.
- Candidates with Blindness are advised not to apply, as no posts are identified for that category; Low Vision candidates may apply for the posts identified for them.
- UPSC verifies eligibility against original documents only after a candidate qualifies for the personality test.
03
Application fee
₹200, with women and SC, ST and PwBD candidates exempt.
| Candidate | Fee |
|---|---|
| General, OBC and EWS (men) | ₹200 |
| Women | Exempt |
| SC, ST and PwBD | Exempt |
Pay by net banking, or a Visa, MasterCard or RuPay credit or debit card, or UPI.
04
Exam pattern
Three stages, ending in a personality test.
Each branch sits its own papers. In the written stages, a General Studies and Engineering Aptitude paper of 2 hours and 200 marks is paired with a discipline paper of 3 hours and 300 marks, 500 marks in all for that stage.
- 1Stage-I, the preliminary examination on 31 January 2027, which screens candidates for the main exam
- 2Stage-II, the main examination on 18 June 2027
- 3Stage-III, the personality test
UPSC runs an online portal where candidates can raise representations against question papers and provisional answer keys after each stage. The full mark scheme for each branch is in the notice.
05
How to apply
One Universal Registration, then the exam-specific form.
- 1Create an account on upsconline.nic.in and complete the Universal Registration — this gives a Universal Registration Number you keep for life and use for every UPSC exam.
- 2Fill in the Common Application Form, which is shared across UPSC examinations.
- 3Open the module for the Engineering Services Examination, 2027 and complete it before 6 October 2026. This generates an Application Number specific to this exam.
- 4Pay the ₹200 fee unless you are exempt, and keep both numbers for future correspondence.
Use Aadhaar if you can
UPSC advises using the Aadhaar card as the identity document, which makes verification at later stages smoother.