UPSC Cut Off for Prelims, Mains, and Final
Topics Covered: UPSC Cut Off 2024 Release, UPSC Previous Cutoff 2023, 2022, 2021 & 2020
While the UPSC CSE exam holds a distinguished stature in society, it does not change the fact that at the end of it its attributes are similar to all the other exams.
It has a set pattern, syllabus, a preparation module, and of course like other exams its cycle ends with the release of the final result and Cutoff.
Despite the widespread knowledge about these aspects, I will give attention to each one of them. And on this page, these rights are reserved with the topic of UPSC Cutoff.
With prelims, mains, and the interview round, UPSC is a three-dimensional exam that facilitates provision for the release of three cutoffs for each stage.
Well, cutoff is the minimum marks that a candidate must secure to clear the exam”.
The UPSC aspirant needs to prove his mettle and somehow have to make equivalent efforts to fulfill the dream of becoming a civil servant.
So, in the world of UPSC Aspirant, scoring above the cutoff is extremely crucial. You don’t have to wander on the internet to find the previous years’ cutoffs, it is right here on this blog.
To summarize, on this blog you will find all the updates about the UPSC Cutoff.
Thus, let’s start with the blog.
Table of Content – UPSC IAS
Cut Off
1. UPSC Cutoff 2024
1.1 Cut Off 2024
1.2 Cut Off 2023
1.3 Cut Off 2022
1.4 Cut Off 2021
1.5 Cut Off 2020
UPSC Cut Off 2024
Latest update: The UPSC cutoff 2024 for Prelims, Mains and final merit has been out on its official website on 18th April 2025.
The UPSC cutoff is declared at the end of the examination cycle i.e., after the declaration of the final result.
The cutoff marks for UPSC CSE are taken as the marks secured by the last candidate selected for that round.
Now when it comes to determining the Prelims cutoff, UPSC has its unique way to calculate. Only the marks of Paper 1 of the prelims are considered when determining the prelims cut off.
The marks that you secure in Paper 2 will not be considered when counting your merit ranking as the Paper 2 is qualifying in nature and you need to score at least 33% to qualify for the Mains round.
In order to qualify for the final stage, it is crucial to know detailed information regarding the cutoff. Therefore, effective preparation for the exam would require you to score above the general trends in the cutoff.
Apart from this, one of the avenues to practice effectively for the exam is to solve Mock Tests, which you must take if you are genuinely targeting the UPSC IAS exam.
To qualify for the final stage of the UPSC IAS exam, it’s essential to understand the cutoff trends in detail. Effective preparation should aim to consistently score above the expected cutoff range to stay competitive.
In addition, taking Mock Tests is a highly effective way to prepare. If you’re serious about cracking the UPSC IAS exam, regular practice through well-designed mock tests is a must. Know everything about UPSC Mock Test Here.
Now, more about cutoff.
Given below are a few cases pertaining to the cut off marks that the UPSC has offered clarifications on:
- Case 1 – If 2 aspirants score equal aggregate marks in the UPSC exam, then the aspirant who has secured more marks in the compulsory papers + the IAS Interview, is given a higher rank.
- Case 2 – If 2 candidates score equal marks in the compulsory papers and the interviews taken together, the candidate who is senior in age will be given a higher rank.
- Case 3 – If 2 candidates score equal marks in the compulsory papers and the interviews taken together, and are also of the same age, then the candidate with more marks in the compulsory papers will be given a higher rank.
Before discussing the cutoffs, you can also check the list of important books for UPSC 2025 that will help you in acing the examination.
Now let us go through the cut off marks of the various UPSC rounds of the last 5 years:
UPSC Prelims Cut Offs 2024
In the table below, you can check the details about UPSC Prelims cutoff 2024 I have provided:
| Category | UPSC Prelims Cut offs (out of 200) |
|---|---|
| General | 87.98 |
| EWS | 85.92 |
| OBC | 87.28 |
| SC | 79.03 |
| ST | 74.23 |
| PwBD-1 | 69.42 |
| PwBD-2 | 65.30 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.56 |
| PwBD-5 | 40.56 |
UPSC Mains Cut Offs 2024
To get an overview of the UPSC Mains cutoff 2024, you can the refer to the table below:
| Category | UPSC Mains Cut offs (out of 1750) |
|---|---|
| General | 729 |
| EWS | 696 |
| OBC | 702 |
| SC | 685 |
| ST | 684 |
| PwBD-1 | 663 |
| PwBD-2 | 696 |
| PwBD-3 | 307 |
| PwBD-5 | 361 |
UPSC Final Cut Offs 2024
For detailed preview of UPSC Final cutoff 2024, you go through the table to check the information given on the same.
| Category | UPSC Final Cut offs (out of 2025) |
|---|---|
| General | 947 |
| EWS | 917 |
| OBC | 910 |
| SC | 880 |
| ST | 884 |
| PwBD-1 | 876 |
| PwBD-2 | 913 |
| PwBD-3 | 701 |
| PwBD-5 | 461 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Offs 2023
In the table below, you can check the details about UPSC Prelims cutoff 2023 I have provided:
| Category | UPSC Prelims Cut offs (out of 200) |
|---|---|
| General | 75.41 |
| EWS | 68.02 |
| OBC | 74.75 |
| SC | 59.25 |
| ST | 47.82 |
| PwBD-1 | 40.40 |
| PwBD-2 | 47.13 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.40 |
| PwBD-5 | 33.68 |
UPSC Mains Cut Offs 2023
To get an overview of the UPSC Mains cutoff 2023, you can the refer to the table below:
| Category | UPSC Mains Cut offs (out of 1750) |
|---|---|
| General | 741 |
| EWS | 706 |
| OBC | 712 |
| SC | 694 |
| ST | 692 |
| PwBD-1 | 673 |
| PwBD-2 | 718 |
| PwBD-3 | 396 |
| PwBD-5 | 445 |
UPSC Final Cut Offs 2023
For detailed preview of UPSC Final cutoff 2023, you go through the table to check the information given on the same.
| Category | UPSC Final Cut offs (out of 2025) |
|---|---|
| General | 953 |
| EWS | 923 |
| OBC | 919 |
| SC | 890 |
| ST | 891 |
| PwBD-1 | 894 |
| PwBD-2 | 930 |
| PwBD-3 | 756 |
| PwBD-4 | 589 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Offs 2022
In the table below, you can check the details about UPSC Prelims cutoff 2022 I have provided:
| Category | UPSC Prelims Cut offs (out of 200) |
|---|---|
| General | 88.22 |
| EWS | 82.83 |
| OBC | 87.54 |
| SC | 74.08 |
| ST | 69.35 |
| PwBD-1 | 49.84 |
| PwBD-2 | 58.59 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.40 |
| PwBD-5 | 41.76 |
UPSC Mains Cut Offs 2022
To get an overview of the UPSC Mains cutoff 2022, you can the refer to the table below:
| Category | UPSC Mains Cut offs (out of 1750) |
|---|---|
| General | 748 |
| EWS | 715 |
| OBC | 714 |
| SC | 699 |
| ST | 706 |
| PwBD-1 | 677 |
| PwBD-2 | 706 |
| PwBD-3 | 351 |
| PwBD-5 | 419 |
UPSC Final Cut Offs 2022
For detailed preview of UPSC Final cutoff 2022, you go through the table to check the information given on the same.
| Category | UPSC Final Cut offs (out of 2025) |
|---|---|
| General | 960 |
| EWS | 926 |
| OBC | 923 |
| SC | 893 |
| ST | 900 |
| PwBD-1 | 879 |
| PwBD-2 | 913 |
| PwBD-3 | 632 |
| PwBD-4 | 590 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Offs 2021
| Category | UPSC Prelims Cut offs (out of 200) |
|---|---|
| General | 87.54 |
| EWS | 80.14 |
| OBC | 84.85 |
| SC | 75.41 |
| ST | 70.71 |
| PwBD-1 | 68.02 |
| PwBD-2 | 67.33 |
| PwBD-3 | 43.09 |
| PwBD-4 | 45.80 |
UPSC Mains Cut Offs 2021
| Category | UPSC Mains Cut offs (out of 1750) |
|---|---|
| General | 745 |
| EWS | 713 |
| OBC | 707 |
| SC | 700 |
| ST | 700 |
| PwBD-1 | 668 |
| PwBD-2 | 712 |
| PwBD-3 | 388 |
| PwBD-4 | 560 |
UPSC Final Cut Offs 2021
| Category | UPSC Final Cut offs (out of 2025) |
|---|---|
| General | 953 |
| EWS | 916 |
| OBC | 910 |
| SC | 886 |
| ST | 883 |
| PwBD-1 | 892 |
| PwBD-2 | 932 |
| PwBD-3 | 689 |
| PwBD-4 | 701 |
UPSC Prelims Cut Offs 2020
| Category | UPSC Prelims Cut offs (out of 200) |
|---|---|
| General | 92.51 |
| EWS | 77.55 |
| OBC | 89.12 |
| SC | 74.84 |
| ST | 68.71 |
| PwBD-1 | 70.06 |
| PwBD-2 | 63.94 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.82 |
| PwBD-4 | 42.86 |
UPSC Mains Cut Offs 2020
| Category | UPSC Mains Cut offs (out of 1750) |
|---|---|
| General | 736 |
| EWS | 687 |
| OBC | 698 |
| SC | 680 |
| ST | 682 |
| PwBD-1 | 648 |
| PwBD-2 | 699 |
| PwBD-3 | 425 |
| PwBD-4 | 300 |
UPSC Final Cut Offs 2020
| Category | UPSC Final Cut offs (out of 2025) |
|---|---|
| General | 944 |
| EWS | 894 |
| OBC | 907 |
| SC | 875 |
| ST | 876 |
| PwBD-1 | 867 |
| PwBD-2 | 910 |
| PwBD-3 | 675 |
| PwBD-4 | 465 |
Going through the various tables above you can get a pretty vivid idea about the marks you’d need to score if you want to make it in the UPSC Civil services exams.
In case you want to access the previous year papers, then click on the link to explore UPSC CSE Previous Year Papers.
Conclusion
With that, we come to the end of this article. I hope this article has been helpful in informing you about the topic of UPSC cut-offs. Having said that, I guess now it’s time for me to bid you farewell and the very best of luck.
Cheers!
About Anuj Jindal
━━━━━
Anuj Jindal, the founder, is an ex-manager from SBI, with an M.Com from Delhi School of Economics. He also has a JRF in Commerce & Management and NET in HRM, along with more than 5 years of experience in the field of Education.
UPSC CSE – Related Resources
FAQs: UPSC CSE Cut Off
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How many students are selected for the IAS interview?
I get asked this question a lot, and the answer is that around 2 to 2.5 the number of vacancies announced for the particular year’s IAS exam are selected for the IAS interviews.
Apart from that, you should know that only the people who are able to clear the UPSC cut offs for the Mains papers of the IAS exams are called to appear for the interview round.
-
How many marks are required to qualify the IAS exam?
In short, you need to clear the overall UPSC cut offs to qualify/clear the UPSC IAS exam.
The overall cut offs are decided by taking into account the scores of the Mains exams and the Interview round.
If you want a detailed answer to this question, you should read the UPSC cut offs section on the blog given above.
-
What is the procedure to prepare the IAS prelims cut off?
The IAS prelims cut off is prepared by taking into account the General Studies Paper 1 only.
As far as Paper 2 or CSAT goes, the CSAT is only a qualifying paper where candidates just need to score above 33% of the total marks. This means that the marks secured by candidates in the CSAT paper are not considered while preparing the Prelims cut off.
-
What rank is required to get into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)?
So, the answer differs according to the various reservation categories and it also changes depending on the year of the exam. So, what I am writing here is merely a general estimate.
For the general category, you’d need to have an All-India Rank (AIR) that does not go beyond the range of 75-95 if you want to be an IAS officer. For OBC, the rank cannot be greater than the range of 460-470, For SC, 840-650, and for STs, 765-775.
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What is the procedure to calculate UPSC cutoff?
UPSC reveals the cutoff after the declaration of final result. There is no simple answer to the question of how a figure is reached. However, what’s know is the factors that derive the UPSC Cutoff. Components like, number of candidates who have appeared, the number of vacancies, etc., hold the decisive stature towards calculating the Cutoff.