UPSC ESE Preliminary Exam 2026 Overview
The UPSC Engineering Services (ESE) Preliminary Exam 2026 is scheduled for February 8, 2026 (Sunday) in two shifts. Notification released September 26, 2025; applications closed October 16, 2025. It qualifies candidates for Mains on June 21, 2026.
UPSC ESE Exam Schedule 2026
| Shift | Time | Paper | Marks | Duration |
| 1 | 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM | GS & Engineering Aptitude (Paper I) | 200 | 2 hours |
| 2 | 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM | Discipline-specific (Paper II) | 300 | 3 hours |
Pattern and Syllabus Highlights
- Objective MCQs with 1/3 negative marking.
- Paper I (Common): Current affairs, engineering aptitude, ethics, project management, ICT, environment (15 topics).
- Paper II: Core engineering (Civil/Mechanical/Electrical/Electronics & Telecom).
Admit cards are expected 2 weeks prior to upsc.gov.in
UPSC ESE Preliminary Exam Overview 2025
| Stage I | (Objective Type Papers) for the selection of candidates |
| Stage II | Engineering Services (Main/Stage-II) Examination (Conventional Type Papers) |
| Stage III | Personality Test |
| Paper I | 200 Marks |
| Paper II | 300 Marks |
| Negative Marking | 1/3 Deduction |
UPSC ESE 2026 Admit Card
The UPSC will release the admit card for this exam well in advance. The admit card may come out one week before the exam
Number of Posts
The UPSC Engineering Services Exam (ESE) 2026 has a total of 474 vacancies announced across various engineering disciplines including Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronics & Telecommunication.
Participating Organization
Group-A Services/Posts (i
Central Engineering Service
Central Engineering Service (Roads), Group-A (Civil Engineering Posts).
Survey of India Group ‘A’ Service. (
AEE (Civil) in Border Roads Engineering Service. (
AEE (QS&C) in MES Surveyor Cadre.
Central Water Engineering (Group ‘A’) Service.
Indian Skill Development Service.
Indian Railway Management Service (Civil).
ndian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Civil Engg. Posts
CATEGORY II
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Group-A/B Services/Posts
- AEE in GSI Engineering Service Gr ‘A’.
- Indian Naval Material Management Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts)
- Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Mechanical).
- AEE (Electrical and Mechanical) in Border Roads Engineering Service (Mechanical Engineering Posts).
- Indian Skill Development Service.
- Indian Railway Management Services (Mechanical)
- Indian Railway Management Services (Stores) – Mechanical Engg. Posts.
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Mechanical Trade
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Mechanical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
CATEGORY III—ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Group-A/B Services/Posts
- Central Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Service (Electrical Engineering Posts).
- Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electrical Engineering Posts)
- Central Power Engineering Service Gr ‘A’ (Electrical Engineering Posts).
- Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electrical).
- Indian Skill Development Service
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electrical Trade
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electrical Trade
- Indian Railway Management Service (Electrical)
- Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – Electrical Engg. Posts.
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Electrical Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
CATEGORY IV—ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING Group-A/B Services/Posts
Indian Radio Regulatory Service Gr ‘A’
Indian Naval Material Management Service (Electronics and Telecom Engineering Posts)
Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service/SSO-II (Electronics & Tele).
- Junior Telecom Officer Gr ‘B’
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-I (IEDS) Electronics Trade
- Indian Enterprises Development Service/Assistant Director Grade-II (IEDS) Electronics Trade
- Indian Railway Management Service (Signal &Telecommunication)
- Indian Railway Management Service (Stores) – S & T Engg. Posts.
- AEE Gr ‘A’(Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Posts) in Corps of EME, Min of Defence
UPSC ESE 2026 Exam Cities
| Agartala | Jorhat | Port Blair |
| Agra | Banglore | Raipur |
| Ahmedabad | Bareilly | Ranchi |
| Aizawl | Bhopal | Sambalpur |
| Aligarh | Chandigarh | Shillong |
| Chennai | Gurugram | Gorakhpur |
| Cuttack | Gangtok | Shimla |
| Dehradun | Kochi (Cochin) | Srigagar |
| Delhi | Kohima | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Dharwad | Kolkata | Tirupati |
| Dispur Guwahati | Lucknow | Udaipur |
| Gangtok | Madurai | Vishkhapatna |
| Hyderabad | Gaya | Noida(UP) |
| Imphal | Mumbai | Ghaziabad |
| Itanagar | Nagpur | Faridabad |
| Jaipur | Panji | Varanasi |
| Jammu | Patna |
UPSC ESE Exam 2026 FAQs
The preliminary exam will be taking place on February 8 2026
It will release the admit card release date for ESE Exam 2026
The candidates who qualify the preliminary exam will go to Mains and then interview
A total of 474 vacancies have been announced across various engineering disciplines.
he prelims consist of two papers: Paper I (General Studies and Engineering Aptitude) for 200 marks and Paper II (Engineering Discipline) for 300 marks. The exam is objective type with negative marking.
Paper I includes current affairs, engineering aptitude, ethics, and project management. Paper II covers core engineering topics based on the candidate’s discipline (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics & Telecom).
Related:
UPSC ESE 2026 application form, eligibility and must know rules
Engineering services preliminary exam 2024
UPSC Civil Services Exam 2025: Registration Last Date Further Extended
UPSC Civil Services 2025: Do you know DANICs, IPOS, ICAS, and ICLS?
UPSC NDA 2 2024 Application Form: Result Out, Eligibility and Selection Process
UPSC IES ISS 2025 Result Out Check
