Eligible number of attempts to appear in Civil Services examination

                Many students have numerous queries regarding the number of attempts that they are eligible for to appear for the civil services examination.

                Except for people belonging to the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST), for whom there are no restrictions, there is an upper limit for the number of attempts to qualify for the civil services examination.

                People falling under the general quota category are allowed a maximum of 4 attempts whereas people from other backward castes (OBC category) are allowed a maximum of 7 attempts for appearing in the examination. Besides, only the candidates belonging to communities that are listed in the central list of OBCs are eligible for these concessions.

                There is no additional relaxation for candidates who are physically handicapped. They are allowed for the same number of attempts as any other aspirant, depending on the category they fall in.

                If a candidate has only applied for the civil services preliminary examination but has not appeared for any of the papers, it is not counted as an attempt. However, if the candidate has completed writing any one paper of the preliminary examination and signed the attendance, it is still counted as an attempt even if he discontinues attempting the rest of the papers in the middle.

Click here to know more the eligibility and restrictions to appear for civil services preliminary examination.