UPSC Cut-Off Marks of the Last 10 Years (2016 to 2025): Prelims, Mains and Final, Category-Wise

What a Cut-Off Is and How UPSC Computes It

UPSC publishes cut-off marks only after the final result of a cycle, usually ten to eleven months after that year's Prelims. The Commission's term is "minimum qualifying marks": the score of the last candidate admitted to the next stage, or the last candidate recommended, in each category. Three cut-offs are published for every cycle.

The figures below are the official numbers for the General (unreserved) category unless stated. Candidates in reserved categories have separate, lower cut-offs, given where UPSC has published them. All figures should be read against the official cut-off document for each year on upsc.gov.in.

Prelims Cut-Off, 2016 to 2025, General Category

Prelims Cut-Off by Category, 2020 to 2025

The OBC cut-off has tracked within one to three marks of General in most years; EWS has varied more widely; SC and ST cut-offs sit eight to fifteen marks lower in a typical year and fell much further in 2023. PwBD cut-offs are published separately by sub-category and are considerably lower.

Mains and Final Cut-Off, 2016 to 2025, General Category

For 2025, the category-wise Mains cut-offs were EWS 706, OBC 717, SC 700 and ST 694, and the final cut-offs were EWS 926, OBC 931, SC 905 and ST 902.

Reading the Ten-Year Trend

• Prelims has drifted down and settled in a band. From 116 in 2016 the General cut-off fell steadily to the high 80s, with 2023 as a one-off low; the 2024 and 2025 figures place the current band at roughly 85 to 95, which is 42 to 48 correct answers net of negative marking.
• Mains has been remarkably stable. After 2017's high of 809, the General Mains cut-off has stayed between 729 and 751 for seven consecutive years, about 42 per cent of 1,750. The written exam has not become easier or harder in aggregate; the band is the bar.
• The final cut-off is Mains plus roughly 200 to 225 interview marks. The gap between the Mains and final cut-offs has ranged from 201 to 224, which is why interview marks around 180 to 200 keep a borderline Mains candidate in the list and marks around 150 do not.
• Vacancies move the cut-off. Years with more posts pull every cut-off down because more candidates are admitted at each stage; years with fewer posts push it up. The 2023 low combined an unusually hard paper with a normal vacancy count; the 2016 high combined an easier paper with the candidates of that year.
• Reserved-category gaps narrowed in 2024 and 2025. The SC and ST Prelims cut-offs rose faster than General in the last two cycles, so the historic gap of 15 to 25 marks has shrunk to 9 to 10.

What the Numbers Mean for Your Target

1. Plan Prelims for 100 or more in GS Paper I, not for the cut-off. A target ten marks above the current band absorbs a hard paper and a bad day; the 2023 paper proved that the cut-off can fall 13 marks in a year, but a candidate targeting 100 was safe in every year of the decade except 2016.
2. Plan Mains for 800 or more, about 46 per cent. Seven years of cut-offs between 729 and 751 mean that 800 clears the written stage with a margin and leaves the final list within reach of an average interview.
3. Treat the interview as 200 marks to be earned, not a formality. The difference between a 150 and a 200 in the interview is the difference between the reserve list and a service.
4. Check your category's cut-off, not the General one, but do not plan for it. Reserved-category cut-offs have risen sharply in the last two cycles; a plan built on the 2023 figures would have fallen short in 2025.
5. Re-check the official document when a new cycle's cut-offs are released; the 2026 cycle's figures will arrive after its final result in 2027.

Common Misreadings

• Treating the Prelims cut-off as the target rather than as a floor to clear with a margin
• Adding CSAT marks to the Prelims score; only GS Paper I counts
• Comparing a mock series' scores with the cut-off without checking the series' calibration against real papers
• Expecting the next year's cut-off to equal the last; it moves with the paper and the vacancies
• Reading the 2023 Prelims figure as the new normal; 2024 and 2025 returned to the band

Measure Yourself Against the Real Bar on IAS Ladder

The only honest test of where you stand against these cut-offs is the actual previous year paper under exam conditions, and IAS Ladder carries UPSC Prelims previous year questions year-wise and topic-wise, with explanations, confidence tagging and accuracy by topic, so your score on the 2024 or 2025 paper can be read against that year's cut-off directly. In English and Hindi. Download IAS Ladder and find out whether you are at 75, 88 or 100 today.