UPSC Previous Year Papers
UPSC Previous Year Question Papers — CSE, NDA, CDS, EPFO, CAPF, CMS
Previous Year Papers — UPSC
Solving UPSC previous year papers (PYPs) is the single most effective way to understand what the Commission actually asks. Question papers are not just revision material — they are the blueprint of the exam: they reveal repeated themes, the difficulty level, the distribution of questions across subjects, and how UPSC phrases its signature "statement-based" and "code" questions. The Union Public Service Commission officially uploads the actual question papers (PDF) for Civil Services, NDA, CDS, CAPF, CMS, EPFO and other exams on its own website, and every link below is taken from that official source unless marked (external). We recommend attempting papers in timed conditions, marking answers in a bubble sheet, and applying the real negative-marking penalty (typically 1/3rd of a question's marks) so your scores reflect what you will actually get in the hall.
Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination — CSE Prelims
CSE Prelims has two objective papers held on the same day: GS Paper-I (100 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours) and GS Paper-II / CSAT (80 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours, qualifying at 33%). Both papers carry 1/3rd negative marking. UPSC publishes both papers as official PDFs every year.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSE Prelims | 2026 | General Studies Paper-I | Download PDF |
| CSE Prelims | 2026 | General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) | Download PDF |
| CSE Prelims | 2025 | General Studies Paper-I | Download PDF |
| CSE Prelims | 2025 | General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) | Download PDF |
| CSE Prelims | 2024 | General Studies Paper-I | Download PDF |
| CSE Prelims | 2024 | General Studies Paper-II (CSAT) | Download PDF |
Official portal: upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers
Civil Services (Main) Examination — CSE Mains
CSE Mains is a written, descriptive exam of 9 papers — 2 qualifying language papers (English & a language of the Eighth Schedule), Essay, GS-I, GS-II, GS-III, GS-IV, and 2 optional subject papers. All papers carry 250 marks (language papers 300, qualifying at 25%). Official PDFs are published paper-by-paper; below are the General Studies and Essay papers.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSE Mains | 2025 | Essay | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | General Studies Paper-I | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | General Studies Paper-II | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | General Studies Paper-III | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | General Studies Paper-IV (Ethics) | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | English (Compulsory, Qualifying) | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2025 | Hindi (Compulsory, Qualifying) | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2024 | Essay | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2023 | General Studies Paper-I | Download PDF |
| CSE Mains | 2023 | General Studies Paper-II | Download PDF |
Optional-subject and literature papers for Mains (2023-2026) are available year-wise on the official portal: upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers
NDA & Naval Academy Examination — NDA-NA
NDA-NA is a two-stage entry into the Armed Forces: Written exam (Mathematics, 120 questions/300 marks, 2.5 hrs + General Ability Test, 150 questions/600 marks, 2.5 hrs, with 1/3rd negative marking) followed by SSB interview. UPSC conducts it twice a year and publishes both papers officially.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDA-NA | 2026 (I) | Mathematics | Download PDF |
| NDA-NA | 2026 (I) | General Ability Test | Download PDF |
| NDA-NA | 2025 (II) | Mathematics | Download PDF |
| NDA-NA | 2025 (II) | General Ability Test | Download PDF |
| NDA-NA | 2024 (I) | Mathematics | Download PDF |
| NDA-NA | 2024 (I) | General Ability Test | Download PDF |
Combined Defence Services Examination — CDS
CDS is held twice a year for entry into IMA, INA, AFA and OTA. The written exam has three papers — English (120 questions/100 marks, 2 hrs), General Knowledge (120 questions/100 marks, 2 hrs) and Elementary Mathematics (100 questions/100 marks, 2 hrs). Candidates are recommended for SSB based on written scores. All three papers are published officially.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDS | 2026 (I) | English | Download PDF |
| CDS | 2026 (I) | General Knowledge | Download PDF |
| CDS | 2026 (I) | Elementary Mathematics | Download PDF |
| CDS | 2025 (II) | General Knowledge | Download PDF |
| CDS | 2024 (I) | English | Download PDF |
| CDS | 2024 (I) | Elementary Mathematics | Download PDF |
EPFO — Enforcement Officer / Accounts Officer & APFC
The EPFO EO/AO & APFC recruitment test (conducted by UPSC) is a single objective paper of 120 questions / 300 marks / 2 hours covering General English, Indian Culture & Freedom Movement, Constitution, Current Affairs, Economy, Accounting & Labour Laws, Computer Basics, General Science and Elementary Maths, followed by an interview. EPFO papers are not hosted on the current UPSC PYP portal, so use the verified compilations below (external, clearly not official).
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPFO EO/AO | 2023 | Question Paper + Answer Key (2 Jul 2023) | UPSC official PYP page |
| EPFO APFC | 2023 | Official EPFO site publishes notifications and sample questions | EPFO official site |
| EPFO EO/AO | 2021 | Question Paper (5 Sep 2021) | UPSC official PYP page |
| EPFO EO/AO | 2017 | Official EPFO site publishes notifications and sample questions | EPFO official site |
| EPFO APFC | 2012 | Question Paper (23 Sep 2012) | UPSC official PYP page |
Central Armed Police Forces (ACs) Examination — CAPF
CAPF (Assistant Commandant) is a two-stage exam: Paper-I (General Ability and Intelligence, 125 questions/250 marks, 2 hrs) and Paper-II (General Studies, Essay & Comprehension, 250 marks, 3 hrs), followed by Physical Standards/Tests and Interview. Both papers are published officially by UPSC.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAPF (ACs) | 2026 | Paper-I: General Ability & Intelligence | Download PDF |
| CAPF (ACs) | 2026 | Paper-II: GS, Essay & Comprehension | Download PDF |
| CAPF (ACs) | 2025 | Paper-I: General Ability & Intelligence | Download PDF |
| CAPF (ACs) | 2025 | Paper-II: GS, Essay & Comprehension | Download PDF |
| CAPF (ACs) | 2024 | Paper-I: General Ability & Intelligence | Download PDF |
| CAPF (ACs) | 2024 | Paper-II: GS, Essay & Comprehension | Download PDF |
Combined Medical Services Examination — CMS
CMS has two papers: Paper-I (General Medicine & Paediatrics) and Paper-II (Surgery, Gynaecology & Obstetrics, Preventive & Social Medicine), each 250 marks / 2 hours. Both papers are objective with negative marking and are published officially.
| Exam | Year | Paper | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS | 2026 | Paper-I: General Medicine & Paediatrics | Download PDF |
| CMS | 2026 | Paper-II: Surgery, Gynae & Obst., P&SM | Download PDF |
| CMS | 2025 | Paper-I: General Medicine & Paediatrics | Download PDF |
| CMS | 2025 | Paper-II: Surgery, Gynae & Obst., P&SM | Download PDF |
| CMS | 2024 | Paper-I: General Medicine & Paediatrics | Download PDF |
| CMS | 2024 | Paper-II: Surgery, Gynae & Obst., P&SM | Download PDF |
How to Use UPSC Previous Year Papers Effectively
- Solve in exam conditions. Sit for the exact duration with no books, no phone and no internet. For objective papers, apply negative marking while scoring so your number is a true estimate.
- Work backwards from recent years. Attempt the newest paper first, then older ones — recent papers show the current trend, and older papers (5-10 years) show how often topics repeat.
- Maintain a PYQ error log. After each paper, list every wrong answer and mark it as "concept gap", "forgot fact", "misread question" or "careless". Re-attempt only your wrong questions after 2 weeks.
- Build a topic-frequency chart. For CSE Prelims, note which subjects appear most (e.g., Polity, Environment, Economy) — target at least 2-3 papers to see the weight distribution.
- Revise with the answer key. For every question you missed, read the source note for the correct option. This is faster and more exam-focused than reading textbooks first.
- Use Mains papers for answer-writing. For CSE/CAPF descriptive papers, practice writing full answers under time limit, then compare structure with model answers from your coaching material.
- Do not over-solve. For CSE Prelims, 10-15 years of papers is plenty — repeating the same paper is less valuable than analysing your mistakes.
FAQ
Are UPSC previous year papers available for free?
Yes. UPSC publishes the actual question papers free of charge as PDFs on its official portal at upsc.gov.in/examinations/previous-question-papers. Older years are under the same page's archives section.
Is there negative marking in UPSC objective papers?
Yes. For CSE Prelims, NDA, CDS, CAPF and CMS, each wrong answer attracts a penalty of one-third (1/3rd) of the marks allotted to that question. CSAT (GS Paper-II) is qualifying — marks there do not count for merit.
Which UPSC exam should I start practising with?
Start with the exam you are actually preparing for. CSE aspirants should begin with recent Prelims papers (2024-2026), NDA/CDS aspirants with their own exam's latest papers, and CAPF/CMS candidates likewise — practising the wrong exam wastes limited time.
Do UPSC papers repeat questions across years?
Rarely verbatim, but themes and frameworks repeat heavily. Concepts such as Fundamental Rights, parliamentary procedures, environment-conservation topics and current-events-linked questions appear in some form almost every year.
Where can I find EPFO previous year papers?
UPSC does not publish past EPFO papers on its PYP portal; the official EPFO recruitment site publishes fresh notifications and sometimes sample question sets: EPFO official website. Avoid watermarked compilations from unofficial sites.
Should I practise old papers even after a syllabus change?
Yes. UPSC's core syllabus (Polity, History, Geography, Economy, Science) is largely stable. Papers from before 2022 remain valid for concept practice, but prioritise papers from the last 3-5 years to match current exam style.