UKPSC Lower PCS: Vacancy, Eligibility & Exam Details

About UKPSC Lower PCS

The Uttarakhand Public Service Commission (UKPSC) conducts the Uttarakhand Combined State Civil/Lower Subordinate Service Examination every few years to recruit Group ‘C’ officers into departments like Revenue, Home, Food & Civil Supplies, Excise, Labour, and Sugarcane Development. Aspirants and coaching institutes commonly refer to this exam as UKPSC Lower PCS, distinguishing it from the Upper PCS (Combined State/Upper Subordinate Services) exam that recruits for Group ‘A’ and ‘B’ posts.

The current cycle was notified under Advertisement No. A-3/E-2/DR/LSS/2024-25, published on 13 December 2024, inviting applications for 113 vacancies (subject to revision) across nine posts. Selection runs through three stages — a preliminary screening exam, a descriptive mains exam, and a personal interview — with the entire process expected to conclude over 18–24 months from notification to final result, based on how past cycles have played out.

Important Dates

The application and correction windows are already closed for this cycle. Candidates who missed applying will need to wait for the next Lower PCS notification, which typically follows an irregular cycle of roughly 3–5 years rather than an annual schedule.

Vacancy Details

UKPSC has notified 113 posts across nine designations. As with most Commission advertisements, the notice explicitly states this number may increase or decrease before the final selection process, so treat it as provisional rather than fixed.

The Nayab Tehsildar and Supply Inspector posts carry the largest share of vacancies and also the widest spread of horizontal reservation — including quotas for persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen, sportspersons, orphaned candidates, and dependents of those recognised as agitators in the Uttarakhand statehood movement. A corrigendum issued on 3 January 2025 additionally reserved 1 of the 23 unreserved Supply Inspector posts specifically for orphaned children of Uttarakhand.

Eligibility Criteria

Age limit: Candidates must be between 21 and 42 years old, with 1 July 2024 fixed as the reckoning date. This means applicants must be born between 2 July 1982 and 1 July 2003.

Age relaxation: Uttarakhand-domiciled SC, ST, and OBC candidates get 5 years’ relaxation. Dependents of freedom fighters from Uttarakhand also get 5 years. Persons with disabilities get 10 years. Ex-servicemen get relaxation equal to their actual military service period, capped so the relaxed age doesn’t exceed the maximum limit by more than 3 years.

Educational qualification: Most posts require a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university, with several — including Deputy Jailor, Supply Inspector, Marketing Inspector, and Khandsari Inspector — additionally requiring working knowledge of Hindi in Devanagari script. The two Cane Development Inspector posts require a bachelor’s degree specifically in Agriculture, with a postgraduate agriculture degree given preference for direct recruitment where other qualifications are equal.

Domicile and registration: Applicants must generally be registered with a Sewayojan (Employment) office within Uttarakhand by the application deadline. This requirement is waived for candidates already employed in Uttarakhand state government service. Candidates working in central government or other state government roles need a no-objection certificate from their department before registering.

Preferential qualifications: Across most posts, candidates with at least 2 years of Territorial Army service, or an NCC ‘B’ or ‘C’ certificate, receive preference in direct recruitment when other factors are equal.

Physical standards: Nayab Tehsildar and Excise Inspector carry specific height, chest, and weight requirements, with relaxed standards for candidates from hill areas and Scheduled Tribe candidates. For Nayab Tehsildar, general/OBC male candidates outside hill areas need a minimum height of 165 cm, chest measurement of 78.8 cm (83.8 cm expanded); hill-area and ST candidates get relaxed standards. Female candidates need a minimum height of 152 cm (147 cm for hill-area/ST candidates) and minimum weight of 45 kg.

Nationality: Open to Indian citizens, Tibetan refugees who settled in India before 1 January 1962, and persons of Indian origin who migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, or specified East African countries with intent to permanently settle in India.

Character and marital status: Candidates must be of character suitable for government service. Male candidates with more than one living spouse, and female candidates who married a man with more than one living spouse, are not eligible unless specifically exempted by the Governor.

Selection Process

Selection happens in three stages. The Preliminary exam is objective in nature, covering General Studies and General Aptitude across 150 questions for 150 marks, with a two-hour duration and negative marking of one-fourth mark per wrong answer. Prelims is purely qualifying — marks scored here are not added to the final merit list, they only determine who advances to Mains. The Mains exam is descriptive, consisting of four papers covering General Studies and an Essay & Drafting paper, testing both subject knowledge and writing ability in Hindi and English. Candidates who clear Mains are called for a personal interview, which evaluates administrative aptitude, communication, and awareness of current affairs alongside academic performance. Final selection and merit ranking is based solely on combined Mains and Interview marks.

How to apply

UKPSC Lower PCS applications are submitted entirely online through the Commission’s website (psc.uk.gov.in) or the dedicated recruitment portal (ukpsc.net.in). The process involves registering with your basic details, filling in educational qualifications, uploading a photo and signature, reviewing your form, and submitting it before the deadline. Once submitted, only a limited one-time correction window is available — carefully verify all entries before final submission, since fields like mobile number cannot be edited afterward.

For the current 2024 cycle, the application window has already closed.

Application Fee

Fees are accepted only through Net Banking, Debit Card, Credit Card, or UPI. Underpayment or non-payment by the deadline results in automatic rejection of the application, and once submitted, fees are non-refundable even if the application is later cancelled and resubmitted.

Important Instructions

Candidates found submitting fake certificates or false claims regarding age, category, or education face debarment from all future Commission examinations for up to 5 years, along with possible legal action. Reservation and category claims must be made at the time of application itself — the Commission does not entertain claims added retroactively, a position it has upheld even in court (Radha Mittal vs. UKPSC). After the application deadline, candidates get a single correction window to fix errors in name, date of birth, category, or gender — no further changes are permitted once this window closes. Persons with disabilities may apply against unreserved posts as general candidates even if their specific disability category isn’t earmarked for a particular post, per a 2018 government order. All exam-related updates, including admit cards and results, are published only on the Commission’s official website — the notification explicitly states that no information is sent by post.

FAQs

Q1. Is UKPSC Lower PCS Prelims marks counted in the final merit list?

Ans. No. The Preliminary exam is only qualifying in nature. Marks scored in Prelims are not added to the final merit — only Mains and Interview marks determine the final selection and rank.

Q2. What is the age limit for UKPSC Lower PCS 2024?

Ans. Candidates must be between 21 and 42 years old, with 1 July 2024 as the reckoning date. This means you must be born between 2 July 1982 and 1 July 2003 to be eligible, before applying any age relaxation.

Q3. What is the qualification required for UKPSC Lower PCS?

Ans. A bachelor’s degree from a recognised university is required for most posts. Deputy Jailor, Supply Inspector, Marketing Inspector, and Khandsari Inspector additionally require working knowledge of Hindi in Devanagari script, while Cane Development Inspector posts specifically require an Agriculture degree.

Q4. How many vacancies are there in UKPSC Lower PCS 2024?

Ans. 113 vacancies across nine posts, including Nayab Tehsildar (36), Supply Inspector (36), and Deputy Jailor (14). The Commission’s notice states this number is subject to increase or decrease before final selection.

Q5. What is the selection process for UKPSC Lower PCS?

Ans. Selection happens in three stages: Preliminary exam (objective, qualifying only) → Mains exam (descriptive, 4 papers) → Interview. Final merit is based only on combined Mains and Interview marks.