UPSC ESE 2026 (IES): 474 Posts, Exam Stages, Salary Guide

UPSC ESE 2026 at a glance

The UPSC Engineering Services Examination 2026, still widely called IES, recruits 474 engineers into Group A officer posts across the government, and the cycle is well advanced. The notification came out on 26 September 2025, the Prelims were held on 8 February 2026, and the Mains were held on 21 June 2026. As of late July 2026, the Mains result and the Personality Test are awaited.

ESE is the most prestigious route into government engineering, because it leads to gazetted officer posts in services like the Railways, CPWD, and the Military Engineer Services, with real decision-making authority rather than a technician's role. The exam is open to four engineering disciplines and runs a demanding three-stage process. This guide covers the disciplines, the cadres you can join, the salary in detail, and how ESE compares with the GATE and SSC JE routes.

Here is where the 2026 cycle stands as of late July 2026: applications closed on 16 October 2025, the Prelims and Mains are done, and candidates are waiting on the Mains result and interview call letters. The ESE 2027 notification is expected around September 2026. So this page is a full guide for the exam stages and for candidates planning the next cycle, not an apply-now listing.

Important dates for UPSC ESE 2026

Vacancy details by discipline

The 474 posts split across four engineering disciplines.

Reservation applies service-wise across the posts as per government norms. Civil carries the largest share because the Railways, CPWD, and the water and roads services draw heavily from it, while Electrical has the fewest seats in this cycle.

What ESE is and the services it recruits into

ESE feeds Group A gazetted officer posts, and a few Group B posts, across the central engineering services. The service you land depends on your discipline and your rank. The mapping below shows which disciplines typically feed which services, though the exact service list and seat split come from the notification.

An officer selected through ESE joins as an Assistant Executive Engineer or an equivalent, a Class-I gazetted post with responsibility for planning, execution, and supervision from early in the career.

Eligibility for UPSC ESE 2026

On age, you must be between 21 and 30 years as on 1 January 2026, meaning born between 2 January 1995 and 1 January 2004. Relaxation applies: 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC and ST, and 10 years for PwBD candidates, with further relaxation for ex-servicemen per the rules.

On qualification, you need a degree in engineering, that is a BE or BTech or an equivalent, in the relevant discipline, and some posts accept an MSc or specified degrees. On attempts, there is no cap: you may sit the exam as many times as you like within the age limit.

On nationality, you must be an Indian citizen, with the standard provisions for subjects of Nepal and Bhutan, Tibetan refugees, and persons of Indian origin from specified countries.

Application fee

The fee is Rs 200 for General and OBC candidates. All female candidates and SC, ST, and PwBD candidates are exempt. Payment is online through net banking, a card, or UPI, or through an SBI challan. The fee once paid is not refunded, so confirm your discipline eligibility and age before you complete the payment step, since ESE eligibility is checked strictly at each stage.

Selection process

ESE runs through three stages for a total of 1300 marks, and the final merit rests on the last two.

1. Stage 1, Preliminary Examination: two objective papers, 500 marks. This is a screening stage.
2. Stage 2, Mains Examination: two conventional, that is descriptive, papers, 600 marks.
3. Stage 3, Personality Test: an interview of 200 marks.

Prelims marks do not carry into the final merit. The merit is built from the Mains and the Personality Test, out of 800.

Prelims exam pattern

The Prelims has two objective papers with a penalty of one-third mark for each wrong answer.

Paper 1 is common to all four disciplines, while Paper 2 is discipline-specific. Because both papers carry negative marking, judging which questions to leave is a scoring skill in itself.

Mains exam pattern

The Mains has two conventional papers in your discipline, each of 300 marks and three hours, with no negative marking since the answers are written rather than multiple choice.

The Mains is where selection is decided, alongside the interview, so depth in your engineering subjects and the ability to write structured, well-presented answers under time both matter.

Syllabus

Paper 1 of the Prelims covers General Studies and Engineering Aptitude, spanning current affairs, general principles of design and safety, standards and quality, basics of energy and environment, project management, and general engineering aptitude, alongside reasoning and numerical ability. Paper 2 of the Prelims and both Mains papers cover the full technical syllabus of your discipline at degree level. For Civil that spans structural engineering, geotechnical and foundation engineering, water resources, environmental engineering, transportation, and surveying. For Mechanical it spans thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, theory of machines, machine design, and manufacturing. For Electrical it spans circuits, machines, power systems, control systems, and power electronics. For Electronics and Telecommunication it spans electronic devices, signals and systems, communication, control, and networks.

UPSC ESE 2026 salary

An ESE officer enters at Pay Level 10 of the 7th Pay Commission as an Assistant Executive Engineer, with a basic pay of Rs 56,100. With dearness allowance at 60 percent effective 1 January 2026, per the Finance Ministry order, the in-hand works out well above the basic.

Here is a worked in-hand estimate in a metro (X-class city). On a basic of Rs 56,100, dearness allowance at 60 percent adds Rs 33,660. House rent allowance at the metro rate of 30 percent adds Rs 16,830, and transport allowance with DA adds about Rs 11,520. That is a gross near Rs 1,18,000 a month. After the National Pension System contribution and other deductions the in-hand lands close to Rs 1.05 to 1.08 lakh a month in a metro. Officers posted in the field or on special duty receive additional allowances on top. The pay grows through the officer grades over a career, and the pay range for the entry level runs from Rs 56,100 to Rs 1,77,500.

UPSC ESE vs GATE vs SSC JE

Engineering graduates often weigh ESE against the GATE route into PSUs and against SSC JE. They lead to very different careers.

ESE gives officer authority and the widest promotion ceiling but demands the hardest, longest exam. The GATE route into a PSU offers strong pay with a single exam and no age bar. SSC JE is the most accessible, at Group B level, for diploma and degree holders. The right target depends on whether you want officer authority, PSU pay, or a quicker entry.

Career growth as an ESE officer

ESE is an entry into a long officer career. An Assistant Executive Engineer rises through Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, and Chief Engineer over a career, and the most senior officers can reach the top technical and administrative posts in their service, up to secretary-level roles. Alongside pay progression come the security, allowances, and pension provisions of a central government officer post, plus the authority to lead major public infrastructure and engineering projects. That combination of authority and stability is why ESE remains the most sought engineering exam despite its difficulty.

Documents you will need

Keep these ready for the application and the later stages.

1. Your engineering degree and mark sheets, or a final-year provisional proof where allowed.
2. A category certificate (OBC, SC, ST, EWS, or PwBD) where you claim relaxation.
3. Proof of date of birth, usually your Class 10 certificate.
4. A recent photograph, signature, and a valid photo ID matching your application.

A preparation plan that fits ESE

ESE rewards a long, structured build rather than a sprint, because the technical syllabus is deep and the three stages test both objective speed and descriptive depth. Give the early months to building your discipline fundamentals to the level the Mains demands, since the same subjects power Prelims Paper 2 and both Mains papers. Add General Studies and Engineering Aptitude preparation for Prelims Paper 1, which many technical candidates underrate. As the Prelims nears, shift to timed objective practice and previous years' papers, and after clearing it, move to writing full-length conventional answers under time, since presentation and structure carry real weight in the Mains. Keep a short interview preparation going in parallel near the end. The candidates who convert ESE are usually those who treated the Mains and interview as seriously as the objective screen and who built depth steadily over many months.

What an ESE officer actually does

The work varies by service, but the common thread is engineering leadership rather than routine execution. A Civil officer in the Railways or CPWD plans and supervises the construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure, government buildings, and public works, managing budgets, contractors, and subordinate technical staff. A Mechanical or Electrical officer in the Railways or the Military Engineer Services handles rolling stock, power, workshops, and installations. An Electronics and Telecommunication officer in the telecom services or railway signalling handles communication and signalling systems. From early in the career an ESE officer carries decision-making authority over projects and people, which is the core difference from a Junior Engineer role, where the work is more execution than planning. This authority, and the scale of the projects involved, is a large part of the appeal.

Competition and cut-off context

ESE draws a very large field of engineering graduates for its few hundred posts, so the cut-off runs high and the three stages together filter hard. The Prelims shortlists candidates for the Mains at several times the number of final vacancies, the Mains narrows the field to those called for interview, and the final merit combines the Mains and the interview out of 800 marks. UPSC publishes category-wise and discipline-wise cut-offs with each cycle's result, and they vary year to year with the difficulty of the papers and the number of posts in each discipline. Because Civil carries the most seats and Electrical the fewest in this cycle, the effective competition differs by discipline, which is worth keeping in mind when you gauge your chances.

Probation and cadre training

Selected officers undergo a period of probation and foundation and departmental training before and during their early posting, where they learn the specific procedures, codes, and responsibilities of their service. This structured induction is part of what makes ESE an officer entry rather than a direct technical hire: the training prepares candidates to take charge of projects and teams. The exact training pattern depends on the service you join, since the Railways, CPWD, and the Military Engineer Services each run their own induction.

How to write the Mains conventional papers

The Mains is where many technically strong candidates lose ground, because it rewards presentation as much as knowledge. Each answer should open with the core concept, then work through the solution or explanation in clear steps, with neat diagrams, correct units, and labelled sketches where relevant. Managing time across the paper matters, since attempting every question briefly usually scores better than answering a few at great length and leaving others blank. Practising full-length conventional papers under the three-hour limit, then comparing your answers against model solutions, builds both speed and the habit of structured presentation. Because there is no negative marking in the Mains, attempt as much as you reasonably can, but never at the cost of legibility and structure, which the examiner rewards.

Common mistakes candidates make

The first mistake is preparing only for the objective Prelims and leaving the descriptive Mains until after the result, when the Mains and interview decide selection. The second is neglecting General Studies and Engineering Aptitude in Prelims Paper 1, which is scoring and separates candidates. The third is over-attempting under the one-third negative marking in the Prelims. The fourth is underrating answer presentation in the Mains, where clear, structured, well-diagrammed answers score better than dense text. Avoiding these four puts a technically strong candidate in a much better position.

Where ESE stands among engineering careers

For an engineering graduate weighing options, ESE occupies a distinct place. It is not the highest-paying entry, since some public-sector and private roles start higher, but it offers something they do not: the authority, security, and prestige of a Group A gazetted government officer, with charge of national infrastructure and a promotion ceiling that reaches the top of the technical services. The trade-off is the exam itself, one of the toughest and longest in the country, spanning an objective screen, a descriptive Mains, and an interview across several months. Candidates who value officer authority and long-term stability over the fastest or highest starting pay are the ones for whom ESE is the right target, and they are the ones who sustain the years of preparation it often takes. Understanding this trade-off honestly, before committing, is the first step in deciding whether ESE fits your goals or whether the GATE-to-PSU or Junior Engineer route suits you better.

Frequently asked questions

Is the UPSC ESE 2026 notification out? Yes. The UPSC ESE 2026 notification was released on 26 September 2025 for 474 vacancies. The Prelims were held on 8 February 2026 and the Mains on 21 June 2026, and the Mains result and Personality Test are awaited as of late July 2026.

How many vacancies are there in UPSC ESE 2026? UPSC ESE 2026 has 474 vacancies: 199 in Civil Engineering, 118 in Electronics and Telecommunication, 85 in Mechanical, and 72 in Electrical Engineering.

What is the age limit for UPSC ESE 2026? The age limit is 21 to 30 years as on 1 January 2026, meaning candidates born between 2 January 1995 and 1 January 2004, with relaxation of 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC and ST, and 10 years for PwBD. There is no cap on the number of attempts within the age limit.

Is there negative marking in UPSC ESE? Yes, in the Prelims. Both objective Prelims papers deduct one-third of a mark for each wrong answer. The Mains papers are conventional, that is descriptive, and carry no negative marking.

What is the salary of an IES officer? An ESE officer enters at Pay Level 10 with a basic of Rs 56,100. At 60 percent dearness allowance effective 1 January 2026, the in-hand works out to about Rs 1.05 to 1.08 lakh a month in a metro, before field and special-duty allowances.

Which engineering branches can apply for ESE? UPSC ESE is open to four disciplines: Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. You compete within your discipline for the posts allotted to it.

How many stages are there in UPSC ESE? UPSC ESE has three stages: a Preliminary objective exam of 500 marks, a Mains conventional exam of 600 marks, and a Personality Test of 200 marks. The final merit is built from the Mains and the Personality Test, out of 800.

Is ESE better than the GATE route? They lead to different careers. ESE gives a Group A gazetted officer post with wide authority and the highest promotion ceiling but a harder three-stage exam. The GATE route into a PSU offers strong pay with a single exam and no age limit. The choice depends on whether you want officer authority or PSU pay and flexibility.