Understanding the UPSC cutoff—what it is, how authorities determine it, and what historical ranges reveal about target scores—builds essential preparation intelligence. This article covers the Prelims GS cutoff, Mains shortlisting, and final merit cutoff across all categories for CSE 2025, along with the historical trends and the factors that cause year-to-year variation.
What Is the UPSC Cutoff?
UPSC declares three types of cutoffs across the examination cycle:
| Cutoff Type | When Declared | What It Represents |
| Prelims GS Paper 1 Cutoff | After Mains examination — not at Prelims result | Minimum GS Paper 1 score to be shortlisted for Mains (approx. 12–15x vacancies) |
| Mains Written Cutoff | After Interview — with Final Result | Minimum Mains written score to be called for Interview |
| Final Merit Cutoff | With Final Result declaration | Minimum combined (Mains + Interview) score of the last selected candidate in each category |
UPSC Prelims Cutoff: Historical Trends (GS Paper 1, out of 200)
| Year | General Category Cutoff | OBC Cutoff |
| CSE 2024 | ~101.34 | ~91.34 |
| CSE 2023 | ~92.67 | ~82.67 |
| CSE 2022 | ~88.00 | ~78.00 |
| CSE 2021 | ~87.54 | ~84.62 |
| CSE 2020 | ~92.51 | ~90.01 |
| CSE 2025 (Expected) | ~95 – 108 (based on paper difficulty) | ~88 – 99 |
Note: These figures are indicative based on UPSC’s officially declared cutoffs for previous cycles. The exact CSE 2025 cutoff will be declared with the final result. Category-wise cutoffs for SC, ST, EWS, and PwBD are typically 15–30 marks below the General category cutoff.
Factors That Determine the Prelims Cutoff Each Year
- Total number of candidates who appeared: fewer candidates appearing raises the cutoff; more candidates lowers it (relative difficulty of achieving a given rank)
- Difficulty level of GS Paper 1: a harder paper produces lower raw scores, which lowers the cutoff in absolute terms
- Total vacancies in that cycle: more vacancies = more candidates shortlisted = potentially lower cutoff; fewer vacancies = higher cutoff
- UPSC shortlisting target: approximately 12–15 times the total vacancy count determines how many candidates are called for Mains
UPSC Mains Cutoff: Historical Trends (Written, out of 1750)
| Year | General Category Mains Written Cutoff |
| CSE 2024 | ~730 (approximate) |
| CSE 2023 | ~745 |
| CSE 2022 | ~727 |
| CSE 2021 | ~720 |
| CSE 2020 | ~723 |
UPSC Final Cutoff: Historical Trends (Mains + Interview, out of 2025)
| Year | General Category Final Cutoff (last selected candidate) |
| CSE 2024 | ~922 (approximate) |
| CSE 2023 | ~932 |
| CSE 2022 | ~900 |
| CSE 2021 | ~882 |
| CSE 2020 | ~877 |
To target IAS selection comfortably (rather than just clearing the cutoff), aspirants should aim for a Mains + Interview total of 1000+. The top 100 selections typically score between 1020 and 1100+.
| Riyasat IAS Mentorship — Target the Score That Gets IAS, Not Just the Cutoff Mains guidance that has produced AIR 20, 36, and 95. Start building score, not just clearing thresholds. → Book Your Free Strategy Session |
What Score Should You Target?
| Target | What to Aim for |
| Prelims (safe clearance) | GS Paper 1: 115–125 (approximately 15–20 marks above the expected General cutoff) |
| Mains written (Interview call) | 750+ out of 1750 (safely above recent cutoffs of ~720–745) |
| Final merit (IAS selection) | 1000+ out of 2025 (well above the ~920 final cutoff; needed for IAS allocation) |
| Final merit (any service) | 880+ out of 2025 (above the General category final cutoff) |
The Cutoff Strategy: What It Means for Preparation
The Prelims cutoff implications for preparation strategy:
- Targeting 115–125 (rather than exactly at the expected cutoff) provides a safety buffer against negative marking errors and question-level uncertainty
- Candidates must secure at least 33% (66 out of 200) in CSAT Paper II; failing CSAT eliminates them regardless of their GS Paper I score.
- Each incorrect answer deducts 0.66 marks — the negative marking arithmetic means 5 wrong answers in an area of uncertainty can cost more than 3.3 marks net (versus the perceived benefit of attempting)
The Mains cutoff implications:
- Mains is a writing examination — content knowledge alone does not produce high scores; answer quality is the primary variable
- GS Paper 4 (Ethics) and the Essay paper offer the highest improvement potential per hour of preparation under mentorship because both rely on learnable skills rather than purely knowledge-based content.
- Optional subject scores often provide the margin between IAS allocation and lower service allocation — strong optional preparation is not a supplementary investment, it is a rank-determining one
Frequently Asked Questions
When will the UPSC cutoff for CSE 2025 be declared?
UPSC will release the official Prelims cutoff for CSE 2025 along with the final result, typically in mid-2026.The cutoffs for Prelims, Mains (written), and Final selection are all published together at that time.
Is the UPSC cutoff the same for all states?
UPSC civil services cutoffs are national — they do not vary by state. However, state PSC examinations have state-specific cutoffs. This article covers UPSC (central) cutoffs only.
Do marks from Prelims count toward the final cutoff?
UPSC uses Prelims only to shortlist candidates for the Mains examination, and it does not include Prelims marks in the final ranking. The commission prepares the final merit list based only on Mains written marks (1750) and the Interview score (275).
| Prepare with the Mentorship That Has Produced AIR 20, 36, 95. → Explore Riyasat IAS Mentorship Programs |
