UPSC Prelims 2026 today; check shift timings, exam centre guidelines

New Delhi:

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (Prelims) is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 24. The UPSC Prelims will be held in two shifts - morning shift (9:30 am to 11:30 am) and afternoon shift (2:30 pm to 4:30 pm). The reporting time for UPSC CSE Prelims morning shift is 9 am and for afternoon shift, the candidates need to report at the exam centre by 2 pm.  

UPSC CSE Prelims 2026: Exam Day Guidelines 

• The candidates should carry admit card at the exam centre, without it, they will not be allowed to appear for the exam. Along with the UPSC Prelims admit card, the candidates are advised to bring a government-issued photo ID- PAN, Voter ID card as proof of identity 
• The candidates need to report at the exam centre half an hour to an hour before the exam. For the UPSC Prelims morning shift, the candidates need to report by 9 am, while 2 pm for the afternoon shift 
• Do not bring any restricted items to the exam center. All sorts of electronic devices- smart phone, Bluetooth devices, earphones, pagers are not allowed at the exam centre. The exam center will not provide any storage for banned items, and if any such item is brought, it will have to be stored outside the venue at the candidate’s own risk. 

UPSC Prelims 2026: Delhi Metro to start early 

The Delhi Metro train services will commence from 6 am across the network. To facilitate the candidates appearing for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026 conducted by UPSC this Sunday, the DMRC will commence train services from all the terminal stations on its Line 7 (Pink Line i.e, from Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar), Line 8 (Magenta Line i.e, from  Krishna Park Extn to Botanical Garden and Deepali Chowk to Majlis Park) and Line 9 (Grey Line i.e, from Dhansa Bus Stand to Dwarka) from 6:00 AM, in sync with other Lines, DMRC in a post on X mentioned. 

For details on UPSC Prelims 2026, please visit the official website - upsc.gov.in.  

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