The UPSC has announced the Indian Forest Service (IFS) Exam for 2025. This exam is a chance for people with a science or engineering degree to get a job managing India’s forests and wildlife. To get this job, you must first pass the Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam. This is just the first test to see who can move on. If you pass the prelims, you can take the second part: the IFS (Main) Exam. The Main exam has a written test and an interview.

Important Dates

It’s very important to know these dates for the 2025 IFS Exam:

Event	Date
Notification Date	January 22, 2025
Online Application Start Date	January 22, 2025
Last Date for Online Application	February 11, 2025 (until 6:00 PM)
Application Correction Window	February 12, 2025 to February 18, 2025
Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam Date	May 25, 2025
Prelims Admit Card Release	Last working day of the week before the exam
IFS Mains Fee Payment Window	10 days after Prelims result is announced
IFS Mains Exam	16 November 2025 – 23 November 2025

Job Vacancies

There are about 150 job openings for this exam. This number might change. Some jobs are saved for candidates from SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and Persons with Benchmark Disability (PwBD) groups.

 the breakdown for PwBD openings:

• Low Vision: 2
• Hard of Hearing: 3
• Locomotor Disability (only for Leprosy Cured and Acid Attack Victims): 4
• Total PwBD: 9

Eligibility Criteria

You need a Bachelor’s degree with at least one of these subjects:

• Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
• Botany
• Chemistry
• Geology
• Mathematics
• Physics
• Statistics
• Zoology
• OR you can have a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Forestry, or Engineering.

Note: If you are in the final year of your degree, you can still take the written exam. But you must show proof that you passed your degree before the interview.

Age Limit

Your age will be checked as of August 1, 2025.

• You must be at least 21 years old.
• You must not be older than 32 years old.
  This means you must be born between August 2, 1993, and August 1, 2004.

Extra Time for Age Limit (Age Relaxation)

Some groups can be older than 32:

SC/ST:	Can be up to 5 years older (37)
OBC:	Can be up to 3 years older (35)
Defence Service Members (Disabled):	Up to 3 years older (35)
Ex-servicemen:	Up to 5 years older (37)
PwBD:	Can be up to 10 years older (42)

How to Apply and What it Costs

Application Fee

• General / OBC / EWS candidates: Must pay Rs. 100.
• Women, SC, ST, and PwBD candidates: Do not have to pay any fee.

Steps to Apply

1. One Time Registration (OTR): First, you must register on the UPSC website: https://upsconline.gov.in. You only have to do this once in your life.
2. Fill Application Form: After you register, log in and fill out the application form for the exam.
3. Upload Documents: You will need to upload your photo and signature. The photo must be new (not more than 10 days old) and have your name and the date on it. You also need to upload a scan of a photo ID, like an Aadhaar Card or Voter ID.
4. Pay Fee: You can pay the Rs. 100 fee online or with a cash slip at an SBI bank.
5. Fee for Main Exam: If you pass the first (Preliminary) exam, you will have to pay another fee of Rs. 200 to take the Main exam. (The same groups are fee-free).

Selection Process

The selection process has two main parts:

Part 1: Preliminary Exam (First Test)

• This is a multiple-choice question (MCQ) test.
• Its only purpose is to find out who can take the Main exam.
• Your score in this test does not count towards your final rank.

Part 2: Main Exam (Second Test)

• Only people who pass the prelims can take this.
• It has two steps: a Written Exam (where you write out answers) and an Interview.
• Your final score and rank are based on your marks from both the written exam and the interview.

How the Exams are Structured

Preliminary Exam (First Test)

This test has two papers. Both have multiple-choice questions.

Paper	Subject	Marks	Duration	What it’s for
Paper I	General Studies	200	2 Hours	Your score on this paper decides if you pass the prelims.
Paper II	CSAT	200	2 Hours	You just need to pass this one. You must score at least 33% (about 66 marks).

• 
  Wrong Answers: Be careful! If you mark a wrong answer, you will lose one-third (1/3) of the marks for that question.

Main Exam (Written Test and Interview)

Paper	Subject	Marks	Duration
Paper I	General English	300	3 Hours
Paper II	General Knowledge	300	3 Hours
Paper III	Optional Subject 1 (Paper 1)	200	3 Hours
Paper IV	Optional Subject 1 (Paper 2)	200	3 Hours
Paper V	Optional Subject 2 (Paper 1)	200	3 Hours
Paper VI	Optional Subject 2 (Paper 2)	200	3 Hours
Total (Written)		1400
Interview		300
Grand Total		1700

• Very Important: You must write all your answers for the Main exam in English only.

Physical and Medical Rules

You must be physically fit to be in the IFS. There are special rules about height, chest, and general health. These rules are in a separate official document (the Gazette of India from January 22, 2025). 

Syllabus

Preliminary Exam Syllabus

• Paper I (General Studies):
  • Current news (national and international)
  • Indian history
  • Indian and World geography
  • Indian government and politics (like the Constitution)
  • The economy and social development
  • Environment, ecology, and climate change
  • General science
• Paper II (CSAT – Just for passing):
  • Reading comprehension (understanding passages)
  • Logical reasoning
  • Decision making
  • General mental ability
  • Basic math (Class 10 level)
  • Reading charts and graphs (Class 10 level)

Main Exam Syllabus

• Paper I (General English): You will have to write an essay and answer questions that test your understanding of English, like writing a summary (precis).
• Paper II (General Knowledge): This includes current news, science in everyday life, Indian politics, history, and geography.
• Optional Subjects (Choose Two): You must pick two subjects from the list below. You will have two papers for each subject.
  • Agriculture
  • Agricultural Engineering
  • Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science
  • Botany
  • Chemistry
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Forestry
  • Geology
  • Mathematics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Physics
  • Statistics
  • Zoology

Important Rules for Optionals: You cannot pick certain subjects together. For example:

• • • You cannot take Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering.
    • You cannot take Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.
    • You cannot take Agriculture and Forestry.
    • You cannot take Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.
    • You cannot take Mathematics and Statistics.
    • You can only pick one engineering subject (from Agricultural, Chemical, Civil, or Mechanical Engineering).

Study Tips

• Pass the Prelims First: You can’t get to the Main exam without passing the first test. Don’t forget about Paper II (CSAT). You must get 33% on it, even if you get a very high score on Paper I.
• Choose Your Optionals Carefully: Your two optional subjects are worth 800 marks. They are very important for getting a good rank. Pick subjects you know well, like from your college degree. Read their syllabus closely.
• Practice Writing in English: You must write all your answers for the six Main exam papers in English. Practice writing long answers and essays in English.
• Read the News: For the General Knowledge paper, read about current events and understand the science behind them.
• Use Old Question Papers: Look at past IFS Main exam papers. This will show you what kind of questions they ask, especially for your optional subjects.

Admit Card

The admit card is the hall ticket you must have to take the exam. The process is different for the prelims and the main exam.

1. Preliminary Exam Admit card

• When to get it: It will be available in the week just before the May 25, 2025 exam.
• Where to get it: You must download it from the UPSC website: https://upsconline.gov.in.
• Important: They will not mail you a paper copy.
• You must bring this printed hall ticket and your original Photo ID (the one you uploaded) to the exam.

2. Indian Forest Service (Main) admit card

This is the hall ticket you get after you pass the prelims.

• Who gets it: Only candidates who pass the Preliminary Exam.
• What to do after prelims: After the prelims results, you will have 10 days to pay a Rs. 200 fee (unless you are in a fee-free group).
• Getting the hall ticket: After you pay the fee, the UPSC will release the hall ticket for the Main exam. You will have to download it from the same website. This hall ticket will tell you the dates and location of your written test.

 Results 

• Preliminary Exam Result: The result will just be a list of roll numbers that passed. You will not get a mark sheet for this test.
• Main Exam (Written) Result: After the written test, candidates who get the minimum passing marks will be called for the interview. They will call about two candidates for every one job opening.
• Final Result: Your final rank is based on the total marks you get in the Main Written Exam and the Interview added together.