Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) – Pattern

• 01 Jan 2026

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Preliminary Examination
3. Mains Written Examination
4. Personality Test / Viva-Voce
5. Final Selection Criteria

Introduction 

The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) conducts the Haryana Civil Services (HCS) examination every year. The HCS Examination is conducted in three stages: 

• Preliminary Examination 
• Main (Written) Examination 
• Personality Test / Viva-Voce 

The exam pattern is explained in detail below. 

Preliminary Examination 

• Papers: 
  • General Studies (Paper-I) – 100 Marks 
  • Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT - Paper-II) – 100 Marks 
• Features:

Criteria	Details
Type & Language	Both papers are objective type (multiple choice) and bilingual (English and Hindi).
Duration	2 hours for each paper.  The exam is held on the same day at designated centers across the state, as scheduled by the commission.
Negative Marking	0.25 marks are deducted for each incorrect answer.
Criteria for Qualifying CSAT	A minimum of 33% marks is required to qualify.
Merit Basis	Only marks of Paper-I are considered for shortlisting.
Shortlisting for Mains	Candidates 12 times the number of vacancies are selected for the Main Examination.

• Important Guidelines: 
  • If a candidate provides more than one answer, it will be considered a wrong answer, even if one of the answers is correct, and the same penalty as negative marking will apply to that question. 
  • Each question shall have five options (A, B, C, D and E). If a candidate is attempting a question, he shall have to darken the appropriate circle A, B, C or D and if not attempting a question then, he shall have to darken E circle. If none of the circles is darkened, one-fourth (0.25) mark shall be deducted.  
  • Any candidate not darkening any of the five circles in more than 10% of questions shall be disqualified. 

Mains Written Examination

• Conventional/Essay Type: Marks are counted towards the final merit.

Mains Written Examination	Marks	Duration
Paper I: English (Including English Essay)	100	3 Hours
Paper II: Hindi (including Hindi Essay) (in Devnagri Script)	100	3 Hours
Paper III: General Studies-I	100	3 Hours
Paper IV: General Studies-II	100	3 Hours
Paper V: General Studies-III	100	3 Hours
Paper VI: General Studies-IV	100	3 Hours
Total	600

• Structural Changes to the Mains Exam

Feature	Old Syllabus (Pre-Change)	New Syllabus (Post-Change)
Total Papers	Four	Six
Optional Subject	Yes (200 marks)	Removed (No more optional)
General Studies (GS)	One paper (200 marks)	Four papers (400 marks total)

• Language of the Exam:
  • The candidates shall write their answers in Hindi or English except in language or literature papers.  
  • The papers in General Knowledge and Hindi optional subjects unless otherwise directed, shall be answered either in Hindi language or in English language depending upon the option exercised by a candidate but no candidate shall be permitted to answer any one paper partly in Hindi or partly in English.  
  • The candidates shall not be allowed the option to answer these papers in any other medium.
• Qualifying Marks:
  • A candidate will be shortlisted for the viva-voce/personality test if they score at least 45% in total marks across all written papers and a minimum of 33% in both the Hindi and English compulsory papers.
    • The final selection shall be based on the merit list to be prepared on the basis of total marks obtained by the candidates in the Main Written Examination and Personality Test / Viva-voce i.e. out of 675 marks.

Personality Test / Viva-Voce 

• Total Marks: 75 Marks 
• Focus Areas: 
  • Mental alertness, assimilation, and logical exposition. 
  • Depth of interest, leadership qualities, and social traits. 
  • Intellectual and moral integrity. 

Final Selection Criteria 

• The final selection shall be based on the merit list to be prepared on the basis of the total marks obtained by the candidates in the Main written Examination and viva-voce/personality Test i.e. out of 675 marks, and keeping in view the preference of services/ posts exercised by the candidates. 
  • If the total marks of compulsory papers of such candidates are still equal, then the candidate older in age will be considered higher in merit.