Punjab PCS Exam Pattern

• 12 Dec 2025

The Punjab State Civil Service Combined Competitive Examination (PSCSCCE), conducted by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), shall comprise of two successive stages:   

1. Preliminary Examination [Objective Type] for the selection of candidates for the Main Examination: and
2. The Main Examination (written and Interview) for selection of candidates for various services and posts.

Pattern of Examination:

Pattern of Preliminary Examination  

The preliminary competitive examination will consist of Two Papers of 200 marks each and shall comprise of objective type (multiple choice) questions.  

The detail is as follows-  

Paper	Subject	No. of Questions	Marks for each Question	Total Marks	Negative Marks
Paper-1	General Studies	100	2	200	NO
Paper-2	Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT)	80	2.5	200	NO

Note:

• Both the question papers will be of the objective type (multiple choice questions).  
• The Aptitude Test (CSAT) Paper-II of the Combined Competitive (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 40%. 
• The merit of the Preliminary Examination shall be solely based Paper -I (General Studies).  
• Duration of each paper for preliminary examination will be Two hours. However, Persons with disability candidates will be given additional 40 minutes for each paper.  
• The question paper shall be bilingual and shall be printed in English (Roman script) and Punjabi (Gurumukhi script) except for questions where candidates’ proficiency in language is to be tested. 
• Clearing the Preliminary Examination is mandatory to be eligible for Main Examination.  
• Candidate should note that there will be No NEGATIVE MARKING for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the Objective Type question papers. 
• Preliminary Examination is only a screening test for selecting candidates who would be eligible to take the Main Examination and the marks obtained in this Examination shall not be counted towards the merit of the candidates arrived at after the Written Main Examination.  
• Candidates equal to 12 to 13 times of the vacancies advertised in each category would qualify from amongst those appearing in the Preliminary Examination for the Main Examination, provided that, such number of candidates are available and, are otherwise eligible for admission to the Main Examination. 

Punjab Prelims Current Affairs Course

Pattern of Main Examination

The Main Competitive Examination shall include Seven Compulsory Papers: 

Sr. No.	Paper	Maximum Marks
1	Punjabi (in Gurumukhi Script) Compulsory (of 10+2 Standard)	100
2	English Compulsory (of 10+2 standard)	100
3	Essay	150
4	General Studies Paper-I (History, Geography and Society)	250
5	General Studies Paper-II (Indian Constitution & Polity, Governance and International Relations)	250
6	General Studies Paper-III (Economy, Statistics and Security issues)	250
7	General Studies Paper-IV (Science & Technology, Environment, Problem Solving and Decision Making)	250
Interview		150
Grand Total		1500

NOTE: - IN THE GENERAL STUDIES SYLLABUS SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON HISTORY, CULTURE, ECONOMY AND GEOGRAPHY OF PUNJAB IS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MAIN EXAMINATION.  

• All papers shall be descriptive in nature and duration of each paper will be Three Hours. Visually impaired candidates will, however, be allowed an extra time of sixty minutes in each paper.  
• Candidates will have the option to attempt all the papers, except the language papers in Punjabi or English medium.  
• Candidates exercising the option to answer Papers in Punjabi language may, if they so desire, give English version within brackets of only the description of the technical terms, if any, in addition to the version in Punjabi language.
• The question papers other than language papers will be set in English. However, when any candidate opts for attempting any paper(s) in Punjabi medium, the question papers shall be printed in Punjabi accordingly.

Punjab PSC Foundation Course 2026

Interview

• Interview shall be conducted for only those candidates who qualify on the basis of their performance in the main competitive examination and who fulfil the criteria of eligibility.  
• No candidate shall be eligible to appear in the interview unless he/she obtains 45% marks in the aggregate of all the papers (read 40 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) including at least 25% marks in each paper provided that if in any main competitive examination, a sufficient number of candidates do not obtain 45% marks in the aggregate (read 40 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), the Commission may at their discretion lower this percentage to not below 40% (read 35 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes), however, the minimum percentage for each paper shall remain unchanged.  
• No candidate shall be considered to have qualified the competitive examination unless he obtains at least 45% marks in the aggregate in the main examination including interview marks (read 40 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) except in the case of any main competitive examination for which this percentage has been lowered to not less than 40% (read 35 % for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) by the Commission in which case the qualifying percentage shall be as determined by the Commission. 
• From amongst the candidates who have appeared for the Main written examination, candidates not more than three times the number of vacancies advertised in each category shall be called for the interview, provided that, such number of candidates are available and, are otherwise eligible for the Interview.  
• Names of qualified candidates shall be arranged in order of merit according to the aggregate marks obtained in the main written examination and the interview.  

Note: In the event that the aggregate marks obtained in the Written and Interview parts of the Main Examination taken together of two or more candidates are equal, the candidate securing higher marks in the written part of the Main Examination shall be ranked higher. Should the marks in the written part of the Main Examination of such candidates are still equal, the candidate securing higher marks in the aggregate of the General Studies papers in the written part of the Main Examination shall rank higher. Should those also be equal, the candidate older in age shall rank higher. (aggregate of general studies paper means aggregate of general study paper-I, paper-II, paper-III and paper-IV)

Eligibility Criteria: 

Educational Qualifications: 

• The candidate should possess a bachelor degree in any discipline from a recognised university or institution; Provided that the candidate may be permitted to take preliminary examination while studying for the qualifying degree. However, the candidate shall be required to produce proof of qualifying the degree course for being eligible to take the Main Competitive Examination. 
• No candidate shall be eligible for appearing in the Preliminary Competitive Examination, unless he/she has passed the Matriculation Examination with Punjabi as one of the compulsory or elective subjects or any other equivalent examination in Punjabi language, which may be specified by the Government from time to time. 

Age Limit:

• As mandated by Punjab State Civil Services (Appointment by Combined Competitive Examination) Rules, 2009 read with Punjab Civil Services (Executive Branch) Rules 1976, and Govt. instructions issued from time to time, the candidate should have attained the minimum age of 21 years and should not have attained the age of 37 years on the first day of January of the year in which the last day for submission of application to the Commission falls. In other words, the candidate should have attained the age of 21 years but should not be older than 37 years. 
• The Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 42 years for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes of Punjab only in case of other services except Punjab Police Service and Punjab Prisons Service. 
• Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 45 years for Punjab Govt. and its Board/Corporation/Commission and Authorities employees, all States/ Central Government employees. However, no age relaxation is permissible for Punjab Police Service. 
• Ex-servicemen of Punjab Domicile shall be allowed to deduct the period of his service in the Armed Forces of Union from his actual age and if the resultant age does not exceed the maximum age limit prescribed for direct appointment to such a vacancy in the Service Rules concerned by more than three years, he shall be deemed to satisfy the condition regarding age limit. 
• Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 42 years for Widows, Divorced women and certain other Categories of women. However, no age relaxation is permissible for women in case of Punjab Police Service and Punjab Prisons Service. 
• Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 47 years for Physically Handicapped of Punjab only. However, no age relaxation is permissible in case of Punjab Police Service and Punjab Prisons Service. 
• In the case of the post of Deputy Superintendent Police and Deputy Superintendent Jails/District Probation Officer (Grade-II) in Punjab Police Service and Punjab Prisons Service, a candidate should have attained the minimum age of 21 years and should not have attained the age of 28 years on the first day of the year, as referred to above. 
• The Upper age limit may be relaxed up to 33 years for Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes of Punjab only in case of Punjab Police Service and Punjab Prisons Service. 

Number of Attempts: 

• Unless covered by any of the exceptions, notified by Government in this behalf from time to time, the candidates belonging to the categories specified below, subject however, to the provisions of rule 7, may avail the following number of attempts as specified in the Table given below, at the examination, namely: 

Sr. No.	Name Of Category	Maximum Number of Attempts
1	General Category	6
2	Backward Classes	9
3	Scheduled Castes	Unlimited

• For the purpose of this rule, an attempt in an examination includes an attempt made by the candidate in the preliminary examination conducted under these rules. 
• Ex-servicemen category candidates are permitted following attempts at the Examination: 

Sr. No.	Name Of Category	Maximum Number of Attempts
1	General Ex-Servicemen	6
2	Backward Classes Ex- Servicemen	9
3	Scheduled Castes Ex- Servicemen	Unlimited

Start Preparing for PCS Preparation with Drishti IAS 

Get comprehensive guidance and focused content tailored for the Punjab PCS 

Punjab Prelims Current Affairs Course Punjab PSC Foundation Course 2026

Target PPSC Prelims 2025 Course Punjab PSC Prelims Test Series-2025

Related Resources
PPSC Exam Syllabus	Click Here
PPSC Pervious Year Papers	Click Here
PPSC Exam Strategy	Click Here
Punjab Sate GK	Click Here
Monthly CA Consolidations	Click Here

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. Is there negative marking in the Punjab PCS Prelims? +

No. There is no negative marking for wrong answers in the objective-type question papers. This is a significant difference from the UPSC exam, encouraging candidates to attempt a higher number of questions. 

2. Does the CSAT (Paper-II) score count towards the merit list for Mains? +

No. The CSAT Paper-II is a qualifying paper only. The merit list for eligibility to take the Main Examination is based solely on the marks obtained in Paper-I (General Studies). 

3. What is the minimum qualifying mark for CSAT? +

You must secure at least 40% (80 marks out of 200) in the CSAT paper to qualify. If you fail to meet this threshold, your GS Paper-I score will not matter. 

4. What is the duration of the Preliminary papers? +

Each paper (GS and CSAT) is two hours long. However, candidates with disabilities (visually impaired) are allowed an additional 40 minutes per paper. 

5. Do the language papers (Punjabi and English) count for the final merit? +

Yes. Unlike UPSC where language papers are often just qualifying, in Punjab PCS, both Punjabi (in Gurumukhi Script) and English are compulsory papers worth 100 marks each, and their marks are counted in the Grand Total. 

6. Can I answer the General Studies papers in Punjabi? +

Yes. Candidates have the option to attempt all papers (except the language papers) in English or Punjabi medium. If you opt for Punjabi medium, the question papers will be printed in Punjabi accordingly.

7. Is there a minimum qualifying mark for the Mains papers? +

Yes, there is a strict criteria: 

• You must obtain at least 45% aggregate marks in all papers combined (40% for SC/ST). 
• You must also obtain at least 25% marks in each individual paper. 
• Failing to meet these minimums renders you ineligible for the Interview.

8. What is the weightage of the Interview? +

The Interview carries 150 marks. The final merit list is determined by the aggregate of the Main Written Examination (1350 marks) + Interview (150 marks) = 1500 Total Marks. 

9. Is passing Punjabi in Class 10 (Matriculation) mandatory? +

Yes. You are not eligible for the Preliminary exam unless you have passed the Matriculation Examination with Punjabi as one of the compulsory or elective subjects (or an equivalent examination specified by the Government).

10. What is the Age Limit for the exam? +

• General Category: 21 to 37 years. 
• DSP/Jail Superintendent: 21 to 28 years. 
• SC/BC of Punjab: Upper age relaxed up to 42 years. 
• Government Employees: Relaxed up to 45 years. 

11. How many attempts do I get?  +

• General Category: 6 attempts. 
• Backward Classes: 9 attempts. 
• Scheduled Castes: Unlimited attempts. 
• Ex-Servicemen (General): 6 attempts 

12. Does appearing for Prelims count as an attempt? +

Yes. An attempt at the Preliminary Examination is considered an attempt at the examination. 

13. What happens if two candidates have equal total marks?  +

The tie is broken in the following order: 

• Higher marks in the Written part of the Main Examination. 
• If still tied, higher marks in the aggregate of General Studies papers (GS I-IV). 
• If still tied, the candidate older in age ranks higher.