CDS 2027: Exam Dates, Academies & Eligibility by UPSC

Confirmed dates from the UPSC Annual Calendar 2027

• CDS (I) 2027: notification on 2 December 2026; last date for applications 22 December 2026; written examination on 11 April 2027.
• CDS (II) 2027: notification on 12 May 2027; last date for applications 1 June 2027; written examination on 19 September 2027.

These are official calendar dates. What the calendar does not contain — vacancies, exact birth-date cut-offs, centre lists — arrives only with each detailed notification, and candidates should treat any website quoting 2027 vacancies today as guessing.

Eligibility, academy by academy

Mixing up the academy rules is the most common CDS error: the four academies have different qualifications, age bands and gender rules.

• IMA: a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university. Unmarried men, broadly in the 19–24 age band.
• INA: a degree in engineering from a recognised institution — a general B.Sc. or B.Com. does not qualify. Unmarried men, broadly 19–24.
• AFA: a bachelor's degree with Physics and Mathematics at Class 12 level, or a degree in engineering. Unmarried men, broadly 20–24; holders of a valid Commercial Pilot Licence can apply up to 26. Flying branch candidates should also study the stricter physical and vision standards carefully.
• OTA (men and women): a bachelor's degree in any discipline. Broadly 19–25. Men must be unmarried; women candidates may be unmarried, widowed or divorced, subject to the conditions stated in the notification (traditionally, widowed or divorced candidates who have not remarried, with further conditions where children are involved — read the notification text exactly).

Final-year students can apply for all academies, but permission to sit the written paper is not a waiver: you must produce proof of passing your degree by the deadline the notification specifies, which falls around the SSB stage and course commencement. If your university's results run late, check that proof deadline before applying, not after clearing the written exam.

The written examination

CDS is a single day of objective papers, but OTA candidates sit one paper fewer — a distinction worth understanding, because it is why OTA cut-offs behave differently.

• For IMA, INA and AFA: three papers — English (100 marks, 2 hours), General Knowledge (100 marks, 2 hours) and Elementary Mathematics (100 marks, 2 hours); 300 marks in total.
• For OTA: two papers — English (100 marks, 2 hours) and General Knowledge (100 marks, 2 hours); 200 marks in total. There is no mathematics paper for OTA, which is precisely why arts and commerce graduates concentrate on OTA.

Every wrong answer costs one-third of the marks assigned to that question; unattempted questions cost nothing. UPSC can prescribe minimum qualifying marks in individual subjects, so a very weak English or mathematics paper can eliminate an otherwise strong candidate. Those who clear the written examination go to the Services Selection Board interview — five days of screening, psychology, group tasks and interview — carrying 300 marks for IMA/INA/AFA and 200 marks for OTA, followed by the medical examination. The final merit list combines written and SSB marks against academy-wise vacancies and the candidate's order of preference, so the preferences you fill in the application form are a real strategic decision, not a formality.

Fee and how to apply

Recent CDS notifications have charged ₹200, with all female candidates and SC/ST candidates exempt — the 2027 notifications will confirm the position in December. Applications are online only through UPSC's registration and application system linked from upsc.gov.in: complete the registration profile first (keep those credentials safe — the profile persists across UPSC examinations), then fill the examination-specific form during the window, choose your centre, state your academy preferences in order, and upload a live photograph, signature and identity documents exactly to the specification given. For CDS (I) 2027 the window is 2 to 22 December 2026, and it does not reopen; a form submitted in the final hours with a rejected photograph upload is a lost attempt and a six-month wait for CDS (II).

Planning the year

CDS runs on a dependable rhythm — notifications in December and May, examinations in April and September — so a 2027 aspirant effectively gets two attempts in the year, subject to the age bands. Use that structure honestly. If you are borderline on age for IMA or AFA, CDS (I) may be your last realistic shot at those academies even if OTA remains open, and preparation should be ordered accordingly: elementary mathematics to Class 10 depth with speed, English comprehension and vocabulary daily, and general knowledge built from newspapers plus static subjects (polity, geography, history, defence affairs). Above all, download the notification the day it appears — 2 December 2026 — and verify your birth date against the academy-wise windows printed in it. In CDS, eligibility is decided by a date printed in a table that many applicants never read.

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