UPSSSC PET 2026: exam pattern, marks, negative marking, age limit

Every figure on this page is copied from an official document linked next to it, with the date we last checked it. Pattern, age limit and dates are from the PET 2026 notification. Last verified: 24 October 2026.

At a glance

Selection stages: Written examination (objective, multiple choice)
First stage: Questions / Marks / Time: — / 100 / 120 min
Negative marking: A quarter (1/4) mark is deducted for each wrong answer.
First stage dates: 25 October 2026 to 1 November 2026

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Exam pattern

Written examination (objective, multiple choice)

Applies to: All candidates. PET is the first stage of the Commission's two-stage examination system for Group C posts and is compulsory for anyone seeking selection to posts within the Commission's purview; the main examination for each post is advertised separately.

Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET)-2026

Time allowed: 120 minutes. Marks: 100. 2 hours. In 2026 each exam day has two shifts: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Negative marking: A quarter (1/4) mark is deducted for each wrong answer.

100 questions, 100 marks, 2 hours. Objective-type multiple-choice questions. The scheme and syllabus were approved by the UP Government's Personnel Section-3 letter no. 277/47-का-3-2021-13/07/2020 dated 19 February 2021.
Subjects and marks as printed: Indian History 5; Indian National Movement 5; Geography 5; Indian Economy 5; Indian Constitution & Public Administration 5; General Science 5; Elementary Arithmetic 5; General Hindi 5; General English 5; Logic & Reasoning 5; Current Affairs 10; General Awareness 10; interpretation and analysis of unseen Hindi passages (2 passages, 5 questions on each) 10; interpretation and analysis of graphs (2 graphs, 5 questions on each) 10; interpretation and analysis of tables (2 tables, 5 questions on each) 10.
The advertisement prints marks for each subject and the totals, but not the number of questions in the first twelve subjects or the marks for each question, so this sheet gives no question table. Questions on subjects 1 to 9 are at the secondary / senior secondary level set by NCERT.
If the test is held in more than one shift or on more than one day, scores are normalised so that candidates can be compared (Commission's notice no. 42/05/विज्ञा० अनु०(ग्यारह)/2019 dated 22 May 2019).
The PET score is valid for 3 years from the date the Commission issues the result or uploads it on its website (G.O. no. 316/47-का-3-2025 dated 28-04-2025). PET is held every year. A candidate who holds more than one valid PET score when a main examination is advertised applies, and is shortlisted, on the highest valid normalised score.
What PET leads to: the Commission's main examinations for direct-recruitment Group C posts, that is, posts in pay band-1 (Rs 5200-20200) with grade pay Rs 1900 or more but below pay band-2 (Rs 9300-34800) grade pay Rs 4600. Candidates are shortlisted for each main examination on their valid PET score. The PET advertisement lists no vacancies of its own, and applying for or taking PET-2026, or getting its result or score card, gives no claim to selection for any post.
Application fee: Unreserved (General) and OBC Rs 160 + Rs 25 online processing fee = Rs 185; SC and ST Rs 70 + Rs 25 = Rs 95; persons with disabilities Rs 25 (processing fee only). Dependants of freedom fighters, ex-servicemen, outstanding sportspersons and women pay as per their original category. Payment by credit card, debit card, internet banking, UPI or SBI e-challan.
PET-2026 is scheduled for 25 and 30 October and 1 November 2026, two shifts a day, in 60 districts of the state. The exam district is first given in an advance intimation, which is not the admit card; a valid admit card is compulsory to sit the test.

Source: Advertisement No. 16-परीक्षा/2026 (16-Exam/2026) dated 1 August 2026 - Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET)-2026, Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission, Lucknow; 13 pages, published in Hindi only, read in full. Exam dates from the Commission's notice no. 1423/36/तीन(परी0-1)/2026/खण्ड-2 dated 25 September 2026; exam-district and admit-card schedule from notices no. 238 (12 October 2026) and 241 (17 October 2026) /15/कम्प्यूटर अनुभाग (बारह)/2026/16-परीक्षा/2026. ↗ · Last verified: 24 October 2026 · Report an error

Syllabus: subjects tested

The subjects in short, as the official syllabus lists them. The exam body's own notification is final.

Indian History: The Indus Valley Civilisation, Vedic culture, Buddhism (Gautam Buddha’s life and teachings) and Jainism (Mahavir’s life and teachings), the Mauryas (Emperor Ashoka), the Guptas (Samudragupta and Chandragupta II), Harshavardhana, the Rajput and Sultanate periods, the Mughal empire, the Marathas, the rise of British rule and the First War of Independence, and the socio-economic impact of British rule.
Indian National Movement: The early years of the freedom movement, the Swadeshi and Civil Disobedience movements and the role of Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders, the revolutionary movement and the rise of militant nationalism, legislative reforms and the British India Act, 1935, and the Quit India Movement, the Azad Hind Fauj and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
Geography: Physical geography of India and the world (rivers and river valleys, groundwater resources, mountains, hills and glaciers, deserts and arid regions, forests, and mineral resources, especially in India), political geography of India and the world, climate and weather, time zones, and demographic change and migration.
Indian Economy: The economy from 1947 to 1991 (the Planning Commission and Five-Year Plans, the growth of the mixed economy with its private and public sectors, the Green Revolution, dairy development and Operation Flood, and bank nationalisation and reforms), the 1991 economic reforms and the economy since, and reforms after 2014: agricultural, infrastructure, labour and economic reforms, and GST.
Indian Constitution & Public Administration: The main features of the Constitution, the Directive Principles of State Policy, Fundamental Rights and Duties, the parliamentary system, the federal system, the Union and Union Territories and Centre–State relations, the judicial structure (Supreme Court and High Courts), district administration, and local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions.
General Science and Elementary Arithmetic: Elementary physics, chemistry and biology. Arithmetic: whole numbers, fractions and decimals, percentage, simple arithmetic equations, squares and square roots, exponents and powers, and average.
General Hindi and General English: General Hindi: sandhi, antonyms, synonyms, one word for a phrase, gender, words that sound alike but differ in meaning, idioms and proverbs, common errors, and writers and their works (prose and poetry). General English: English grammar and questions on an unseen passage.
Logic & Reasoning: Big and small, order and ranking, relationships, odd one out, calendar and clock, cause and effect, coding-decoding with numbers and letters, and deductive reasoning, statement analysis and decision.
Current Affairs and General Awareness: Current affairs, Indian and global. General awareness: India’s neighbouring countries, countries with their capitals and currencies, the states and Union Territories of India, Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) and the state Legislative Assemblies and Councils, national and international days, world organisations and their headquarters, Indian tourist places, the art and culture of India, sports in India and the world, Indian research organisations, famous books and authors, awards and winners, and climate change and environment.
Unseen Hindi passages, graphs and tables: Interpretation and analysis of two unseen Hindi passages, two graphs and two tables, with five questions on each.

Full syllabus, stage by stage → · Official website ↗

Age limit and qualification

18 to 40 years on 1 July 2026: at least 18 years old and not more than 40 on that date. The upper age limit is relaxed for SC, ST, OBC and other such categories by as many years as the Government specifies (the advertisement does not print the number); by 5 years for skilled players of classified games (G.O. of 28.11.1985); by 3 years for ex-servicemen as on 1 July 2026, provided that their age after deducting their whole service is not more than 3 years above the limit; by 15 years for persons with disabilities (G.O. of 3 February 2008); and by 5 years for Uttar Pradesh state government employees working in state services (G.O. of 27-08-2013). Each later main-examination advertisement sets the minimum and maximum age for its own posts. Age is counted as on 1 July 2026.

Posts	Requirement
PET-2026 (all applicants)	High School (Class 10) or an equivalent qualification, held before the last date for submitting the application.
Main examinations for individual posts (advertised separately)	Each main-examination advertisement sets the essential qualification for its posts, following the department's requisition and service rules. Only candidates who hold that qualification and have been issued a valid PET score card can apply online for that main examination.

The advertisement does not print a minimum pass mark for PET. The score is used to shortlist candidates for the main examinations advertised later, on the valid PET score; a candidate with more than one valid PET score is considered on the highest valid normalised score. Vertical reservation (SC, ST, OBC, EWS) and horizontal reservation (dependants of freedom fighters, ex-servicemen, persons with disabilities, outstanding sportspersons and women) apply in the main-examination advertisements.

Important dates

Event	Date	Source
Advertisement published	1 August 2026	official notice ↗
Registration, online application and fee payment	3 August 2026 to 1 September 2026	official notice ↗
Correction of the submitted application, and last date for fee reconciliation	Corrections open on the Commission's website from 10 August 2026; 8 September 2026 is the last date for both fee reconciliation and corrections.	official notice ↗
Advance intimation of exam district released (not the admit card)	12 October 2026	official notice ↗
Admit cards released, by exam date	17 October 2026 for the 25 October exam, 23 October 2026 for the 30 October exam and 25 October 2026 for the 1 November exam, on upsssc.gov.in.	official notice ↗
PET-2026 written examination	25 October (Sunday), 30 October (Friday) and 1 November 2026 (Sunday), two shifts a day: 10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Moved from 23, 24 and 25 October 2026 (notice of 9 September 2026).	official notice ↗

Practice questions by section

Free questions, each with its answer, in the subjects this exam tests. Every topic opens a list of question pages.

State GK

Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge 377 questions

General Studies

Quantitative Aptitude

English

Reasoning

All practice questions by topic →

Free notes (PDF)

Notes for every topic in this exam’s syllabus, one PDF per subject: each lesson ends with a quick-revision box, and each PDF ends with a revision sheet. Written by an AI assistant and not reviewed by a subject-matter expert.

Quantitative Aptitude (89 pages, 1.1 MB)
Reasoning (74 pages, 954 KB)
English (65 pages, 819 KB)
General Awareness (208 pages, 2.3 MB)
Uttar Pradesh GK (20 pages, 310 KB)

Notes for every subject →

Latest notices

UPSSSC PET-2026: admit-card release dates for each exam day; written exam proposed on 25 and 30 October and 1 November 2026admit card · 26 October 2026

All exam notices →

UPSSSC PET admit card, result and answer key: every notice →

Recent current affairs for this exam

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Frequently asked questions

What are the selection stages of UPSSSC PET?

Written examination (objective, multiple choice), as per the PET 2026 notification.

Is there negative marking in UPSSSC PET?

Written examination (objective, multiple choice), as per the PET 2026 notification: A quarter (1/4) mark is deducted for each wrong answer.

What is the age limit for UPSSSC PET?

What are the minimum qualifying marks in UPSSSC PET?

What are the UPSSSC PET first-stage exam dates?

Written examination (objective, multiple choice): 25 October 2026 to 1 November 2026, as per the PET 2026 notification.

Which subjects does the UPSSSC PET exam test?

The official syllabus lists: Indian History; Indian National Movement; Geography; Indian Economy; Indian Constitution & Public Administration; General Science and Elementary Arithmetic; General Hindi and General English; Logic & Reasoning; Current Affairs and General Awareness; Unseen Hindi passages, graphs and tables.

How this page is made

These facts are transcribed from the official documents linked above and checked against them on the date shown. If anything here differs from the official notification, the official notification is right. Please tell us through the Contact page. See also our editorial standards. Contact · Editorial standards