PPSC Punjab Civil Services Exam 2025 — 331 Posts, Punjabi Rule, Age, Scheme, Pay, Status
The Punjab Public Service Commission recruits PCS (Executive Branch) officers, DSPs, Tehsildars, Excise & Taxation Officers and other state officers through the Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination. This page follows the 2025 advertisement (Advt. No. 20251), its addendum of 3 September 2025 and the Commission's public notices up to 14 October 2026.
331 posts across ten services
Posts after the addendum of 3 September 2025 [2]
| Post | Posts |
|---|---|
| Punjab Civil Service (Executive Branch) | 49 |
| Deputy Superintendent of Police | 17 |
| Tehsildar | 33 |
| Excise & Taxation Officer | 121 |
| Food & Civil Supply Officer | 13 |
| Block Development & Panchayat Officer | 49 |
| Assistant Registrar, Co-operative Societies | 21 |
| Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer | 3 |
| Employment Generation, Skill Development & Training Officer | 12 |
| Deputy Superintendent Jails Gr-II / District Probation Officer | 13 |
| Total | 331 |
The advertisement first listed 322 posts; on 3 September 2025 the Government added 3 PCS (Executive) and 6 Tehsildar posts, taking the total to 331. [2]
2025 exam timeline [3]
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Last date to apply and pay the fee | 31 Jan 2025 |
| Preliminary exam (moved from 26 Oct 2025 after the floods) | 7 Dec 2025 |
| Main exam (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10 April) | 1 – 10 Apr 2026 |
| Mains result (Commission's estimate) | Around Oct 2026 |
On 15 July 2026 the Commission said about four to five times more candidates sat this mains than in earlier cycles and that it expects the written result around October 2026. On 14 October 2026 it said evaluation of about 4,000 candidates' answer books was still under way, and that physical tests (DSP / DSP Jails only) and interviews may be called at short notice. [4]
A degree, Matric Punjabi, age 21 to 37
- Qualification: a bachelor's degree in any discipline. You may sit the prelim while studying, but you must show the degree before the main exam.
- Punjabi: no candidate may sit the prelim unless he or she passed Matriculation with Punjabi as a compulsory or elective subject (or an equivalent Punjabi examination). Wards of defence personnel who are bona fide residents of Punjab must pass Matric-standard Punjabi within two years of appointment.
- Attempts: General six, Backward Classes nine, Scheduled Castes unlimited; a prelim attempt counts. [1]
Age on 1 January 2025 [1]
| Candidate | Other services | DSP and DSP Jails / DPO |
|---|---|---|
| General | 21 – 37 | 21 – 28 |
| SC and Backward Classes of Punjab | up to 42 | up to 33 |
| Punjab / other State / Central government employees | up to 45 | No relaxation for Punjab Police Service |
| Widows, divorced women and certain other women | up to 42 | No relaxation |
| Persons with disabilities of Punjab | up to 47 | No relaxation |
Physical standards for DSP and DSP Jails / District Probation Officer: height 5 ft 7 in for men and 5 ft 3 in for women; men's chest 33 in, 34.5 in expanded. Men must run 1,600 m in 7 min 30 s and women 800 m in 4 min 45 s, and pass two of three further events (long jump, high jump, rope climb or shuttle run). [1]
Objective prelim with no negative marking; seven descriptive mains papers
- Prelim Paper I — General Studies: 100 questions × 2 marks = 200, 2 hours. Prelim merit is on this paper alone.
- Prelim Paper II — CSAT: 80 questions × 2.5 marks = 200, 2 hours, qualifying only — 40% needed.
- There is no negative marking in the prelim. Papers are printed in English and Punjabi (Gurmukhi). About 12 to 13 times the vacancies in each category go to the mains. [1]
Main exam — all papers descriptive, 3 hours each [1]
| Paper | Marks |
|---|---|
| Punjabi (Gurmukhi, 10+2 standard) | 100 |
| English (10+2 standard) | 100 |
| Essay | 150 |
| General Studies I — History, Geography & Society | 250 |
| General Studies II — Constitution, Polity, Governance & International Relations | 250 |
| General Studies III — Economy, Statistics & Security | 250 |
| General Studies IV — Science & Technology, Environment, Problem Solving | 250 |
| Interview | 150 |
| Grand total | 1,500 |
To reach the interview you need 45% of the aggregate (40% for SC / ST) with at least 25% in every paper; the Commission may lower the aggregate to 40% (35%). Up to three times the vacancies per category are interviewed, and the final list is on written plus interview marks. The General Studies papers carry special emphasis on Punjab's history, culture, economy and geography. [1]
₹1,500 general, ₹750 SC / BC, ₹500 for ESM, EWS and PwD of Punjab
| Candidate | Application | Exam fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ex-servicemen, EWS, PwD and lineal descendants of ESM — of Punjab only | ₹500 | Nil | ₹500 |
| SC / ST of all states and Backward Classes of Punjab | ₹500 | ₹250 | ₹750 |
| All other candidates | ₹500 | ₹1,000 | ₹1,500 |
Source [1]
Fees are paid online only and are non-refundable. Anyone claiming a concession must upload the certificate that proves it. [1]
Punjab categories, a 33% women's quota and strict certificate rules
- Every reserved category is a Punjab category — SC (Balmiki / Mazhbi Sikh and others), Backward Classes, EWS, ex-servicemen and their lineal descendants, wards of freedom fighters, sportspersons and persons with disabilities of Punjab.
- Women: 33% of posts are reserved for women of Punjab under the Punjab Civil Services (Reservation of Posts for Women) Rules, 2020.
- Sports: only a sports gradation certificate under the notification of 20 July 2020 counts; school, university and district-level gradations do not. A candidate found ineligible in the sports or PwD category is rejected outright, not moved to the basic category.
- Disability: PwD reservation needs a benchmark disability of at least 40%.
- The category chosen in the form can never be changed. [1]
Keep these ready at short notice
- Matriculation or Higher Secondary certificate (proof of date of birth).
- Proof of having passed Punjabi.
- Degree and detailed marks cards.
- Reserved-category certificate and the latest Punjab residence certificate (all reserved categories).
- EWS certificate valid for the financial year in which the cut-off date falls.
- Ex-servicemen papers (enrolment, release date and reason), age-relaxation and fee-concession proofs, government-employee proof where claimed. [1]
Applications are scrutinised only after the mains; originals are checked at the interview. On 14 October 2026 the Commission again asked candidates to keep every certificate ready. [4]
Level 9 for PCS and DSP — but only minimum pay during probation
Minimum pay under the Finance Department notification of 5 December 2020 [1]
| Post | Level | Minimum pay |
|---|---|---|
| PCS (Executive Branch) | Level 9 | ₹53,100 |
| DSP | Level 9 | ₹53,100 |
| ETO, Tehsildar, Food & Supply Officer, BDPO, Assistant Registrar, Labour Officer, Employment Generation & Training Officer | Level 7 | ₹44,900 |
| Deputy Superintendent Jails | Level 6 | ₹35,400 |
- During the three-year probation you get a fixed emolument equal to the minimum pay, without any allowance.
- PCS career steps: Level 10 (₹56,100) after 4 years; Selection Grade Level 11 (₹67,700) after 8; Junior Administrative Grade II Level 12 (₹78,800) after 13; JAG-I Level 13 (₹1,23,100) after 18 years. [1]
Service by merit and preference
Candidates rank their services in the main-exam application form, and posts are given in merit order against those preferences. Equal totals go to higher written marks, then higher General Studies marks, then the older candidate. DSP and DSP Jails candidates must also clear the physical test. [1]
Where these facts come from
Every fact on this page is taken from the official files below, read on 19 October 2026. Boards change rules, fees and dates every cycle — open the current notification before you apply.
- PPSC — General Information, Punjab State Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination-2025 (Advt. No. 20251) (opens in a new tab) posts, category break-up, qualification, Punjabi rule, age and relaxations, physical standards, attempts, prelim and mains scheme, qualifying marks, fee, reservation rules, documents, pay levels and probation (Appendix I) · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
- PPSC — Addendum regarding addition of posts, PSCSCCE-2025 (3 Sep 2025) (opens in a new tab) increase from 322 to 331 posts and post-wise numbers · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
- PPSC — Public notices: prelim rescheduled to 7 Dec 2025 (12 Sep 2025) and mains schedule 1–10 Apr 2026 (2 Feb 2026) (opens in a new tab) prelim date and sessions, mains dates, last date to apply · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
- PPSC — Public notices on the PSCSCCE-2025 mains (15 Jul 2026 and 14 Oct 2026) (opens in a new tab) expected result timing, evaluation status, physical test and interview at short notice · Last checked 19 Oct 2026
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