CDS Exam Notification 2025: Check Notification, Exam Date & Vacancy

CDS Notification 2025: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the UPSC CDS 1 recruitment 2025 notification on its official website on 11 December, 2024.

*Steps to take unlimited practice tests are mentioned below in this article.

Latest Update:
— UPSC is to conduct CDS 1 on 13 April, 2025. The UPSC CDS 1 notification has been issued on December, 2025. Stay in touch with us on this page for latest updates.

Every year, the UPSC conducts the CDS exam twice for candidates interested in joining the IMA, INA, IAF, and OTA. The candidates who clear the written test will be called for an interview round and a medical examination for the final selection. Scroll down to learn about the CDS 2025 notification, important dates, vacancies, eligibility criteria, etc.

CDS Notification 2025

Before getting into the details, candidates can go through the table below to get an overview of the CDS exam 2025.

About UPSC CDS

• The Combined Defence Services Examination is conducted to recruit candidates for the prestigious defence organisations of India.
• Candidates who pass the CDS Exam will be called for SSB Interview at Service Selection Board (SSB) centres. Thereafter, qualified candidates will be called for medical examination and document verification.
• After the medical tests and the submission of documents, the selected candidates will be given training in the following:
  • Indian Military Academy (IMA)
  • Officers Training Academy (OTA)
  • Indian Naval Academy (INA), and
  • Air Force Academy (AFA).

CDS Notification 2025

The comprehensive advertisement and official notification for the CDS 2025 examination are available online. The notification includes all the information candidates need to prepare for the exam, such as the number of openings, dates, how to apply, and other details. You can check out the link below to download the CDS 2025 exam notification PDF:

• CDS 1 2025 Exam Notification PDF

Steps To Practice Questions on UPSC CDS 2025 Exam

Know the steps to practice questions on the UPSC CDS exam below:

• 1st Step: Visit Embibe’s official website, i.e., embibe.com.
• 2nd Step: Use the mobile number/email to log in.
• 3rd Step: Click on the “Getting a Government Job” menu bar. 
• 4th Step: Select the Goal “Defence” from the dropdown and click “Next”.
• 5th Step: Search and select “UPSC CDS” on the search bar and click “Next”.
• 6th Step: Select the preferred language and click “Done”.
• 7th Step: Click “Practice” from the header Section.
• 8th Step: Scroll down to the “Subjects” section.
• 9th Step: Click on any UPSC CDS subjects.
• 10th Step: Scroll down to click on the chapters from the selected subject to begin the practice.

CDS 1 2025 Exam Dates

Below are the CDS 1 exam dates that will help candidates plan their studies and keep track of upcoming events:

CDS Vacancy 2025

Currently, the total number of vacancies for CDS 2025 is 457; Aspirants can get an idea by referring to the list given below:

Last year, the conducting body had released the CDS 2 vacancies in the UPSC CDS notification. A total of 341 vacancies were announced for the same. Take a look:

CDS Eligibility Criteria 2025

Here are the CDS UPSC eligibility criteria specified in the notification, which candidates must meet to appear for the CDS Exam.

CDS Nationality

A candidate must be an unmarried Indian citizen or one among the following categories.

• A subject of Nepal, or
• A person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, and Ethiopia or Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India.

Provided the candidates in the categories mentioned above (except Indians) have a certificate of eligibility issued by the Government of India, they will be considered eligible for the CDS exam.

Age Limit for the CDS Exam

Check the age limit for the CDS exam is specified in CDS notification 2025 from the table below.

CDS Educational Qualification

Check the educational requirements for IMS, INA, and Air Force Academy specified in UPSC CDS notification 2025 from the table below:

How To Apply for UPSC CDS 2025?

UPSC releases the CDS application form online at its official website. Therefore, candidates have to fill in the CDS exam form online. Candidates can follow the steps below to apply online for the CDS exam:

• 1st Step: Visit the official website of the UPSC, i.e. upsconline.nic.in.
• 2nd Step: Click on the notification “ONLINE APPLICATION FOR VARIOUS EXAMINATIONS OF UPSC”.
• 3rd Step: Against the CDS II exam, click on ‘Part I Registration.‘
• 4th Step: Fill in the personal, communication, and educational qualification details.
• 5th Step: After finishing Part I, a registration ID will be generated.
• 6th Step: Now go to Part II and enter the registration ID to pay the application fee.
• 7th Step: Fill in the application form with personal, educational, contact, and other essential details.
• 8th Step: Upload the scanned copy of the Photo, Signature, Photo ID, and mark sheet.
• 9th Step: After finishing Part II, Click on ‘I Agree to the Declaration’ and submit the application form.
• 10th Step: Take a few printouts of the application form for future reference.

CDS Application Fees

Candidates need to pay an application fee of Rs. 200/- except for Female/SC/ST candidates. Candidates can pay the application fee online or offline mode.

CDS 2025 Exam Pattern

As per CDS notification 2025, the CDS exam pattern is different for Officers Training Academy (OTA) and IMA, INA and AFA. The CDS exam pattern for the written examination is as given below:

CDS Exam Pattern for IMA, INA and AFA

The exam pattern is tabulated in detail below.

Only English and GK will be asked for candidates who want admission into OTA. Check the exam pattern below:

CDS Exam Pattern for OTA

The exam pattern for OTA is given below.

Note that there will be negative markings for every wrong attempt. One-third of marks, i.e. 0.33 marks, will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

CDS SSB Interview

After the exam, candidates whose names are there in the merit list will receive the SSB call letter, where the reporting date and time for the SSB Interview will be mentioned. The aspirants must report to the SSB centre and pass all the tests. The SSB interview will last 5 days and include psychological and intelligence tests.

Once the candidate has cleared the SSB interview, they will be called for a medical check. After successful clearance, candidates will be sent to the respective academy. It will be mentioned in the official CDS notification 2025 that the candidates are required to submit their original documents before joining their respective academies.

CDS Exam 2025 Admit Card

The authority will likely release the CDS 1 exam e-admit card online in March 2025. Therefore, candidates can download the CDS admit card from the official website of UPSC. It is to be noted that no CDS exam hall ticket will be sent to candidates by post.

CDS Exam 2025 Result

The CDS results are released in two stages: written exam and SSB Interview/Final. The CDS written exam result 2025 is announced first, followed by the final result declaration. Candidates will be selected for admission to various defence academies based on their performance in both rounds.

Candidates can also check –

FAQs on CDS Notification 2025

We have enlisted some of the important frequently asked questions related to the UPSC CDS 1 notification 2025. Candidates must read these questions and answers to clarify their doubts regarding the same subject.

We have now provided you with all the relevant CDS Notification 2025 information.

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