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Every head below is quoted from the UPSC Examination Notice — Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination, 2026 (No. 08/2026-CAPF, dated 20.02.2026), with our own note beneath it. Quoted text is labelled as the Commission’s wording.
Two details decide how you prepare: Paper I has six heads, and the medical test comes last. Polity and economy are one head in the notice, and no medical stage gates entry to the interview.
| Stage | Details | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper I — General Ability and Intelligence | Objective, 125 questions, two hours. Set in English and Hindi. One-third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. | 250 |
| Paper II — General Studies, Essay and Comprehension | Descriptive, three hours. Part-A is the essay, 80 marks, written in either English or Hindi. Part-B is comprehension, précis and language skills, 120 marks, English only. | 200 |
| Written total | Paper I and Paper II together. | 450 |
| Interview / Personality Test | For candidates who clear the written examination and qualify the physical tests. | 150 |
| Merit total | The merit list is drawn on the written examination and the Interview/Personality Test together. | 600 |
Five stages, in this order. The compilation this page grew out of had the medical test gating the interview, which is the wrong way round and changes what a candidate prepares for and when.
Written examination
Both papers on the same day. Counts for merit.
Physical Standards Test
Height, chest and weight. Qualifying.
Physical Efficiency Test
The four events below. Qualifying, and a candidate declared unqualified here is not called for the interview.
Interview / Personality Test
150 marks, and they count for merit.
Medical Standards Test
Last. UPSC holds it “only in respect of candidates who have appeared in the Interview/Personality Test”.
The Medical Standards Test is the last stage, not a gate before the interview. Plan your medical preparation for after the interview, not before it.
The notice introduces these as the areas the objective questions "will broadly cover", and numbers them one to six.
the Commission’s wording
The questions will be designed to test the logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude including numerical ability, and data interpretation.our note
Drilled, not read. Part-A of Paper II lists “analytical ability” among its essay topics, so the habit of thinking in steps pays there too — but the reasoning, quantitative and data-interpretation questions themselves are set only here.
the Commission’s wording
The questions will be set to test general awareness, scientific temper, comprehension and appreciation of scientific phenomena of everyday observation including new areas of importance like Information Technology, Biotechnology, Environmental Science.our note
Information Technology, Biotechnology and Environmental Science sit inside General Science here, not in a separate technology head.
the Commission’s wording
The questions will test the candidates’ awareness of current events of national and international importance in the broad areas of culture, music, arts, literature, sports, governance, societal and developmental issues, industry, business, globalisation, and interplay among nations.our note
The head lists eleven areas by name, and culture, music, arts and literature are among them. Current affairs for this exam is wider than governance and the economy.
the Commission’s wording
The questions shall aim to test candidates’ knowledge of the Country’s political system and the Constitution of India, social systems and public administration, economic development in India, regional and international security issues and human rights including its indicators.our note
Polity and economy are examined together here, and the same sentence also carries public administration, security issues and human rights indicators.
the Commission’s wording
The questions will broadly cover the subject in its social, economic and political aspects. This shall also include the areas of growth of nationalism and freedom movement.our note
The notice adds the freedom movement to this head — its words are “This shall also include”. The head covers the whole subject; modern India is one part of it.
the Commission’s wording
The questions shall cover the physical, social and economic aspects of geography pertaining to India and the World.our note
Three aspects, and both India and the world.
A descriptive paper of 200 marks in three hours. The two parts differ in what you may write them in,
the Commission’s wording
Essay questions which are to be answered in long narrative form either in Hindi or English totaling 80 Marks. The indicative topics are modern Indian history especially of the freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability.the Commission’s wording
Comprehension, précis writing, other communications/language skills – to be attempted in English only (Marks 120) – The topics are Comprehension passages, précis writing, developing counter arguments, simple grammar and other aspects of language testing.The notice adds a penalty: no credit is given for answers written in a medium other than the one allowed for that part.
Paper I only. One third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer, and every question carries 2 marks — so a wrong answer costs about 0.66 against the 2 a right one gains. A question left blank costs nothing. Guess only once you are down to two options.
Four events, all qualifying and none of them scored. A candidate declared unqualified here is not called for the interview.
| Event | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| 100 metre race | In 16 seconds | In 18 seconds |
| 800 metre race | In 3 min 45 sec | In 4 min 45 sec |
| Long jump | 3.5 metres (3 chances) | 3.0 metres (3 chances) |
| Shot put (7.26 kg) | 4.5 metres (3 chances) | Not set |
Standards can differ by force and by cycle. These are the ones printed in Appendix-V of the 2026 notice — check the notice for the year you are sitting.
This page publishes no topic weightage. We publish weightage only where we have tagged the questions ourselves — see our BPSC and EPFO APFC syllabus pages, where every percentage is a count. We hold six years of solved CAPF Paper I, but those 750 questions are not tagged to the six heads above — so a percentage here would be an estimate rather than a count.
We solve CAPF Paper I one question at a time, 2020 through 2025, with a worked explanation for the right option and for each wrong one.
Two written papers on the same day. Paper I, General Ability and Intelligence, is objective — 125 questions for 250 marks in two hours, set in both English and Hindi. Paper II, General Studies, Essay and Comprehension, is descriptive — 200 marks in three hours, split into an 80-mark essay and a 120-mark comprehension and language part. The written examination is therefore 450 marks, and the Interview/Personality Test adds 150, for a merit total of 600.
Six, and the notification numbers them: General Mental Ability; General Science; Current Events of National and International Importance; Indian Polity and Economy; History of India; and Indian and World Geography. Polity and economy are a single head. A table that splits them produces a seventh subject the Commission does not use.
Yes, in Paper I. One third of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for each wrong answer. Since every question carries 2 marks, a wrong answer costs about 0.66 marks against the 2 you would have gained, so a blind guess between four options costs you marks on average. Eliminate to two before you commit.
The essay, Part-A, may be answered in either Hindi or English. Part-B — comprehension, précis writing, developing counter arguments and grammar — must be attempted in English only. No credit is given for answers written in a medium other than the one allowed for that part.
No. The order is written examination, then the Physical Standards Test, then the Physical Efficiency Test, then the Interview/Personality Test, and the Medical Standards Test last. UPSC checks medical standards only for candidates who have already appeared at the interview.
Four events, all qualifying. The 100 metre race in 16 seconds for men and 18 seconds for women; the 800 metre race in 3 minutes 45 seconds for men and 4 minutes 45 seconds for women; a long jump of 3.5 metres for men and 3.0 metres for women, three chances each; and a 7.26 kg shot put of 4.5 metres, which is set for men only. Standards can differ by force and by year, so check the notice for the cycle you are sitting.
Yes. Six years of Paper I — 2020 through 2025, 750 questions — are published question by question, each with a worked explanation for the right option and for each wrong one. We have not tagged those questions to the six syllabus heads, so this page carries no subject weightage of its own; a percentage here would be an estimate rather than a count.
Three heads carry over by name. Part-A lists its indicative topics as modern Indian history especially of the freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability — which is heads 5, 6 and 4, the last of which already names security and human rights itself. General Science and Current Events are named nowhere in Part-A. So the essay rewards the static reading you did for three of the six heads, and the other two earn their marks only in Paper I.