UPSC CSE 2025 Cutoff Marks, Category-wise — Prelims, Mains & Final
The UPSC Civil Services 2025 final cutoff marks determine the minimum score required for recommendation. These cutoffs are based on the combined marks of the Written Examination (Mains) and Personality Test (Interview), out of a total of 2025 marks. The cutoff varies significantly across categories, with the General category cutoff at 963 and the lowest of the five main categories being ST at 902.
A total of 958 candidates were recommended across all categories. The overall average final score was 957, with the topper Anuj Agnihotri scoring 1071. Explore our interactive marks analysis for detailed score distributions and visual comparisons.
UPSC 2025 Final Cutoff — All Categories
| Category | Cutoff (/2025) | Selected | Highest | Cutoff % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 963 | 317 | 1071 | 47.6% |
| OBC | 931 | 306 | 1067 | 46.0% |
| SC | 905 | 158 | 1029 | 44.7% |
| EWS | 926 | 104 | 1035 | 45.7% |
| ST | 902 | 73 | 1016 | 44.5% |
Cutoff Comparison — Visual
Scale: 0 to 1100 marks (showing relative cutoff positions)
Official Cutoff Notice — Prelims, Mains and Final
UPSC publishes one cutoff notice per examination, giving the marks of the last recommended candidate at each stage. These are its CSE 2025 figures, PwBD categories included — a PwBD candidate recommended at the lower PwBD cutoff is why a category’s lowest selected score can sit far below that category’s own cutoff.
| Category | Prelims (GS-I, /200) | Mains (/1750) | Final (/2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 92.66 | 739 | 963 |
| EWS | 89.34 | 706 | 926 |
| OBC | 92.00 | 717 | 931 |
| SC | 84.00 | 700 | 905 |
| ST | 82.66 | 694 | 902 |
| PwBD-1 | 76.66 | 703 | 917 |
| PwBD-2 | 54.66 | 708 | 944 |
| PwBD-3 | 40.66 | 536 | 804 |
| PwBD-5 | 40.66 | 451 | 631 |
Source: UPSC, Civil Services Examination, 2025 — minimum qualifying marks(CSE_2025_Cut-OffMks_Eng_09032026.pdf). Prelims cutoffs are on GS Paper-I alone; GS Paper-II is qualifying at 33%. Mains figures are subject to 10% in each of the seven papers.
Key Observations
- The General category cutoff (963) is the highest, at 47.6% of the 2025 total marks.
- The five main categories sit within 61 marks of each other: General 963, OBC 931, EWS 926, SC 905, ST 902.
- EWS (926) is 37 marks below General, not hundreds — the far lower 631 and 804 belong to the PwBD-5 and PwBD-3 cutoffs.
- OBC has the largest number of selections (306), nearly matching General (317).
- 103 candidates scored above 1000 marks across all categories.
- The gap between the topper (1071) and the General cutoff (963) is 108 marks — showing how competitive the top bracket is.
What Does It Take to Clear the Cutoff?
The General cutoff is 963. Among all 958 recommended candidates the written average was 773 of 1750 and the interview average 184 of 275. The written exam carries 1750 marks (86.4% of total) and the interview carries 275 marks (13.6%). A strong written performance is essential, but the interview can swing ranks by 200-500 positions. See our interview swing analysis for details.
| Component | Maximum | Avg (Selected) | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written (Mains) | 1750 | 773 | 86.4% |
| Interview | 275 | 184 | 13.6% |
| Total | 2025 | 957 | 100% |