If there is one number that keeps UPSC aspirants checking their results again and again, it is the cut-off.
The problem is that the UPSC cut-off does not remain constant. The General category Prelims cut-off was 116 marks in 2016, fell to 75.41 in 2023, and then rose to 92.66 in 2025. That is a difference of more than 40 marks across the decade.
So, what does a decade of UPSC cut-off trends actually tell aspirants?
More importantly, how should you use this data while preparing for the next attempt?
UPSC Cut-off Trends: General Category Prelims
The following table shows the General category cut-off for UPSC Civil Services Prelims from 2016 to 2025.
| Year | General Prelims Cut-off / 200 |
| 2016 | 116.00 |
| 2017 | 105.34 |
| 2018 | 98.00 |
| 2019 | 98.00 |
| 2020 | 92.51 |
| 2021 | 87.54 |
| 2022 | 88.22 |
| 2023 | 75.41 |
| 2024 | 87.98 |
| 2025 | 92.66 |
These are the minimum qualifying marks based on General Studies Paper I. Since 2015, CSAT (GS Paper II) has been qualifying in nature, with candidates required to secure at least 33%. Its marks are not added to the Prelims cut-off.
What does the 10-year trend show?
The numbers do not show a simple upward or downward trend.
The General cut-off fell steadily from 116 in 2016 to 87.54 in 2021, before moving slightly upward in 2022. It then dropped sharply to 75.41 in 2023, followed by a significant recovery to 87.98 in 2024 and 92.66 in 2025.
The important takeaway is that UPSC Prelims cut-off can change substantially from one year to another. A candidate who prepares around one fixed number may therefore be taking unnecessary risks.
Why does the UPSC Prelims cut-off change every year?
There is no single factor behind the cut-off.
The final cut-off is influenced by factors such as:
- Difficulty level of the question paper
- Overall performance of candidates
- Number of candidates appearing
- Number of vacancies
- Category-wise competition
- The qualifying nature of CSAT
CSAT is particularly important because it acts as a qualifying filter. Candidates must clear the prescribed qualifying threshold in GS Paper II before their GS Paper I performance can determine whether they move ahead.
However, it would be too simplistic to say that CSAT alone caused the 2023 cut-off to fall. The 2023 General cut-off was 75.41, but the official UPSC cut-off notice itself only records the qualifying marks; it does not establish a specific causal explanation for the year-to-year movement.
For aspirants, the practical lesson is more useful than trying to assign the entire movement to one factor: expect variation and prepare with a margin.
UPSC Prelims Cut-off by Category
The movement is not identical across categories.
| Year | General | OBC | EWS | SC | ST |
| 2018 | 98.00 | 96.66 | — | 84.00 | 83.34 |
| 2019 | 98.00 | 95.34 | 90.00 | 82.00 | 77.34 |
| 2020 | 92.51 | 89.12 | 77.55 | 74.84 | 68.71 |
| 2021 | 87.54 | 84.85 | 80.14 | 75.41 | 70.71 |
| 2022 | 88.22 | 87.54 | 82.83 | 74.08 | 69.35 |
| 2023 | 75.41 | 74.75 | 68.02 | 59.25 | 47.82 |
| 2024 | 87.98 | 87.28 | 85.92 | 79.03 | 74.23 |
| 2025 | 92.66 | 92.00 | 89.34 | 84.00 | 82.66 |
The figures are official minimum qualifying standards released by UPSC. EWS appears from 2019 because the category was introduced into the CSE cut-off data from that examination.
One interesting feature is how closely the OBC and General cut-offs have tracked each other in recent years. In 2025, for example, the General cut-off was 92.66 while the OBC cut-off was 92.00 — a difference of just 0.66 marks.
At the same time, category gaps can change considerably from one examination to another. The 2023 figures demonstrate this clearly, with the General cut-off at 75.41 and the ST cut-off at 47.82.
Therefore, aspirants should always compare their expected score with the cut-off for their own category, rather than relying on the General category figure alone.
Does the Number of Vacancies Affect the Cut-off?
Vacancies are an important part of the larger picture, but the relationship is not as simple as saying:
More vacancies = lower cut-off.
The UPSC cut-off is determined within the overall selection process and is affected by multiple variables at the same time. The number of vacancies can influence how many candidates ultimately need to be taken forward, but it does not allow aspirants to accurately predict the Prelims cut-off by itself.
For example, UPSC’s own annual-report data show substantial variation in vacancies across earlier CSE years, including 1,209 vacancies in 2016, 1,058 in 2017, 812 in 2018, 927 in 2019, 836 in 2020 and 749 in 2021.
This is why vacancy numbers are useful for understanding the competitive landscape, but they should not be treated as a formula for predicting the cut-off.
UPSC Mains Cut-off: A Different Picture
Prelims gets most of the attention because its cut-off can move sharply.
The Mains cut-off behaves differently, but it is not as stable as the original version of this article suggested.
For the General category, the Mains cut-off was:
| Year | General Mains Cut-off / 1750 |
| 2016 | 787 |
| 2017 | 809 |
| 2018 | 774 |
| 2019 | 751 |
| 2020 | 736 |
| 2021 | 745 |
| 2022 | 748 |
| 2023 | 741 |
| 2024 | 729 |
| 2025 | 739 |
The Mains cut-off therefore moved from 809 in 2017 to 729 in 2024, before rising to 739 in 2025. UPSC also requires candidates to secure at least 10% marks in each of the seven competitive Mains papers for the applicable years.
So, while Mains cut-offs generally move within a different range from Prelims, they can still vary significantly depending on the examination.
What About the Final UPSC Cut-off?
The final cut-off is calculated out of 2025 marks, combining the Mains written examination and Personality Test.
Here is the General category trend from 2016 to 2025:
| Year | General Final Cut-off / 2025 |
| 2016 | 988 |
| 2017 | 1006 |
| 2018 | 982 |
| 2019 | 961 |
| 2020 | 944 |
| 2021 | 953 |
| 2022 | 960 |
| 2023 | 953 |
| 2024 | 947 |
| 2025 | 963 |
The final cut-off has therefore remained within a 62-mark range — from 944 in 2020 to 1006 in 2017 — over the 2016–2025 period
This is more stable than the dramatic swings seen in Prelims, but it is still incorrect to say that the final cut-off has “barely moved” or remained almost unchanged.
There is another important point here: the final cut-off is not simply a percentage of Mains marks. It is the combined score from the 1750-mark Mains written examination and the 275-mark Personality Test, making the maximum 2025 marks.
What Do 10 Years of UPSC Cut-off Data Actually Tell Aspirants?
The data offer a few practical lessons.
1. Don’t prepare for the cut-off; prepare for a margin
The cut-off is known only after the examination and depends on how the entire candidate pool performs.
A target based on one year’s cut-off can therefore be misleading.
If the cut-off is 75 one year and crosses 90 a couple of years later, a preparation strategy built around clearing 75 is clearly risky.
2. Your Prelims score should not depend on CSAT being difficult
CSAT is qualifying, but you still need to clear the minimum requirement.
Treating it as an afterthought can create an unnecessary risk on the day of the examination.
The safer approach is to practise CSAT regularly while focusing most of your Prelims scoring strategy on GS Paper I.
3. Don’t interpret every rise or fall as a permanent trend
The 2023 cut-off was 75.41.
In 2024, it rose to 87.98.
In 2025, it reached 92.66.
That three-year sequence alone demonstrates why a single year’s cut-off should not become the basis for predicting the next examination.
4. Category-wise data matters
If you belong to a reserved category, looking only at the General cut-off does not give you the complete picture.
The difference between categories can change significantly across years, so use the historical cut-off for your own category when analysing your previous scores.
5. Use cut-off trends as a reference, not as your preparation target
Historical data can tell you how much the qualifying mark has moved.
It cannot tell you exactly what the next cut-off will be.
Your preparation should therefore focus on improving accuracy, eliminating negative marking, strengthening static and current-affairs coverage, and maintaining a comfortable score buffer in mocks.
What Score Should You Target in UPSC Prelims?
There is no officially prescribed “safe score” for the next UPSC Prelims.
However, the historical data show why depending on the previous year’s cut-off is risky. The General category cut-off has ranged from 75.41 to 116 in the 2016–2025 period.
Instead of asking:
“What will be the cut-off this year?”
a more useful question is:
“How can I build enough margin above a wide range of possible cut-offs?”
That means improving your mock-test performance beyond the bare qualifying level and ensuring that CSAT does not become a bottleneck.
Final Takeaway
The biggest lesson from 10 years of UPSC cut-off trends is that the cut-off is not a fixed benchmark.
It moves with the examination, candidate performance and the broader selection conditions. Prelims has shown particularly large year-to-year fluctuations, while Mains and Final cut-offs have moved within comparatively narrower ranges.
The 2023 Prelims cut-off of 75.41 should not make aspirants believe that future cut-offs will remain low. Similarly, the 2025 General cut-off of 92.66 should not be treated as a guaranteed benchmark for the next attempt.
Use historical cut-offs to understand the range, identify patterns and assess your mock-test performance — but build your preparation around performance, not prediction.
Because when the UPSC paper finally lands on your desk, the previous year’s cut-off cannot help you answer a single question.
Your preparation can.