What Kerala PSC KAS is
The Kerala Administrative Service Examination, conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission, recruits into Kerala’s own administrative service. Kerala PSC runs recruitment for hundreds of individual posts across the state government, and KAS is its combined civil-service-style examination, closest in shape to UPSC’s Civil Services Examination and to other states’ PCS exams, rather than a single-post recruitment.
KAS recruits through three separate streams: Stream I is direct recruitment for freshers meeting the standard age and qualification requirements, Stream II recruits from serving government employees, and Stream III recruits from candidates already holding a first-gazetted post or above, each with its own eligibility rules and a wider age band than Stream I. This structure is distinct from most other states’ PCS exams, which run a single unified eligibility track, so a candidate should confirm which stream applies to them before assuming Stream I’s age band is universal.
Who can apply
For Stream I, a bachelor’s degree, including a professional degree, in any subject from a recognised university is required, with a general age band of 21 to 32 years as on 1 January of the examination year. Streams II and III have different, wider age limits tied to existing government service, as the notification specifies. Standard relaxations apply for reserved categories under Kerala government rules.
How the exam runs
The Preliminary Examination is an objective test of two papers covering General Studies and Kerala-specific General Knowledge, worth 200 marks, which produces the ranking for advancing to the Main Examination.
The Main Examination is a descriptive written exam of three papers covering governance, constitutional knowledge and analytical ability. This differs from UPSC CSE’s Main Examination in structure and regional focus, so preparation for one is not a direct substitute for the other even though both share a similar overall shape.
Candidates who clear the Main Examination sit an Interview conducted by Kerala PSC. The final rank combines Main Examination marks and Interview marks.
Preparing the application
Kerala PSC specifies exact photograph and signature requirements in each notification rather than a fixed year to year standard, so check the current notification’s dimensions and file size before uploading. The tools on this site can resize your photograph to whatever specific target the notification states.
On exam day
Arrive at least an hour before the reporting time on your admit card, with the printed admit card, a government photo identification matching the name and photo on the admit card, one recent passport size photograph, and a black ballpoint pen for the OMR sheet. No electronic devices are permitted, and only material issued by the centre may be used during the exam.
The official Kerala PSC website, linked above, carries the current notification, exact age and stream-wise requirements, syllabus and schedule for the cycle you are applying to.