What RPSC RAS is
The Rajasthan Administrative Service Examination, conducted by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission, is Rajasthan’s state-level counterpart to UPSC’s Civil Services Examination, recruiting into the state’s own administrative and allied services: Rajasthan Administrative Service, Rajasthan Police Service, Rajasthan Accounts Service and other Group A and Group B posts within the Rajasthan government. It uses one combined process and merit list to allocate multiple services, with your rank and preference order deciding your allotment.
Every state runs its own version of this exam under its own Public Service Commission. RPSC RAS is Rajasthan’s, and a candidate applying for a different state’s civil services should look up that state’s own commission rather than treating this pattern as identical everywhere, though the general shape (Preliminary, Main, Interview) is common across most state PCS exams. RPSC revised the RAS exam pattern in early 2026, its first major overhaul in over a decade, so a candidate preparing from older material should confirm the current pattern against the live notification rather than a previous cycle’s structure.
Who can apply
A bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university is the academic requirement, with no minimum percentage. The general age band is 21 to 40 years, with age reckoned from 1 January following the application closing date, and standard relaxations for reserved categories as per Rajasthan government rules. Unlike some state PCS exams, RPSC RAS does not require Rajasthan domicile: candidates from any state may apply.
How the exam runs
The Preliminary Examination is a single objective paper of General Knowledge and General Science worth 200 marks, with negative marking for wrong answers, which produces the ranking for advancing to the Main Examination and does not itself count towards the final merit.
The Main Examination is a descriptive written exam of four papers covering General Studies, General Science and General Hindi and English, worth 800 marks in total. This differs from UPSC CSE’s Main Examination in structure and language emphasis, 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 worth 100 marks, conducted by RPSC. The final rank combines Main Examination marks and Interview marks.
Preparing the application
RPSC 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 RPSC website, linked above, carries the current notification, exact age requirements, syllabus and schedule for the cycle you are applying to.