What is UPSSSC PET
UPSSSC PET, the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission Preliminary Eligibility Test, is the mandatory first stage of the Commission’s two-tier selection system for Group C posts in Uttar Pradesh. It is not a recruitment exam for any single job. Clearing it only produces a scorecard that lets a candidate apply for separate, post-specific Main exams, such as those for Lekhpal, Junior Assistant, Forest Guard, X-Ray Technician and dozens of other roles under UPSSSC’s jurisdiction. Selection for any of those posts still depends on the Main exam and any further stages that post requires.
A PET score is valid for 3 years from the date UPSSSC declares the result or uploads the scorecard, under Government Order No. 316/47-Ka-3-2025. Where a candidate holds more than one valid score within that window, UPSSSC uses whichever normalised score is highest. There was no PET in 2024. PET-2026 was notified under Advt. No. 16-Exam/2026, published 1 August 2026, with online applications open from 3 August to 1 September 2026 and correction allowed until 8 September 2026. One Time Registration (OTR) on upsssc.gov.in must be completed before applying, and the application is entirely online, UPSSSC does not accept offline forms.
Who should apply
Candidates need a High School (Class 10) pass or equivalent, obtained before the application deadline, and must be 18 to 40 years old as on 1 July of the exam year. Higher qualifications are also accepted. Age relaxation follows UP government rules generally for SC/ST/OBC candidates, with specific figures of 5 years for classified sportspersons and for serving UP state government employees, 3 years (net of service, subject to calculation) for ex-servicemen, and 15 years for PwBD candidates. There is no published cap on the number of attempts, so a candidate can reappear in future cycles as long as the age and qualification conditions are still met at that time.
Because PET only feeds into other recruitments, anyone targeting a UPSSSC Group C post, regardless of which one, needs a valid PET score first. See our UPSSSC PET exam page for current application dates, and use our photo resizer tool to get the application photo and signature to the exact specifications before you upload them.
Syllabus
The paper has 100 objective questions for 100 marks, in 15 fixed sections. Sections 1 to 9 are set at NCERT Secondary/Senior Secondary difficulty.
Indian History (5 marks)
- Indus Valley and Vedic civilisations
- Buddhism and Jainism, including the biographies and teachings of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira
- Mauryan Empire (Ashoka), Gupta Empire (Samudragupta, Chandragupta II), Harshavardhana
- Rajput, Sultanate, Mughal and Maratha periods
- Rise of British rule and its social and economic impact
Indian National Movement (5 marks)
- Early years of the freedom movement
- Swadeshi and Civil Disobedience Movements, role of Gandhi and other leaders
- Revolutionary movements and rising nationalism
- Government of India Act, 1935
- Quit India Movement, Azad Hind Fauj and Subhas Chandra Bose
Geography (5 marks)
- Physical geography of India and the world: rivers, groundwater, mountains, glaciers, deserts, forests, mineral resources
- Political geography of India and the world
- Climate, time zones, demographic change and migration
Indian Economy (5 marks)
- Economy from 1947 to 1991: Planning Commission, Five-Year Plans, mixed economy, Green Revolution, bank nationalisation
- 1991 economic reforms and after
- Post-2014 reforms: agriculture, labour, GST
Indian Constitution & Public Administration (5 marks)
- Salient features, Directive Principles, Fundamental Rights and Duties
- Parliamentary and federal systems, Centre-state relations, judiciary
- District administration, local bodies, Panchayati Raj
General Science (5 marks)
- Elementary Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Elementary Arithmetic (5 marks)
- Whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentage
- Simple equations, squares, square roots, exponents, averages
General Hindi (5 marks)
- Sandhi, synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution, gender
- Idioms and proverbs, common errors, authors and their works
General English (5 marks)
- English grammar
- Unseen passage-based questions
Logic & Reasoning (5 marks)
- Comparison, ranking, blood relations, classification
- Calendar, clock, cause and effect, coding-decoding, conclusive reasoning
Current Affairs (10 marks)
- National and international current affairs
General Awareness (10 marks)
- Neighbouring countries, capitals, currencies, Indian states and UTs
- Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, Vidhan Parishad)
- National and international days, world organisations, tourist places, art and culture, sports, research institutes, books and authors, awards, environment
Hindi Unseen Passage Analysis (10 marks)
- 2 unseen Hindi passages, 5 questions each
Graph Interpretation & Analysis (10 marks)
- 2 graphs, 5 questions each
Table Interpretation & Analysis (10 marks)
- 2 tables, 5 questions each
How the selection works
PET is stage one of a two-tier process: PET, then a post-specific Main exam, then whatever else that post requires (skill test, typing test, physical test, interview) and finally document verification. There is no interview or physical stage attached to PET itself. If UPSSSC has to run PET across multiple shifts or days because of applicant volume, scores are normalised for fair comparison, as happened in 2025 when the exam ran across two days and two shifts.
Preparation, in short
Since sections 1 to 9 sit at Class 10 to 12 NCERT level, most of the syllabus overlaps with what a High School graduate has already studied. The distinguishing sections tend to be current affairs, general awareness and the three interpretation sections (Hindi passages, graphs, tables), since these change every cycle and reward regular practice with the exact question format UPSSSC uses. Given the 0.25 negative marking, guessing on questions with no idea of the answer is a net loss over many attempts, so accuracy matters more than attempting every question.
What the score is used for
A PET score by itself does not lead to a job. It is a ticket that lets a candidate apply for Main exams for specific Group C posts, such as Lekhpal, Junior Assistant, VDO, Forest Guard, Stenographer or Auditor, whenever UPSSSC advertises them during the score’s 3-year validity. Each of those posts sets its own cut-off, based on the number of vacancies and the applicant pool for that specific recruitment, so there is no single “PET cut-off” that applies across posts or years.