UPSC CMS 2026: Complete Combined Medical Services Guide

The UPSC Combined Medical Services Examination (CMS) is a national-level recruitment examination for medical officers and related government medical posts. This guide covers CMS eligibility, MBBS requirements, posts, vacancies, selection stages, application, exam preparation and official links.

CMS 2026 at a glance

The official CMS 2026 notification was dated 11 March 2026. Applications were accepted until 31 March 2026 at 6:00 PM, and the written examination was scheduled for 2 August 2026. Applications are made online through the UPSC application portal.

The notification listed 1,358 tentative vacancies: 864 Medical Officers Grade in General Duty Medical Officers Sub-cadre of Central Health Service, 450 Assistant Divisional Medical Officers in the Railways, 14 General Duty Medical Officers in New Delhi Municipal Council and 30 General Duty Medical Officers Grade-II in Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Vacancy numbers are tentative and liable to alteration.

Services and posts

Category I includes Medical Officers Grade in General Duty Medical Officers Sub-cadre of the Central Health Service. Category II includes Assistant Divisional Medical Officer in the Railways, General Duty Medical Officer in NDMC and General Duty Medical Officer Grade-II in MCD.

Candidates may apply for one or more services or posts if eligible. Preferences are indicated at the appropriate stage. A candidate who does not indicate service preferences may not be considered for service allocation.

Eligibility

For admission, a candidate should have passed the written and practical parts of the final MBBS examination. A candidate who has appeared or is yet to appear in the final MBBS examination may apply provisionally, subject to producing valid proof of passing within the prescribed time.

A candidate who has not completed the compulsory rotating internship may be educationally eligible to appear, but appointment is made only after completing the internship. Candidates must also satisfy the prescribed physical and medical standards.

For CMS 2026, the general upper age limit is 32 years as on 1 August 2026, meaning the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2 August 1994. For Medical Officers Grade in General Duty in the Central Health Service, the upper age limit is 35 years. Relaxations apply as provided in the rules for eligible categories.

Fee and application

The examination fee is Rs. 200. Female candidates and candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwBD categories are exempt from the fee, subject to the notification conditions. OBC and EWS candidates are not automatically exempt and must pay the prescribed fee.

Create an account, complete the Universal Registration Number profile and Common Application Form, and submit the CMS examination-specific module. The 2026 notice introduced live photo capture, required a photo ID for future reference and required three signatures written one below another on plain white paper using black ink. Verify all details carefully because applications cannot be withdrawn and corrections are not allowed after submission, although a one-time URN profile edit facility is provided under the stated conditions.

Selection process

CMS has a written examination followed by a Personality Test. The written part carries 500 marks and the Personality Test carries 100 marks. Candidates qualifying the written examination are called for the Personality Test or Interview. Final appointment depends on merit, preferences, vacancies, eligibility, medical fitness and completion of required internship conditions.

Preparation strategy

Prepare General Medicine and Paediatrics as one integrated revision block and Surgery, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and Preventive and Social Medicine as the second block. Revise clinical presentation, diagnosis, management, emergency medicine, national health programmes, preventive medicine, epidemiology, obstetrics protocols and common surgical conditions.

Use previous CMS papers to identify repeatedly tested topics. Practise timed MCQs, maintain an error notebook, revise guidelines and national programmes carefully, and use short high-yield tables for differentials, investigations, treatment and contraindications. Keep the final phase for mixed mocks and rapid revision rather than new resources.

Important official links

• CMS 2026 official notification
• UPSC active examinations
• UPSC previous question papers
• UPSC online application portal

This evergreen guide should be used with the latest UPSC notification for dates, vacancies, eligibility and service rules.