Combined Defence Services Application Process

The last date to apply for CDS 1 2025 was extended due to technical issues from December 31, 2024, to January 1, 2025 (6 PM). The CDS 1 2025 application form link was activated on December 11, 2024. Also, the CDS 2 2025 application form will be released on May 28, 2025. The last date to apply for CDS 2 2025 will be June 17, 2025. Candidates willing to appear for the CDS 1 2025 exam must know the CDS 1 dates so that they do not miss any event related to the exam. For this, the candidates are advised to visit the UPSC CDS website, upsc.gov.in, regularly. Also, check the CDS eligibility criteria before filling out the CDS application form. 

The CDS exam is conducted to select candidates for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Air Force Academy, Hyderabad, Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala, and Officers Training Academy, Chennai courses. Candidates wishing to apply for CDS 1 2025 must check the eligibility criteria to ensure they are eligible for the exam.

CDS Eligibility 2025

To be eligible for the exam, candidates need to fulfil the following CDS Eligibility Criteria 2025:

CDS Nationality

Candidates who have settled in India permanently can apply for the CDS exam.

CDS 1 Age Limit 2025

Candidates can check below the prescribed age limit for the CDS 1 exam:

• For the Indian Military Academy (IMA), unmarried males must be between 19 to 24 years
• For the Indian Naval Academy, unmarried male candidates must be between 19 to 24 years
• Candidates applying for the Air Force Academy should be between 20 to 24 years
• For the Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Course for men), unmarried male candidates must be between 19 to 26 years
• For the Officers’ Training Academy (SSC Women Non-Technical Course), candidates between 19 to 26 years

CDS 2 Age Limit 2025

The CDS 2 age limit prescribed by UPSC for applying to the different academies is given below:

• IMA: Candidates for IMA should be unmarried and must have been born not earlier than the age limit prescribed in the CDS notification 
• INA: Unmarried male candidates can apply for INA
• AFA: To apply for AFA, candidates should be between 20 and 24 years old. The upper age limit of candidates holding valid and current Commercial Pilot Licence issued by DGCA (India) is relaxed up to 26 years
• OTA (SSC Course for men): To apply for the OTA course (SSC Men), candidates must be unmarried and must be within the age limit prescribed in the CDS notification 
• OTA (SSC Women Non-Technical Course): Unmarried women, issueless widows who have not remarried and issueless divorcees who have not remarried are eligible to apply. 

CDS Qualification

Candidates need to meet the following educational qualifications for applying for the CDS exam:

• For IMA and Officers’ Training Academy, the required educational qualification is Graduation in any discipline from a recognised university
• For the Indian Naval Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognised university
• For the Air Force Academy, candidates must have a degree in Engineering from a recognised university. They must have studied Physics and Mathematics in Class 12

CDS Application Form 2025: UPSC OTR

UPSC introduced the One Time Registration (OTR) platform for candidates to fill out application forms for any exam under UPSC. The OTR is done once in a lifetime. The OTR can be filled at any time in a year. However, the candidates can make changes in the OTR within 7 days of registration on the OTR. The candidate. To register for OTR, the candidates have to follow the steps given below:

• Go to the official website- upsconline.nic.in
• Click on the new registration tab
• Fill out the details- Name, Father's Name, Mother's Name, Mobile number, Email ID, etc 
• Enter the captcha 
• Click on Submit 
• OTP will be sent to your registered mobile number and email id 
• Re-login into your account and reset the password 
• Again Log into the account and go for the CDS application link

CDS Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of the CDS 2025 exam

How to register for a CDS application form?

The following are the steps to complete the application:

• Visit upsconline.nic.in, the official application website.
• Log in to your registered account or register for the UPSC OTR (the article below outlines the registration process).
• Click the link for the CDS exam.
• Complete the requested information.
• Upload the photo ID card, signature, and photo.
• Pay the CDS exam application cost.
• Select the CDS testing location.
• Lastly, send in the application.
• The candidate's registered email address and mobile number will receive a confirmation message.

How Can I Apply for CDS 1 2025?

The CDS application form can be filled in two stages: Part I & II. In Part I of registration, candidates must fill in the basic information. In Part 2, candidates must pay the application fees, select the exam centre, upload the photograph, signature, photo identity card document, and declaration.

Filling Part I of CDS Application Form 2025

The detailed process for filling out the application form is given below for the candidates. The candidates have to follow the steps to know the application process in brief:

Page One: Here the system inter-alia asks for Candidates to fill in personal information including, name, date of birth, father's name, mother's name, address, community the candidate belongs to, whether fee remission is claimed, whether he/she belongs to a minority, marital status

Page Two: Here the system asks for claiming age relaxation and CDS exam centre. Candidates need to choose their preferred CDS exam centres while filling out the application form. Candidates are provided with the option of choosing one exam centre. The exam centres are allotted on a first-apply-first-allot basis. Please note that the only option available to the candidate is default no, so the candidates who have NCC C certificate holders (Naval Wing) need not worry and they can proceed further by only choosing the examination centre from which they wish to appear and proceed further for the next page where they can choose-Whether having/likely to have NCC 'C' Certificate Sr. Division: option and select navy and they will be automatically provided with two years age relaxation in upper age limit. The candidate is to select a centre from the drop-down menu. 

Page Three: On this page Information about preferences for IMA, NA, AFA, and OTA are to be given. The preferences are to be given using numbers 0/1/2/3/4. Candidates will have to enter at least one preference. Since female candidates are eligible for OTA only, they should indicate OTA as the only preference. Candidates who desire to join Air Force Academy must indicate AFA as their first choice. On this page, candidates are also required to indicate whether they have or are likely to have an NCC C certificate (Sr. Division) and whether they are serving in the armed forces.

Page Fourth: Here the system displays all the information provided by the candidate in the application form for verification. An update button is also provided therein at the bottom of the CDS online application details to move back and make any corrections in the information filled in. The candidates are advised to check the filled-in details and satisfy themselves that all information is correctly filled up. No change in information filled in by the candidates will be allowed at any subsequent stage of the examination process.

Declaration Box

At the bottom of the page, there is a declaration for the candidates. They should go through the contents of the declaration carefully. Candidates have the option to either agree or disagree with the contents of a declaration by clicking on 'I Agree' or 'I Do Not Agree'. Accepting to agree only will submit the candidate's online application, and the Part-I data submitted will be saved and a registration Id generated for the candidate. 

Page Five: Here the system displays the registration ID along with the essential identification information about the candidate such as name, father's name, mother's name, DOB, address, exam centre, etc opted by the candidate. They are also intimated that Part-I is complete with the registration of the online application procedure. The candidates may however note that CDS will be treated as incomplete and rejected unless accompanied with Part-II Registration.

Part-I of the CDS application procedure is completed. Candidates have to complete the Part-II registration for the successful online application submission.

Part-II: Fee Payment, Exam Centre Selection, Uploading Images

Candidates need to log in with the generated registration ID to fill in the details in Part II of the CDS application form. The Part-II registration comprises the following steps:

• Fee Payment 
• Uploading of Photograph 
• Uploading of Signature
• Uploading of Photo-Identity Proof 

Fee Payment

Applicants can pay the examination fee through cash/credit card/debit card or net banking. The fee structure is given below. 

• Candidates need to upload scanned images of their photograph, signature, and uploading photo-identity proof. The images should not exceed 300 kb and must not be less than 20 kb
• Submit the application form and take its printout

Documents Required for Filling Out the CDS Application Form

Before filling CDS application form, candidates must keep the following documents ready:

• Photograph and Signature: Before starting filling up the CDS online form, candidates must have their photographs and signatures duly scanned in the .jpg format in such a manner that each file should not exceed 300 KB and must not be less than 20 KB in size 
• Class 10 Certificate: Candidates must have their matriculation certificate ready prior to filling up the CDS application form. The details related to the candidate's name, father's name, father's name, mother's name, and date of birth are required to be filled in the application form. These particulars should match exactly with the particulars mentioned in the matriculation certificate.
• Details of Photo-Identity Proof: The Candidate should also have details of one photo ID such as an Aadhar Card/ Voter Card/ PAN Card/ Passport/ Driving License/ Any other photo ID Card issued by the State/Central Government. The candidate will have to provide the details of this photo ID while filling out the online application form. Candidates will have to upload a scanned copy of their Photo ID whose details have been provided in the online application by him/her. This photo ID will be used for all future referencing and the candidate is advised to carry this ID while appearing for examination/Personality Test/SSB. 

How to Make Corrections in CDS 1 Application?

The candidates can correct the CDS 1 application form by logging in to their registered UPSC OTR profile. The steps to make corrections in the UPSC CDS application form are given below.

How to Make Corrections in the CDS 1 Application Form?

Candidates can follow the instructions below to correct their CDS 1 application form:

• Visit the official website.
• Click on the link to correct the CDS 1 form.
• Enter your login information to access the registered account.
• Make adjustments to the CDS1 application.
• A copy of the updated CDS 1 application form should be saved and printed.
• Exit the registered profile by logging out.

How to Make Corrections in UPSC OTR Profile?

To register on the OTR platform, candidates must take the actions listed below:

• Visit the official upsconline.nic.in website.
• Select the link for registration.
• Select the tab for new registration.
• Complete the requested information. Name, email address, phone number, mother's and father's names, etc.
• The registered email address and mobile number will get passwords.
• Change the password and sign in to the account again.
• To apply for the test, go to your account after relogging in and click the link to the CDS 2 application form.

How to Choose Exam Centres in CDS Application Form?

Choosing an examination centre is important in the CDS application form as the candidates should choose the nearest centre from where they live. Choosing the nearest exam centre helps the candidates avoid any problems while reaching the CDS exam centre. The steps to choose the exam centre and list of the exam centre in the CDS application form has been given below:

• Candidates have to fill out the application form for the CDS exam after the registration
• The candidates will have to fill out the application form by giving personal details like- name, address, educational qualification etc. 
• After filling out the personal details candidates will be given the option to choose the exam centres 
• Choose the exam centres near your home town or where you live

How to Choose CDS Exam Centres 2025

Choosing an exam centre is one of the crucial points while filling out an application form. The candidates will be able to choose from a list of 70+ cities. The name of the cities that can be chosen has been given below in the table below:

FAQs CDS Application