CAPF or the Central Armed Police Forces Exam is conducted every year by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). They have released the notification for the CAPF exam date 2024 on their official website. Candidates can apply for the UPSC CAPF Exam 2024 via the official portal.
CAPF Exam Date Out: UPSC released vacancies for Grade A Officer (Assistant Commandant) positions on 24 April 2024. Applicants are expected to fill out the online application form for the CAPF Exam 2024. Soon after the application deadline was over, UPSC announced their CAPF exam date, which is scheduled for 04 August 2024. A candidate will find all the UPSC CAPF 2024 Notification on their official website. Applicants who fulfill the eligibility criteria (as mentioned in the UPSC guidelines) will be allowed to sit for the CAPF AC Exam.
UPSC CAPF AC: The CAPF AC or Assistant Commandant positions in the Central Armed Police Forces include the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) administers the recruitment process for these forces.
While preparing for the exam, a candidate must be aware of the CAPF Exam Pattern 2024 and Syllabus.
The Central Armed Police Forces Exam will be conducted in two phases (Paper 1 and Paper 2) on the scheduled date. The first shift will be from 10 AM to 12 PM and the second shift will be from 2 PM to 5 PM. Read more about the UPSC CAPF Assistant Commandants (AC) exam schedule in this article.
UPSC CAPF Exam Overview
Particulars | Details |
| Exam Name | Central Armed Police Forces Assistant Commandant (CAPF AC) |
| Exam Conducting Body | Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) |
| Application Mode | Online |
| Application Fees | General/ OBC: INR 200 SC/ ST/ Women: Exempted |
| Application Start Date | 24 April 2024 |
| Application End Date | 14 May 2024 |
| Admit Card Release | 3rd week of July |
| Exam Date | 04 August 2024 |
| Mode of Exam | Offline |
| Exam language | English and Hindi (Except the English Language Paper) |
| Tiers of Exam | Written Test Physical Test Interview |
Candidates will have to appear for a UPSC CAPF written test on 04 August 2024. However, the overall recruitment process consists of two more steps- a physical test and an interview. If a candidate clears the cut-off for the written test, they will be qualified for the next rounds of admission.
CAPF Exam Admit Card
The admit cards of the UPSC CAPF Exam 2024 are expected to be released on the third week of July on the official application portal. A candidate will have to log in to the portal to access their admit card. The admit card will contain all the details of the candidate’s exam center and exam shift timings.
UPSC CAPF Exam Schedule 2024
The written exam of UPSC CAPF is to be conducted in two phases on 04 August 2024 (Sunday) in various exam centers across the country. There are separate timings for Paper 1 and Paper 2.
Date and Paper | Time | Subject |
| 04 Aug 2024, Paper 1 | 10 AM - 12 PM | General Knowledge and Aptitude |
| 04 Aug 2024, paper 2 | 2 PM - 5 PM | General Studies, Essay, Comprehension |
CAPF AC Exam Pattern 2024
- The UPSC CAPF written exam is evaluated on the basis of two specific papers- Paper 1 and Paper 2. While Paper 1 has MCQ-based questions, Paper 2 consists of a descriptive format.
- There will be a 1/3rd negative marking of the total marks of a question for every wrong answer in Paper 1. There is no negative marking in Paper 2.
- Paper 1 and Paper 2 are concluded in 2 hours and 3 hours respectively.
- Candidates can appear in Papers 1 and 2 in both English and a bilingual language, excluding the subject ‘English’.
- Paper 1 is a qualifying exam for Paper 2. Those who qualify for the first paper will be shortlisted to sit for the exam in the second phase (Paper 2).
Paper | Subject | Total no. of Questions | Total no. of Marks | Duration of Paper |
| Paper 1 | General Knowledge and Aptitude | 125 | 250 | 2 hours |
| Paper 2 | General Studies, Essay, Comprehension | 6 | 200 | 3 hours |
CAPF Exam Syllabus 2024
The CAPF exam 2024 has a detailed syllabus that a candidate needs to go through carefully while preparing for the exam. The official website of UPSC also contains the CAPF exam syllabus 2024 which covers the whole curriculum.
It is advised that the candidate must prepare all the topics mentioned in the CAPF syllabus and know the exam format before appearing for the test on 04 August 2024.
CAPF Written Exam Syllabus 2024
The written exam of UPSC CAPF is conducted in two phases, namely Paper 1 and Paper 2. There are objective-type questions in Paper 1 and subjective-type questions in Paper 2.
CAPF Paper 1 Syllabus:
- General Reasoning and Aptitude
- Data Interpretation
- Applied Science
- Important Current Events (National and International)
- Indian Polity and Economy
- Indian History
- Indian and World Geography
Applicants must follow the topics closely to prepare for the UPSC CAPF Paper 1 exam.
CAPF Paper 2 Syllabus:
- Part A- Essay questions (either in English or Hindi)
- Part B- Comprehension passages, Précis Writing, Simple Grammar, Synonyms, Antonyms, and other aspects of language testing
Particulars | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
| Total no. of Questions | 125 (Objective) | 6 (Subjective) |
| Marks Per Question | 2 marks for each | Part A: 80 marks Part B: 120 marks |
| Negative Marks | 0.66 marks | - |
UPSC CAPF Exam Eligibility
Candidates who wish to join the Central Armed Police Forces to become Assistant Commandants in BSF, CRPF, CISF, SSB, and ITBP must fulfill the following eligibility criteria:
- Nationality: The candidate must be a citizen of India. Candidates who are citizens of Nepal and Bhutan are also qualified to apply for the UPSC CAPF Exam.
- Age: Candidates belonging to the unreserved category must be between 20 - 25 years old as on the date of application. SC and ST candidates have a 5-year age relaxation, and OBC candidates have a 3-year age relaxation.
- Educational Qualification: Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) from a recognized university or college. Those who are awaiting their results can also apply for the CAPF Exam.
CAPF Vacancy 2024
The formal notification from UPSC announced a total of 506 CAPF vacancies for 2024. The notification also included a distinct list of CAPF openings for the BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, and SSB. Here is a list of the UPSC CAPF vacancy 2024:
CAPF | Number of Vacancies |
| BSF | 186 |
| CRPF | 120 |
| CISF | 100 |
| ITBP | 58 |
| SSB | 42 |
Note: UPSC has the power to change the number of positions that have been made public at any point during the three tiers of the CAPF recruitment process.
CAPF Preparation Tips
- Cover every topic of the syllabus thoroughly.
- Read newspapers and articles to increase vocabulary.
- Practice the previous year and model question papers.
Candidates should be aware of the syllabus and study each topic in detail to cover all aspects of the paper. Also, for the UPSC CAPF Exam 2024, which is scheduled on August 04 of this year, candidates must meet all the prerequisites of the exam, in addition to the eligibility criteria.