Once the prelims exam is over and the results are announced, the shortlisted candidates have to apply again for the Mains exam, and they have to fill in the Detailed Application Form or DAF. The candidates who clear the UPSC IAS Prelims Exam are the ones who are shortlisted based on their score in General Studies Paper I which is 200 marks. The candidates have to be very careful while filling the DAF and any serious mistake while filling will be a serious issue for the candidate.
The UPSC Detailed Application Form (DAF) 1 has been released on 11 July 2023. All candidates who have cleared the UPSC Prelims 2023 and qualified to take the Civil Services Mains Exam scheduled to be held in September should fill in the DAF and submit it online on the official UPSC website by 19 July 2023.
The Commission will upload the UPSC admit card and timetable for the mains exam 2023 about 2 – 3 weeks before the mains exams start.
This article will guide on what is DAF, parts of DAF and other details related to it for the mains phase of UPSC Exam.
The Civil Services Mains Examination, 2022 is scheduled from 15th September 2023 onwards and the candidates who have qualified prelims 2023 should fill out the DAF (CSM) form online which has to be submitted on the official website of UPSC. This form has to be filled out by the candidates in order to indicate their preference for services.
DAF is the Detailed Application Form that candidates must fill out and upload online on the UPSC official website to apply for the mains exam.
Before knowing how to fill the DAF, let’s take a look at some of the important guidelines to follow while filling DAF.
Detailed Application Form 2023 – Salient Points
Now let’s take a look at the important fields to be filled on the Detailed Application Form (DAF).
DAF, which stands for Detailed Application Form, is a very crucial document, and it defines everything from the career of a candidate to their posting. Hence, it is advised to all the candidates to take extra care while filling the DAF.
DAF consists of 8 parts, and each part has to be filled.
To make it easy to fill the DAF and give a clear picture to candidates for filling the DAF, given below are the images of the DAF and highlighted are the important fields where the candidates have to be careful while filling it as once filled and submitted, candidates might not get a chance to change the same later.
Detailed Application Form UPSC sample/UPSC CSE DAF sample PDF/UPSC mains application form sample
Page 1 of 9
*Don’t forget to sign at the end of the form of page 1
Page 2 of 9
*Provide a proper and active email address as the commission may use this as the mode of communication with the candidate.
*Candidates who belong to SC, ST or OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) should enclose a copy of the certificate to support their claim.
Page 3 of 9
*Provide the right optional subject that you have chosen and prepared for as once entered wrong cannot be changed later.
Page 4 of 9
*Fill your educational and employment details very carefully and it is advised to read once after filling the form.
Page 8 of 9
*In the last page candidate should sign in two places, one after the declaration Para and the other at the end of the page.
The Service and cadre preferences are among the very important fields to be filled in the DAF. Candidates are advised to think carefully before filling the service preferences and the cadre preferences as once filled and submitted, they cannot change it.
Below given is the service and cadre preference list:
(Above three are interchangeable)
(22 & 23 are interchangeable)
The other confusion among the candidates is on how to fill the cadre preference. While filling you may not understand the preference to one state or the other but while in service you will understand the importance of the cadre performance, hence choose what you want, and that which satisfies you.
Here is the list below.
North Indian Candidates
South Indian Candidates
North East Candidates
For more clarification, candidates who qualify for the UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam 2022 are advised to refer to the Rules of the Civil Services Examination 2022, which is available on the official website of the UPSC. To follow up on EWS Certificate Criteria, check the linked article.
Aspirants appearing for UPSC 2024 exam can check the linked article to know more information about the exam and application process.
We now hope that all your doubts and queries regarding how to fill DAF for IAS 2022 exam are cleared. Go on, fill the DAF to write the best exam of your life!
UPSC DAF 2021 is released on 22nd November 2021. Candidates who have cleared prelims have to re-apply for Mains through the UPSC detailed application form. The Civil Services Mains Examination, 2021 is scheduled from 7th January 2022 onwards and the candidates who have qualified prelims should fill the DAF (CSM) form online and has to be submitted on the official website of UPSC. This form has to be filled by the candidates in order to indicate their preference of services.
UPSC DAF 2021 Notification:- Download PDF Here
For admission to the Civil Services Mains Examination, 2020 which is to be held from January 8, 2021, onward, all candidates who would have qualified should fill up the DAF (CSM) online and submit the same online for admission to the UPSC Mains Examination. On 28th October, the commission has released the DAF for UPSC Mains 2020. Candidates have to fill in all the required details in the DAF for UPSC between 28th October and 11 November 2020. Check all the important fields to be filled in the IAS Mains detailed application form in this article.
UPSC DAF Official 2020 Notification:- Download PDF Here
Go through the UPSC DAF form sample PDF instructions, and for UPSC Notification check the linked article.
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