UPSC says it will release the provisional answer key for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination soon after the exam

UPSC has confirmed that it will release the provisional answer key for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026 soon after the exam, marking a change in how the commission handles answer-key disclosure.

The commission said candidates will be able to submit representations through an online portal after the provisional key is published, before the final answer key is prepared.

The move is being presented as a transparency reform and will apply from the 2026 Civil Services Preliminary Examination onward.

The announcement follows earlier official indications that UPSC was preparing guidelines to release provisional answer keys after the preliminary exam. The latest statement provides the first clear confirmation of the timeline: the provisional key will come soon after the test rather than much later.

UPSC has not announced the exact upload time for the key. It is also not yet clear whether the same process will extend to later UPSC examinations beyond the Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

For candidates, the change matters because it creates an earlier opportunity to check responses and challenge disputed answers before results are finalised.