CDS Admit Card 2026: CDS (II) e-Admit Card and SSB Call-up

The CDS (II) 2026 e-Admit Card was released on 3 September 2026 on upsconline.nic.in for the written exam held on 13 September 2026, so this stage is over. The 8,956 candidates who cleared the written result of 19 October 2026 now wait for an SSB call-up from the services, not a UPSC admit card. Keep the e-Admit Card: UPSC says it must be preserved till the final results of CDS (II) 2026 are declared.

Where was the CDS (II) 2026 e-Admit Card issued?

Examination Notice No. 11/2026-CDS-II says e-Admit Cards are issued on the last working day of the week before the exam, on upsconline.nic.in (see the Examination Notice), and no admit card is sent by post or email. UPSC's press note of 3 September 2026 confirmed the upload and said no paper admit card would be issued. A candidate with no e-Admit Card seven (7) days before the exam was to contact the Commission at once, in person or on Helpdesk 011-24041001 / 011-40303444.

What to check on the CDS e-Admit Card

The press note asks candidates to make sure the Name, Photograph and the QR Code on the e-Admit Card are correct. Discrepancies go to UPSC immediately by e-mail at [email protected]. The notice warns that the name may be abbreviated for technical reasons, and that nobody may sit the exam on a card issued in another candidate's name.

Exam-day rules for CDS (II) 2026

• Three sessions on one day: English 09.00 AM to 11.00 AM, General Knowledge 12.30 PM to 02.30 PM and Elementary Mathematics 04.00 PM to 06.00 PM. OTA candidates take only English and General Knowledge.
• Entry closed 30 minutes before each session: 08:30 AM, 12:00 PM and 03:30 PM. UPSC advised arriving one hour and fifteen minutes before each session for face authentication, identity verification and frisking.
• Documents: the e-Admit Card printout and the original photo ID whose number is on it, for each session, plus three recent passport sized photographs, one per session. If face authentication failed or the ID was missing, the candidate filled an undertaking from the venue supervisor and pasted a photograph on it.
• Only a black ball point pen may be used for the OMR answer sheet and attendance list. Simple wrist watches are allowed; smart watches are not.
• Banned items include mobile phones, smart or digital watches, AI enabled glasses or devices, other IT gadgets, books and bags, with no safe-keeping at the venue. Calculators are not permitted.
• Candidates who changed their names after matriculation must carry a Government photo ID and/or the original Gazette Notification of the changed name for each session.

CDS admit card release in past cycles

SSB call-up for CDS (II) 2026

The SSB has its own call-up, sent by the service headquarters. The written result note of 19 October 2026 asks candidates with Army (IMA/OTA) as first choice to register on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in to receive call-up information; those already registered should not register again. The notice says Navy candidates can download their call letters from www.joinindiannavy.gov.in, or write to [email protected], three weeks after the results.

According to the notice, candidates qualified for IMA, INA or AFA (with or without SSC) will be detailed for SSB in February-March 2027, and those qualified for the SSC course only in April to June 2027. If no IMA call arrives by the 2nd week of February 2027, or no OTA call by the 2nd week of May 2027, the candidate should write to the Army recruiting directorate; Navy and Air Force candidates should write to their headquarters if no call comes by the 4th week of February 2027. One SSB result counts for every course the candidate qualified for in the written exam. For SSB queries the result note lists 011-26175473 (Army), 011-23010097 (Navy) and 011-23010231 (Air Force).