CDS Result 2026: CDS (II) Written Result, 8,956 Qualify for SSB

UPSC declared the CDS (II) 2026 written result on 19 October 2026: 8,956 candidates qualified for the Services Selection Board (SSB) interview, and a list with names followed on 26 October 2026. The SSB comes next, in February-March 2027 for IMA, INA and AFA candidates and April to June 2027 for those qualified for the SSC course only. UPSC then issues final results in two rounds, IMA/INA/AFA first and OTA later.

Stage 1: CDS (II) 2026 written result

The written result PDF gives separate roll-number lists for the Indian Military Academy 163rd (DE) Course, the Indian Naval Academy course and the Air Force Academy 222 F(P) Course, all commencing in July 2027, and for the OTA Chennai 126th SSC (Men) and 126th SSC Women courses commencing in October 2027. Some candidates appear in several lists. No marks are shown, and every candidature is provisional. Notified vacancies total 451, including 100 at IMA, 26 at INA, 32 at AFA, 275 for SSC (Men) and 18 for SSC Women.

What qualified candidates must do now

Army (IMA/OTA) first-choice candidates must register on www.joinindianarmy.nic.in to receive SSB call-up information. Original certificates of age, education and NCC (C) go to the service headquarters, not UPSC: by 1 July 2027 for IMA and INA, 13 May 2027 for AFA and 1 October 2027 for the SSC course, or the candidature is cancelled. At the SSB, Stage I (Officer Intelligence Rating and Picture Perception and Description Test) screens candidates, and Stage II tests run over 4 days.

Final merit list and tie-breaking

Candidates must clear the minimum qualifying marks separately in the written exam and at the SSB, and are ranked on written plus SSB marks: 300 + 300 for IMA, INA and AFA, and 200 + 200 for OTA. Ties go first to the higher written total (English and General Knowledge only for OTA), then to higher General Knowledge marks, then to the older candidate. Final selection also depends on medical fitness and vacancies, and the final lists do not take medical results into account.

When are CDS marks published?

The 19 October 2026 note says the marks-sheet will be available on upsconline.nic.in within 15 days of the final result of the OTA course and will stay for 30 days. In CDS (II) 2025 that meant marks on 21 August 2026, after the OTA final result of 7 August 2026. For scale, UPSC had recommended 2666, 814 and 636 written-qualified candidates for IMA, INA and AFA in that cycle, and finally selected 302 (190 + 85 + 27).

CDS result dates in past cycles

For result queries, UPSC's Facilitation Counter is open on working days from 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM, and the Candidate's Help Desk answers on 011-24041001 and 011-40303444 from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM.