IFS Cut Off

The UPSC Indian Forest Service (IFS) cut off is the mark secured by the last recommended candidate in each category, published by UPSC as a "minimum qualifying marks" notice after the final result. The tables below carry the official figures for 2022 to 2025.

How to read these numbers

IFoS Prelims cut offs are out of 200 on GS Paper-I only. Mains cut offs are out of 1400 and are subject to at least 5% in each paper. Final cut offs are out of 1700. Note that IFoS Prelims cut offs run higher than Civil Services cut offs in the same year, because far fewer posts are on offer.

UPSC does not normalise marks

This is the single most common misconception carried over from SSC. UPSC conducts each paper in one sitting with one question paper, so there are no shifts to equate and no normalisation formula. A published UPSC cut off is a raw mark you could actually have scored on the paper — which is why the figures are clean numbers rather than five-decimal scores.

What moves the cut off

• the number of vacancies finally confirmed by the cadre controlling authorities
• the number of candidates who appeared
• the difficulty of the paper that year
• category-wise reservation

The qualifying floor is separate from the cut off

Do not confuse the two. Clearing the minimum qualifying marks in an individual paper does not shortlist you — you must also reach the cut off for your category, which is usually far higher. Both conditions apply together.