SO/Steno LDCE Admit Card 2026: e-Admit Date Rule, Exam Rules

The e-Admit Card for the Combined Section Officers' (Grade 'B') LDCE 2026 and the Combined Stenographers' (Grade 'B'/Grade 'I') LDCE 2022, 2023 and 2024 has not been issued yet; the common written examination is on 12 and 13 December 2026. Both notices say the card will be issued on the last working day of the week before the examination, on upsconline.nic.in. As of 27 October 2026, UPSC's examination page for this cycle shows only the two notices.

Who will get the 2026 e-Admit Card?

Only candidates whose printed application has been forwarded by their Cadre Controlling Authority (CCA) are considered for admission. Applicants gave the printed copy to their own Ministry or Department. After verification it goes to the CCA, which checks eligibility and sends it to the Under Secretary (E-VI), UPSC. The last date for UPSC to receive it was 23 October 2026, and late applications are rejected. Admission at both stages, the written examination and the evaluation of service record, stays provisional until eligibility is confirmed.

How to download it

The e-Admit Card will be available on upsconline.nic.in, and no admit card is sent by post. UPSC may also contact candidates by email, so keep the address you registered active. Keep your Universal Registration Number (URN) and the Application Number generated for this examination: the notice asks for both, with your Roll Number, in any letter to the Under Secretary (E.VI), UPSC, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110069.

Exam-day rules in the 2026 notices

• Bring your official Identity Card along with the e-Admit Card.
• The centres are Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Nagpur. No request for a change of centre is entertained, and a candidate who appears at a venue other than the one on the e-Admit Card will not be allowed to take the examination.
• Face authentication at the venue is mandatory, along with identity checks and frisking, so arrive early.
• Entry closes 30 minutes before each session begins, and no one is let in after that.
• Mobile phones (even switched off), smart watches, AI-enabled glasses, pen drives and Bluetooth devices are banned. The venue has no safe-keeping, so leave bags, books and valuables behind.
• Your signature in the application, on the Attendance List and in letters to UPSC must match. A mismatch can cost you your candidature.

What the 2025 cycle schedule looked like

The 2026 time table has not been posted yet. In the 2025 time table, Paper I (objective, 150 marks) ran from 10:00 AM to 12 noon and Paper II (objective, 150 marks) from 02:30 PM to 04:30 PM on 13 December 2025. Paper III, Noting and Drafting and Precis Writing (subjective, 200 marks), ran from 10:00 AM to 01:00 PM on 14 December 2025. Candidates for Categories IV, V, VI, VII and IX also took a qualifying shorthand test in Hindi or English at 100 w.p.m. on 20, 27 and 28 December 2025. A 2025 notice told candidates to carry the Official Identity Card issued to them to enter the venue.

SO/Steno LDCE admit card release in past cycles