WBCS Eligibility Criteria - Qualification, Age Limit, Special Conditions

The West Bengal Civil Services Examination takes place annually or as and when announced by the West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC). The examination is conducted in three stages- Preliminary, Mains and Interview. Candidates taking the exam have to qualify WBCS eligibility criteria set by the commission. Aspirants should first check the WBCS Age Limit before they start applying for the exam.

The details of WBCS 2022 are given in the linked article below:

For details of other PSC exams candidates may check the linked article.

WBCS Exam Eligibility 2022

Few major takeaway points from official WBCS notification with respect to eligibility are:

• A candidate must be an Indian citizen (either natural or by registration.)
• The candidate must have good health and character and suitability in all respects for appointment to Government service.
• A candidate should be able to read, write and speak in Bengali (Candidates whose mother tongue is Nepali are excluded)

• Those candidates whose date of birth lies between the 1st January 2000 & the 1st January 2001 [i.e. whose age is between 20 & 21 years as on 01.01.2020] may apply for Group B only.
• Age, as‌ ‌recorded‌ ‌only‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌Madhyamik‌ ‌or‌ ‌equivalent‌ ‌certificate, will be accepted.
• The age limits apply to all the candidates whether in Government service or not.

WBCS Eligibility Details

The West Bengal Public Service Commission (WBPSC) has stated that a candidate taking the WBCS examination 2022 must meet the following requirements

WBCS 2022 Qualification

• Degree from a recognized University.
• Ability to read, write and speak in Bengali (not required for those candidates whose mother tongue is Nepali)

WBCS 2022 Age Limit

• The Minimum and maximum age is 21 years and 36 years respectively on the 1st January of the year of examination for services and posts included in Group ‘A’ & ’C’ (i.e. born not earlier than the 2nd January 1986 and not later than the 1st January 2001).
• The Minimum and maximum age is 20 years and 36 years respectively for Group ‘B’ Service (i.e. born not earlier than the 2nd January 1986 and not later than the 1st January 2002)
• The Minimum and maximum age is 21 years and 39 years respectively for Group ‘D’ Service ((i.e. born not earlier than the 2nd January 1983 and not later than the 1st January 2001).

Note: Those candidates whose date of birth lies between the 1st January 2001 & the 1st January 2002 [i.e. whose age is between 20 & 21 years as of 01.01.2022] may apply for Group B only. 

WBCS 2022- Age limit Relaxation

As per the notification, the upper age limit is relaxable for S.C., S.T. and B.C. . In the case of Persons with Disabilities (PWD), the upper age limit is relaxable up to 45 years. The S.C./S.T./B.C. candidates of other States shall be considered for Unreserved posts only. The age relaxations for different categories are given below

The WBCS Eligibility criteria 2022 are expected to be on similar lines as that of WBCS 2021 exam. No changes have been made for candidates to apply for the exam.

In the case of the civil services exam, once a candidate is found eligible to apply for the post and successfully completes the online registration, the UPSC admit card is released by the conducting body. A similar procedure is also followed in the case of WBSC.

Choice of Groups of Services and Allotment

As we have mentioned before that WBCS recruits for four groups-A, B, C and D; there are few details that candidates should keep in mind about the WBCS Eligibility criteria:

• Candidates may apply for one or more of the four groups of services.
• All Candidates who get selected in order of merit on the result of the Mains exam will have to appear for the Personality Test.
• There is no separate Personality Test for different groups of services.
• Allotment of candidates takes place with respect to the order of merit and also the vacancies available.

Note by the Commission:

• All appointments are made on a temporary basis in the first instance.
• Candidates are particularly advised to note that unless they indicate a preference for a post or service they shall not be recommended for such post or service even if they may be otherwise eligible for the same on the results of the examination. Belated request for being considered for appointment to such post or service is liable to rejection.
• Candidates suffering from blindness or low vision, locomotor disability/cerebral palsy will be allowed compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour.
• No fee exemption is available to SC/ST/BC candidates of other states.

For further details, candidates may check below:

Special Conditions for WBCS Recruitment

The West Bengal Public Service Commission has mentioned a few conditions for various posts under different groups of services.

Some basic conditions are:

• Minimum height requirement for male- 1.65 metres
• Minimum height requirement for female – 1.50 metres
• Races like Gorkhas, Garwalis, Assamese Tribes etc. are subject to height relaxation

An aspirant may find it important to know a few special conditions about WBCS Eligibility:

For further details you may check below:

The Application Fee:

• Online Payment through debit/credit card- Rs. 210/- only + Service Charge 1% of Examination Fee subject to a minimum of Rs.5/-
• Netbanking- Rs.210/- only+ Service Charge 1% of Examination Fee subject to a minimum of Rs.5/- + Service Charge/ GST as applicable
• Bank Counter (Offline Payment)- Rs.210/- only+ Service Charge 1% of Examination Fee subject to a minimum of Rs.5/- + Service Charge/ GST as applicable/ Service Charge of Rs.20/-

Fee Exemption for following candidates:

• SC/ST candidates of West Bengal.
• Persons with disabilities (PWD) having physical disability of 40% and above.

All eligible candidates can also review the eligibility and UPSC exam syllabus. In case of similarities, candidates can easily apply for both the examinations and increase their probability of entering these services, be it at the central or the state level.