UPPCS Interview: Personality Test (Viva-Voce)
About this stage
The Viva-Voce (Personality Test) is the third and last stage of the UPPCS examination held by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), after the Preliminary Examination and the Main (Written) Examination. It carries 100 marks, which are added to the Main Examination marks for the final selection.
| Stage | Marks | Counted for final merit |
|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Examination (two papers) | 200 + 200 | No (screening only) |
| Main Examination (eight papers) | 1,500 | Yes |
| Viva-Voce (Personality Test) | 100 | Yes |
Who is called
- Only candidates declared successful on the basis of the Main (Written) Examination are called for the Interview.
- The number called is three times the number of vacancies.
- Candidates who qualify for the Interview must appear in it.
- Candidates with less than 40% of the marks in the Main Examination (35% for SC and ST candidates) are not placed in the merit or select list.
Official description
UPPSC Advertisement No. A-1/E-1/2026, Personality Test (Viva-Voce), 100 marks:
The test will relate to the matter of general interest keeping the matter of academic interest in view and for general awareness, intelligence, character, expression power/personality and general suitability for the service.
What the interview assesses
The Commission's sentence names a field (matters of general interest, with the candidate's academic interest in view) and the qualities judged through it. Read together, they suggest what a candidate should be ready for. This reading is the academy's, not the Commission's.
- Matters of general interest: issues that any well-informed citizen follows: national and international affairs, society, economy, governance, science, sport and culture.
- Academic interest: the candidate's graduation and postgraduate subjects, and their link to public life and administration.
- General awareness: current events, and especially the affairs of Uttar Pradesh: its districts, economy, schemes, culture and problems.
- Intelligence: grasping a question quickly, thinking clearly and reaching a reasoned answer, including on unfamiliar or hypothetical questions.
- Character: honesty, integrity, balance and fairness; owning up to what one does not know rather than guessing.
- Expression power and personality: clear, concise and courteous speech, composure, confidence without arrogance, and good listening.
- General suitability for the service: the temperament for public service: empathy for citizens, respect for the law, ability to take decisions and work under pressure.
At the interview
- Candidates fill in an application form prescribed by the Commission.
- Preferences for the posts are asked for at the Interview and cannot be changed afterwards. Knowing the posts filled through the examination, and their duties, is therefore part of preparation.
- All original certificates are checked at the Interview.
- Candidates who are serving Central or State government employees bring a No Objection Certificate from their employer.
Final selection
- Selection is made on the total of the Main (Written) Examination marks (1,500) and the Interview marks (100).
- For some posts, the service rules provide for selection on the written examination marks alone.
- Preliminary Examination marks are not added to the final merit.
Preparing for it
- Own background: home district, education, work experience and interests can all prompt questions; prepare for each.
- Home district and Uttar Pradesh: history, geography, economy, culture, important places and current problems, and the state's main schemes.
- Academic subject: revise its basics and current developments in it.
- Current affairs: national, international and state issues of the past year, with a balanced view on each.
- Posts and administration: the role of the posts in the candidate's preference list, and of district administration.
- Situational and ethical questions: practise reasoning aloud through administrative dilemmas.
- Mock interviews: to practise structured, calm and honest answers.
How this stage connects
- Uttar Pradesh's history, culture, polity, economy and geography are studied for General Studies V and General Studies VI.
- Values, attitude and ethical reasoning are the subject of General Studies IV.
- National and international affairs come from General Studies II and General Studies III.
Source: UPPSC Advertisement No. A-1/E-1/2026 (Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services (General/Special Recruitment) Examination-2026), 25 June 2026, Appendices 2 to 4 and its instructions to candidates; Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission, uppsc.up.nic.in. Last checked 11 November 2026.