UPSC CDS I Final Result 2026: 243 Candidates Qualify

The UPSC CDS I Final Result 2026 is out. The Union Public Service Commission declared it on 2 November 2026, and 243 candidates are on the final merit lists for the Indian Military Academy, the Indian Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy. The lists are in a PDF on upsc.gov.in, with roll numbers and names in merit order, and the file opens without any login.

If your name is on it, read the conditions before celebrating. Every candidature is provisional. The medical examination results have not been taken into account in this list, and final admission still depends on vacancies, medical fitness and verification of the certificates you claimed in your application.

UPSC CDS I Final Result 2026 at a glance

243 names for 158 seats

The list has more names than there are seats, and that is by design. UPSC recommends candidates in merit order after the written examination and the Services Selection Board interviews, and the services then admit from that list against the vacancies they actually have, after medicals. A name on the merit list is a recommendation for admission, not an appointment letter.

Some names appear in more than one list, so the count of individual candidates is lower than 243. The split is 155 for the Indian Military Academy against 100 vacancies, including 13 reserved for NCC 'C' Certificate holders of the Army Wing. The Naval Academy has 63 names against 26 vacancies, including 6 for NCC 'C' Certificate holders of the Naval Wing and 1 for Hydro.

The Air Force Academy has 25 names against 32 vacancies, including 3 for NCC 'C' Certificate holders of the Air Wing through the NCC Special Entry. So the Air Force list is the only one shorter than its vacancies.

The written examination had cleared 2,601 candidates for the Indian Military Academy, 770 for the Naval Academy and 640 for the Air Force Academy. Most of the selection happens after that, at the SSB interviews, and the final list is what survives both stages.

Lohitaksh Mahajan tops all three lists

Lohitaksh Mahajan, roll number 0500513, is first on the IMA list, first on the INA list and first on the AFA list. The IMA list continues with Lakshya Verma second, Shubham Parmar third, Sumit Kumar fourth and Naman Singh fifth. Naman Singh is second on the INA list, and Aditya Sharma is second on the AFA list.

The full CDS I 2026 merit list, with roll numbers, is in the official PDF, and that PDF is the only list that counts. Screenshots and forwarded lists in chat groups are easy to alter, so check your own roll number against the file on upsc.gov.in.

What recommended candidates have to do next

The press note gives one clear instruction, and it is easy to get wrong. If you have not already submitted your certificates for date of birth and educational qualifications, send the originals, with attested photocopies, to the headquarters of the service that is your first choice: Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters or Air Headquarters. Send them to the service headquarters, not to UPSC.

If you have changed your address since applying, tell the same headquarters at once. Your marks will not come with this result. UPSC will put the marks on its website only after the final result of the Officers Training Academy course for CDS (I) 2026 is declared, and that result is still awaited.

For questions, UPSC runs a facilitation counter on its campus, open on working days from 10 AM to 5:30 PM, and a helpdesk on 011 24041001 and 011 40303444 from 9 AM to 8 PM on all days.

How to check the UPSC CDS I Final Result 2026

Open upsc.gov.in and look under What is New on the homepage, or go to Examination and then Final Results. Find the link titled Final Result: Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026. The PDF opens in the browser. Press Ctrl and F on a computer, or use find in the PDF on a phone, and type your roll number or your name.

Save a copy of the PDF on your phone and on a computer. You will want it again when the joining instructions come out, and the file is the proof of your merit position until the joining letter arrives.

UPSC also declared the NDA NA I final result this week, with 617 candidates recommended, and the Civil Services Mains result, with 2,526 candidates called for interview. The CAT 2026 admit card is also live, with the exam on 29 November.

If your name is on the list, send the certificates this week and keep the PDF saved. The result is the first step. The paperwork and the medicals decide the rest.

Sources & verification: Union Public Service Commission, press note dated 2 November 2026, Combined Defence Services Examination (I), 2026 final result, read 6 November 2026 from the official PDF on upsc.gov.in. The 243 recommended candidates, the academy split, the 158 vacancies, the topper, the provisional status, the certificate instruction and the marks rule are from that press note. The written examination date of 12 April 2026 and the 640 written qualified figure for the Air Force Academy are as reported from the same notice. Check only upsc.gov.in.