If you've been eyeing a uniformed government job in UP but didn't quite hit the mark for UP Police, the Excise Constable post deserves your attention. It's run by UPSSSC, it pays a similar salary, and the competition is usually a notch lower than UP Police Constable because fewer people know about it.
This post covers everything for the 2026 cycle of Abkari Sipahi recruitment — dates, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, salary and how to prepare. We'll flag clearly wherever a date is still tentative so you don't plan your life around a guess.
Latest Notification and Important Dates
The UP Excise Constable 2026 notification (Advertisement No. 08-Pariksha/2026) has been released by UPSSSC on behalf of the Excise Commissioner's Office, Uttar Pradesh, Prayagraj. This is a big one — 722 posts, open to candidates who already hold a valid UPSSSC PET 2025 scorecard.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Advertisement released | 4 June 2026 |
| Online application starts | 4 June 2026 |
| Last date to apply online | 24 June 2026 |
| Last date for fee correction/edit | 1 July 2026 |
| Reference date for age calculation | 1 July 2026 |
| Written exam date | Not announced yet (tentative) |
| PST/PMT and PET (physical tests) | After written exam result (tentative) |
| Final result | To be announced |
If you missed the application window, don't panic — UPSSSC runs this recruitment fairly regularly, and the pattern, syllabus and eligibility rules below will stay mostly the same for the next cycle too. Keep checking exam news on Pareeksha so you don't miss the next notification.
What the Job Actually Is
An Excise Constable, or Abkari Sipahi, works under the UP Excise Department. Your job is to help enforce liquor and narcotics laws across the state — checking illegal liquor manufacturing, raiding unlicensed shops, escorting seized goods, guarding excise warehouses, and supporting inspectors during raids. It's field work, often at odd hours, and it does carry some physical risk during raids on illicit liquor units, which are sometimes violent.
You'll be posted anywhere in UP based on department need — could be a big city excise office or a rural circle. Postings rotate over your career. It's not a desk job in the early years; expect a fair bit of travel, night duty during raids, and coordination with local police.
Vacancy Details
Total vacancies for this cycle: 722 posts.
| Category | Vacancies |
|---|---|
| Unreserved (General) | 292 |
| OBC | 215 |
| SC | 142 |
| EWS | 61 |
| ST | 12 |
| Total | 722 |
Some earlier reports floated a figure of 820 posts before the final advertisement — always go by the number in the official advertisement, not the rumours that circulate before release.
Eligibility
Education: You need to have passed Intermediate (12th) from the UP Board or an equivalent recognised board. No graduation needed, which makes this post approachable right after school.
Age limit: 18 to 40 years, calculated as on 1 July 2026.
| Category | Upper age limit |
|---|---|
| General/EWS | 40 years |
| OBC (UP domicile) | Relaxation as per state rules |
| SC/ST (UP domicile) | 5 years relaxation |
| PwBD (Divyang) | Relaxation as per state rules |
| Ex-servicemen | As per UP Public Service (Reservation for SC/ST/OBC) Act rules |
| State government employees | Additional relaxation up to 5 years |
Note the 40-year upper limit is unusually generous compared to most constable posts (UP Police Constable caps around 25). This is one reason the excise route suits candidates who are a bit older or have missed the age cutoff elsewhere.
Domicile: You should be a UP domicile holder, or otherwise eligible as per state reservation rules for reserved categories.
Physical standards:
| Parameter | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 167.6 cm minimum (relaxed for some categories) | 152 cm (147 cm for SC/ST) |
| Chest | 80 cm unexpanded, 85 cm expanded | Not applicable |
| Weight | No fixed norm generally, check official PDF | 45 kg minimum |
A valid, normalized UPSSSC PET 2025 score is compulsory to even apply. If you don't have one, you can't apply for this cycle — that's worth remembering for future recruitments too, since PET has become the gateway exam for almost every UPSSSC post now.
Application Process and Fee
You apply online at upsssc.gov.in using your PET registration login. Here's the fee structure:
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| All categories (General/OBC/SC/ST/EWS/PwBD/Women/Ex-servicemen) | ₹25 (online processing fee only; no separate application fee) |
Steps to apply:
- Go to the official UPSSSC website and find the Excise Constable (Abkari Sipahi) 2026 link under "Recruitment."
- Log in using your existing PET 2025 registration ID and password.
- Fill in your personal, educational and category details carefully.
- Upload photo, signature and required documents in the specified format.
- Pay the ₹25 fee online.
- Submit and save/print the confirmation page.
Double-check your PET score and category details before final submission — corrections after the deadline are usually not possible.
Exam Pattern
Selection has two main stages: a written exam, followed by document verification, and then a Physical Standard/Measurement Test (PST/PMT) plus a Physical Efficiency Test (PET) that are qualifying in nature (not scored, just pass/fail).
Written Exam Pattern:
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 100 (MCQ) |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Negative marking | 0.25 mark per wrong answer |
| Mode | Offline, OMR-based |
Section-wise breakdown:
| Part | Subject | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | History of India & Independence Movement | 5 |
| Part 1 | Indian Polity & Constitution | 5 |
| Part 1 | Geography (India & World) | 5 |
| Part 1 | Indian Economy & Social Development | 5 |
| Part 1 | Science & Technology | 10 |
| Part 1 | Environment, Ecology & Disaster Management | 10 |
| Part 1 | Current Events (National & International) | 5 |
| Part 1 | Data Interpretation | 5 |
| Part 1 | General Hindi | 10 |
| Part 2 | Computer & Information Technology | 15 |
| Part 3 | General Knowledge of Uttar Pradesh | 20 |
Notice how heavy this paper is on Uttar Pradesh-specific GK (20 marks) and Computer knowledge (15 marks) — together that's over a third of the paper. Most candidates ignore these while grinding generic GK books, and that's a mistake.
Detailed Syllabus
History: Indian freedom struggle, 1857 revolt, major freedom fighters, Gandhian era movements, post-independence integration of princely states.
Polity: Indian Constitution basics, fundamental rights and duties, DPSP, Parliament and state legislature structure, panchayati raj, constitutional bodies.
Geography: Physical geography of India and world, UP's rivers, soil types, climate, natural resources, agriculture patterns.
Economy: Five-year plans, economic reforms, poverty and unemployment, government schemes, banking basics, budget terms.
Science & Technology: Basic physics, chemistry, biology at school level; recent scientific developments; space and defence tech in the news.
Environment & Disaster Management: Ecosystem basics, biodiversity, pollution types, climate change, disaster types and management steps — this section carries a full 10 marks so don't skip it.
Current Affairs: Last 6-8 months of national and international news — government schemes, appointments, sports, awards, summits.
Data Interpretation: Reading bar graphs, pie charts, tables; basic percentage and ratio calculations tied to data sets.
General Hindi: Sandhi, samas, alankar, muhavare, paryayvachi/vilom shabd, shudh vartani, and comprehension passages.
Computer & IT: History and generations of computers, hardware/software basics, MS Office, internet and email basics, cyber security fundamentals, government digital initiatives.
UP General Knowledge: UP's history, geography, culture, tourism, government schemes, administrative structure, important personalities, current UP government initiatives — this is the single highest-weightage topic, so build a dedicated UP GK notebook.
For structured practice on all of this, use topic-wise practice sets on Pareeksha and the free mock test series which mirror the real exam pattern.
Salary, Pay Scale and Career Growth
Excise Constable is a Pay Level 2 post under the 7th Pay Commission, with a starting basic pay of ₹19,900 per month.
Adding dearness allowance, house rent allowance and other standard allowances (which vary by city category), the in-hand salary at entry level usually works out to somewhere around ₹31,800 to ₹35,800 per month, depending on your posting city and current DA rate.
On top of the salary, you get benefits typical of a state government uniformed job: medical allowance, pension under the new pension scheme, leave travel concession, and quarters or house rent allowance where quarters aren't available.
Career growth is slow but steady. Over the years you can be promoted to Head Constable, then Excise Inspector-level ranks through departmental promotion exams and seniority, though this depends on vacancies and performance. It's not a fast-track career, but it's stable, and the pension and job security matter a lot to most candidates from this exam's target audience.
Previous Year Cut-off
The official cut-off for the 2026 cycle hasn't been declared yet since the written exam itself is pending. Based on how this exam has trended in earlier cycles and current expert estimates, here's what to expect:
| Category | Expected cut-off (out of 100) |
|---|---|
| General | 65 |
| OBC | 65 |
| EWS | Similar to General, around 62-65 |
| SC | 63 |
| ST | 53 |
| Female (all categories) | 55-60 |
Treat these as rough planning numbers, not guarantees. Cut-off depends on the total number of applicants, the paper's difficulty and how many vacancies get filled that year. Aim to score at least 75-80 out of 100 to stay safely clear of any category cut-off.
Best Books and Preparation Strategy
You don't need a mountain of books for this exam. Since it's an objective GK-heavy paper with no maths and no reasoning section, focus your energy on breadth of knowledge rather than problem-solving speed.
- Lucent's General Knowledge — still the best single book for History, Polity, Geography and Science basics in Hindi and English.
- A dedicated UP GK book (Disha or Arihant's UP-specific GK titles) — since 20% of your marks come purely from UP-related questions.
- Computer Awareness — any standard "Computer GK for competitive exams" book covers the syllabus adequately; you don't need deep technical knowledge.
- Last 6 months of current affairs — use current affairs updates on Pareeksha instead of buying a separate magazine every month.
- For structured revision, refer to the General Awareness guide on Pareeksha's Reading Room, and browse free books in the Reading Room for additional reference material.
A rough two-month plan, assuming the exam gets announced with the usual 2-3 month runway:
- Weeks 1-3: Build your base — History, Polity, Geography, Economy chapter by chapter from Lucent's.
- Weeks 4-5: Shift focus to UP GK and Computer Awareness — these are high-return, low-competition areas most candidates under-prepare.
- Week 6: Environment, Disaster Management, and Data Interpretation basics.
- Weeks 7-8: Daily current affairs revision plus full-length mock tests, one every 2-3 days, reviewing every wrong answer properly.
Since this paper doesn't test reasoning or quant directly, you can skip heavy Quantitative Aptitude or Reasoning prep — those guides are more useful if you're also targeting UP Police Constable or SSC exams alongside this one. Follow a structured study plan so your revision doesn't turn chaotic in the last two weeks.
Common Mistakes and Honest Advice
A lot of candidates treat this as "just another GK paper" and study the same generic material they used for UP Police or SSC GD. That's a mistake — the UP-specific GK section here is bigger than in most other UP exams, and it's the section people lose easy marks on because they never made a dedicated notes file for it.
Second mistake: ignoring the physical test. The written exam gets all the attention, but PST and PET are qualifying and disqualify you outright if you don't meet the height, chest or run-timing standards. Start basic fitness work — running, push-ups — well before your written result comes out, not after.
Third: don't skip the negative marking math. With 0.25 negative marking, guessing blindly on questions you have zero idea about will hurt you. Attempt confidently, skip wild guesses.
Finally, since PET 2025 score is a mandatory gate for this recruitment, keep your PET scorecard and related documents ready and verified well in advance. Any mismatch in your PET application data versus this application can cause rejection at document verification stage.
Related reads on Pareeksha
If you're preparing for this alongside other UP-level government jobs, these guides will help:
- UP Police Constable complete guide
- UP Lekhpal exam guide
- SSC GD Constable guide — useful if you're also eyeing central armed police force jobs
- Browse the full list of government exam guides on Pareeksha for more UP and central options
FAQ
Q1. Who conducts the UP Excise Constable exam? UPSSSC (Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission) conducts it on behalf of the UP Excise Department.
Q2. Is PET 2025 score compulsory to apply? Yes. You must hold a valid, normalized UPSSSC PET 2025 scorecard to apply for this recruitment cycle.
Q3. What's the minimum qualification needed? Intermediate (12th) pass from UP Board or an equivalent recognised board. Graduates can also apply.
Q4. What is the age limit? 18 to 40 years as on 1 July 2026, with standard relaxation for reserved categories, ex-servicemen and state government employees.
Q5. How many total vacancies are there in this cycle? 722 posts across General, OBC, SC, ST and EWS categories.
Q6. Is there a physical test? Yes, a Physical Standard/Measurement Test (PST/PMT) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET) are conducted after the written exam, and both are qualifying in nature.
Q7. What is the salary? Pay Level 2, starting basic pay of ₹19,900, with in-hand salary roughly ₹31,800 to ₹35,800 per month depending on city and DA.
Q8. Is there negative marking? Yes, 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer in the written exam.
Q9. How is this exam different from UP Police Constable? Both are uniformed UP government posts with similar pay, but Excise Constable has a much higher upper age limit (40 vs around 25), and the syllabus leans more toward static UP GK and computer awareness rather than reasoning and quant.
Q10. When will the written exam be held? The exact written exam date hasn't been announced yet as of this writing (tentative). Keep checking exam news on Pareeksha for updates.
Final word
This exam rewards patient, focused preparation more than raw problem-solving speed. There's no maths, no reasoning puzzles to crack — just steady, honest studying of GK, current affairs, computer basics and, most importantly, UP-specific knowledge. If you build a strong UP GK base and stay consistent with current affairs, you have a real shot even without months of prior coaching.
Start today by checking your PET eligibility, get your documents in order, and begin working through free mock tests to get a feel for the actual paper difficulty. The window between notification and exam is usually short, so the candidates who start early are the ones who walk into the exam hall calm and ready.
Official sources: upsssc.gov.in, Excise Commissioner UP (department reference)
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