Government exams fix a cut-off date on which your age is counted. Enter your date of birth, the cut-off date and the age limits from the notification to see your exact age and whether you are eligible after category relaxation.
Enter your date of birth and the cut-off date.
Enter the minimum and maximum age.
Choose your category and read the result.
Upper limit: Upper age = general limit + category relaxation
Government recruitment notifications from UPSC, SSC, banks, railways and state PSCs set a minimum and maximum age, counted on a specific cut-off date. Candidates from certain categories get extra years on the upper limit. This calculator finds your exact age in years, months and days on the cut-off date and checks it against the limits after relaxation.
Candidates often miscalculate by counting age on the exam date or on the date of applying, or by forgetting that 'not more than 32' and 'not attained 32' mean different things. Getting this wrong can lead to rejection even after clearing the exam.
Enter your date of birth and the cut-off date as YYYY-MM-DD, the minimum and general maximum age from the notification, and your category relaxation.
1. Note the cut-off date given in the notification, for example 1 August of the exam year.
2. Subtract your birth year from the cut-off year, your birth month from the cut-off month and your birth day from the cut-off day.
3. If the day difference is negative, borrow one month and add the number of days in the month before the cut-off month.
4. If the month difference is negative, borrow one year and add 12 months.
5. Upper age limit = general maximum + category relaxation.
6. Check that age is at least the minimum and within the upper limit, reading the notification's wording for the boundary case.
Eligibility uses completed age: you are 31 until the day before your 32nd birthday. The years-months-days subtraction gives exactly this. Borrowing works like subtraction with carries, except that months have different lengths. Adding the days of the month before the cut-off month is the standard convention and matches how most age calculators and official date-of-birth checks work. Many notifications simply state the eligible date-of-birth window, which is the most reliable check.
Notifications phrase the upper limit in different ways. 'Must not have attained the age of 32' means you must be at most 31 years and 364 days on the cut-off date. 'Not more than 32 years' is often read as allowing age up to exactly 32 years on that date, or even up to the day before turning 33, depending on the body. The calculator treats age of exactly the upper limit, with zero months and days, as eligible. When your age is close to the limit, check the birth-date range printed in the notification.
Relaxation raises only the upper age limit; the minimum age stays the same. The calculator offers the common central government pattern of 3 years for OBC, 5 for SC and ST, 10 for PwBD and 15 for PwBD candidates who are also SC or ST. Ex-servicemen, government employees and some state domiciles get separate relaxations, and state PSCs set their own values. Always use the figures in the specific notification, and remember that you must hold a valid category certificate as required.
Ritu, an OBC candidate born on 23 November 1994, is applying for a central government exam whose notification counts age on 1 August 2026, with limits of 21 to 32 years for general candidates.
Age on the cut-off date: 2026-08-01 − 1994-11-23 = 31 years, 8 months, 9 days
Upper age limit after relaxation: 32 + 3 = 35 years
Check: 21 ≤ age ≤ 35 → eligible
Answer: Eligibility Eligible; Upper age limit for you 35 years
Counting age on the exam date or the application date instead of the stated cut-off date.
Applying relaxation to the minimum age as well as the maximum.
Assuming central relaxation rules apply to a state PSC exam.
Claiming category relaxation without a certificate in the required format and date.
Ignoring the notification's exact wording for someone who turns the limit on the cut-off date.
Checking eligibility before applying for UPSC, SSC, bank or railway exams.
Counting remaining attempts or years before crossing the upper limit.
Coaching institutes screening students for upcoming notifications.
Verifying age eligibility during document preparation.
What if I turn the maximum age on the cut-off date?
Notifications usually say 'not attained' or 'not more than'. This calculator treats exactly the upper age as eligible; check the wording.
Are relaxations the same for state exams?
No. State PSCs set their own relaxations, so use the values in the notification.