Age relaxation in government exams (OBC, SC, ST, EWS, PwBD)

Most government exams have an upper age limit, but some groups of candidates are allowed to be older. This allowance is called age relaxation. It raises only the upper limit — the minimum age stays the same for everyone.

The usual relaxation in central government exams

For exams such as SSC, IBPS, RRB and UPSC, the upper age limit is usually relaxed like this:

Category	Extra years
OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)	3 years
SC and ST	5 years
EWS	None
Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD)	10 years (General/EWS), 13 years (OBC), 15 years (SC/ST)
Ex-servicemen	Depends on the exam (often your years of military service plus 3 years)

Each notice prints its own relaxation table, and that table is the one that counts. Some exams also give relaxation to widows and divorced women, or to serving government employees.

A worked example

Say a notice sets the age limit at 18–27 years as on 1 August 2026:

• General and EWS candidates can be up to 27.
• OBC-NCL candidates can be up to 30 (27 + 3).
• SC and ST candidates can be up to 32 (27 + 5).
• A General candidate with a benchmark disability can be up to 37 (27 + 10).

Notices often print this as a birth-date window instead: “born not earlier than 2 August 1999 and not later than 1 August 2008”. Relaxation moves only the first date back — for OBC-NCL, by 3 years to 2 August 1996.

Check these before you count on relaxation

• OBC means Non-Creamy Layer. If you are in the creamy layer, you apply as General and get no relaxation.
• Certificates matter. You need a valid caste, EWS or disability certificate, usually in the format and issued by the date the notice asks for.
• State exams follow state rules. States set their own age limits and relaxations — often with extra years for women or for the state’s backward classes — and usually only for the state’s own residents. Some states give relaxation to EWS too.
• Relaxations don’t always add up. If you belong to more than one relaxed group, the notice explains how they combine.

How Sahi Exam uses this

When we add an exam, we take each post’s relaxation from its official notice. Our eligibility check then applies your category’s relaxation automatically and tells you why you qualify — for example, “within the OBC-NCL limit of 27 + 3 yrs”.

Always confirm the relaxation table in the official notification before you apply.