In this guide
The Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) is the Indian Air Force's own entrance exam for graduates who want to become officers in the Flying, Ground Duty (Technical) and Ground Duty (Non-Technical) branches. It is held twice a year, in two cycles: the first cycle of 2026 was held on 31 January 2026, and a second cycle follows in the middle of the year.
Unlike CDS, which UPSC conducts through separate written papers, AFCAT is a single computer-based paper. That one paper decides whether you are called to the Air Force Selection Board (AFSB), and its marks stay with you into the final merit list. So the pattern is worth understanding properly, not just memorising.
The paper at a glance
The figures below are from the official AFCAT 01/2026 notification.
| Feature | AFCAT |
|---|---|
| Mode | Online, computer-based |
| Language | English only |
| Questions | 100, objective type |
| Maximum marks | 300 |
| Time | 2 hours |
| Correct answer | +3 |
| Wrong answer | −1 |
| Unanswered | 0 |
| Normalisation | Applied when the exam runs in more than one shift |
| Fee | ₹550 + GST (NCC Special Entry exempt) |
The four sections
The notification lists four subjects inside the one paper.
| Section | What the official syllabus names |
|---|---|
| General Awareness | History, geography, sports, national and international organisations, art and culture, personalities, environment and ecology, polity, economy, basic science, science and technology, current affairs, defence |
| Verbal Ability in English | Comprehension, error detection, sentence completion, synonyms and antonyms, cloze test, idioms and phrases, analogy, sentence rearrangement, one-word substitution, sentence transformation, homonyms |
| Numerical Ability | Decimal fractions, time and work, averages, percentage, profit and loss, ratio, interest, time and distance (trains, boats), area and perimeter, probability, number system and series, mixtures, squares and cubes, HCF and LCM, mensuration, heights and distances, statistics, exponents |
| Reasoning and Military Aptitude | Verbal and non-verbal reasoning, including spatial questions |
The notification also sets the level: Numerical Ability is at matriculation (Class 10) level, and the other sections are at graduation level. That is why the maths feels familiar but the English and GA can surprise you.
For a topic-by-topic breakdown, see the AFCAT syllabus, analysed.
What changed for technical candidates: the EKT
Until recently, candidates for the Ground Duty (Technical) branches also sat the Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) on the same day: 50 questions, 150 marks, 45 minutes, with the same +3 and −1 marking. It was part of the AFCAT 01/2025 cycle.
The official AFCAT 01/2026 notification's scheme of examination lists only the 100-question AFCAT paper, with no EKT. The 02/2026 cycle was also reported to add a GATE Score Entry for the technical branches, in which candidates with a valid GATE score apply without taking the AFCAT paper.
Entries that skip the written paper
NCC Special Entry candidates, who must hold the NCC Air Wing Senior Division 'C' certificate, do not take the written exam. They are called directly to the AFSB. For everyone else, the AFCAT paper is the gate.
What comes after the paper
The IAF fixes the qualifying marks at its discretion, and may fix them in any or all sections. Candidates who clear them choose an AFSB date and centre online. The five boards are at Dehradun, Mysuru, Gandhinagar, Varanasi and Guwahati.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| AFSB Stage I (day 1) | Officer Intelligence Rating test, and a picture perception and discussion test. This is a screening test; those who do not clear it go home the same day |
| Document check | Eligibility for the branches you applied for is checked |
| AFSB Stage II | Psychological tests (day 1 evening), then group tests and the interview over the following days |
| CPSS (Flying only) | The Computerised Pilot Selection System, given only to recommended candidates. It is a once-in-a-lifetime test |
| Medical examination | Recommended candidates are examined by a medical board |
| Final merit list | Built on the total of written and AFSB marks, with separate minimum qualifying marks in each |
What the pattern means for preparation
Seventy-two seconds per question. 120 minutes divided by 100 questions gives 1.2 minutes, or 72 seconds, each. A GA question takes five seconds if you know it, so the time you save there is what pays for a long percentage or time-and-work problem.
A wrong answer costs a third of a right one. With four options, a blind guess has a one-in-four chance. The expected value is (1 × 3 − 3 × 1) ÷ 4 = 0. Blind guessing earns nothing on average, but a guess after removing two options is worth +1 on average. The full arithmetic is in our guide to negative marking and attempt strategy.
Accuracy beats attempts. Compare two candidates, using made-up figures:
| Candidate | Attempted | Correct | Wrong | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100 | 70 | 30 | 210 − 30 = 180 |
| B | 82 | 74 | 8 | 222 − 8 = 214 |
Candidate B leaves 18 questions blank and still scores 34 marks more. Each wrong answer that becomes a right one gains you 4 marks, not 3, because you also get back the mark you lost.
No section can be dropped. Because the paper is one combined test, and the IAF may set qualifying marks in any section, a very weak section is a real risk. Reasoning and Numerical Ability usually improve fastest with practice; General Awareness improves slowest, so start it on day one.
The syllabus is familiar; the speed is not. Class 10 maths, standard reasoning and school grammar are not new to a graduate. What separates candidates is accuracy under time pressure on a computer screen.
Quick self-test
- How many marks does a candidate score with 68 correct, 14 wrong and 18 unattempted?
- What is the average time available per question?
- Which candidates are called to the AFSB without the written test?
- On what is the final merit list based?
- A candidate removes two of the four options and guesses. What is the expected score of that guess?
Answers:
- 68 × 3 = 204; 204 − 14 = 190.
- 120 minutes ÷ 100 = 1.2 minutes, which is 72 seconds.
- NCC Special Entry candidates holding the Air Wing Senior Division 'C' certificate.
- The total of written (AFCAT) and AFSB marks, subject to qualifying separately in each, medical fitness and vacancies.
- Half the time you gain 3, half the time you lose 1: (3 − 1) ÷ 2 = +1.
What to do next
- Download the notification for your cycle and read the scheme of examination and eligibility sections line by line.
- Take the official online practice test on the AFCAT website to get used to the interface.
- Take one full timed mock this week, before you study anything, to find your starting point.
- Start a daily GA and current affairs habit today, since it builds slowest.
- Begin running three or four days a week. The notification advises being able to run 1.6 km in 10 minutes and do 10 push-ups and 3 chin-ups by the time you report to the AFSB.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Indian Air Force website .
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