AFCAT 2027 Notification: Vacancies, Eligibility and Dates
The AFCAT 01/2027 notification is out. Applications close on 11 December 2026 at 2330 hrs and the exam is on 31 January 2027: branch wise vacancies, age and education eligibility, fee and pattern.
On this page
- What are the key dates in the AFCAT 2027 notification?
- How many vacancies are there in AFCAT 01/2027?
- What is the AFCAT 2027 eligibility: age, education and marital status?
- What is the AFCAT 2027 exam pattern, and is there negative marking?
- How do you apply on afcat.edcil.co.in, and what is the fee?
- What happens after the AFCAT exam: answer key, AFSB and merit?
The AFCAT 2027 notification is out. The Indian Air Force (IAF) released the detailed AFCAT 01/2027 notification on 11 November 2026 for the Flying and Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical) branches, plus NCC Special and GATE Score entries, for courses commencing January 2028. Applications opened on 12 November 2026 at 1100 hrs and close on 11 December 2026 at 2330 hrs at afcat.edcil.co.in. The exam is on 31 January 2027, a Sunday.
Every figure below comes from the official 66 page notification on careerairforce.gov.in. One correction: the old application host that aggregators still list appears nowhere in it.
What are the key dates in the AFCAT 2027 notification?
Registration runs from 12 November 2026 at 1100 hrs to 11 December 2026 at 2330 hrs, the admit card opens on 27 January 2027 at 1100 hrs, and the exam is on 31 January 2027. There is no correction window: after payment the only remedy is a fresh registration.
| Event | Date and time |
|---|---|
| Notification released | 11 November 2026 |
| Application opens | 12 November 2026, 1100 hrs |
| Last date to apply | 11 December 2026, 2330 hrs |
| Admit card opens | 27 January 2027, 1100 hrs |
| AFCAT 01/2027 exam | 31 January 2027 (Sunday) |
| Courses commence | January 2028 |
How many vacancies are there in AFCAT 01/2027?
The notification prints no headline vacancy number, only a branch and gender wise table split across Permanent Commission (PC) and Short Service Commission (SSC), and it calls the vacancies tentative and subject to change without notice.
| Branch | PC (Men / Women) | SSC (Men / Women) |
|---|---|---|
| Flying (AFCAT) | NA | 28 / 08 |
| GD Technical AE(L) | 05 / 02 | 54 / 27 |
| GD Technical AE(M) | 08 / 02 | 18 / 08 |
| Weapon Systems | NA | 25 / 05 |
| Administration | 01 / 01 | 34 / 17 |
| Logistics | 01 / 01 | 06 / 03 |
| Accounts | 01 / 01 | 03 / 03 |
| Education | 01 / 01 | 01 / 01 |
| Meteorology | 01 / 01 | NA |
| GATE Score AE(L) | 01 / 01 | 06 / 03 |
| GATE Score AE(M) | 01 / 01 | 02 / 01 |
Those cells add up to 284 posts, a total that is ours and not the IAF's, and real intake depends on the vacancies accruing in January 2028. NCC Special Entry is additional, 10 per cent of Ground Duty vacancies is reserved for NCC Air Wing Senior Division C holders, and two Non-Technical seats for LLB qualified candidates.
What is the AFCAT 2027 eligibility: age, education and marital status?
Age is reckoned as on 01 January 2028, not on the application date. Flying applicants must be 20 to 24 years and Ground Duty applicants 20 to 26 years, and all must be Indian citizens, unmarried when the course begins.
- Flying and NCC Special Entry: 20 to 24 years, born between 02 January 2004 and 01 January 2008. A valid DGCA Commercial Pilot License relaxes it to 26 years, born from 02 January 2002.
- Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical): 20 to 26 years, born between 02 January 2002 and 01 January 2008.
- Marital status: unmarried when the course commences, and marriage is barred during training; anyone who marries is discharged and must refund the Government's spend.
Educational qualification is per branch, and the 10+2 subject condition is what most applicants miss:
- Flying and Weapon Systems: Mathematics and Physics at 10+2, plus a three year graduation in any discipline or a four year BE or B Tech.
- Ground Duty Technical, AE(L) and AE(M): Physics and Mathematics at 10+2, plus a four year engineering degree in a listed discipline: electronics, electrical and computing for AE(L), mechanical and aerospace for AE(M).
- Administration, Logistics and Education: 10+2 and a three year graduate degree in any discipline, plus a post graduation for Education.
- Accounts: 10+2 and B Com, BBA, BMS or BBS with finance, or a qualified CA, CMA, CS or CFA. Meteorology: 10+2 and BSc with Physics and Mathematics, or a four year engineering graduation.
A diploma in lieu of 10+2 is not accepted, and final year students may apply only without backlog, proving completion by 30 November 2027.
What is the AFCAT 2027 exam pattern, and is there negative marking?
Yes: plus 3 marks for a correct answer, minus 1 for a wrong one, nothing for a blank. The paper is 100 questions for 300 marks in 120 minutes, online and in English only, covering General Awareness, Verbal Ability in English, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning and Military Aptitude.
| Attribute | AFCAT 01/2027 |
|---|---|
| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 300 |
| Duration | 120 minutes (2 hours) |
| Marking | Plus 3 correct, minus 1 wrong, 0 unattempted |
| Sectional lock | None, one 120 minute window, any order |
The missing sectional lock is this paper's most exploitable feature: all 100 questions sit in one 120 minute window, answerable in any order. The notification puts Numerical Ability at matriculation level and other subjects at graduation level, so the smallest section is also the easiest.
IAF does not fix the per section count. Our analysis of memory based papers, which also sets the split in the Quiz4Exam AFCAT full mock series, gives this distribution.
| Section | Typical questions | Our mock split |
|---|---|---|
| Reasoning and Military Aptitude | about 30 to 35 | 35 |
| Verbal Ability in English | about 25 to 30 | 25 |
| General Awareness | about 20 to 25 | 25 |
| Numerical Ability | about 15 to 18 | 15 |
Roughly 8 to 12 Reasoning questions are spatial and non-verbal, and General Awareness has a defence tilt; the topic breakdown is in our AFCAT syllabus and exam pattern guide. One flag for technical applicants: the Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT), required in earlier cycles, is not mentioned anywhere in this notification.
How do you apply on afcat.edcil.co.in, and what is the fee?
Applications are online only, at afcat.edcil.co.in, from 12 November 2026 at 1100 hrs to 11 December 2026 at 2330 hrs. The fee is Rs 550 plus 18 per cent GST, non refundable, and does not apply to NCC Special Entry or GATE Score Entry candidates.
Register with a working email id, fill the form, upload the photo, signature and thumb impression, check it under Preview, then pay by net banking, card or UPI. Download the e admit card from 27 January 2027 at 1100 hrs and carry a colour printout.
What happens after the AFCAT exam: answer key, AFSB and merit?
The question paper, the answer key and the candidate's own response sheet open in the candidate login during the objection window, from 1000 hrs on 3 February 2027 to 1000 hrs on 5 February 2027. Qualified candidates then face an Air Force Selection Board (AFSB), a medical, and the merit list.
That window explains something no coaching site states plainly: the IAF publishes no public archive of AFCAT papers with answer keys. The key and the response sheet appear only inside the candidate's own login, for those two days, and no RTI is entertained for what was made available there. Every AFCAT previous year paper sold elsewhere is therefore a memory based reconstruction, which is why our question bank is originally authored.
AFSB testing runs at one of five centres (Dehradun, Mysuru, Gandhinagar, Varanasi, Guwahati). Stage 1 is an Officer Intelligence Rating and Picture Perception screening that sends failures home on day one; Stage 2 is the psychological test, group testing and interview, plus the Computerised Pilot Selection System for Flying.
With eleven weeks left, let the paper set the plan: lock the matric level Numerical Ability marks first, then the largest section, then full mocks under the real 120 minute no lock condition. Our AFCAT 2027 strategy guide sets it out week by week.
When is the AFCAT 2027 exam date?
The AFCAT 01/2027 online exam is on 31 January 2027, a Sunday, per the Indian Air Force notification released on 11 November 2026. Admit card download opens on 27 January 2027 at 1100 hrs on afcat.edcil.co.in, and the e admit card is also sent to the registered email id.
What is the last date to apply for AFCAT 01/2027?
The last date is 11 December 2026 at 2330 hrs. The window opened on 12 November 2026 at 1100 hrs and applications are accepted only at afcat.edcil.co.in. There is no correction window: once the fee is paid, the only remedy is to register afresh with a different email id, and the earlier fee is not refunded.
What is the eligibility for AFCAT 2027?
Candidates must be Indian citizens and unmarried when the course begins. Flying applicants must be 20 to 24 years as on 01 January 2028, born between 02 January 2004 and 01 January 2008. Ground Duty applicants must be 20 to 26 years, born between 02 January 2002 and 01 January 2008. Flying needs Mathematics and Physics at 10+2 plus a three year graduation or a four year BE or B Tech.
How many vacancies are there in AFCAT 2027?
The notification prints no total, only a branch and gender wise table that it calls tentative and subject to change without notice. Those rows add up to 284 posts, a sum we computed, covering Flying, Ground Duty Technical AE(L) and AE(M), Weapon Systems, Administration, Logistics, Accounts, Education, Meteorology and GATE Score entry.
Is there negative marking in AFCAT 2027?
Yes. Every correct answer earns plus 3 marks and every wrong answer loses 1 mark, with nothing deducted for a question left blank. The paper carries 100 questions for 300 marks in 120 minutes, online and in English only, and there is no sectional lock, so questions can be attempted in any order.
