KSRP Police Constable Recruitment 2026: 2314 Posts, Apply Online

The Karnataka State Police Department has thrown open one of the state's biggest uniformed-job openings of the year, inviting online applications for 2,314 Police Constable posts through two notifications dated 10 July 2026. The drive is being conducted end-to-end by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), and it packs three separate cadres into a single recruitment window — Special Reserve Police Constable (KSRP) at the state level, and a Kalyana Karnataka local-cadre block covering KSRP, Police Constable (KSISF), and Special Reserve Police Constable (IRB) under Article 371(J) of the Constitution.

For lakhs of Karnataka aspirants who have cleared 2nd PUC or an equivalent qualification, this is a rare chance at a permanent government job with a starting pay scale of ₹37,500–₹76,100 per month. The application window is live right now — it opened on 13 July 2026 and closes on 10 August 2026, with the fee-payment deadline extending one extra day to 11 August 2026. The single written examination for all cadres is scheduled for 20 September 2026, so candidates have roughly two months to lock in their forms and begin serious physical and written preparation.

In News: KSRP Recruitment 2026 Highlights

• 2,314 constable vacancies across KSRP, KSISF and IRB — applications open now.

• Window: 13 July → 10 August 2026 (fee till 11 August 2026); written exam 20 September 2026.

• One combined application allowed for the three Kalyana Karnataka cadres, with a small extra fee per additional post.

• Written exam is OMR-based, 100 marks, 90 minutes, with negative marking.

• Not the same as the separate KSP Civil Police Constable drive (3,991 posts).

Important Dates at a Glance

Timing is everything in a two-month window, so mark these before anything else:

Since the three Kalyana Karnataka cadres share a single written paper, KEA will publish separate mark sheets for each post category, so your performance is judged against the right pool.

Vacancy Details: Where the 2,314 Posts Sit

The lion's share of the recruitment — 1,455 posts — falls under the state-wide Special Reserve Police Constable (KSRP) cadre, while the remaining 859 posts are reserved for the Kalyana Karnataka region and split across KSRP, KSISF and IRB. These vacancies are distributed across several KSRP battalions located in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Hassan and Tumakuru, and aspirants can check the battalion-wise breakup in the notification PDF before setting their preferences. The gender-wise split is as follows:

Application Fee: What You'll Actually Pay

One detail that trips up first-time applicants — and that many quick-copy recruitment pages leave out — is the fee structure. General and Category 2A/2B/3A/3B candidates pay ₹750, while SC/ST/Category-1 and Ex-servicemen candidates pay a reduced ₹500, and the amount is payable online only through net banking, debit/credit card, UPI or wallet. If you're applying for the Kalyana Karnataka posts, the fee is charged for the first post you select and an additional ₹100 is added for each extra post or category you choose within the same combined application. Fees, once paid, are not refunded under any circumstances, so double-check your category before you hit pay.

Eligibility Criteria

To be in the running, you must be an Indian citizen who is mentally and physically fit, with no defect that would interfere with police duty. Candidates applying for the Kalyana Karnataka local-cadre posts (KSRP, KSISF, IRB) additionally need a valid local candidature certificate issued under the Karnataka Public Employment (Reservation for Local Candidates in Hyderabad-Karnataka Region) Rules, 2013, which flows from Article 371(J). There's also a marital-status clause worth noting: a woman with more than one living spouse, or a man married to a woman who already has a living husband, is not eligible unless the Government has granted prior permission.

Educational Qualification

The baseline requirement is a pass in 2nd PUC or an equivalent qualification, and Government Order No. 81 dated 27.02.2018 spells out what counts as equivalent — Class 12 from CBSE or ICSE, Class 12 from other state boards, higher-secondary certificates from NIOS, or a one-year vocational/ITI course after SSLC combined with a PUC subject through NIOS. Two later orders widen this further: private study courses qualify only if the concerned university approved them at admission and the equivalence checks out against UGC records (GO dated 06.08.2021), and a three-year diploma pursued after SSLC from a recognised technical institution is treated as equal to PUC (GO dated 30.09.2021).

Two conditions catch people out. First, the qualification must be obtained on or before the last application date — a result declared later won't count. Second, every candidate must also hold a Kannada language qualification up to at least the 12th/PUC level, unless they qualify for an exemption. Diploma-holders from pre-2015 institutions who never studied Kannada will need to clear the KEA Kannada language qualifying exam separately.

Age Limit

The minimum age is 18 years for everyone. On the upper end, the limits already fold in a five-year relaxation granted under GO No. 262 dated 29.01.2026, and age is reckoned as on the last application date, 10 August 2026:

Ex-servicemen get a further relaxation equal to their period of military service plus three additional years.

Physical Standards (PST) and Endurance Test (PET)

After the written exam, shortlisted candidates face two qualifying physical rounds. The Physical Standard Test (PST) verifies minimum height, chest (with expansion, for male candidates) and weight, while the Physical Endurance Test (PET) typically covers a long race, long/high jump and shot put. Both are pass-or-fail — you don't earn merit marks here, you simply clear the bar or you're out — and candidates are called for PST/PET at a 1:5 ratio based on written-exam marks, computed category-wise and battalion-wise. Because the exact height, chest and timing figures vary by gender and category and are laid out precisely in the notification PDF, verify them there rather than relying on numbers from older Karnataka police drives. The practical takeaway for serious aspirants: start running and chest-expansion training the day you submit your form, because the shortlist ratio is high and there's no time to build fitness once the admit card lands.

Selection Process and Exam Pattern

Selection moves through five stages — Written Exam, PST, PET, Medical Examination, and the Final Merit List. The written test is an offline OMR-based objective paper of 100 questions worth 100 marks, to be finished in 90 minutes, drawing on General Studies and Mental Ability, and it carries a penalty of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer, so blind guessing hurts. Your place on the final merit list is decided primarily by written-exam performance, provided you clear the physical and medical stages, which means the written paper is where the recruitment is genuinely won.

How to Apply for KSRP Constable Recruitment 2026

The entire process is online through the KEA portal at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea — there is no offline or postal route. Head to the portal, open the active link for KSRP/KSISF/IRB Constable Recruitment 2026-27 (Notification 03 or 07), register, and fill in your personal, educational and category details carefully. Upload a scanned photograph in JPEG format sized 50 KB–200 KB and a signature in JPEG format sized 50 KB–70 KB, then pay the applicable fee online. Preview every field before submitting, because no corrections are permitted once the form is finalised. Submit on or before 10 August 2026, complete the fee payment by 11 August 2026, and download a printout for your records. If you're targeting the Kalyana Karnataka posts, remember you can file a single combined application for KSRP, KSISF and IRB and simply pay the extra ₹100 per additional post.

KSRP (2,314 Posts) vs KSP Civil Constable (3,991 Posts): Clearing the Confusion

A lot of aspirants are searching both drives in the same breath, so here's the distinction most pages skip. This recruitment is the KSRP/KSISF/IRB drive for 2,314 Special Reserve posts. Running alongside it is an entirely separate KSP Civil Police Constable recruitment for 3,991 posts, spread across the Mikkilida/Okkalida (general/residual) cadre and the Kalyana Karnataka cadre under Article 371-J, with its own notification, exam pattern and dates. Both are hosted on the KEA portal, but they are two different recruitments — so read each notification on its own and apply to whichever matches your eligibility and career preference. Applying to one does not enter you into the other.