If you sat the UPSSSC PET 2026, the wait for the first real answer is over. The Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission released the provisional answer key on 2 November 2026, and with it, you can finally stop guessing and start calculating. Not roughly — properly, question by question, shift by shift.
Here’s the thing most candidates get wrong at this stage: they download the first PDF they find and start ticking answers. Don’t. PET 2026 ran on three different days in two shifts each day, and every shift had its own paper. Match your date, your shift and your booklet set first, or your “score” will be fiction.
UPSSSC PET Answer Key 2026 at a Glance
| Conducting body | Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UPSSSC) |
| Exam | Preliminary Eligibility Test (PET) 2026, Advt. No. 16-Exam/2026 |
| Exam dates | 25 October, 30 October and 1 November 2026 |
| Answer key released | 2 November 2026 |
| Key type | Provisional, shift-wise, with response sheet |
| Exam scale | 1,372 centres across 60 districts; about 24.36 lakh candidates |
| Official website | upsssc.gov.in |
Which Key Is Yours? The Six Shift Papers
PET 2026 ran in two shifts a day — morning 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon and afternoon 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM — so six separate keys were published:
| 25 October 2026, Shift 1 | Morning session key |
| 25 October 2026, Shift 2 | Afternoon session key |
| 30 October 2026, Shift 1 | Morning session key |
| 30 October 2026, Shift 2 | Afternoon session key |
| 1 November 2026, Shift 1 | Morning session key |
| 1 November 2026, Shift 2 | Afternoon session key |
Open the notice on the UPSSSC Notice Board, pick your date and shift, and check the question IDs against your own set. Booklet codes matter here — two candidates in the same shift can still hold different question orders.
How to Download the PET Answer Key
- Go to the official UPSSSC website, upsssc.gov.in.
- Open the Notice Board or Latest Updates section on the homepage.
- Find the notice titled UPSSSC PET Answer Key 2026 (Advt. 16-Exam/2026).
- Select your exam date, shift and booklet set, and download the PDF.
- Pull up your response sheet alongside it and work through the paper question by question.
Work Out Your Expected Score — the Right Way
PET carries 100 questions for 100 marks. Each correct answer earns 1 mark, each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks, and questions you left blank cost nothing. So:
Expected score = (correct answers × 1) − (wrong answers × 0.25)
Two warnings before you celebrate or panic. First, this is a raw score, not your final PET score — because PET ran across multiple shifts, UPSSSC normalises scores for differences in paper difficulty before declaring results. Second, this is a provisional key. Answers can change after objections are reviewed, so treat any borderline question as genuinely uncertain until the final key arrives.
Found an Answer You Think Is Wrong? Object — With Proof
The key is provisional precisely so candidates can challenge it. If you believe an answer is wrong, raise your objection through the candidate login on the official portal, picking the exact question ID and giving a short, clear justification. Back it with credible evidence — a textbook page or an official source beats a coaching institute’s PDF every time. Read the objection notice on upsssc.gov.in for the exact window and fee before you submit, and save the acknowledgement receipt. An objection filed without checking the notice is the easiest way to waste a fee.
And a word of caution: ignore unofficial keys doing the rounds on WhatsApp and Telegram, especially any that ask you to log in, install an app or pay through UPI. UPSSSC never asks for payments or passwords that way. If it isn’t on upsssc.gov.in, treat it as gossip.
Why This Key Matters Beyond One Score
PET is not a job exam — it’s the eligibility gateway for Group B and Group C posts in Uttar Pradesh government departments. Your PET score is what lets you apply for the mains examinations of individual recruitments that follow, and different posts set different PET cut-offs. That’s why an honest estimate now matters: it tells you which upcoming mains exams are realistic targets and which ones would need a much stronger showing next time. Candidates who treat PET as a formality and only check the final result often discover too late that they missed a mains application window they were actually eligible for.
What Happens Next
Once the objection window closes, UPSSSC’s experts review every challenge and publish the final answer key. Only then do normalised scorecards follow, and only then does the PET eligibility result take shape. PET itself isn’t a job — it’s the gateway. Your PET score decides which Group B and Group C recruitments you can apply for next, so a few marks here genuinely change which doors open.
For now, download the right key, calculate honestly, and object where you have real evidence. That’s the whole job this week.
Important Links
| Download PET Answer Key 2026 | upsssc.gov.in — Notice Board |
| UPSSSC official website | upsssc.gov.in |
| More answer keys on this site | Answer Key updates |
| Our earlier PET coverage | UPSSSC PET Admit Card 2026 |
FAQs
When was the UPSSSC PET 2026 answer key released?
On 2 November 2026, on the official UPSSSC website, upsssc.gov.in.
Is this the final answer key?
No. This is the provisional key. Candidates can raise objections, and UPSSSC will publish a final key after reviewing them.
How many shifts did PET 2026 have?
Six — two shifts each on 25 October, 30 October and 1 November 2026. Download the key matching your exact date and shift.
What is the PET marking scheme?
One mark per correct answer, minus 0.25 per wrong answer, and no deduction for unattempted questions. The paper totals 100 marks.
Will my raw score equal my final PET score?
Not necessarily. Scores are normalised across shifts for difficulty differences before results are declared, so the raw total is an estimate, not the final figure.
