UPSC EPFO Previous Year Papers: Download PDF

Thinking about the UPSC EPFO 2025 exam? Whether you’re starting your preparation or coming back stronger after a previous attempt, the UPSC EPFO previous year paper can be your best starting point.

• They show you what the exam truly demands.
• What kind of questions are asked?
• How difficult were UPSC EPFO previous year questions (PYQs)?
• And which topics matter the most?

But here’s the problem. 

Most aspirants waste hours digging through scattered UPSC EPFO previous year paper PDFs and unreliable links.

This article changes that.

We’ve compiled UPSC EPFO previous year papers in one place. We will also discuss why these UPSC EPFO PYQs matter, where to find them, which topics are most important, and what insights they provide.

Where can you get UPSC EPFO Previous Year Papers?

The simplest way to understand the UPSC EPFO exam is to go straight to its UPSC EPFO previous year question papers.

But finding all the UPSC EPFO PYQs in one place can be hectic.

Scattered PDFs, outdated links, and missing answer keys only waste your time and energy. Even on the official UPSC website, UPSC EPFO previous year papers are not available. That’s why we’ve done the hard work for you.

Download the EduTap’s free UPSC EPFO previous year paper ebook by filling out the form below to find all the UPSC EPFO PYQs of both EO/AO and APFC at one place, along with solutions.

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After you download the UPSC EPFO previous year question papers, refer to the articles in the table below for UPSC EPFO answer key for different years. 

Benefits of Solving UPSC EPFO Previous Year Papers

Most aspirants commit the mistake of attempting the UPSC EPFO PYQs only after completing the UPSC EPFO. 

If you’re serious about cracking EPFO, PYQs should be your first stop, not the last.

Here’s why:

1. Understand the Exam Pattern

Skip the confusion. PYQs show you exactly what UPSC asks: how many questions from which subjects, what mix of static vs current, and how they frame options.

Understand the UPSC EPFO Pattern for the EO/AO and APFC exams.

2. Spot High-Weightage Topics

Not all topics are equal. When you go through past papers, you’ll notice patterns. Some topics appear almost every year. That’s your cue to prioritize smartly.

3. Gauge the Difficulty Level

Is the paper concept-based? Fact-heavy? Does it test logic or memory? PYQs give you the real picture, so you can prepare with the right mindset.

4. Sharpen Your Question-Solving Skills

It’s not just what you know. It’s how you apply it in a limited time. Practicing PYQs helps you improve speed, accuracy, and decision-making under pressure.

5. Boost Your Confidence 

Solving actual papers builds familiarity. And familiarity reduces fear. If you’re a repeater, analyzing where you went wrong in the previous attempt can help you bounce back stronger.

6. Know What to Focus on First

UPSC EPFO has a wide syllabus. UPSC EPFO PYQs help you cut through the noise. They tell you what matters and what doesn’t.

UPSC EPFO Previous Year Paper Analysis: What has been the Difficulty Level of both EO/AO and APFC?

One question you must be having before committing to the UPSC EPFO exam is

“How tough is the exam, really?”

Let’s break down the difficulty level based on actual EO/AO and APFC papers from recent years.

UPSC EPFO EO/AO

In the past 10 years, the UPSC EPFO EO/AO exam has been held in 2017, 2021, and 2023. Let us look at the difficulty level of UPSC EPFO EO/AO previous year papers from these 3 years. 

Not every subject felt the same across all three years.

Some subjects were straightforward. Others came with surprises.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the subject-wise difficulty of the UPSC EPFO EO/AO previous year papers. 

UPSC EPFO APFC

In the past 10 years, the UPSC EPFO APFC exam has been conducted in 2015 and 2023.

Let’s break down the difficulty level of the UPSC EPFO APFC previous year papers from these two years.

As in EO/AO, subjects in UPSC EPFO APFC previous year papers varied as per difficulty, too. 

Below is the table where we have broken down the subject-wise difficulty level in UPSC EPFO APFC previous year papers. 

UPSC EPFO PYQ Analysis: What has been the Subject Wise Weightage in EO/AO and APFC? 

Now that you know the difficulty level, let’s talk about what actually shows up in the exam, in terms of weightage.

Because here’s the thing:

Not every subject carries the same weight.

And if you’re short on time (which most aspirants are), you need to know what to focus on first.

Let’s break it down for both EO/AO and APFC, based on the actual number of questions asked in each paper.

UPSC EPFO EO/AO

So, what actually shows up in the UPSC EPFO EO/AO paper?

Let’s break down the UPSC EPFO EO/AO previous year paper by subject to see how much weightage each subject held. 

This will help you focus on what matters most, especially if you’re just starting out or running short on time.

UPSC EPFO APFC

The UPSC EPFO APFC previous year question papers covered a wider syllabus than EO/AO, but not every subject got equal attention. 

If you’re planning your prep smartly, knowing this breakdown can help you prioritize high-weightage areas first.

Here’s the subject-wise weightage of the UPSC EPFO APFC previous year paper

UPSC EPFO High-Weightage Topics for 2025: Based on Previous Year Papers

So now that you’ve seen which subjects matter the most, the next logical question is:

“What are the most important topics within those subjects?”

Because not everything within a high-weightage subject is equally important.

Here’s a topic-wise breakdown for each subject based on recurring patterns from UPSC EPFO previous year paper, for both EO/AO and APFC, so you can prepare smart, not just hard.

Quantitative Aptitude

Here are the important topics of quantitative aptitude for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Simplification
• Number series
• Number system
• Percentage
• Ratio and proportion
• Mensuration
• Profit and loss
• Simple and compound interest
• Time and work
• Time and distance

Reasoning Ability

Here are the important topics of reasoning ability for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Coding decoding
• Blood relation
• Direction sense

General English

Here are the important topics of general English for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Tenses
• Preposition
• Complex Preposition
• Advance Verbs
• Phrasal Verbs
• Sentence Improvement
• Reading Comprehension
• Synonyms & Antonyms
• Idioms & Phrases + One Word Substitution

Current Affairs

Here are the important topics of current affairs for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Government Schemes
• Reports/Surveys
• National News
• Awards and Honors
• Sports
• Defence News
• Persons in News
• Science and Technology
• Days in News
• Terms in News

Indian Polity

Here are the important topics of Indian polity and governance and constitution of India for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Regulating Act of 1773
• Indian Council Act of 1909
• Government of India Act of 1919 and 1935
• Features of Indian Constitution 
• Preamble of Indian Constitution 
• Fundamental Rights 
• Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSPs)
• Emergency in India
• President of India and Governor of State
• Parliament of India 
• Supreme Court of India
• Finance Commission and Its Recommendations
• National Human Right Commission Election Commission
• Committees of Electoral Reforms
• Panchayati Raj Institution 
• Urban Local Government
• Scheduled and Tribal Areas

Indian Economy

Here are the important topics of Indian economy for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Law of demand and law of supply
• Movement and shift in the demand curve and supply curve
• Types of market structure
• Elasticity of demand – price elasticity, cross elasticity, and income elasticity
• National income and related aggregates 
• Concept of inclusive growth, growth versus development, real GDP, nominal GDP, and GDP deflator
• Meaning and types of poverty
• Meaning and types of unemployment
• Five year plans
• Economic reforms since 1991  
• Instruments of monetary policy – quantitative tools and qualitative tools
• Monetary policy committee (MPC)
• Components of budget – types of receipts and expenditure
• Types of government deficit with significance
• Meaning, tools, and types of fiscal policy
• Inflation and measurement of inflation – wholesale price index and consumer price index 
• All about IMF and world bank 
• All about WTO
• Regional economic cooperation
• Meaning and components of balance of payments – current account and capital account
• Determination of exchange rate – flexible, fixed and managed floating exchange rate
• Industrial performance – situation and growth of indian industries since independence
• Special economic zones

General Science

Here are the important topics of general science for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Kinematics including distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration
• Dynamics and Newton’s laws of motion
• Electricity
• Light
• Magnetism
• Elements, compounds, and mixtures
• Atoms and molecules
• Physical and chemical changes
• Chemistry in daily life
• Metals and non-metals
• Acids and bases
• Food components
• Health and diseases
• Cells and tissues
• Organ systems – digestive system, skeletal system, muscular system, respiratory system, circulatory system and reproductive system
• Biotechnology
• Space technology 
• Information and nano technology

Stay updated with the latest UPSC EPFO notification for the EO/AO and APFC exams.

Indian Freedom Struggle

Here are the important topics of Indian freedom struggle for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Indian national congress
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Important policies & laws by British
• Important peasant and tribal uprisings
• Major social reformers
• Revolutionary leaders
• Important battles

Computer Basics

Here are the important topics of the basics of computer applications for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• History and generation of computers 
• Computer organization 
• Computer memory 
• Computer hardware 
• Computer software 
• Operating system 
• Computer network 
• Number system 
• Microsoft office 
• Database management system 
• Computer security 
• Miscellaneous topics 

Labor Laws

Here are the important topics of industrial relation, labor laws, and labor codes for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Industrial Relations
  • Industrial relations and the constitution of India
  • National commission on labour
  • Theoretical perspectives of industrial relations
  • Conditions influencing an employee’s decision to join trade unions
  • Robert hoxie’s trade unionism
  • Types of trade union
  • Collective bargaining
  • Industrial discipline
  • Methods of discovering grievances
  • Strikes
  • Settlement of industrial disputes
  • Labour welfare
  • Wages
  • Workers’ participation in management
  • International labour organisation (ILO) and philadelphia declaration
  • Theories of accidents
  • Different concepts of labour
  • Union security measures/agreements

• Labor Laws
  • Payment of wages act, 1936
  • Minimum wages act, 1948
  • Industrial employment (standing orders) act, 1946
  • Trade unions act, 1926
  • Factories act, 1948
  • Industrial disputes act, 1947
  • The child and adolescent labour (prohibition and regulation) act, 1986
  • Inter-state migrant workmen (regulation of employment and conditions of service) act, 1979
  • Contract labour (regulation and abolition) act, 1970
  • Payment of bonus act, 1965
  • Building and other construction workers (regulation of employment and conditions of service) act, 1996
  • Mines act, 1952

• Labor Codes 
  • The code on social security, 2020
  • The code on wages, 2019
  • The industrial relations code, 2020
  • The occupational safety, health, and working conditions code, 2020

Social Security

Here are the important topics of social security for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Social security schemes
• Employees compensation act, 1923
• Employees’ state insurance act, 1948
• Employees’ provident funds and miscellaneous provisions act, 1952
• Maternity benefit act, 1961
• Payment of gratuity act, 1972
• Unorganized workers social security act, 2008

Accounting Principles

Here are the important topics of general accounting principles for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Basics of accounting
• Preparation of financial statements
• Ratio analysis
• Cash flow statement
• Accounting for share capital transactions
• Accounting for bonus shares and rights shares
• Buyback of securities
• Accounting standard for inventories
• Accounting standard for revenue recognition
• Accounting standard for property, plant and equipment
• Accounting standard for investments
• Preparation and presentation of company final accounts
• Accounting for not-for-profit organisation

Important Note: The important topics outlined above are for the UPSC EPFO EO/AO and APFC exams. However, the UPSC EPFO syllabus for the APFC exam includes some additional subjects, important topics of those subjects are mentioned below.

Auditing

Here are the important topics of auditing for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Nature, objective, and scope of auditing
• Audit strategy, audit planning, and audit programme
• Risk assessment and internal control
• Vouching and verification/audit of items of financial items
• Company audit
• Auditor’s report
• Audit of different types of entities
• Classification of audit

Insurance

Here are the important topics of insurance for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Basics, history, and features related to the insurance
• Fundamental principles governing insurance contract 
• Types and classification of insurance 
• Difference between life and general insurance 
• Insurance sector in India 
• Emerging concepts and products in the insurance sector

Get familiar with the latest UPSC EPFO cut off for the EO/AO and APFC exams to understand the difficulty level and set realistic goals.

Population & Globalization

Here are the important topics of population, development, and globalization for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Growth of population
• Characteristics of population
• Concept of human development
• Information in the latest human development report by UNDP
• Impact of globalisation

Indian Culture

Here are the important topics of Indian culture and heritage for the UPSC EPFO exam.

• Buddhism & Jainism
• Caves and temples in India
• Indian dance styles
• Indian scriptures
• UNESCO heritage
• Archaeology in India
• Important dynasties in India
• Bhakti movement

Parting Advice

Before you dive into bulky books or join another Telegram group, take a step back and look at what the exam has asked in the past. You’ll start noticing patterns. Some topics show up again and again, while others barely appear.

What you need is direction, not just content. UPSC EPFO PYQs give you that. They keep you grounded in reality. 

No matter how many fancy strategy videos you watch, if you’re not syncing your prep with what UPSC asks, you’re wasting time.

So don’t just “refer” to PYQs. Live in them. Use them to fine-tune your study plan, to test what you’re retaining, and most importantly, to stay aligned with the exam’s core demands. All the Best!