It is the second stage of the KAS exam. Candidates who qualify the preliminary examination are eligible for this stage.

The Mains examination shall consist of the following papers:‐

Paper I - General English (300 marks)

Paper II - Essay (150 marks)

Paper III & IV - General Studies (300 marks each)

Papers V, VI, VII & VIII - Any Two Optional Subjects selected from the list of the specified subjects.

The main Examination is intended to assess the overall intellectual traits and depth of understanding of candidates rather than merely the range of their information and memory.
Sufficient choice of questions would be allowed to the candidates in the question papers.
The scope of the syllabus for the optional subject papers for the examination is broadly of the honours degree level i.e. a level higher than the bachelor's degree and lower than the Masters Degree. In the case of Engineering and law, the level corresponds to the bachelor's degree.