One needs to clear the HPAS Exam to join the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services. The examination is conducted once a year. The notification of this exam is published either in the month of January or February. The exam is then conducted in either June or July. It depends on the organization that conducts the HPAS exam.

The exam is held in three phases:-

1) PRELIMINARY EXAM
2) MAINS EXAM
3) INTERVIEW

Once the candidate has cleared all the above 3 phases, a merit list is prepared by adding the marks obtained in the Mains and the Interview respectively. The preliminary exam is only qualifying in nature. One can score qualifying marks and sit in MAINS EXAM.