SSC Exams 2026-27: CGL, CHSL, MTS, GD and CPO Compared, with the Exam Calendar and GK Preparation

SSC at a glance

The Staff Selection Commission works under the Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Government of India. Its charter on ssc.gov.in is recruitment to Group "B" posts up to a set pay ceiling and to all non-technical Group "C" posts in the Ministries and Departments of the Government of India and their attached and subordinate offices, except posts specifically exempted. It also recruits for other bodies by arrangement: the Constable (GD) examination is held under a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Commission. A Chairman heads the Commission, assisted by two Members. Its headquarters is at the CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

The five SSC exams covered on GK24

Each row follows the latest notice of that exam: CGL 2026 (21 May 2026), CHSL 2026 (7 September 2026), MTS 2025 (26 June 2025, as the 2026 notice has not appeared), GD 2026 (1 December 2025) and CPO 2026 (10 September 2026). The Commission also holds the Junior Engineer, Stenographer, Selection Post and Combined Hindi Translators examinations.

Regional offices

Nine regional offices, each under a Regional Director, run the exams in their States. The CPO 2026 notice asks for three exam centres within one region, and MTS vacancies are reported State/UT-wise under these offices.

Which SSC exam should you take?

Start with your highest qualification and your age on the crucial date, then add any physical test you are ready for. Each notice sets a minimum, so a graduate who fits the age band can also sit CHSL, MTS or GD.

Age, relaxation and physical standards

The crucial date for age is 1 August for CGL, CHSL, MTS and CPO, and 1 January for GD. All five relax the upper limit by 5 years for SC and ST and by 3 years for OBC candidates. CGL, CHSL and MTS give PwBD candidates 10 years (13 for OBC and 15 for SC/ST). Persons with disabilities cannot apply for GD. GD and CPO add a physical test and a detailed medical examination after the written paper. The race is qualifying in both and carries no marks.

Pay and vacancies

Quick picks (GK24 guidance)

• 10th pass, 18 to 23: prepare for GD and MTS together; both test General Awareness at Class 10 level.
• 12th pass, up to 27: make CHSL the main exam and add MTS or GD if your age fits.
• Graduate, 20 to 25 and fit: pair CGL with CPO; CGL Tier-I and CPO Paper-I test the same four subjects.
• Graduate over 25: CGL, with bands up to 27, 30 or 32 by post, and CHSL up to 27.

How SSC exams are structured

• Application. Every application goes through One Time Registration (OTR) on ssc.gov.in or the mySSC app. The fee is ₹100; women, SC, ST and Ex-Servicemen pay none, and PwBD candidates too in CGL, CHSL and MTS. Multiple applications for one exam are all rejected.
• Computer Based Examination. Every written paper is an objective multiple-choice test on a computer. CGL and CPO are set in English and Hindi; CHSL, MTS and GD also in 13 regional languages. English language parts are in English only.
• Normalisation. Marks of papers held in several shifts are normalised by the procedure the Commission published on 2 June 2025.
• Qualifying marks. 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS and 20% for others, in each tier or paper.
• Answer keys. Tentative keys go online after each exam. A challenge costs ₹100 per question in CGL and MTS and ₹50 in CHSL, GD and CPO.
• Skill and physical tests. They are qualifying everywhere: CGL's Data Entry Speed Test, CHSL's skill or typing test, and the PET/PST of GD, CPO and Havaldar.

What decides the final merit

The NCC bonus in GD and CPO is 5%, 3% or 2% of the maximum marks for a 'C', 'B' or 'A' certificate.

Negative marking

A blank costs nothing in any of them. CGL and CHSL Tier-I and CPO Paper-I give each section a 15-minute timer. MTS runs two 45-minute sessions. GD gives 60 minutes for 80 questions.

SSC exam calendar 2026-27

The Commission published its Tentative Calendar of Examinations for 2026-27 on 8 January 2026. No revised calendar had appeared on its notice board by 2 November 2026. The calendar gives months, not dates, and marks every exam as tentative. A later notice of the Commission overrides it, and the last column says what each notice fixed.

The notices published so far came later than the calendar said: CGL by about two months, CPO by about four and CHSL by about five. So the calendar's CHSL window of July to September 2026 passed without a Tier-I date, and the Commission's Important Notice of 1 October 2026 has now proposed Tier-I for 30 November to 31 December 2026 and the CPO CBE for 20 to 28 November 2026, which its corrigendum of 26 October 2026 revised to 23 to 28 November 2026, within the calendar's October-November window. Until the MTS 2026 and GD 2027 notices appear, the calendar is the only guide to them.

Cycles already held

• GD Constable 2026: the CBE was held from 27 April to 31 May 2026, as the Commission's notice of 15 June 2026 records. Its notice of 2 January 2026 had tentatively named 23 February 2026. The Commission declared the CBE result on 12 October 2026, provisionally shortlisting candidates for the PET/PST the CAPFs will conduct; no date for that stage has been announced.
• MTS and Havaldar 2025: the CBE was held from 4 to 20 February 2026, and CBIC set the Havaldar PET/PST for 24 to 31 August 2026. The first round of allocation had not been declared by 2 November 2026.

Among the five, CGL 2026 Tier-I was held to 30 October 2026; next is the CPO Paper-I window of 23 to 28 November 2026, revised by the corrigendum of 26 October 2026, and then the CHSL Tier-I window of 30 November to 31 December 2026 proposed by the notice of 1 October 2026. Admission certificates come two or three days before each exam date.

General Awareness in SSC exams

General Awareness is the one subject all five exams share, and the notices describe it in almost the same words.

Read together, the lists come down to eight areas: current events, History, Culture, Geography, the Economy, Polity and the Constitution, everyday Science, and Environment and Sports for MTS and GD. What changes between exams is the level.

Where each area is on GK24 (GK24 guidance)

Each exam's own page adds its previous-year questions, tagged with the paper they came from. In GK24's reading of past SSC papers, static GK fills most questions, led by Polity, History, Geography, the Economy and Science. Current affairs come mostly from the 6 to 12 months before the exam, often tied to a static fact.

How to prepare for SSC with GK24

This plan is GK24's guidance, not part of any notice. It gives General Awareness about an hour a day beside Mathematics, Reasoning and English.

Adjust the plan to your exam

• MTS and GD: read at Class 10 depth and add Sports for GD. Aim for GD's 20 GK questions in about 10 minutes and MTS's 25 in about 20.
• CHSL: add a Computer note each week for Tier-II, and start typing practice early.
• CGL: General Awareness carries 75 Tier-II marks that count in the final merit. Audit and Accounts Officer aspirants add finance topics for Paper-III.
• CPO: General Awareness now counts in Paper-II too. Train for the PET from the day you apply.

Rules for every SSC exam

• Cover the 12 months of current affairs before your exam and revise each month when it ends.
• Practise under the real timer: 25 questions in 15 minutes for CGL, CHSL and CPO.
• Leave what you do not know; a wrong answer costs up to 1 mark, a blank nothing.
• Trust a date only once the Commission's notice fixes it.