SSC CGL 2026: Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates and Preparation

SSC CGL at a glance

These facts are as per the SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026 notice (F. No. HQ-C11018/1/2026-C-1) published on 21 May 2026, and the Commission's later notices of 23 June, 12 September, 21 September and 24 September 2026.

Selection process

1. Online application on ssc.gov.in through One Time Registration (OTR). For CGL 2026 the window was 21 May to 22 June 2026, and the Commission reopened it from 23 to 25 June 2026 by its notice of 23 June 2026.
2. Tier-I, a one-hour Computer Based Examination. It is a screening stage: candidates are shortlisted category-wise for Tier-II on Tier-I marks, with separate cut-offs for Junior Statistical Officer and Statistical Investigator Grade-II, for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer, and for all other posts.
3. Tier-II Paper-I for every shortlisted candidate. Its four sections run in two sessions on one day. A candidate must qualify each section separately; Section-III (Computer Knowledge Test) and Section-IV (Data Entry Speed Test) are qualifying only.
4. Tier-II Paper-II (Statistics) for Junior Statistical Officer and Statistical Investigator Grade-II candidates, and Paper-III (General Studies: Finance and Economics) for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer candidates.
5. Post preference through an online option form before the result. A candidate is not considered for any post he or she did not opt for, and options once submitted are final.
6. Final merit is prepared on Tier-II performance only. For most posts it is the aggregate of Section-I and Section-II of Paper-I, subject to qualifying Sections III and IV. Tier-I marks do not count in the final merit.
7. Document Verification by the user department, followed by physical and medical tests for posts that prescribe them (Inspector posts in CBIC, Sub-Inspector in CBI, NIA, NCB and CBN, and a few others).

Minimum qualifying marks in Tier-I and in each objective section or paper of Tier-II are 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS and 20% for all other categories. Marks of papers held in multiple shifts are normalised using the procedure the Commission published on 2 June 2025. Tentative answer keys are released after each exam and can be challenged online at ₹100 per question.

Exam pattern

Tier-I (Computer Based Examination)

Each section has its own 15-minute timer. Every wrong answer costs 0.50 mark. Questions in Parts A, B and D are of graduation level; Part C is of Class 10 level. Scribe-eligible candidates get 1 hour 20 minutes.

Tier-II Paper-I (compulsory for all posts)

Sections I to III run in Session-I (2 hours 15 minutes); Section-IV runs in Session-II after a break for re-registration. Each question carries 3 marks and each wrong answer in Sections I to III costs 1 mark. Allowed errors in the DEST are 20% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS and 30% for other categories, with higher standards for posts where computer proficiency or DEST is prescribed.

Tier-II Paper-II and Paper-III

General Awareness syllabus

General Awareness is Section B of Tier-I (25 questions, 50 marks) and Part B of Section-II of Tier-II Paper-I (25 questions, 75 marks). The notice gives the same indicative scope for both.

• General awareness of the environment around the candidate and its application to society
• Current events
• Matters of everyday observation and experience in their scientific aspect, as expected of an educated person
• India and its neighbouring countries: History
• Culture
• Geography
• Economic Scene
• General Policy (the Constitution, polity and government schemes)
• Scientific Research

In practice, SSC leans on static GK. Indian Polity (Constitution articles, parts, schedules, amendments and constitutional offices), History (ancient dynasties, the Sultanate and Mughal periods, the freedom struggle), Geography (rivers, soils, national parks, Indian and world physical features) and the Economy (budget terms, RBI, basic concepts) fill most of the 25 questions. General Science covers Physics, Chemistry and Biology at school level. Current affairs of the 6 to 12 months before the exam appear as questions on awards, sports, appointments, summits, reports, government schemes and books, often paired with a static fact linked to the event.

Eligibility and age limit

All conditions are as on 1 August 2026, the crucial date in the CGL 2026 notice.

Nationality

A candidate must be a citizen of India, a subject of Nepal or Bhutan, or a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, the East African countries named in the notice, Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia or Vietnam to settle permanently in India. Candidates other than Indian citizens need a certificate of eligibility from the Government of India.

Educational qualification

Final-year students may apply, but must hold the degree by 1 August 2026.

Age limit

Upper age relaxation: 5 years for SC and ST, 3 years for OBC, 10 years for PwBD (13 for PwBD-OBC and 15 for PwBD-SC/ST), and 3 years after deducting military service for Ex-Servicemen. For Group "C" posts, Central Government civilian employees with 3 years of regular service can apply up to 40 years of age (45 for SC/ST), and widows, divorced women and judicially separated women who have not remarried up to 35 years (40 for SC/ST). The date of birth in the Matriculation certificate is final.

Important dates

The notice had shown Tier-I tentatively for August–September 2026; the Commission fixed the dates by its notice of 12 September 2026. Examination city details went live on 21 September 2026. Admission certificates are released two or three days before each exam date on the candidate login. Candidates using their own scribe had to map the scribe's OTR by 24 September 2026. On 24 September 2026 the Commission published the tentative vacancies of CGL 2026: 10,731 posts in all, against about 12,256 in the notice, and final vacancies may still differ. Tier-I was held from 30 September to 30 October 2026 and that stage is over. As of 2 November 2026 no date for Tier-II has been announced.

How to prepare General Awareness for SSC CGL

General Awareness is the one section where speed does not depend on calculation; you either know the fact or you do not. It also decides Tier-I cut-offs, because 15 minutes is enough to attempt all 25 questions if you know them.

1. Start with static GK. Read the GK24 GK notes for SSC CGL topic by topic: Polity first, then Modern History, Geography, Economy, Ancient and Medieval History and General Science. Revise each topic twice before the exam.
2. Read daily current affairs. GK24 publishes daily current affairs in English and Hindi from official releases. Cover the 12 months before your Tier-I date and keep monthly revision notes.
3. Solve previous-year questions. The SSC CGL previous-year questions on GK24 show which topics repeat; the same statutory bodies, dynasties, rivers and schemes return with the options changed.
4. Take timed quizzes. Practise 25-question GK24 quizzes in 15 minutes to build the habit of skipping unknown questions, because each wrong answer costs 0.50 mark in Tier-I and 1 mark in Tier-II.
5. Do not neglect Tier-II. General Awareness carries 75 marks there, and those marks count in the final merit; Tier-I marks do not.

Posts and pay

The CGL 2026 notice lists these likely posts with their pay levels.

The pay scale is the basic pay of the level; allowances depend on the posting. Posts are allotted on merit-cum-preference, and an allotted post is not changed later.