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

SSC CHSL at a glance

These facts are as per the Staff Selection Commission's notice of the Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026 (F. No. HQ-C1102/5/2026-C-1), uploaded on ssc.gov.in on 7 September 2026.

Selection process

1. Online application on ssc.gov.in or the mySSC mobile app through One Time Registration (OTR). For CHSL 2026 the window is 7 September to 7 October 2026. The notice advises Aadhaar based authentication during OTR; candidates who authenticate with Aadhaar are not rejected for photograph or signature defects and need not carry extra photographs to the exam.
2. Tier-I, a 60-minute Computer Based Examination. It is a screening stage: candidates are shortlisted for Tier-II on normalised Tier-I scores, and the Commission may fix separate category-wise cut-offs for three groups of posts: DEO/DEO Grade 'A' in the three offices that need Science with Mathematics, DEO/DEO Grade 'A' elsewhere, and LDC/JSA.
3. Tier-II Session-I for every shortlisted candidate: Section-I (Mathematical Abilities; Reasoning and General Intelligence), Section-II (English Language and Comprehension; General Awareness) and Section-III (Computer Knowledge Test), one after the other in 2 hours 15 minutes.
4. Tier-II Session-II on the same day, after a break for re-registration: Section-IV, the Skill Test for DEO candidates or the Typing Test for LDC/JSA candidates. All candidates appear in all four sections and must qualify each of them.
5. Post preference through an online Option Form on ssc.gov.in before the result. A candidate is not considered for a post or department he or she did not opt for, and options once submitted are final and irreversible.
6. Merit is prepared on Tier-II performance only: the aggregate of Section-I and Section-II (360 marks), subject to qualifying Section-III and Section-IV. Tier-I marks do not count, except as the second tie-breaker after Section-I marks of Tier-II.
7. First Round of Tentative Allocation (FRTA) under the Commission's sliding mechanism, then Document Verification by the user department after the final result. The Commission keeps no waiting list. Selected candidates are on probation for two years and carry All India Service Liability.

Minimum qualifying marks in Tier-I and in Sections I, II and III of Tier-II are 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS and 20% for all other categories. Scores of papers held in multiple shifts are normalised using the procedure the Commission published on 2 June 2025. Tentative answer keys are placed on the website after each exam and can be challenged online at ₹50 per question.

Exam pattern

Tier-I (Computer Based Examination)

Each question carries 2 marks and each part has its own 15-minute timer. Every wrong answer costs 0.50 mark. The parts are not necessarily served in this sequence. Parts II, III and IV are set in English, Hindi and the language the candidate opts for from the 15 languages in the notice (Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu). Scribe-eligible candidates get 80 minutes, 20 minutes per part.

Tier-II Session-I (2 hours 15 minutes)

Each question carries 3 marks and each wrong answer in Sections I, II and III costs 1 mark. A section closes automatically when its hour ends and the next begins at once. Section-III is mandatory but qualifying. All questions except Part A of Section-II (English) are set in English, Hindi and the opted language.

Tier-II Session-II: Section-IV, Skill Test/Typing Test (qualifying)

The medium of the Typing Test, Hindi or English, is chosen in the application form and cannot be changed later. Hindi typing is in Mangal font only. Errors in the Skill Test are calculated to two decimal places and the tests are evaluated as per the guidelines on the Commission's website. No DEO candidate is exempt from the Skill Test; a PwD candidate certified by a Civil Surgeon as permanently unable to type may be exempted from the Typing Test. Scribe-eligible candidates get 5 extra minutes.

General Awareness syllabus

General Awareness is Part IV of Tier-I (25 questions, 50 marks) and Part B of Section-II of Tier-II (20 questions, 60 marks). The CHSL 2026 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

What follows is GK24's guidance from past papers, not part of the notice. CHSL questions are pitched at Class 12 level and lean on static GK. Indian Polity (Constitution articles, parts, schedules, amendments, constitutional offices), History (ancient and medieval dynasties, the freedom struggle), Geography (rivers, soils, national parks, Indian and world physical features), the Economy (budget terms, RBI, basic concepts) and General Science (school Physics, Chemistry and Biology, including everyday science) fill most of the questions. Culture questions ask about classical dances, folk festivals, monuments and books. Current affairs of the 6 to 12 months before the exam appear as questions on awards, sports, appointments, schemes, summits and reports, often paired with a static fact. Computer knowledge is tested separately in Section-III of Tier-II, so basic computer terms are worth a revision too.

Eligibility and age limit

The crucial date for age is 1 August 2026 and for educational qualification 7 October 2026, the closing date of applications.

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, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, 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 (as on 7 October 2026)

Candidates who have appeared in Class 12 may apply, but the result must be declared by 7 October 2026. Degrees and certificates earned through open and distance learning count only if the course was approved by the Distance Education Bureau of the UGC for that period. Only male candidates are eligible for LDC vacancies in the Border Roads Organisation, which also prescribes a physical efficiency test and physical and medical standards.

Age limit (as on 1 August 2026)

Important dates

As of 5 October 2026 Tier-I of CHSL 2026 is proposed for 30 November to 31 December 2026, by the Commission's Important Notice of 1 October 2026; the notice of 7 September 2026 had left both schedules to be notified later. The Commission calls these proposed dates, so they can change, and Tier-II is still to be notified; any change is communicated only through ssc.gov.in. The time table and city of examination are uploaded about 10 days before the exam, and admission certificates two or three days before it. Candidates who did not complete Aadhaar based authentication must report two hours before the exam with two photographs and an original photo ID.

How to prepare General Awareness for SSC CHSL

General Awareness is the part of CHSL where marks come fastest: 25 questions in 15 minutes in Tier-I need no working, and the 20 questions of Tier-II carry 3 marks each and count in the final merit. It is also where a wrong guess hurts most, at 1 mark per error in Tier-II.

1. Build static GK first. Read the GK24 GK notes for SSC CHSL topic by topic: Polity, Modern History, Geography, Economy, General Science, then Ancient and Medieval History and Culture. Revise each topic twice before Tier-I.
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 a monthly revision sheet of awards, appointments, schemes, sports and reports.
3. Solve previous-year questions. The SSC CHSL previous-year questions on GK24 show the level the Commission sets at 10+2 and the facts it repeats; the same articles, rivers, dynasties and schemes return with the options changed.
4. Take timed quizzes. Practise 25-question GK24 quizzes in 15 minutes and learn to skip what you do not know, because each wrong answer costs 0.50 mark in Tier-I and 1 mark in Tier-II.
5. Practise the Computer Knowledge Test and typing early. Section-III is qualifying, and the Skill Test or Typing Test decides whether your Tier-II marks count at all. Begin typing practice in your chosen medium, in Mangal font if Hindi, months before Tier-II.

Posts and pay

The CHSL 2026 notice lists these 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 through the Option Form, and an allotted post is not changed later, even if the candidate fails a post-specific physical, medical or educational standard. Selected candidates may be posted anywhere in India and may have to acquire proficiency in the local language of the allotted State or Zone for confirmation.