SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026
Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
Updated 1 Oct 2026 · details from the official notice
01
Overview
The biggest graduate-level government exam in the country, mid-cycle.
The Combined Graduate Level Examination fills Group B and Group C posts across central ministries and departments — Assistant Section Officer, Inspector in income tax and GST, Sub-Inspector in CBI and NIA, Auditor, Accountant, Tax Assistant and more.
For the 2026 cycle, SSC has revised the vacancies to 10,731 from the 12,256 announced earlier, a cut of 1,525 posts. Tier-1 is being held from 30 September to 30 October 2026 as a computer-based test.
Where these figures come from
We could not open SSC's own notices for this cycle. The dates, the revised vacancy count and the pattern below are reported consistently by several publishers, and the exam is already running. Check ssc.gov.in, and your admit card, for anything you are relying on.
Quick snapshot
| Particular | Details |
|---|---|
| Examination | Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026 |
| Conducting body | Staff Selection Commission |
| Vacancies | 10,731, revised from 12,256 on 24 September 2026 |
| Applications | Closed |
| Tier-1 | 30 September – 30 October 2026, computer-based |
| Tier-2 | December 2026 (expected) |
| Official website | ssc.gov.in |
02
Exam pattern
A one-hour Tier-1, then a longer Tier-2 that decides the merit.
Tier-1 — 60 minutes
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Intelligence and Reasoning | 25 | 50 |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 25 | 50 |
| English Comprehension | 25 | 50 |
| Total | 100 | 200 |
Negative marking
Half a mark is deducted for each wrong answer in Tier-1 — heavier than most SSC papers, so blind guessing costs more than it gains.
Tier-2
Tier-2 runs over sessions covering mathematical abilities and reasoning, English language and comprehension, general awareness, a computer knowledge test and a data entry speed test. The computer knowledge and data entry sections are qualifying; the rest decide the merit list.
03
Eligibility
A degree, with post-specific extras.
The basic requirement is a bachelor's degree from a recognised university by the cut-off date in SSC's notice. Some posts add their own conditions — Junior Statistical Officer needs mathematics at Class 12 or statistics at degree level, and Statistical Investigator Grade-II needs statistics among the degree subjects.
Age bands differ by post, typically between 18 and 32 years, with the usual relaxations for SC, ST, OBC, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates. The post-wise table is in SSC's notice.