SSC CGL Exam Guide: Posts, Eligibility, Tier 1 and Tier 2 Pattern

1. What posts SSC CGL actually recruits for

CGL is not one job. The Commission groups the posts by pay level, and the pay level tells you more about the post than the designation does. Here is the structure as set out in the Commission's notice:

Two things follow from this table that candidates routinely miss.

First, your age decides your post list before your marks do. If you are 29, the Level 5 and Level 4 posts with an 18–27 band are already closed to you no matter how high you score. Work out your eligible post list against the crucial date in the notice before you plan your preferences.

Second, the Commission allots posts on merit plus the preferences you submit online, and once a post is allotted there is no change on the ground of failing a post-specific physical, medical or educational requirement. A candidate who gives a high preference to Inspector (Preventive Officer) and then fails the physical standards loses that allotment — and the candidature may not be considered for any other post or department. Preferences are a decision, not a wish list.

2. Eligibility: the general rule and the four exceptions

The general rule is simple: a Bachelor's degree from a recognised University or equivalent. Candidates in the final year of graduation may apply, but they must possess the essential qualification as on the cut-off date stated in the notice.

Then there are the post-specific requirements, and these are where applications get rejected:

On distance education: degrees awarded through Open and Distance Learning mode by universities established by an Act of Parliament or a State Legislature, deemed universities and Institutions of National Importance stand recognised for central government employment, provided they were approved by the Distance Education Bureau of the UGC for the relevant period in which you acquired the qualification. That proviso is the one that trips people up.

The application fee for CGL is ₹100. Women candidates and candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Persons with Benchmark Disabilities and Ex-servicemen eligible for reservation are exempted from the fee.

3. Tier 1: 200 marks in one hour, with a sectional timer

Three operational facts about Tier 1:

• It is objective multiple choice, set in both English and Hindi except for English Comprehension.
• Negative marking is 0.50 marks for each wrong answer. At 2 marks a question, that is a quarter of a question's value lost per error.
• The sectional timer is the real constraint. Fifteen minutes per subject, and once a section's timer runs out it closes. You cannot bank saved time from Reasoning and spend it on Quantitative Aptitude. Every practice test you take should be run with sectional timing, or you are practising the wrong exam.

Note also that questions in General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness and English Comprehension are pitched at a level commensurate with graduation, while Quantitative Aptitude in Tier 1 is pitched at 10th standard level. That is not a reason to relax — it is a reason to be fast and accurate rather than clever.

4. Tier 2: where the selection is actually decided

Tier 2 is conducted for all candidates who qualify Tier 1. Paper 1 is compulsory for every post. Paper 2 and Paper 3 are post-specific. Papers 1, 2 and 3 are held in separate shifts or on separate days.

How Paper 1 runs on the day: Session I covers Sections I, II and III back to back. Section I closes automatically after one hour; Section II starts immediately and closes after one hour; the Computer Knowledge Test runs for 15 minutes and Session I ends. You then get a break to re-register, and Session II is the 15-minute Data Entry Speed Test. It is mandatory to qualify every section of Paper 1 separately.

Negative marking in Tier 2 is heavier

This is the number most candidates get wrong. In Tier 2 Paper 1, the deduction is 1 full mark for each wrong answer in Sections I, II and III. In Paper 2 and Paper 3 the deduction is 0.50 marks per wrong answer. Since each question in Paper 1 carries 3 marks, a wrong answer costs you a third of a question's value; the arithmetic of guessing is materially worse than in Tier 1.

5. Computer Knowledge Test and the Data Entry Speed Test

Both the Computer Knowledge Test (Section III) and the Data Entry Speed Test (Section IV) are mandatory for all posts but qualifying in nature — their marks do not add to your merit score, but failing them removes you.

Two thousand key depressions in fifteen minutes is not a severe standard for anyone who types regularly, but it is a real standard for candidates who have only ever used a phone keyboard. If you are aiming at Tax Assistant or a Postal Assistant post, the higher DEST cut-off is a specific thing to train for, not an afterthought.

6. Normalisation, merit and document verification

• Normalisation. Where the computer-based examination is conducted in multiple shifts, marks are normalised using the procedure the Commission has published by notice, and the normalised scores are what determine final merit and cut-offs. You are not competing only against your own shift.
• Answer keys. Tentative answer keys are published after the examination. You may file online representations within the stipulated window on payment of ₹100 per question, which is non-refundable. Final answer keys are used to process the result. There is no re-evaluation or re-checking of scores at any stage.
• The merit list is based on Tier 2 only. Tier 1 is a screening stage. Your Tier 1 score gets you into Tier 2 and then stops counting.
• Preferences. Post and department preferences are taken through an online option form before the result. If you do not submit preferences in time, you are not considered for any post, and there is no second opportunity.
• Document verification. Carry two passport-size photographs and an original photo ID, plus copies of your matriculation certificate, educational qualification certificate, caste or category certificate where claimed, disability certificate where applicable, ex-servicemen documents, any age-relaxation certificate and a No Objection Certificate if you are already in government service. Candidature remains provisional until these are verified.
• Physical and medical standards. For the posts that carry them — Inspector and Sub-Inspector grades in CBIC, CBN, NCB, CBI and NIA, and posts in the Border Roads Organisation — physical measurement and medical tests are conducted by the user department after final selection, not by SSC.

7. Preparation, section by section

One structural point on strategy: because the final merit rests on Tier 2 alone, the correct way to prepare is to the Tier 2 standard from day one. Tier 1 then takes care of itself. Candidates who prepare to the Tier 1 standard, clear it, and only then start on Tier 2 are the ones who run out of time.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Staff Selection Commission — Notice, Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026 (posts, age limits, qualifications, scheme of examination, fee, normalisation, document verification); SSC — Combined Graduate Level Examination, Scheme of the Examination; ssc.gov.in — official website and notice board; SSC — tentative examination calendar.