SSC · Government Exams

SSC CGL Exam Pattern and Syllabus 2026: Tier 1, Tier 2 and Free Mock Tests

SSC CGL is the largest graduate-level recruitment in the country, and the reason it attracts several million applicants is the post list: Assistant Section Officer in a central ministry, Inspector in Income Tax or CGST, Assistant Audit Officer under the CAG, Sub-Inspector in the CBI. One exam, one merit list, and the post you get depends on your rank and your preference order.

It is also an exam with an unusually clear shape. Tier 1 is a 60-minute screening test that everybody sits; Tier 2 is where the merit list is actually built. Understanding that split is the single most useful thing a first-time candidate can do, because it changes what you practise and when.

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SSC CGL · checked 19 September 2026

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

Free SSC CGL mock test SSC CGL syllabus Today’s current affairs

19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

SSC CGL: the facts that matter now

01
Notice 21 May 2026; about 12,256 tentative vacancies; Tier 1 from 30 September to 30 October 2026 (schedule notice of 12 September 2026); Tier 2…
2026 cycle
02
Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
Conducted by
03
Graduate — a bachelor’s degree in any discipline as on the closing date
Level
04
Tier 1 (qualifying, 200 marks) → Tier 2 (merit, 390 + qualifying modules) → document verification
Stages

Notification

SSC CGL notification and key dates

Checked 18 September 2026 against the SSC notice board. An important notice of 12 September 2026 fixed the Tier 1 computer-based examination of CGL 2026 for 30 September to 30 October 2026; the exam-city intimation and admit cards follow through the candidate login. The notice for the Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 was published on 21 May 2026 with about 12,256 tentative vacancies. Online applications were accepted from 21 May to 22 June 2026, and the window was reopened from 23 to 25 June 2026 for candidates who had been unable to complete registration on the new portal; the Commission received more than 28 lakh applications. The correction window ran from 29 June to 1 July 2026. The notice gives Tier 1 a tentative window of August–September 2026 and Tier 2 December 2026; the actual dates, exam-city intimation and admission certificates reach candidates only through the login on ssc.gov.in.

Key dates of the SSC CGL 2026 cycle, from the notice of 21 May 2026 and the reopening notice of 23 June 2026.
Event	Date
Notice published	21 May 2026
Online applications	21 May – 22 June 2026, reopened 23–25 June 2026
Last date for fee payment	26 June 2026
Application correction window	29 June – 1 July 2026 (₹200 first correction, ₹500 second)
Tier 1 (Computer Based Examination)	30 September – 30 October 2026, fixed by the schedule notice of 12 September 2026; exam-city intimation and admit cards through the candidate login
Tier 2 (Computer Based Examination)	December 2026, tentative
Tentative vacancies	About 12,256, post-wise list on the Commission’s Tentative Vacancy page

The 2025 cycle shows how the calendar actually runs. Tier 1 of CGL 2025 was held from 12 to 26 September 2025 with a re-examination on 14 October 2025 for affected centres; the Tier 1 result came on 18 December 2025, and for the general post list the cut-offs were 136.83 (UR), 130.37 (OBC), 127.42 (EWS), 114.97 (SC) and 106.37 (ST) out of 200, with the Junior Statistical Officer list closing at 153.46 for UR. Over 1.3 lakh candidates were shortlisted for Tier 2, which was held in January 2026 with the tentative key on 30 January; final vacancies were fixed at 15,118 on 6 March 2026, the option-cum-preference form ran in March, the first round of tentative allocation came on 8 April, and the final result on 14 May 2026 recommended 15,118 candidates.

What changed in the 2026 notice

Tier 1 now runs with a 15-minute sectional timer on each of the four sections instead of one open hour, so you can no longer bank time from reasoning and spend it on mathematics. Registration moved to the new One-Time Registration system with Aadhaar-based verification. Everything else — the Tier 2 structure, the negative marking rates and the qualifying computer and typing modules — carries forward from the 2025 scheme.

Overview

What SSC CGL is, and who it suits

The Combined Graduate Level examination fills Group B and Group C posts across central government ministries, departments and subordinate offices. A single written examination feeds all of them, so candidates are not applying to one job — they are entering one merit list and submitting a preference order over dozens of posts.

That structure has a practical consequence worth understanding early. The difference between an Assistant Section Officer posting and an Income Tax Inspector posting is a handful of marks in Tier 2, not a different exam or a different syllabus. Everyone studies the same material; the ranking is what separates outcomes.

Posts commonly filled through SSC CGL

Assistant Audit Officer / Assistant Accounts Officer — under the Comptroller and Auditor General; requires the additional finance and economics paper
Assistant Section Officer — in central secretariat ministries, the Intelligence Bureau, Railways and the Ministry of External Affairs
Inspector (Income Tax, CGST, Examiner, Preventive Officer) — in CBDT and CBIC field formations
Sub-Inspector in the CBI and the NIA — investigative posts with their own physical and medical requirements
Junior Statistical Officer — requires the statistics paper in Tier 2
Auditor, Accountant, Tax Assistant, Upper Division Clerk — Group C posts across audit offices, ministries and field offices

Eligibility is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university. A few posts add conditions on top of that — Junior Statistical Officer expects statistics or mathematics at the twelfth or degree level, and Assistant Audit Officer carries a preference for commerce, economics or a chartered accountancy qualification. Age limits vary by post rather than being uniform across the exam, which is why the post-wise table in the notification matters more than any general summary.

Check the notification for your cycle

Age bands, post lists and the vacancy count change from one cycle to the next, and posts are occasionally added or withdrawn after the notification is published. Treat everything here as the durable shape of the exam and confirm the specifics against the current official notification on ssc.gov.in before you apply.

Eligibility

Who can apply for SSC CGL

Eligibility is judged on the closing date for applications, and in 2026 that is the date the reopened window closed. The Commission does not verify documents at the application stage, so a candidate who does not meet a condition can sit every tier and be rejected at verification a year later. Read the conditions for the specific posts you intend to opt for, not just the general ones.

Educational qualification as on the closing date

All posts except the two below — A bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students are eligible only if the degree is complete by the closing date.
Junior Statistical Officer — A bachelor’s degree in any subject with at least 60 per cent in Mathematics at the class 12 level, or a bachelor’s degree with Statistics as one of the subjects at degree level.
Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer — A bachelor’s degree in any discipline. Chartered Accountancy, Cost and Management Accountancy, Company Secretaryship, a Master’s in Commerce, Business Studies, Business Administration (Finance), Business Economics or Economics are listed as desirable, not essential.

Age bands as on 1 August 2026. The post-wise table in the notice assigns every post to one of four bands; these are the common examples.
Age band	Posts in the band
18–27 years	Auditor, Accountant and Accountant/Junior Accountant, Tax Assistant, Upper Division Clerk, Senior Secretariat Assistant and most other Group C posts
18–30 years	Inspector (Income Tax, Central Excise/CGST, Examiner, Preventive Officer), Assistant Enforcement Officer, Assistant Audit Officer, Assistant Accounts Officer, Assistant Section Officer in most organisations
20–30 years	Assistant Section Officer in the Central Secretariat Service, Intelligence Bureau and Ministry of External Affairs; Sub-Inspector in the CBI
18–32 years	Junior Statistical Officer

Upper-age relaxation beyond the band, from the notice. Relaxations are cumulative within the rules — an OBC ex-serviceman gets both — and category is claimed at application and proved at verification.
Category	Relaxation
SC and ST	5 years
OBC (non-creamy layer)	3 years
Persons with benchmark disabilities	10 years (UR), 13 years (OBC), 15 years (SC/ST)
Ex-servicemen	3 years after deducting military service from actual age
Defence personnel disabled in operations	3 years (8 years for SC/ST)
Central Government civilian employees with 3 years’ regular service	Up to 40 years (45 for SC/ST) for Group C posts
Widows, divorced women and judicially separated women who have not remarried	Up to 35 years (40 for SC/ST) for Group C posts

Other conditions

Nationality — Citizens of India, subjects of Nepal and Bhutan, and the categories of persons of Indian origin who have migrated to settle permanently, as listed in the notice, with an eligibility certificate where required.
Physical standards — Sub-Inspector in the CBI and NIA, Inspector (Examiner and Preventive Officer) in CBIC and Inspector in the Central Bureau of Narcotics carry height, chest and vision standards and a physical test, described in the notice’s annexures and conducted by the department after the final result.
Number of attempts — No limit; the age band for the post is the only ceiling.
Fee — ₹100, payable online by BHIM UPI, net banking or Visa, Mastercard, Maestro or RuPay cards. Women and candidates of the SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen categories pay nothing.

Selection process

How SSC CGL selection works

Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.

Stages change between cycles. Confirm the structure in the notification for the cycle you are sitting.
Stage	Format	What it involves
Tier 1 — Computer Based Examination	Objective, 100 questions, 200 marks, 60 minutes	Four sections of 25 questions for 50 marks each — General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension — with a 15-minute sectional timer on each. Half a mark is deducted for a wrong answer. Tier 1 is qualifying: it decides who sits Tier 2 but its marks do not enter the final merit list.
Tier 2 — Paper 1 (all posts)	Objective, two sessions on one day	Session 1: Section 1 (Mathematical Abilities 30 questions + Reasoning 30 questions, 180 marks, one hour), Section 2 (English 45 + General Awareness 25, 210 marks, one hour) and Section 3 Module 1 (Computer Knowledge, 20 questions, 60 marks, 15 minutes, qualifying). Session 2: the Data Entry Speed Test of about 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes, qualifying. One mark is deducted per wrong answer in Sections 1, 2 and 3.
Tier 2 — Paper 2 (Junior Statistical Officer) and Paper 3 (Assistant Audit / Accounts Officer)	Objective, 100 questions, 200 marks, two hours each	Paper 2 is Statistics; Paper 3 is General Studies (Finance and Economics). Only candidates who opted for those posts and clear the separate Tier 1 cut-off for them sit these papers. Half a mark is deducted per wrong answer.
Option-cum-preference form, final result and verification	Online form, then offline verification	After Tier 2 marks are published, candidates fill a post preference form; the final merit list allots posts by rank and preference. Document verification, and the physical and medical standards for posts such as Sub-Inspector in the CBI and NIA, Inspector (Examiner and Preventive Officer) and Inspector in the Narcotics Bureau, are handled by the user departments before appointment.

Application to appointment

How to apply for SSC CGL 2026, what the tiers look like on the day, and how the post is allotted

The whole process runs through one login on ssc.gov.in. These are the steps in the order they happen, with the fees and windows the 2026 notice specifies.

The SSC CGL process from registration to result

One-Time Registration on ssc.gov.in Create an OTR profile once on the Commission’s portal. Registration asks for Aadhaar-based verification, a mobile number and e-mail that remain with you for the whole cycle, and your basic educational and category details. The OTR number and password are what you log in with at every later stage — exam-city intimation, admit card, answer-key challenge, result and option form — so keep them safe.
Fill the online application for SSC CGL Log in, pick the examination, confirm the OTR details, choose the examination centre preferences and the medium of the paper, and upload or capture the photograph and signature exactly as the notice specifies. The declaration you sign at the end binds you to the eligibility conditions, and the Commission verifies documents only at the end of the process — an ineligible candidate can go through every stage and be dropped at verification.
Pay the fee The fee is ₹100, paid online; in 2026 the last date for payment was 26 June, four days after applications closed. Women and SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates are exempt. A fee paid is not refunded, including when an application is later found ineligible.
Use the correction window if you need it A three-day correction window opens about a week after applications close. The Commission charges ₹200 for the first corrected submission and ₹500 for the second, from every candidate regardless of category. Some fields — notably the OTR identity details — cannot be changed at this point, which is why the OTR should be filled carefully in the first place.
Exam-city intimation, then the admission certificate Roughly two weeks before the examination the candidate login shows the city allotted; the admission certificate itself is released only three to four days before the date. Print it, and carry it with an original photo identity document that carries the same date of birth as your application.
On the day: biometrics, frisking and the clock Report at the time on the admission certificate; entry closes before the shift begins. Expect biometric capture and frisking, and expect the paper to be delivered with the timers the notice describes — a section or session that has closed cannot be reopened. Rough sheets are provided; nothing electronic is allowed inside.
Tentative answer key and challenge A few days after the last shift the Commission uploads tentative answer keys with each candidate’s response sheet. Objections are filed online only, within the announced window, on payment of a per-question fee that is not refunded. Subject-matter experts examine the objections and the final key is used for evaluation.
Result, marks and the next stage Results are published as PDF write-ups on the notice board with category-wise cut-offs and the count of candidates shortlisted; individual marks are released in the login shortly afterwards. Candidates for the next stage receive fresh admission certificates through the same login.
Tier 1 result and the three shortlists Tier 1 produces separate cut-offs for three post groups: candidates who opted for Junior Statistical Officer (who go on to Paper 2), those who opted for Assistant Audit or Accounts Officer (Paper 3), and everyone else (Paper 1 only). Clearing the general cut-off does not automatically put you in the JSO or AAO list — those cut-offs have been higher every cycle. Tentative answer-key challenges cost ₹100 per question.
Tier 2, marks and the option-cum-preference form Tier 2 Paper 1 runs in two sessions on one day; Papers 2 and 3 are scheduled separately for those who qualify for them. After the final key and marks are published, every candidate in the merit zone fills an option-cum-preference form ranking the posts and, for some, the departments they are willing to join. Preferences submitted here are final.
Final result, first round of tentative allocation, verification and appointment The final result allots posts by rank and preference, with a first round of tentative allocation followed by identity verification. The user department then conducts document verification, and the physical and medical examinations where the post requires them, before the offer of appointment. In the 2025 cycle this ran from the final result on 14 May 2026 into the following months.

The mistake that costs candidates a post rather than marks

The option-cum-preference form is filled after Tier 2, quickly, and it is final. Decide your post order before the result — pay level, department, transfer liability and promotion route differ a great deal between an Assistant Section Officer in the CSS, an Income Tax Inspector and an Auditor under the CAG — rather than in the few days the form is open.

Exam pattern

SSC CGL exam pattern and marking

The pattern below is the scheme in the SSC CGL 2026 notice of 21 May 2026. Every figure — questions, marks, time and the deduction for a wrong answer — comes from that notice; the full treatment, including the syllabus for each section, is on the exam pattern and syllabus pages.

SSC CGL Tier 1 exam pattern 2026: 100 questions, 200 marks, 60 minutes with a 15-minute sectional timer on each section; 0.50 marks deducted for a wrong answer. Qualifying only.
Section	Questions	Marks	Time
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50	15 minutes
General Awareness	25	50	15 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50	15 minutes
English Comprehension	25	50	15 minutes
Total	100	200	60 minutes

SSC CGL Tier 2 exam pattern 2026, Paper 1 (compulsory for every post). One mark is deducted for a wrong answer in Sections 1, 2 and 3; Section 3 and the typing test are qualifying and the merit list is built from Sections 1 and 2.
Session	Section and module	Questions	Marks	Time
Session 1	Section 1 — Module 1 Mathematical Abilities; Module 2 Reasoning and General Intelligence	30 + 30 = 60	180	1 hour
Session 1	Section 2 — Module 1 English Language and Comprehension; Module 2 General Awareness	45 + 25 = 70	210	1 hour
Session 1	Section 3 — Module 1 Computer Knowledge Test (qualifying)	20	60	15 minutes
Session 2	Section 3 — Module 2 Data Entry Speed Test (qualifying)	About 2,000 key depressions	—	15 minutes

Tier 2 Papers 2 and 3, for the two specialist post groups only. 0.50 marks deducted for a wrong answer.
Paper	For	Questions	Marks	Time
Paper 2 — Statistics	Junior Statistical Officer	100	200	2 hours
Paper 3 — General Studies (Finance and Economics)	Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer	100	200	2 hours

Minimum qualifying marks that apply before any shortlisting — a candidate below these in any paper is not considered regardless of the cut-off.
Category	Minimum qualifying marks
Unreserved	30%
OBC and EWS	25%
All other categories	20%

The examination is conducted in multiple shifts, and marks are normalised by the formula the Commission published on 2 June 2025 before cut-offs and merit are computed. Normalised scores can therefore differ from raw scores, in either direction, depending on the difficulty of the shift you sat. Candidates for posts that require computer proficiency — Assistant Section Officer in the CSS, MEA and AFHQ, Assistant in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and a few others — are held to a higher standard in the computer module.

Study plan

How to prepare for SSC CGL

SSC CGL rewards accuracy under a clock more than breadth. Tier 1 is four 15-minute sprints; Tier 2 Section 1 asks 60 questions of harder mathematics and reasoning in an hour for three marks each with a full mark off for every mistake. A plan that builds speed on a small syllabus, then adds Tier 2 depth, fits that shape better than one that tries to cover everything at once.

A six-month plan for a first attempt

Months 1–2: foundations and a diagnostic Sit one full Tier 1 mock in the first week to find your weakest section, then work arithmetic (percentages, ratio, averages, profit and loss, time and work, speed and distance), the reasoning question types, English grammar and vocabulary, and a static general awareness spine. Learn the exam’s shortcuts as you go; there is no marks for method.
Months 3–4: Tier 2 depth Add algebra, geometry, trigonometry and mensuration and data interpretation, which Tier 2 Section 1 leans on. Start reading comprehension and cloze passages under time. Begin a daily current affairs habit covering the six months before the exam. Take a sectional test every day and a full Tier 1 mock every week.
Month 5: mocks on the sectional timer Practise the Tier 1 paper with 15-minute sections, because the strategy of borrowing time no longer exists. Alternate Tier 1 and Tier 2 full mocks, and keep an error log by topic. Start the Data Entry Speed Test practice — 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes is roughly 35 words per minute with high accuracy.
Month 6: revision and the exam window Revise from your own notes and error log rather than fresh material, keep general awareness current, and taper mocks to two a week in the final fortnight. Read the pattern section of the notice once more before the exam.

Section-by-section priorities

Quantitative Aptitude and Mathematical Abilities — The section with the highest ceiling and the most differentiation in Tier 2. Speed comes from recognising question types, not from solving fresh each time.
Reasoning — The easiest section to bring to near-full marks; puzzles, series, coding, syllogisms and figure questions repeat their forms year after year.
English — Forty-five questions in Tier 2 carrying 135 marks — grammar rules, vocabulary, idioms, error spotting, cloze tests and comprehension. Read something every day.
General Awareness — Recall, not reasoning; you either know it or move on in seconds. Static GK (history, polity, geography, economy, science) plus six months of current affairs.
Computer Knowledge and typing — Qualifying, but a fail here is a fail. Twenty questions of basic computer fundamentals, software, networking and security; typing practice on a QWERTY keyboard for 15 minutes a day is enough.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 18 September 2026 against the notice of examination for CGL 2026, the reopening notice, the Tier 1 schedule notice of 12 September 2026, and the Tier 1 result, final vacancy and final result write-ups of CGL 2025, all on the SSC notice board. Dates for Tier 1 and Tier 2 are tentative in the notice and are confirmed only through the candidate login and later notices.

Official documents

Notice of Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 (21 May 2026) Reopening of the application window for CGL 2026 (23 June 2026) CGL 2025 Tier 1 result write-up with cut-offs (18 December 2025) CGL 2025 final vacancies (6 March 2026) CGL 2025 final result write-up (14 May 2026) SSC home page — notices, calendar and candidate login

Exam resources

Everything for SSC CGL

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

SSC CGL SyllabusSSC CGL syllabus for Tier 1 and Tier 2 — section-wise topics in reasoning, quantitative aptitude, English, general awareness, statistics and finance.SSC CGL Exam PatternSSC CGL exam pattern 2026 — Tier 1 and Tier 2 tables with questions, marks, time, sectional timers and negative marking, plus the qualifying marks and cut-offs.SSC CGL Previous PapersSSC CGL previous year question papers — how to read them for question trends across Tier 1 and Tier 2 rather than treating them as extra mock tests.SSC CGL Mock TestsFree SSC CGL mock tests on the current Tier 1 pattern — 100 questions in 60 minutes, with scoring, answer key and section-wise analysis.SSC CGL PreparationSSC CGL preparation strategy — how to sequence subjects, build speed for Tier 1 and shift focus to Tier 2, with a realistic timeline.SSC CGL Study MaterialSSC CGL study material — subject-wise notes for quantitative aptitude, reasoning, English and general awareness mapped to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 syllabus.

More SSC preparation

All SSC examsEvery exam in this category Previous-year papersPast papers with solutions Current affairsDaily, weekly and monthly Exam updatesNotifications and results

Questions

SSC CGL — FAQs

Do Tier 1 marks count towards the final SSC CGL merit list?

No. Tier 1 is a qualifying and screening stage — it decides who is called for Tier 2, but the final merit list is built from Tier 2 marks. This is why candidates who clear Tier 1 comfortably but prepare only at Tier 1 depth tend to struggle: the exam that decides their rank is a harder one they have not practised for.

Who is eligible for SSC CGL?

The general requirement is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university. Some posts add conditions — Junior Statistical Officer expects statistics or mathematics at the twelfth or degree level, and Assistant Audit Officer carries a preference for commerce, economics or a chartered accountancy background. Age limits vary by post rather than applying uniformly, so check the post-wise table in the current notification.

Are free SSC CGL mock tests available?

Yes. A full-length free SSC CGL mock test on the current Tier 1 pattern is available without payment — 100 questions in 60 minutes, with the same negative marking as the real paper, followed by your score, the answer key and a section-wise breakdown.

How long does it take to prepare for SSC CGL?

A graduate with a reasonable mathematics background and consistent daily study is usually competitive in six to eight months. Someone rebuilding mathematics from the beginning should plan for a full exam cycle. The variable that matters most is daily consistency rather than total months, because vocabulary, general awareness and calculation speed all respond to repeated contact rather than long isolated sessions.

What is the SSC CGL Tier 1 exam pattern for 2026?

Tier 1 is a computer-based objective paper of 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension, 25 questions of 2 marks each. The 2026 notice adds a 15-minute sectional timer to each section, and 0.50 marks are deducted for every wrong answer. Tier 1 is qualifying; its marks decide who sits Tier 2 but do not count towards the final merit list.

What is the SSC CGL Tier 2 exam pattern?

Tier 2 Paper 1 is compulsory for all posts and runs in two sessions on one day. Session 1 has Section 1 (Mathematical Abilities 30 questions and Reasoning 30 questions, 180 marks, one hour), Section 2 (English 45 questions and General Awareness 25 questions, 210 marks, one hour) and Section 3 Module 1 (Computer Knowledge, 20 questions, 60 marks, 15 minutes, qualifying). Session 2 is the Data Entry Speed Test, qualifying, about 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes. One mark is deducted per wrong answer. Paper 2 (Statistics) and Paper 3 (Finance and Economics) are 100-question, 200-mark, two-hour papers for Junior Statistical Officer and Assistant Audit/Accounts Officer candidates respectively, with 0.50 marks deducted per wrong answer.

What is the negative marking in SSC CGL?

Tier 1 deducts 0.50 marks for a wrong answer against 2 marks for a correct one. Tier 2 Paper 1 deducts 1 mark against 3 in Sections 1, 2 and 3; Papers 2 and 3 deduct 0.50 marks against 2. Unanswered questions carry no penalty in any paper.

What were the SSC CGL 2025 Tier 1 cut-off marks?

For the general post list (all posts other than JSO and AAO/AAO), the Tier 1 cut-offs declared on 18 December 2025 were 136.83 for UR, 130.37 for OBC, 127.42 for EWS, 114.97 for SC and 106.37 for ST out of 200. The Junior Statistical Officer list closed at 153.46 for UR. Cut-offs are on normalised marks and move with the vacancy count and the difficulty of the shifts, so treat them as a guide rather than a target.

What is the SSC CGL exam pattern and syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude and Mathematical Abilities?

Tier 1 Quantitative Aptitude is 25 questions in 15 minutes, mostly arithmetic: number system, percentages, ratio and proportion, averages, profit and loss, simple and compound interest, time and work, speed and distance, mixtures, and basic algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration and data interpretation. Tier 2 Mathematical Abilities is 30 questions in the one-hour Section 1, with the same topics at greater depth — algebra of polynomials and quadratic equations, geometry of triangles, circles and chords, trigonometric identities and heights and distances, mensuration of solids, and statistics-based data interpretation. The full topic list is on the syllabus page.

What is a cloze test in the SSC CGL English section?

A cloze test is a short passage with several words removed; each blank is a question with four options, and you pick the word that fits the grammar and the sense of the passage. Cloze tests appear in Tier 1 English Comprehension and carry more weight in Tier 2 Section 2, where a passage of five to ten blanks is common. They test vocabulary, prepositions, tense agreement and idiom together, and the reliable way to practise is to read the whole passage before answering any blank.

What are the SSC CGL 2026 exam dates?

Tier 1 runs from 30 September to 30 October 2026, fixed by the Commission’s schedule notice of 12 September 2026 after the notice of 21 May had given a tentative August–September window; Tier 2 remains tentatively December 2026. Applications ran from 21 May to 22 June 2026, with a reopening from 23 to 25 June, and the correction window from 29 June to 1 July 2026. The exact Tier 1 dates and the exam-city intimation are published through the candidate login and the SSC notice board, so confirm them there.

How many vacancies are there in SSC CGL 2026?

The notice lists about 12,256 tentative vacancies, with the post-wise and category-wise break-up on the Commission’s Tentative Vacancy page. Vacancies are revised during the cycle as departments confirm their requirements; CGL 2025 was notified with a tentative count and finalised at 15,118 on 6 March 2026, all of which were filled in the final result of 14 May 2026.

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