SSC · Government Exams

SSC JE Exam Pattern and Syllabus 2026: Paper 1, Paper 2 for Civil, Mechanical and Electrical

SSC JE recruits Junior Engineers for central government departments and organisations — the Central Public Works Department, the Military Engineer Services, the Border Roads Organisation, the Central Water Commission and others. It is a technical recruitment, and unlike every other SSC examination, most of its marks come from an engineering discipline rather than from general aptitude.

That single fact should reshape how you prepare. General intelligence and general awareness together carry a minority of Paper 1; the technical paper is where the exam is won, and it is where diploma-holders with a solid grounding have a decisive advantage over candidates relying on general SSC preparation.

Take a Free SSC JE MockSSC JE Syllabus

SSC JE · checked 19 September 2026

SSC JE at a glance, from the official notices

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 JE mock testSSC JE syllabusToday’s current affairs
22Sep 2026

Next deadline

SSC JE: the facts that matter now

  1. 01

    Notice 2 September 2026; applications to 22 September 2026 (23:00) — no extension, the Commission warned on 17 September; fee to 23 September…

    2026 cycle

  2. 02

    Staff Selection Commission for central engineering departments and the IMD

    Conducted by

  3. 03

    Diploma or degree in Civil, Electrical or Mechanical engineering, as the department specifies; science or engineering degree for Scientific…

    Level

  4. 04

    Junior Engineer (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, Telecom) and Scientific Assistant in IMD — Group B, Pay Level 6 (₹35,400–1,12,400)

    Posts

Notification

SSC JE notification and key dates

Checked 19 September 2026 against the SSC notice board. A notice of 17 September 2026 reiterates that the online application closes on 22 September 2026 at 23:00 and that no extension will be granted under any circumstances; the fee window closes on 23 September and corrections run from 28 to 30 September. On 16 September the Commission re-uploaded the full 97-page notice as “Recruitment of Scientific Assistant in IMD through Junior Engineer Examination, 2026”, with the addendum’s revised qualification folded in and no change to dates or vacancies. The notice for the Junior Engineer Examination 2026 was published on 2 September 2026 with 1,748 tentative vacancies, and for the first time the examination also recruits Scientific Assistant in the India Meteorological Department and Junior Engineer (Telecom) in the Department of Telecommunications. Online applications run from 2 to 22 September 2026 (23:00), fee payment closes on 23 September, and the correction window is 28 to 30 September 2026. Paper 1 is tentatively scheduled for October–November 2026 and Paper 2 for December 2026. An addendum of 10 September 2026 revised the essential qualification for Scientific Assistant in IMD.

Key dates of the SSC JE 2026 cycle, from the notice of 2 September 2026.
EventDate
Notice published2 September 2026
Online applications2–22 September 2026 (23:00)
Last date for fee payment23 September 2026 (23:00)
Application correction window28–30 September 2026 (₹200 first correction, ₹500 second)
Paper 1 (Computer Based Examination)October–November 2026, tentative
Paper 2 (Computer Based Examination)December 2026, tentative
Tentative vacancies1,748; post-wise and category-wise list on the Tentative Vacancy page

The 2025 cycle gives the timeline. JE 2025 Paper 1, placed in late October in the calendar, was held from 3 to 6 December and on 13 December 2025 with self-slot selection; the Paper 1 result came on 6 March 2026, Paper 2 followed in April with the tentative key on 16 April, final vacancies were fixed on 24 June 2026, the first round of tentative allocation was declared on 9 July 2026, the sliding and identity verification ran on 20–21 July, and the final result of 3 August 2026 recommended 1,731 candidates — 270 SC, 122 ST, 432 OBC, 127 EWS and 780 UR — against 1,731 vacancies.

What the 2026 notice changed

Two new post groups — Scientific Assistant in IMD (with Computer Science and IT, Electronics and Telecommunication, or Physics as the engineering part) and JE (Telecom) — each with its own Paper 1 merit list. The paper scheme for Civil, Electrical and Mechanical is unchanged: 200 marks in Paper 1 with 0.25 deducted, 300 marks in Paper 2 with one mark deducted, and merit on Paper 2.

Overview

What SSC JE is, and who it suits

The Junior Engineer examination fills technical Group B posts across central government departments — organisations that build and maintain public infrastructure, military engineering works, roads in border areas and water resources projects. Candidates apply in one of three disciplines, civil, mechanical or electrical, and are examined in that discipline throughout.

Eligibility rests on a diploma or degree in the relevant engineering discipline, with the exact requirement varying between the departments a post sits in. Some organisations accept a three-year diploma; others expect a degree, or a diploma plus a period of relevant experience. This is one of the few SSC examinations where the eligibility table genuinely differs post by post and reading it carefully is not optional.

Organisations that recruit through SSC JE

  • Central Public Works Department — buildings, roads and public infrastructure
  • Military Engineer Services — engineering works for the armed forces
  • Border Roads Organisation — road construction and maintenance in border and high-altitude regions
  • Central Water Commission and other departments — water resources, along with other central organisations that vary between cycles

Eligibility differs by post and by department

Whether a particular post accepts a diploma or requires a degree, and whether it requires relevant experience, is set out post by post in the notification. Age limits also differ between departments. Confirm the requirement for the specific posts you intend to apply for rather than assuming a common standard.

Eligibility

Who can apply for SSC JE

Eligibility is post-specific: each organisation in the notice sets its own qualification — a degree, a diploma, or a diploma with two years’ experience — and its own age ceiling. Qualifications are judged as on the closing date, 22 September 2026, and age as on 1 August 2026. You are considered only for the organisations whose conditions you meet, so read the post table before choosing preferences.

Essential qualifications by organisation, summarised from the post table in the notice. The notice itself governs.
OrganisationPostsQualification
Central Public Works Department (CPWD)JE (Civil), JE (Electrical)Diploma in Civil, or in Electrical or Mechanical engineering; age up to 32
Military Engineer Services (MES)JE (Civil), JE (Electrical and Mechanical)Degree in the discipline, or a three-year diploma with two years’ experience in planning, execution or maintenance of works
Border Roads OrganisationJE (Civil), JE (Electrical and Mechanical)Degree in the discipline, or a three-year diploma with two years’ experience; BRO posts carry their own physical and medical standards
Central Water CommissionJE (Civil), JE (Mechanical)Degree or diploma in the discipline
Central Water and Power Research Station; Farakka Barrage Project; Brahmaputra BoardJE (Civil), JE (Electrical)Diploma in the discipline
DGQA (Naval), Ministry of DefenceJE (Mechanical), JE (Electrical)Degree in the discipline, or a three-year diploma with two years’ experience
National Technical Research Organisation; Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and DairyingJE (Civil) and others as listedAs specified per post in the notice
Department of TelecommunicationsJE (Telecom)As specified in the notice; examined on Part G, Telecommunication
India Meteorological DepartmentScientific AssistantPer the addendum of 10 September 2026: a bachelor’s degree in science with Physics, or a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Applications, Electronics, Electronics and Communication, Instrumentation, IT or Telecommunication engineering
Age as on 1 August 2026: up to 30 years for most posts (born 2 August 1996 to 1 August 2008), up to 32 for CPWD (born from 2 August 1994). Relaxations beyond the ceiling, from the notice.
CategoryRelaxation
SC and ST5 years
OBC (non-creamy layer)3 years
Persons with benchmark disabilities10 years (UR/EWS), 13 years (OBC), 15 years (SC/ST)
Ex-servicemen3 years after deducting military service from actual age
Defence personnel disabled in operations3 years (8 years for SC/ST)

Other conditions

  • Fee — ₹100 online; women and SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates are exempt.
  • Discipline — You sit Paper 1 and Paper 2 in one discipline — Civil and Structural, Electrical, or Mechanical for JE; a candidate with a diploma in Electrical or Mechanical may be eligible for JE (Electrical and Mechanical) posts in MES and BRO in either part as the notice specifies.
  • Experience — Where a post asks for two years’ experience with a diploma, it is counted as on the closing date and verified by the department with an experience certificate.

Selection process

How SSC JE 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.
StageFormatWhat it involves
Paper 1 — Computer Based ExaminationObjective, 200 questions, 200 marks, 2 hoursGeneral Intelligence and Reasoning (50 questions, 50 marks), General Awareness (50, 50) and General Engineering in the discipline applied for (100, 100): Civil and Structural, Electrical or Mechanical for JE; Computer Science and IT, Electronics and Telecommunication or Physics for Scientific Assistant in IMD; Telecommunication for JE (Telecom). 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer. Qualifying — Paper 1 shortlists for Paper 2 through separate merit lists for each post group.
Paper 2 — Computer Based ExaminationObjective, 100 questions, 300 marks, 2 hoursGeneral Engineering in the discipline only — Part A Civil and Structural, Part B Electrical, Part C Mechanical, or the IMD and Telecom parts — 100 questions of three marks each with one mark deducted per wrong answer. The IS 456:2000 tables and steam tables are available on the console where needed. The final merit list is built from Paper 2 normalised marks.
Option-cum-preference, allocation and document verificationOnline form, sliding and verificationAfter Paper 2 marks, candidates submit preferences for the organisations; the Commission publishes a first round of tentative allocation, runs an identity verification and fix/float sliding process at its regional offices, and declares the final result. The user department verifies the diploma or degree, experience where required, category and age certificates before appointment.

Application to appointment

How to apply for SSC JE 2026, what Paper 1 and Paper 2 look like on the day, and how organisations are allotted

The steps in the order they happen, with the windows and fees the 2 September 2026 notice specifies.

The SSC JE process from registration to result

  1. 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.
  2. Fill the online application for SSC JE 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.
  3. Pay the fee The fee is ₹100, paid online, with 23 September 2026 (23:00) as the last date. Women and SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen candidates are exempt. Fees are not refunded.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Self-slot selection and Paper 1 In the 2025 cycle candidates chose their Paper 1 date and shift from the slots available in their city through the login. Paper 1 is two hours with no sectional timer: 50 reasoning, 50 general awareness and 100 engineering questions. Answer-key challenges cost ₹50 per question.
  10. Paper 1 result: separate merit lists Candidates above the minimum qualifying marks are shortlisted for Paper 2 on normalised marks, through separate lists for JE (Civil), JE (Electrical and Mechanical), Scientific Assistant in IMD and JE (Telecom).
  11. Paper 2 One hundred engineering questions of three marks each in two hours, with one mark deducted per wrong answer. The IS 456:2000 tables and steam tables are available on the console under Useful Data where the discipline needs them. Marks are normalised and the merit list is built from this paper.
  12. Option-cum-preference, first round of tentative allocation and sliding After marks are published, candidates in the merit zone submit preferences for organisations. The Commission publishes a first round of tentative allocation, then calls candidates to a regional office for identity verification and a fix/float sliding process — fix keeps the allotted post, float asks to be considered for a higher preference if a vacancy opens. A candidate who does not attend is treated as absent and dropped.
  13. Final result and verification by the department The final result allots organisations by merit-cum-preference and the fix/float choices; in 2025 it came on 3 August 2026, four weeks after the first round. The department verifies the degree or diploma, experience certificate, category and age before appointment, and BRO conducts its own physical and medical examination.

Exam pattern

SSC JE exam pattern and marking

The SSC JE exam pattern below is the scheme in the notice of 2 September 2026. Both papers are computer-based and objective; the discipline you apply in decides which engineering part you answer. The full treatment is on the exam pattern page.

SSC JE Paper 1 exam pattern 2026: 200 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours (2 hours 40 minutes for scribe-eligible candidates); 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer; qualifying.
SectionQuestionsMarks
General Intelligence and Reasoning5050
General Awareness5050
General Engineering — Part A Civil and Structural, Part B Electrical or Part C Mechanical (JE); Part D Computer Science and IT, Part E Electronics and Telecommunication or Part F Physics (Scientific Assistant, IMD); Part G Telecommunication (JE Telecom)100100
Total200200
SSC JE Paper 2 exam pattern 2026: 100 questions, 300 marks, 2 hours; one mark deducted per wrong answer; the merit list is built from this paper.
SectionQuestionsMarks
General Engineering in the discipline — the same part as in Paper 1100300
Minimum qualifying marks that apply before any shortlisting — a candidate below these in any paper is not considered regardless of the cut-off.
CategoryMinimum qualifying marks
Unreserved30%
OBC and EWS25%
All other categories20%

Questions are set in Hindi and English. 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. Separate merit lists are drawn for JE (Civil), JE (Electrical and Mechanical), Scientific Assistant in IMD and JE (Telecom) at both stages.

Study plan

How to prepare for SSC JE

JE is the SSC exam where the syllabus is the discipline you already studied, which makes the plan different: most of the marks — 100 of 200 in Paper 1 and all 300 in Paper 2 — come from diploma-level engineering, and the merit list is built entirely from Paper 2. Reasoning and general awareness only have to clear Paper 1 comfortably.

A five-month plan

  1. Months 1–2: the core subjects of your discipline Civil: building materials, surveying, soil mechanics, hydraulics, RCC and steel design, estimating, environmental engineering, transportation. Mechanical: thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, strength of materials, theory of machines, production, IC engines, refrigeration. Electrical: circuits, machines, measurements, power systems, basic electronics, utilisation. Work from the standard diploma texts and the previous years’ papers together.
  2. Month 3: Paper 1 general sections and full engineering revision Reasoning question types and a general awareness spine with six months of current affairs, an hour a day; the rest on engineering numericals, which is where Paper 2 differentiates.
  3. Month 4: mocks with the negative marking applied A Paper 1 mock every third day with 0.25 deducted, a Paper 2 mock every week with one mark deducted, and an error log by subject. Practise using the IS 456 and steam tables on screen rather than from memory.
  4. Month 5: revision and the exam window Revise from formula sheets and the error log; taper mocks in the final ten days. Confirm the discipline and post preferences you will submit before the option form opens.

What the pattern means for the attempt

  • Paper 1 is qualifying but the cut-off is real — Separate merit lists per discipline mean you compete only with your own branch; the shortlist for Paper 2 is still a small fraction of applicants.
  • Paper 2 punishes guessing — One mark off against three on: a two-option guess is worth taking, a three- or four-option guess is not. A clean 70 beats a scrappy 85.
  • Numericals decide Paper 2 — Conceptual one-liners are shared knowledge; calculation questions in strength of materials, hydraulics, machines and circuits are where the spread is.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 12 September 2026 against the notice of the Junior Engineer Examination 2026, its addendum of 10 September 2026, and the Paper 1 result, final vacancy, first-round allocation and final result write-ups of JE 2025 on the SSC notice board. Paper dates for 2026 are tentative in the notice.

Official documents

Notice of Junior Engineer Examination 2026 (2 September 2026) Addendum on the qualification for Scientific Assistant in IMD (10 September 2026) JE 2025 Paper 1 result write-up (6 March 2026) JE 2025 final vacancies (24 June 2026) JE 2025 first round of tentative allocation (9 July 2026) JE 2025 final result write-up (3 August 2026) SSC home page — notices, calendar and candidate login

Exam resources

Everything for SSC JE

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

SSC JE SyllabusSSC JE syllabus — discipline-wise technical topics for civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, plus reasoning and general awareness.SSC JE Exam PatternSSC JE exam pattern 2026 — Paper 1 and Paper 2 tables with questions, marks, time and negative marking for Civil, Mechanical and Electrical.SSC JE Previous PapersSSC JE previous year papers — discipline-wise past papers and how to use them to find the technical topics that repeat every cycle.SSC JE Mock TestsSSC JE mock tests — timed Paper 1 practice with the technical section weighted as it is in the real examination.SSC JE PreparationSSC JE preparation strategy — how to rebuild diploma-level technical subjects, weight the three sections and plan a realistic timeline.SSC JE Study MaterialSSC JE study material — reasoning and general awareness notes to support the aptitude sections alongside your discipline textbooks.

Related

More SSC preparation

All SSC examsEvery exam in this categoryPrevious-year papersPast papers with solutionsCurrent affairsDaily, weekly and monthlyExam updatesNotifications and results

Questions

SSC JE — FAQs

Which disciplines can I apply for in SSC JE?

Civil, mechanical and electrical engineering. You choose one at the application stage and are examined in that discipline in both the general engineering section of Paper 1 and the whole of Paper 2. Civil posts are typically the most numerous, but the right choice is the discipline you actually hold a qualification in.

How much of SSC JE is technical?

The large majority. General engineering carries 100 of the 200 marks in Paper 1, and Paper 2 is entirely technical. Across both papers, your engineering discipline accounts for considerably more marks than reasoning and general awareness combined, which is why technical revision should start first and take most of your preparation time.

How long does SSC JE preparation take?

It depends mainly on how recently you completed your diploma. A final-year student or recent graduate is revising familiar material and can be competitive in about four months. A candidate several years removed from the syllabus is rebuilding it and should plan for six to eight months, with the bulk of that time on technical subjects rather than on aptitude.

What is the SSC JE exam pattern for 2026?

Paper 1 is 200 objective questions for 200 marks in two hours — General Intelligence and Reasoning (50), General Awareness (50) and General Engineering in your discipline (100) — with 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer; it is qualifying and shortlists for Paper 2 through separate lists per discipline. Paper 2 is 100 engineering questions for 300 marks in two hours with one mark deducted per wrong answer, and the merit list is built from it alone. Both papers are computer-based, and the IS 456 and steam tables are provided on screen where needed.

What is the SSC JE syllabus for Civil, Mechanical and Electrical?

Civil and Structural: building materials, estimating and costing, surveying, soil mechanics, hydraulics, irrigation, transportation, environmental engineering, theory of structures, concrete technology, RCC and steel design. Mechanical: theory of machines and machine design, engineering mechanics and strength of materials, thermodynamics, air standard cycles, IC engines, boilers, refrigeration and air conditioning, fluid mechanics and machinery, production engineering. Electrical: basic concepts, circuit law, magnetic circuits, AC fundamentals, measurement, electrical machines, single-phase and fractional-kilowatt motors, synchronous machines, generation, transmission and distribution, estimation and costing, utilisation and basic electronics. The full topic list is on the syllabus page.

What are the SSC JE 2026 exam dates and vacancies?

The notice was published on 2 September 2026; applications close on 22 September, fee payment on 23 September, and the correction window runs from 28 to 30 September 2026. Paper 1 is tentatively in October–November 2026 and Paper 2 in December 2026. There are 1,748 tentative vacancies across CPWD, MES, BRO, the Central Water Commission, CWPRS, the Farakka Barrage Project, the Brahmaputra Board, DGQA (Naval), NTRO, the Department of Telecommunications, the IMD and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

Who is eligible for SSC JE 2026?

It depends on the organisation: CPWD, CWPRS, the Farakka Barrage Project and the Brahmaputra Board accept a diploma in the discipline; the Central Water Commission accepts a degree or diploma; MES, BRO and DGQA (Naval) want a degree, or a three-year diploma with two years’ experience. Age is up to 30 on 1 August 2026 for most posts and up to 32 for CPWD, with five years’ relaxation for SC and ST, three for OBC and 10 to 15 for PwBD. Scientific Assistant in IMD needs a science degree with Physics or a degree in computer science, electronics, IT or telecommunication as revised by the addendum of 10 September 2026.

What is the negative marking in SSC JE?

0.25 marks per wrong answer in Paper 1, against one mark for a correct answer, and one mark per wrong answer in Paper 2, against three. Unanswered questions carry no penalty.

Is there an interview in SSC JE?

No. Selection is on Paper 2 marks, normalised, with post preferences and the fix/float sliding process deciding the organisation, followed by document verification by the department. BRO additionally applies its own physical and medical standards.

Start your SSC JE preparation today

Read the syllabus, attempt a free mock, then fix the section that costs you the most marks.

Take Free Mock TestExplore Exams

Already practising? Create Free Account to track your preparation.

Explore ExamsTake Free Mock Test