Bihar · Government Exams

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination

The Combined Competitive Examination is how the Bihar Public Service Commission fills the state’s gazetted services in one cycle: sub-divisional magistrates of the administrative service, deputy superintendents of police, assistant commissioners of state tax, revenue officers, rural development officers, block panchayat raj officers, supply inspectors, labour enforcement officers, municipal executive officers and a dozen smaller cadres. The commission runs it as an “integrated” examination, so that the child development project officer, financial administrative officer and, in the 72nd, the sub-divisional protection officer posts share the same preliminary and general studies papers and differ only in a descriptive optional subject in the mains.

Three cycles overlap at the date checked. The 70th, advertised in September 2024 for 1,957 posts that grew to 2,017, published its final result on 20 June 2026 with 2,009 candidates recommended. The 71st, advertised on 30 May 2025 for 1,250 posts that grew to 1,298, held its preliminary on 13 September 2025, qualified 13,368 of 3,16,905 candidates on 18 November, wrote its mains from 25 to 29 April 2026 and awaits a result the commission’s calendar puts in August or September 2026. The 72nd, advertised on 5 May 2026 for 1,230 posts, took applications to 31 May, lost 44 sugarcane officer posts and two deputy superintendent posts and gained three sub-registrar posts by three corrigenda to stand at 1,187, and had its preliminary of 26 July 2026 postponed on 18 July for unavoidable reasons; the calendar of 14 August 2026 puts it on 25 October.

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BPSC Combined Competitive Examination · 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.

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19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination: the facts that matter now

01
Advertised 5 May 2026; applications 7 to 31 May; 1,187 posts after corrigenda of 6 May, 27 May and 3 September; preliminary postponed from 26 July…
72nd cycle
02
Preliminary 13 September 2025, 13,368 qualified of 3,16,905; mains 25 to 29 April 2026; result due August to September 2026
71st cycle
03
Final result 20 June 2026 — 2,009 recommended against 2,017 posts; unreserved cut-off 528 of 1,020
70th cycle
04
Bihar Public Service Commission, Patna
Conducted by

Notification

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination notification and key dates

Checked 11 September 2026. The 72nd preliminary, postponed from 26 July 2026, is on the calendar for 25 October with no fresh notice yet; the posts stand at 1,187 after the corrigendum of 3 September 2026. The 71st mains, written from 25 to 29 April 2026, had its unevaluated answer booklets opened to candidates from 24 to 29 August, and the calendar puts the result in August or September 2026, with interviews to follow. The 70th cycle closed with its final result on 20 June 2026 and marksheets on 20 July.

The 72nd cycle’s documents, from the commission’s feed.
Date	Document	What it did
5 May 2026	Notice and advertisement	1,230 posts — 1,077 in the first table and 153 in the second; applications 7 to 31 May; examination expected in July
2 May 2026	Notice on answer option E	Five options in every objective paper; unmarked questions penalised like wrong ones
6 May 2026	Corrigendum	44 sugarcane officer posts deleted
27 May 2026	Corrigendum	Sub-registrar posts raised from 3 to 6; total 1,189
10 July 2026	Examination programme	Preliminary on Sunday 26 July 2026, 12 noon to 2 pm
18 July 2026	Notice	Preliminary postponed for unavoidable reasons; new date to follow
14 August 2026	Examination calendar	Preliminary 25 October 2026, tentative; 1,189 posts listed
3 September 2026	Corrigendum	Deputy superintendent posts cut from 22 to 20; total 1,187

The 71st cycle so far.
Date	Event	Detail
30 May 2025	Advertisement	1,250 posts — 502 cooperative extension officers, 459 block minority welfare officers, 100 sub-divisional officers, 79 financial administrative officers, 45 revenue officers and smaller cadres; applications 2 to 30 June
18 and 26 June 2025	Corrigenda	14 deputy superintendent posts added, then 34 more posts; total 1,298
4 July 2025	Revised dates	Preliminary moved to 13 September 2025, swapping with the assistant section officer preliminary
13 September 2025	Preliminary	912 centres in 37 districts; 3,16,905 appeared; provisional key 19 September; final key 31 October
18 November 2025	Preliminary result	13,368 qualified — 5,970 unreserved, 1,376 EWS, 1,752 SC, 97 ST, 2,098 EBC, 1,711 BC, 364 BC women; separate list for financial administrative officer
1 December 2025	Mains advertisement	Applications 3 to 24 December 2025
25 to 29 April 2026	Mains	General Hindi and essay on the 25th; general studies I on the 27th; general studies II on the 28th; optional on the 29th; financial administrative officer optional on the 30th
22 August 2026	Notice	Unevaluated answer booklets viewable from 24 to 29 August
—	Mains result	August to September 2026 on the calendar; interviews and final result to follow

The 70th cycle, complete.
Date	Event	Detail
23 September 2024	Advertisement	1,957 posts, later 2,035 on the calendar and 2,017 at the final result; applications 28 September to 18 October
13 December 2024	Preliminary	912 centres; one Patna centre’s paper cancelled after a disruption and re-held on 4 January 2025 at 22 centres; the commission declined a statewide re-examination in a press release of 28 December
23 January 2025	Preliminary result	21,581 qualified of 3,28,990
25 to 30 April 2025	Mains	In Patna; 20,034 appeared
16 December 2025	Mains result	5,401 called to interview; unreserved written cut-off 445 of 900
21 January to 10 April 2026	Interviews	Two phases; 5,354 appeared, 47 absent; 53 candidatures cancelled and 2 withheld
20 June 2026	Final result	2,009 recommended against 2,017 posts, 8 kept vacant for want of deaf-mute candidates; unreserved cut-off 528 of 1,020
20 July 2026	Marksheets	Published on the commission’s site

Check the commission directly

BPSC — home and notices BPSC — examination calendar, 14 August 2026 72nd CCE — advertisement, 5 May 2026 72nd CCE — postponement notice, 18 July 2026 72nd CCE — corrigendum, 3 September 2026 71st CCE — preliminary result, 18 November 2025 70th CCE — final result, 20 June 2026 BPSC — online application portal

Overview

What BPSC Combined Competitive Examination is, and who it suits

The 72nd advertisement lists 22 cadres in its first table and three in its second. The first table’s 1,077 posts are led by 365 revenue officers, 130 cooperative extension officers, 100 sub-divisional officers of the Bihar Administrative Service, 76 assistant commissioners of state tax, 70 block panchayat raj officers, 65 rural development officers, 56 labour enforcement officers, 54 municipal executive officers, 44 sugarcane officers since deleted, 31 supply inspectors and 22 deputy superintendents of police since cut to 20; the smaller cadres are labour superintendents and assistant registrars of cooperative societies at ten each, assistant planning officers at ten, the education service’s administrative sub-cadre at nine, assistant election officers at seven, block scheduled caste and tribe welfare officers at five, probation officers at four, sub-registrars at three raised to six, block minority welfare officers at three, district audit officers at two and a district minority welfare officer. The second table holds 20 child development project officers, 32 financial administrative officers and 101 sub-divisional protection officers reserved for women.

The cadres pay at Level 9, Level 7 or Level 6 of the state’s matrix, and the advertisement sets a minimum age by post: 20 for deputy superintendent of police; 21 for probation officer, assistant planning officer, the Level 7 field posts from municipal executive officer to block scheduled caste and tribe welfare officer, and the child development and protection officers; 22 for the other Level 9 posts, the block minority welfare officer and the financial administrative officer. Sub-inspectors and constables are recruited by other bodies and are on their own pages; the commission’s post-specific rounds outside this examination are on the specialist page.

What changed in the 72nd cycle

A fifth answer option — every multiple-choice question offers A to E, and a candidate who does not attempt a question must mark E; a question left with no option marked is penalised a third of a mark like a wrong answer, under the commission’s notice of 2 May 2026 for all its objective examinations.
A flat fee — ₹100 for every candidate under the state’s resolution of 21 August 2025, paid separately for each of the four examinations applied for — the combined examination, child development project officer, financial administrative officer and sub-divisional protection officer; the 70th charged ₹600, or ₹150 for Bihar’s SC, ST, women and PwD candidates.
A women-only cadre — 101 sub-divisional protection officer posts of the social welfare department, filled through the integrated mains with psychology or law as the optional.
Three corrigenda — 44 sugarcane officer posts deleted on 6 May 2026; sub-registrar posts raised from three to six on 27 May, for a total of 1,189; deputy superintendent posts cut from 22 to 20 on 3 September, for a total of 1,187.

Where the 72nd preliminary stands

The commission’s programme of 10 July 2026 fixed the preliminary for Sunday 26 July 2026 from 12 noon to 2 pm. A notice of 18 July postponed it for unavoidable reasons and said the new date would follow. The examination calendar revised on 14 August lists 25 October 2026 and marks every date tentative; no separate notice of the new date had been published by the date checked, and the admit card notice, when it comes, will be on the commission’s home page.

Eligibility

Who can apply for BPSC Combined Competitive Examination

From the 72nd advertisement of 5 May 2026; age is reckoned on 1 August 2026.
Condition	Rule
Qualification	A bachelor’s degree from a recognised university, or its equivalent, for the combined examination. Child development project officer: a degree, with home science, psychology, sociology or labour and social welfare as the mains optional. Financial administrative officer: a degree in commerce, economics, mathematics or statistics. Sub-divisional protection officer: a degree in psychology or law, with one of them as the optional.
Minimum age	20 for deputy superintendent of police; 21 for probation officer, assistant planning officer, the Level 7 cadres — municipal executive officer, rural development officer, revenue officer, block panchayat raj officer, cooperative extension officer, labour enforcement officer, supply inspector, block scheduled caste and tribe welfare officer — and the child development and protection officers; 22 for the other posts, including block minority welfare officer and the financial administrative officer.
Maximum age	37 for unreserved men; 40 for unreserved women and for BC and EBC men and women; 42 for SC and ST. Ten more for PwD; five for Bihar government servants; three plus service rendered for ex-servicemen, to 57.
Attempts	No limit since the state abolished it in 2003, except that Bihar government servants have five attempts across the commission’s examinations under the resolution of 12 December 2022.
Reservation	Caste, EWS, the 35 per cent women’s quota, the 2 per cent for grandchildren of freedom fighters and the 4 per cent for benchmark disability, for permanent residents of Bihar only; candidates from other states compete as unreserved. Married women claim on a certificate in their father’s name.
Fee	₹100 for every candidate, for each of the four examinations applied for; ₹200 more for biometrics where no Aadhaar number is given. Non-refundable.
Physical standard	Deputy superintendent candidates are measured at the medical board against the police service’s height and chest table in the advertisement’s appendix; all candidates must be found fit by the board.

The 71st advertisement set the same age limits on 1 August 2025 and the 70th on 1 August 2024, so a candidate who was within the limit in one cycle is within it in the next only if a year has not carried them past it. Certificates are checked against the upload at interview, and a certificate issued after the application closing date is not accepted.

Selection process

How BPSC Combined Competitive Examination 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
Application through One Time Registration	Online at bpsconline.bihar.gov.in; ₹100 per examination	The commission’s portal requires a one-time registration before any application, and the 72nd window ran from 7 to 31 May 2026. Certificates are uploaded as PDFs, a webcam photograph is captured in the form, and candidates for the child development, financial administrative or protection officer posts choose them at application or forfeit the claim. Every certificate must bear a date on or before the closing date.
Preliminary examination	Objective; general studies; 150 marks; two hours; qualifying	One paper of general studies with a third of a mark off for each wrong or unmarked answer. It only screens: ten times the vacancies are called to the mains at a common cut-off by category, subject to minimums of 40, 36.5, 34 and 32 per cent for the unreserved, BC, EBC and SC, ST, women and PwD. The 71st cut the unreserved at 88 of 150 and the 70th qualified 21,581 of 3,28,990.
Main written examination	Descriptive; four counted papers of 900 marks plus two qualifying	A separate application and fee after the preliminary result. General Hindi of 100 marks is qualifying at 30 per cent. General studies papers I and II and an essay carry 300 marks each in three hours, and an optional subject from a list of 34 is a two-hour objective paper of 100 marks that must be passed but is not counted. For the child development, financial administrative and protection officer posts the optional is a descriptive paper of 300 marks that replaces the essay in the count. Two and a half times the vacancies are called to interview.
Interview and medical board	120 marks; ₹16 medical fee; compulsory	A personality test of 120 marks that a candidate must attend to be placed on the merit list, followed by a medical board at the commission. The 70th interviewed 5,354 of 5,401 called between 21 January and 10 April 2026. Deputy superintendent candidates are measured against the police service’s height and chest standards in the advertisement’s appendix.
Merit list and allotment	1,020 marks; service preference recorded at the mains application	Merit is the 900 counted mains marks plus the interview. Ties go to the higher mains total, then the higher optional for the three separate posts, then the older candidate, then Devanagari alphabetical order. Services are allotted by rank against the preference order given in the mains form and the reservation roster, and the commission publishes the recommendation list, cut-offs and then marksheets as PDFs.

Exam pattern

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination exam pattern and marking

The scheme in the 72nd advertisement; the 71st mains follows the same papers.
Stage	Paper	Marks	Time	Counts?
Preliminary	General studies — objective, five options	150	2 hours	No — screens ten times the vacancies
Mains	General Hindi	100	3 hours	No — 30 per cent to qualify
Mains	General studies paper I	300	3 hours	Yes
Mains	General studies paper II	300	3 hours	Yes
Mains	Essay	300	3 hours	Yes
Mains	Optional subject — objective, one of 34	100	2 hours	No — the state minimum to qualify
Mains, separate posts	Optional subject — descriptive, in place of the essay	300	3 hours	Yes
Interview	Personality test	120	—	Yes
Total	Counted marks	1,020

Marking and thresholds.
Rule	Detail
Negative marking	A third of a mark for each wrong answer in the preliminary, and the same for a question with no option marked; option E is the way to leave a question unanswered.
Preliminary minimums	40 per cent unreserved; 36.5 BC; 34 EBC; 32 SC, ST, women and PwD — a candidate below the minimum is out regardless of the cut-off.
Mains minimums	The same percentages across the mains, with General Hindi at 30 per cent.
Calls	Ten times the vacancies to the mains; two and a half times to the interview; every candidate at a common cut-off called.
Language	Question papers in Hindi and English; answers in Hindi, English or Urdu, in one language throughout, with technical terms allowed in English.
Optional subjects	Agriculture, animal husbandry and veterinary science, anthropology, botany, chemistry, civil engineering, commerce and accountancy, economics, electrical engineering, geography, geology, history, labour and social welfare, law, management, mathematics, mechanical engineering, philosophy, physics, political science and international relations, psychology, public administration, sociology, statistics, zoology, and the literature of Hindi, English, Urdu, Bengali, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali and Maithili.

The preliminary syllabus as the advertisement states it

General science; current events of national and international importance; the history of India and the salient features of Bihar’s history; general geography and the geographical divisions of Bihar with its major rivers; India’s polity and economy and the principal changes in Bihar’s economy since independence; the national movement and Bihar’s part in it; and general mental ability. The mains syllabus is on the commission’s syllabus page by paper.

Confirm the structure against your own notification

BPSC, BSSC, the constable board and the state’s other recruiting bodies revise schemes, ratios and dates between cycles, and the advertisement for your cycle is the document that binds. The figures here are from the latest documents on the official sites at the date checked and are labelled where they come from an older cycle.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 11 September 2026 against the commission’s notice and advertisement of 5 May 2026 for the 72nd examination, read page by page, its three corrigenda and its programme and postponement notices; the 71st notice and advertisement of 30 May 2025, the revised-date notice of 4 July, the preliminary result of 18 November 2025, the mains notice of 1 December 2025 and the mains programme of 23 March 2026; the 70th preliminary result of 23 January 2025, mains result of 16 December 2025, interview programmes and final result of 20 June 2026; the examination calendar of 14 August 2026; and the commission’s notice and results feed. Every document is a scanned PDF; figures were cross-checked against the totals each document prints. The 25 October 2026 date is the calendar’s and is marked tentative there.

Official documents

72nd CCE — notice, 5 May 2026 72nd CCE — advertisement, 5 May 2026 72nd CCE — sugarcane officer corrigendum, 6 May 2026 72nd CCE — sub-registrar corrigendum, 27 May 2026 72nd CCE — deputy superintendent corrigendum, 3 September 2026 72nd CCE — examination programme, 10 July 2026 72nd CCE — postponement, 18 July 2026 BPSC — notice on answer option E, 2 May 2026 71st CCE — notice and advertisement, 30 May 2025 71st CCE — revised dates, 4 July 2025 71st CCE — preliminary result, 18 November 2025 71st CCE — mains advertisement, 1 December 2025 71st CCE — mains programme, 23 March 2026 70th CCE — preliminary result, 23 January 2025 70th CCE — mains result, 16 December 2025 70th CCE — final result, 20 June 2026 BPSC — examination calendar, 14 August 2026 BPSC — syllabus BPSC — question booklets

Exam resources

Everything for BPSC Combined Competitive Examination

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

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination SyllabusBPSC CCE syllabus — the preliminary general studies topics as the 72nd advertisement states them, the four mains papers, and the 34 optional subjects.BPSC Combined Competitive Examination Exam PatternBPSC CCE exam pattern — the 150-mark preliminary with option E and a third off, the 900-mark counted mains, the 120-mark interview, and the 1,020 total.BPSC Combined Competitive Examination Previous PapersBPSC CCE previous year papers — the 71st preliminary paper and final key of 2025, the 70th papers of 2024 and 2025, and where the commission publishes booklets.BPSC Combined Competitive Examination Mock TestsBPSC CCE mock tests — a two-hour general studies paper scored with a third off and option E, timed essay and general studies writing, and where to set the bar.BPSC Combined Competitive Examination PreparationBPSC CCE preparation — using the overlap of three cycles, Bihar-weighted general studies, the switch to descriptive writing, and the documents to keep ready.BPSC Combined Competitive Examination Study MaterialBPSC CCE study material — a general studies base with Bihar-specific reading, Hindi grammar, essay practice, and the optional at pass level.

More Bihar preparation

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

Questions

BPSC Combined Competitive Examination — FAQs

When is the 72nd BPSC prelims?

Not fixed. The commission’s programme of 10 July 2026 set it for Sunday 26 July 2026, and a notice of 18 July postponed it for unavoidable reasons with the new date to follow. The examination calendar revised on 14 August 2026 lists 25 October 2026 and marks all its dates tentative; no separate notice of the new date had been published at the date checked.

How many posts are in the 72nd BPSC CCE?

1,187. The advertisement of 5 May 2026 listed 1,230 — 1,077 in the first table and 153 child development, financial administrative and sub-divisional protection officer posts in the second. A corrigendum of 6 May deleted 44 sugarcane officer posts, one of 27 May raised sub-registrar posts from three to six for a total of 1,189, and one of 3 September 2026 cut deputy superintendent of police posts from 22 to 20 for a total of 1,187. The largest cadres are 365 revenue officers, 130 cooperative extension officers and 100 sub-divisional officers.

When will the 71st BPSC mains result be published?

The calendar of 14 August 2026 puts it in August or September 2026. The mains was written from 25 to 29 April 2026 by candidates from the 13,368 who cleared the preliminary of 13 September 2025, and unevaluated answer booklets were opened to candidates from 24 to 29 August. Interviews follow the result; two and a half times the 1,298 vacancies are called.

What was the 70th BPSC final result?

Published on 20 June 2026: 2,009 candidates recommended against 2,017 posts, with eight kept vacant for want of deaf-mute candidates. Of the 5,401 called to interview from the mains result of 16 December 2025, 5,354 appeared between 21 January and 10 April 2026. The unreserved cut-off was 528 of 1,020 at the final stage and 445 of 900 in the mains; marksheets followed on 20 July 2026.

What is the BPSC CCE exam pattern?

A preliminary of general studies, 150 marks in two hours, objective, qualifying only, with ten times the vacancies going through. A mains of General Hindi at 100 marks qualifying at 30 per cent, general studies I and II at 300 each, an essay at 300 and an objective optional of 100 marks that qualifies but is not counted. An interview of 120 marks. Merit is 900 plus 120, or 1,020. For the child development, financial administrative and protection officer posts a descriptive optional of 300 marks replaces the essay.

Is there negative marking in the BPSC prelims?

Yes — a third of a mark for every wrong answer. From the 72nd cycle every question has five options, A to E, and a candidate who does not want to attempt a question must mark E; a question with no option marked is penalised a third of a mark like a wrong one, under the commission’s notice of 2 May 2026.

What was the BPSC 71st prelims cut-off?

Of 150: 88 unreserved, 78 unreserved women, 82.33 EWS, 84 BC, 81 EBC, 72 SC, 71.33 ST, 71.67 BC women, and 48 to 68.33 for the disability categories. 13,368 candidates qualified of 3,16,905 who appeared on 13 September 2025, by the result of 18 November 2025.

What is the age limit and fee for BPSC CCE?

On 1 August 2026 for the 72nd: a minimum of 20 for deputy superintendent of police, 21 for the Level 7 field cadres, probation and planning officers and the child development and protection officers, and 22 for the other posts; a maximum of 37 for unreserved men, 40 for unreserved women and BC and EBC candidates, and 42 for SC and ST, with ten more for PwD and five for Bihar government servants. There is no limit on attempts except five for state servants. The fee is ₹100 for every candidate for each examination applied for, plus ₹200 for biometrics where no Aadhaar is given.

Can candidates from outside Bihar apply for BPSC CCE?

Yes, with a bachelor’s degree, but reservation by caste, EWS, the women’s quota, disability and freedom fighter descent is for permanent residents of Bihar only; a candidate from another state competes as unreserved with the unreserved age limit.

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