SSC CGL 2026: Notification, Eligibility, Exam Pattern & Salary

What is SSC CGL?

The Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination is the Staff Selection Commission's biggest recruitment for graduates. One application covers dozens of posts, from Assistant Section Officer and Inspector (Income Tax, Central Excise, Examiner) to Auditor, Accountant and Junior Statistical Officer. The notice usually comes out between April and June, and the full cycle from application to final result takes about a year.

Eligibility

Education: a Bachelor's degree from a recognised university. Two posts need more. Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) needs 60% marks in Mathematics at Class 12, or Statistics as a subject in the degree. Statistical Investigator Grade-II needs a degree with Statistics, Mathematics, Economics or a related subject, as listed in the notice.

Age: the limit depends on the post: 18–27, 18–30, 20–30 or 18–32 years for the 2026 cycle, counted on 01.08.2026. The usual relaxations apply: 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC/ST and 10 years for PwBD, with more for ex-servicemen and other categories listed in the notice.

Exam pattern

Tier-I is a screening test. Its marks are not counted in the final merit.

Tier-I section	Questions	Marks
General Intelligence & Reasoning	25	50
General Awareness	25	50
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50
English Comprehension	25	50

Tier-I lasts 60 minutes and deducts 0.50 marks for each wrong answer.

Tier-II Paper-I decides the final merit. Section I has Mathematics (30 questions) and Reasoning (30 questions) for 180 marks. Section II has English (45 questions) and General Awareness (25 questions) for 210 marks. Section III (Computer Knowledge, 20 questions) and Section IV (Data Entry Speed Test) are qualifying only. Sections I to III deduct 1 mark per wrong answer. Paper-II (Statistics) is only for JSO candidates and Paper-III (General Studies – Finance & Economics) is only for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer candidates.

Minimum qualifying marks are 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS, and 20% for other categories.

Salary

CGL posts sit between Pay Level 4 (₹25,500 basic) and Pay Level 8 (₹47,600 basic), with dearness allowance, HRA and other allowances on top. Inspector and ASO posts at Level 7 are the most popular choices because of pay and promotion prospects.

How to apply

Apply on the SSC website, ssc.gov.in, with one-time registration. Fill in your post preferences carefully: the final allocation follows your Tier-II rank and the preference order you gave.