How many vacancies are there in SSC CGL 2026?

12,256 tentative vacancies were announced with the notification on 21 May 2026. Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer posts are back in this cycle.

What is sectional timing in SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1?

Each of the four sections has its own 15-minute window. When the 15 minutes are over the section closes and you move on. You cannot return to it or carry unused time forward.

What is the SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 exam pattern?

100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes, split into four sections of 25 questions and 50 marks each: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. Wrong answers lose 0.50 marks.

When is the SSC CGL 2026 Tier 2 exam?

Tier 2 is expected in December 2026. The exact dates will be notified separately by the commission.

What is Paper 3 in SSC CGL Tier 2?

Paper 3 covers General Studies with Finance and Economics and is taken only by candidates who applied for Assistant Audit Officer and Assistant Accounts Officer posts.

SSC CGL 2026: Tier 1 Exam Date, Pattern

Q: When is the SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 exam?

The Tier 1 computer-based exam runs from 30 September to 30 October 2026. SSC announced the schedule on 12 September 2026. Your individual date and shift come on your admit card.

Q: When will the SSC CGL 2026 admit card be released?

Admit cards are released region-wise on the SSC regional websites, usually two to three days before your exam date. The city intimation slip comes earlier and tells you only the city.

Where this exam stands today

Applications closed months ago. Everything between now and the exam hall is a waiting game with two documents in it.

Notification21 May 2026
Applicationsclosed
Exam date out12 Sep 2026
City slip & admit cardbefore your shift
Next up
Tier 130 Sep – 30 Oct
Tier 2December 2026

Your date is not the same as everybody’s date. With about 28.5 lakh candidates registered, SSC spreads Tier 1 across a full month in multiple shifts. Nobody can tell you your exam day — only your admit card can.

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Important dates

Source: SSC notification dated 21 May 2026 and the exam date notice dated 12 September 2026.
Stage	Date
Notification released	21 May 2026
Application window	Closed — reopened briefly in late June, correction in early July
Tier 1 exam date notice	12 September 2026
City intimation slip	About 8 – 10 days before your exam
Tier 1 admit card	About 2 – 3 days before your exam, region-wise
Tier 1 exam	30 September – 30 October 2026
Tier 2 exam	Expected December 2026

Tier 1 exam pattern

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50	15 min
General Awareness	25	50	15 min
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50	15 min
English Comprehension	25	50	15 min
Total	100	200	60 min

Objective multiple choice, computer based, with 0.50 marks deducted for every wrong answer. Candidates with a scribe get 80 minutes.

Sectional timing is the whole game this year. A student who is used to giving Quant 25 minutes will lose marks purely to the clock, not to the syllabus. Every TrickySSC mock test runs the real four-section timer, so the first time a section locks on you is in practice rather than on 30 September.

Tier 2 exam pattern

Tier 2 is the scoring stage — Tier 1 only qualifies you for it. Paper 1 is compulsory for everyone. Paper 2 applies to Junior Statistical Officer applicants and Paper 3 to AAO and AAAO applicants.

Paper	Who takes it	Content
Paper 1	All shortlisted candidates	Session I: Mathematical Abilities, Reasoning and General Intelligence. Session II: English Language and Comprehension, General Awareness, Computer Knowledge. Followed by a Data Entry Speed Test.
Paper 2	Junior Statistical Officer applicants	Statistics
Paper 3	AAO and AAAO applicants	General Studies — Finance and Economics

Admit card and city slip

Two different documents, and candidates mix them up every year.

The city intimation slip arrives first, roughly 8 to 10 days before your exam. It tells you the city and nothing else. It is not valid for entry.
The admit card arrives about 2 to 3 days before, on your SSC regional website. It carries your exact date, shift, reporting time and full centre address.
Carry a printed admit card and one original photo ID — Aadhaar, Voter ID, PAN, passport or driving licence. Phones, smart watches, Bluetooth devices and earphones are not allowed, and centres do not store them.

How to use the last few weeks

You have somewhere between two and seven weeks depending on your date. The plan is the same either way.

Take every mock with the sectional clock on. This is the single biggest change in the 2026 paper and the easiest way to lose marks you already know how to earn.
Work backwards from previous year papers. CGL recycles question types relentlessly. Solving real papers shift by shift is worth more now than starting a new chapter.
Give General Awareness a fixed daily slot. It is the only section where fifteen focused minutes a day reliably converts into marks.
Stop adding new topics in the last ten days. Revise what you have already solved, and fix the two chapters your mock analysis keeps flagging.

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Frequently asked questions

When is the SSC CGL 2026 Tier 1 exam?

From 30 September to 30 October 2026. SSC published the schedule on 12 September 2026. Your individual date and shift come on your admit card.

When will the admit card be released?

Region-wise on the SSC regional websites, usually two to three days before your exam date. The city intimation slip comes earlier and only names the city.

How many vacancies are there?

12,256 tentative vacancies, announced with the notification on 21 May 2026.

What exactly does sectional timing mean?

Each section gets its own 15-minute window. When that window ends the section closes and the next one opens. You cannot return to a closed section or move unused minutes into the next one.

When is Tier 2?

Expected in December 2026. Exact dates will be notified separately.

Are SSC CGL previous year papers free on TrickySSC?

Yes, all of them, with solutions in English and Hindi. You will need a free TrickySSC account so your score, rank and section-wise analysis are saved.

Every date and figure on this page comes from the official SSC notification and notices published at ssc.gov.in. Vacancy counts are tentative and schedules can change. Confirm against the commission’s own notice before you act on anything here.