SSC CPO 2026 Eligibility: Age Limit & Qualification

From the official Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Government of India documents · last checked 8 October 2026

Age limit

Age is counted as on 1 August 2026. SI in Delhi Police and SI (GD) in CAPFs: 20–25 years (born between 2 August 2001 and 1 August 2006). SI (Fire) in CISF: 18–30 years (born between 2 August 1996 and 1 August 2008). Delhi Police Constables, Head Constables and ASIs with at least 3 years of service can also apply for the SI (Exe.) men's vacancies in Delhi Police up to 30 years of age (33 for OBC, 35 for SC/ST).

Educational qualification

Nationality & other conditions

• You must be a citizen of India, or a subject of Nepal or Bhutan. Subjects of Nepal or Bhutan need an eligibility certificate from the Government of India. They can sit the exam, but get a job offer only after the certificate is issued.
• The education cut-off date is 30 September 2026. A result that the university is still processing on that date does not count.
• Degrees through open and distance learning count only if the university was approved by the UGC Distance Education Bureau for that period. Engineering and other courses that UGC does not allow in ODL/online mode are not accepted.
• Physical standards (height and chest) and the PET are checked after Paper-I. See the exam pattern page for the full numbers.
• Medical standards: near vision N6 (better eye) and N9 (worse eye); distant vision 6/6 (better eye) and 6/9 (worse eye) without glasses or any eye surgery. You must not have knock knee, flat foot, varicose veins or squint, and you need high colour vision.
• Tattoos are allowed only as in the Indian Army: religious symbols, figures or names, on the inner left forearm or the back of the hand, and smaller than ¼ of that body part.
• Application fee: ₹100. Women, SC, ST and ex-servicemen eligible for reservation do not pay any fee.
• Correction charges: ₹200 for the first correction and ₹500 for the second, for all candidates.
• NCC certificate holders (as on the closing date) get bonus marks in Paper-I and Paper-II: 5% of the maximum marks for a 'C' certificate, 3% for 'B' and 2% for 'A'.
• OBC candidates on the Delhi (GNCTD) OBC list but not on the central list are treated as OBC only for SI in Delhi Police, and as UR/EWS for other posts.
• All posts except SI in Delhi Police carry All India Service Liability, so you can be posted anywhere in India.
• Selected candidates are on probation for 2 years. During training they must pass seven obstacle events (such as Tarzan swing, monkey crawl and vertical rope), or they may not be kept in the force.