SSC CPO 2026 Exam Date, Notification & Vacancies

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

SSC CPO is a national exam held by the Staff Selection Commission. It recruits Sub-Inspectors in Delhi Police and in the Central Armed Police Forces (BSF, CISF, CRPF, ITBP and SSB). New in 2026, it also fills Sub-Inspector (Fire) posts in CISF (not in the 2024 or 2025 notices). All posts are at Pay Level 6. The exam has four stages: Paper-I (computer-based), a physical test (PST/PET), Paper-II (computer-based) and a medical exam. Final selection is made on Paper-II marks. Graduates aged 20–25 can apply for SI in Delhi Police and SI (GD) in CAPFs. SI (Fire) in CISF is for men aged 18–30 and needs a B.Sc. with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, or Class 10 plus a 3-year engineering diploma. The notice of 10 September 2026 gives 1,871 tentative vacancies. Paper-I is scheduled from 20 to 28 November 2026.

Important dates

2026

  • Notification published on ssc.gov.in10 September 2026done
  • Online application window10 September 2026 to 30 September 2026 (11 pm)done
  • Last date for online fee payment1 October 2026 (11 pm)done
  • Paper-I exam dates announced by SSC1 October 2026done
  • Application form correction window (correction charges apply)8 October 2026 to 10 October 2026 (11 pm)upcoming
  • Exam city and centre details for Paper-IAbout 10 days before your exam datetentative
  • Paper-I admit card (Admission Certificate)About 2–3 days before each candidate's exam datetentative
  • Paper-I exam (computer-based)20 November 2026 to 28 November 2026upcoming
  • Paper-I tentative answer key + objection windowNot announced yet (after the last Paper-I exam day)tentative
  • Paper-I result and PST/PETNot announced yettentative
  • Paper-II exam (computer-based)Not announced yettentative

Vacancies

1,871

Tentative vacancies in the SSC notice of 10 September 2026. Sub-Inspector (GD) in CAPFs: 1,320 (BSF 457, CISF 250, CRPF 254, ITBP 187, SSB 172; 1,173 for men and 147 for women). Sub-Inspector (Exe.) in Delhi Police: 317 (205 for men, 112 for women). Sub-Inspector (Fire) in CISF: 234 (men only). Split by category: UR 809, OBC 478, SC 281, ST 117, EWS 186. Within these, ex-servicemen get 132 CAPF posts, 18 SI (Fire) posts and 21 Delhi Police (men) posts. SSC says vacancies are tentative. It does not collect or allot vacancies state-wise or zone-wise.

Official notification ↗Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Government of India website ↗

Frequently asked questions

When is the SSC CPO 2026 Paper-I exam?

SSC's notice of 1 October 2026 says Paper-I will be held from 20 to 28 November 2026. Exam city details come about 10 days before your exam, and the admit card 2–3 days before.

When will the SSC CPO 2026 answer key come?

SSC has not announced a date; tentative keys come after Paper-I ends on 28 November 2026. Last year's key came on 24 December 2025, 12 days after that cycle's last exam day. See the answer key page for how to check it and the objection fee.

How many vacancies are there in SSC CPO 2026?

The notice lists 1,871 tentative vacancies: 1,320 for SI (GD) in CAPFs, 317 for SI in Delhi Police (205 men, 112 women) and 234 for SI (Fire) in CISF. Final numbers may change.

What is the age limit for SSC CPO 2026?

Age is counted as on 1 August 2026. For SI in Delhi Police and SI (GD) in CAPFs it is 20–25 years. For SI (Fire) in CISF it is 18–30 years. SC/ST get 5 more years and OBC 3 more years.

What changed in the CPO 2026 exam pattern?

Paper-I is now 100 questions for 100 marks in 1 hour (it was 200 questions for 200 marks in 2 hours). Paper-II now has four parts: reasoning, general knowledge and maths (20 questions each) plus English (100 questions), for 320 marks. In 2025, Paper-II was English only.

Is there negative marking?

Yes. In Paper-I, 0.25 mark is cut for each wrong answer (a correct answer gets 1 mark). In Paper-II, 0.50 mark is cut for each wrong answer (a correct answer gets 2 marks).

What is the physical test (PET) for SSC CPO?

Men must run 100 m in 16 seconds and 1.6 km in 6.5 minutes, and clear a 3.65 m long jump, 1.2 m high jump and 4.5 m shot put (3 chances each). Women must run 100 m in 18 seconds and 800 m in 4 minutes, and clear a 2.7 m long jump and 0.9 m high jump. It is qualifying only.

What were the Paper-I cut-offs in CPO 2025?

For men the official cut-offs (out of 200, old pattern) were: UR 119.48, OBC 115.03, EWS 114.60, SC 88.95 and ST 89.06. For women: UR 128.02, OBC 124.22, EWS 126.56, SC 100.92 and ST 95.20. Paper-I is out of 100 from 2026.

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Official sources