SSC JE 2026 Answer Key (Paper-I)

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

Not released yet

SSC has not released the JE 2026 Paper-I answer key yet (checked 9 October 2026). Paper-I is scheduled from 2 to 6 November 2026 (SSC notice of 1 October 2026). The JE 2026 notice says tentative answer keys are put up after the exam, with an online window to challenge them at ₹50 per question. Last year the JE 2025 Paper-I key came on 19 December 2025, 6 days after that cycle's last exam day. We update this page as soon as SSC publishes the notice.

ssc.gov.in ↗

How to check the answer key and your response sheet

  1. Go to ssc.gov.in and log in with your Registration Number and password.
  2. On the Junior Engineer exam card in your applications, click "Answer Key Challenge".
  3. In the "Challenge System" pop-up, tick the undertaking (the saved question paper is for your personal use only) and click "Click Here". Your own question paper cum response sheet opens.
  4. Read the colours: green = you chose the correct option, red = you chose a wrong option, yellow = the correct option, grey = not answered. In JE 2025 the sheet had one button per section (PART-A, PART-B, PART-C). On that sheet PART-A was General Intelligence and Reasoning — not the Civil part of the technical paper.
  5. Count your right and wrong answers in each section and enter them in the score calculator below.
  6. To challenge an answer, click "Click Here to Challenge Question No.", choose the type of complaint and write your objection (up to 150 characters). You can attach a scanned PDF or JPG (up to 3 MB). Click "Proceed to Pay" and pay ₹50 online. A challenge counts only after payment, and only online challenges are accepted.
  7. Use "Save / Print" to keep your response sheet. SSC removes it when the window closes and does not accept individual requests after that.
  8. Note: in the challenge module the order of questions and options can differ from your exam. Your own answers are shown exactly as you marked them.

Calculate your score from the answer key

Count your right and wrong answers per section from the response sheet, enter them below, and compare with last year's official cut-off.

SectionRightWrongScore
General Intelligence and Reasoning
50 Q · +1 / -0.25
0
General Awareness
50 Q · +1 / -0.25
0
Part-A/B/C: General Engineering (Civil & Structural / Electrical / Mechanical) – or Part-D/E/F/G for SA (IMD) and JE (Telecom)
100 Q · +1 / -0.25
0
Your score
0 / 200
Attempted
0
200 left
Accuracy
—
Compare with the 2025 official cut-off (Paper-I – Civil Engineering (JE Civil)):

Cut-off: 127.22748

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty and vacancies — treat last year's as a guide, not a promise. Official cut-off marks out of 200 (normalized), from the SSC Paper-I result of 6 March 2026. Paper-I was held from 3 to 6 December 2025 and on 13 December 2025. 11,593 candidates were shortlisted for Paper-II in Civil.

Paper-I has 200 questions for 200 marks: 1 mark for each correct answer and 0.25 mark cut for each wrong answer (JE 2026 notice, para 13.10). Everyone answers General Intelligence and Reasoning and General Awareness, plus one part for their post: Part-A Civil, Part-B Electrical or Part-C Mechanical (Part-D/E/F for SA in IMD, Part-G for JE Telecom). This gives your raw score. SSC normalizes marks across shifts and between the Electrical and Mechanical papers, so your official score may be different. Paper-I is only used to shortlist for Paper-II.

When was the answer key released in past years?

From SSC's own notices — a guide to when this year's key may come.

CycleExam heldKey releasedObjection windowFee
JE 2025 (Paper-I) ↗3–6 Dec 2025 and 13 Dec 202519 Dec 2025 (6 pm)19 Dec (6 pm) to 22 Dec 2025 (6 pm)₹50 per question
JE 2024 (Paper-I) ↗5–7 Jun 202412 Jun 2024 (8 pm)12 Jun (8 pm) to 15 Jun 2024 (8 pm)₹100 per question

Frequently asked questions

When will the SSC JE 2026 Paper-I answer key be released?

SSC has not announced a date. Its notice only says tentative keys come after the exam, and Paper-I ends on 6 November 2026. In past cycles the key came 5 days after the last exam day (JE 2024: exam ended 7 June, key on 12 June) and 6 days after it (JE 2025: last exam 13 December, key on 19 December).

How do I download the SSC JE answer key? Is there a PDF?

There is no public answer key PDF. Each candidate sees their own question paper cum response sheet with the correct answers after logging in on ssc.gov.in with their Registration Number and password, then clicking "Answer Key Challenge". Save or print it, because it is removed when the challenge window closes.

What is the fee to challenge an answer?

₹50 per question. The JE 2026 notice (para 13.14) prints this fee. It is paid online and is not refunded. JE 2025 also charged ₹50. JE 2024 charged ₹100; SSC cut the fee to ₹50 on 22 August 2025.

How long is the objection window?

About 3 days. For JE 2025 it ran from 19 December (6 pm) to 22 December 2025 (6 pm). For JE 2024 it ran from 12 June (8 pm) to 15 June 2024 (8 pm). SSC did not extend it in either cycle, so don't wait for the last day.

What happens if my challenge is correct?

Under SSC's challenge guidelines of 10 April 2026, a question that is wrong, ambiguous, has no correct option or is out of syllabus is dropped, and its marks are given to everyone. If more than one option is correct, everyone who chose a correct option gets full marks. The number of challenges does not matter; only their merit does.

Will my score from the answer key match my official score?

Not exactly. The answer key gives your raw score. Paper-I is held in many shifts, so SSC normalizes the marks (notice of 2 June 2025). Electrical and Mechanical marks are also normalized against each other, and IMD Parts D, E and F are treated as different shifts. The normalized marks are used to shortlist for Paper-II.

When do the final answer key and the result come?

SSC uploads the final key after the result. For JE 2025 the Paper-I result came on 6 March 2026 and the final key on 23 March 2026. For JE 2024 the Paper-I result came on 20 August 2024 and the final key on 22 August 2024. No date has been announced for JE 2026 yet.

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