| Conducting body | Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Official website ↗ |
|---|---|
| Posts | Lower Division Clerk (LDC) / Junior Secretariat Assistant (JSA), Data Entry Operator (DEO), Data Entry Operator Grade 'A' |
| Qualification | Class 12 pass from a recognised board by 7 October 2026, the closing date. You can apply while still waiting for your Class 12 result if you pass by that date. DEO posts in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the Ministry of Culture and SSC itself need Class 12 in the science stream with Mathematics. |
| Age limit | 18–27 years on 1 August 2026 (general category) |
| Domicile | Not required |
| Selection stages | Tier-I computer based exam → Tier-II computer based exam (Sections I to III) → Tier-II Section IV: skill test for DEO or typing test for LDC/JSA (qualifying) → Document verification by the user department after the final result |
| Latest notification | Notice of Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026 · 2,536 vacancies |
Last checked . Sources
About SSC CHSL
SSC CHSL recruits Class 12 pass candidates for clerical and data entry posts in central government offices. LDC and JSA are at Pay Level 2, and Data Entry Operator posts are at Pay Level 4 or 5. The 2026 notice lists about 2,536 tentative vacancies and set the online application window from 7 September to 7 October 2026.
Eligibility
Age limit
General category: 18–27 years, counted on 1 August 2026.
Age relaxation
- OBC: 3 years
- SC: 5 years
- ST: 5 years
- PwBD: 10 years
- PwBD candidates get 10 years (13 for OBC, 15 for SC/ST).
- Ex-servicemen get 3 years after deducting their military service from their actual age.
- Central government civilian employees with 3 years of regular service can apply up to 40 years (45 for SC/ST).
- Widows, divorced women and judicially separated women who have not remarried can apply up to 35 years (40 for SC/ST).
Qualification
Class 12 pass from a recognised board by 7 October 2026, the closing date. You can apply while still waiting for your Class 12 result if you pass by that date. DEO posts in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the Ministry of Culture and SSC itself need Class 12 in the science stream with Mathematics.
Other conditions
- Only men are eligible for any LDC vacancies reported by the Border Roads Organisation, and those posts have physical and medical standards listed in the notice.
- Fee is Rs 100. Women, SC, ST, PwBD and eligible ex-servicemen candidates do not pay.
Selection process
- Tier-I computer based exam
- Tier-II computer based exam (Sections I to III)
- Tier-II Section IV: skill test for DEO or typing test for LDC/JSA (qualifying)
- Document verification by the user department after the final result
Exam pattern
Tier-I
Mode: Computer based, objective multiple choice · Duration: 60 minutes for all four parts · Negative marking: 0.50 mark per wrong answer
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| English Language (Basic Knowledge) | 25 | 50 |
| General Intelligence | 25 | 50 |
| Quantitative Aptitude (Basic Arithmetic Skill) | 25 | 50 |
| General Awareness | 25 | 50 |
Tier-II
Mode: Computer based; objective questions plus a skill or typing test · Duration: Session-I 2 hours 15 minutes; Session-II 10 to 15 minutes for the skill or typing test · Negative marking: 1 mark per wrong answer in Sections I, II and III
| SUBJECT | QUESTIONS | MARKS |
|---|---|---|
| Section I-A: Mathematical Abilities | 30 | 90 |
| Section I-B: Reasoning and General Intelligence | 30 | 90 |
| Section II-A: English Language and Comprehension | 40 | 120 |
| Section II-B: General Awareness | 20 | 60 |
| Section III: Computer Knowledge Test (qualifying) | 15 | 45 |
| Section IV: Skill test for DEO or typing test for LDC/JSA (qualifying) |
SSC CHSL syllabus
English Language
- Spot the error, fill in the blanks
- Synonyms, homonyms, antonyms, spellings
- Idioms and phrases, one-word substitution
- Sentence improvement, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech
- Shuffling of sentence parts and sentences
- Cloze passage and comprehension
General Intelligence
- Semantic, symbolic and figural analogy
- Classification and series
- Coding and decoding
- Venn diagrams, drawing inferences
- Paper folding, punched hole and embedded figures
- Critical thinking, emotional and social intelligence
Quantitative Aptitude
- Number system and arithmetic operations
- Percentage, ratio, averages, interest, profit and loss, discount
- Mixture and alligation, time and distance, time and work
- School algebra and graphs of linear equations
- Geometry, mensuration and trigonometry
- Tables and graphs: histogram, frequency polygon, bar and pie charts
General Awareness
- Current events
- Everyday science
- History, culture and geography of India and its neighbours
- Economic scene and general policy
Tier-II skill and typing test
- LDC/JSA typing: 35 words per minute in English or 30 in Hindi
- DEO skill test: 8,000 key depressions per hour
- DEO in the three offices named in the notice: 15,000 key depressions per hour
What they ask
Tier-I has 100 questions in 60 minutes across four parts, with 0.50 mark cut for each wrong answer. Parts II to IV can be taken in English, Hindi or one of the regional languages listed in the notice. Tier-II gives 3 marks per question and cuts 1 mark per wrong answer, and each of its first two sections closes automatically after one hour. The LDC/JSA typing test needs 35 words per minute in English or 30 in Hindi, and the DEO skill test needs 8,000 key depressions an hour (15,000 for the DEO posts in the three offices named in the notice).
How to prepare
- Aim for accuracy in Tier-II. With 3 marks for a right answer and 1 cut for a wrong one, a few careless guesses can undo a section.
- Start typing practice early. LDC/JSA needs 35 wpm in English or 30 wpm in Hindi in a 10-minute test on a computer, and you must clear it to be selected.
- Work through the Tier-I English list in the notice: error spotting, cloze passages, idioms, one-word substitution, voice and narration.
- Practise Class 10 level arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry with daily topic-wise practice quizzes on the free Improvam app.
SSC CHSL is one of the exams in the Improvam app. Open it to start a practice quiz.
Open in the Improvam appSSC CHSL FAQs
18 to 27 years as on 1 August 2026, so you must be born between 2 August 1999 and 1 August 2008. OBC candidates get 3 extra years and SC/ST candidates get 5.
Sources
- SSC notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026 ↗ (official, checked )
- Staff Selection Commission home page ↗ (official, checked )
Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.