SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2026 Revised, Sectional Timing Introduced

Table of Contents

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has introduced revisions to the SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2026. The selection process includes Paper 1, Paper 2, the Physical Efficiency Test (PET), and the Physical Standard Test (PST). Candidates should understand the revised pattern carefully, as effective time management and strong subject knowledge are both crucial for performing well in the examination.

SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2026

The SSC CPO 2026 exam is conducted in two stages. Paper 1 and Paper 2 include four sections: General Knowledge, Quantitative Aptitude, General Reasoning, and English Comprehension. SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2026 has been revised for Paper 1 and Paper 2, followed by the Physical Endurance Test (PET), Physical Standard Test (PST), and Medical Examination. Paper 1 consists of 100 questions for 100 marks, while Paper 2 comprises 160 questions carrying 320 marks. Candidates should understand the revised pattern and selection stages to plan their preparation effectively.

SSC CPO Tier 1 Exam Pattern 2026

Paper 1 will have 4 subjects, namely General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension.
The language of the question papers will be in English and Hindi, except for the English section.
Questions in both papers will be of objective multiple-choice type.
There will be a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Paper I
SSC has updated Paper 1 with sectional timing, giving 15 minutes for every section.

The details of the Tier 1 exam pattern are explained in the Table given below:

SSC CPO Exam Pattern for Tier 1
Sections	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	25	15 minutes
General Awareness	25	25	15 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	25	25	15 minutes
English Comprehension	25	25	15 minutes
Total	100	100	1 hours

SSC CPO Physical Measurement Test 2026

The details of the SSC CPO Physical Measurement Test 2026 for the male and female candidates has been mentioned below. Those who qualify the Tier 1 will only be eligible to appear in the physical tests.

Category	Height	Chest (Normal in cms)	Chest (Expanded in cms)
Male (General)	170 cm (5’7”)	80 cms	85 cms
Male (Hill area)	165 cm (5’5”)	80 cms	85 cms
Male (ST)	162.5 cm (5’4”)	77 cms	82 cms
Female (General)	157 cm (5’2”)	–	–
Female (Hill Area)	155 cm (5’1”)	–	–
Female (ST)	154 cm (5’0”)	–	–

SSC CPO Physical Endurance Test 2026

Physical Endurance Test (PET) For Male Candidates:

Physical Endurance Test For Male Candidates
Race	100-meter race in 16 seconds
Race	1.6 km race in 6.5 minutes
Long Jump	3.65 meters in 3 chances
High Jump	1.2 meters in 3 chances
Shot put (16 Lbs)	4.5 meters in 3 chances

Physical Endurance Test (PET) For Female Candidates:

Physical Endurance Test For Female Candidates
Race	100 meters race in 18 seconds
Race	800 meters race in 4 minutes
Long Jump	2.7 meters in 3 chances
High Jump	0.9 meters in 3 chances

Note:- Candidates have to qualify for the PET/ PST exam to appear for the Mains/ Tier 2 exam.

SSC CPO 2026 Medical Test

Criteria for the Medical Test are given below:

Minimum Near Vision: N6 (better eye) and N9 (worse eye)
Minimum Distant Vision: 6/6 (better eye) and 6/9 (worse eye)
Must not have knock knee, flat foot, varicose vein, or squint in eyes
Eye standards should be without visual correction of any kind, even by glasses.

SSC CPO Tier 2 Exam Pattern 2026

The SSC CPO Tier 2 exam will be conducted online and will consist of 160 questions carrying 320 marks. The exam duration is 120 minutes. If conducted in multiple shifts, SSC will use the normalisation process to ensure fair scoring. The detailed Tier 2 exam pattern is given in the table below:

SSC CPO Exam Pattern for Tier 2
Sections	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Duration
General Intelligence and Reasoning	20	40	20 minutes
General Awareness	20	40	20 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	20	40	20 minutes
English Comprehension	100	200	1 Hour
Total	160	320	2 hours

Note: For every wrong question, there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks.

SSC CPO Paper-II Subject-Wise Marks Distribution

Subject	Marks	Weightage in Paper-II
General Intelligence and Reasoning	40	12.50%
General Knowledge and General Awareness	40	12.50%
Quantitative Aptitude	40	12.50%
English Comprehension	200	62.50%
Total	320	100%

SSC CPO Marking Scheme 2026

The candidates must get familiar with the SSC CPO Marking Scheme to understand what marks are awarded for the correct and incorrect answers.

SSC CPO Paper	Correct Answer	Incorrect Answer
Paper 1	1 Mark	-0.25 Mark
Paper 2	2 Marks	-0.50 Mark

SSC CPO Minimum Qualifying Marks 2026

Candidates must secure the prescribed minimum qualifying percentage in both Paper-I and Paper-II to remain eligible for the next stage of the selection process.

Category	Minimum Qualifying Percentage
Unreserved	30%
OBC/EWS	25%
All Other Categories	20%

The above qualifying percentages are calculated without considering NCC bonus marks.

Minimum Qualifying Marks vs SSC CPO Cut-Off

Minimum qualifying marks and cut-off marks are two different criteria. The minimum qualifying marks represent the basic percentage candidates must achieve to remain eligible, while the cut-off is determined based on factors such as vacancies, category, candidates’ performance, and the number of test-takers. Therefore, simply securing the minimum qualifying percentage does not guarantee selection.

SSC CPO NCC Bonus Marks 2026

NCC certificate holders can claim additional marks in SSC CPO Paper-I and Paper-II, provided they possess a valid certificate on or before the application closing date. The bonus is calculated based on the maximum marks of the respective paper.

Candidates claiming NCC bonus marks must enter the correct certificate details and submit the required supporting documents as specified by SSC. The bonus marks are awarded according to the NCC certificate level, as shown below:

NCC Certificate	Bonus Percentage	Paper-I Bonus	Paper-II Bonus
NCC ‘C’ Certificate	5%	5 marks	16 marks
NCC ‘B’ Certificate	3%	3 marks	9.6 marks
NCC ‘A’ Certificate	2%	2 marks	6.4 marks

Important Links:
SSC CPO Syllabus 2026	SSC CPO Selection Process

FAQs

How many sections are there in SSC CPO Exam?

There will be four sections, Reasoning, General Studies, Mathematics and English.

Is there negative marking in SSC CPO Exam?

Yes. There will be a penalty of 0.25 marks for paper 1 and 0.50 marks for paper 2 for every incorrect answer.

What is the physical criteria for SSC CPO?

Candidates must have 170 cm height for general, 165 cm for hilly areas and 162.5 cm for ST candidates. The chest measurement is 80 cm for general and hilly candidates and 77 cms for St candidates. Check detailed physical criteria in the article.