The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has opened the application window for the Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, giving Class XII-qualified candidates another route into central government jobs.
Applications opened on September 7 and will remain open until October 7, 2026, at 11 pm. The last date for online fee payment is October 8, while candidates who need to correct their forms will get a three-day window from October 14 to 16. The Commission is yet to announce the Tier-I and Tier-II examination dates.
What makes this year's notification worth a closer look is not just the number of vacancies. SSC has put the tentative figure at 2,536 posts, but has made it clear that the final vacancy position will be decided later after the departments complete their scrutiny. Post-wise and category-wise vacancies will subsequently be updated on the SSC website.
The examination is being conducted for Group C posts, primarily Lower Division Clerk (LDC)/Junior Secretariat Assistant (JSA) and Data Entry Operator (DEO) posts across central government ministries, departments and other organisations.
The pay levels are also different across posts. LDC/JSA falls under Pay Level 2, Rs 19,900-63,200, while DEO posts carry Pay Level 4 or Level 5, depending on the post. DEO Grade A is placed in Pay Level 4.
For most posts, candidates need to have passed Class XII or an equivalent examination from a recognised board or university. There is, however, an important exception: candidates applying for specified DEO/DEO Grade A posts in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, SSC and Ministry of Culture must have passed Class XII in the Science stream with Mathematics.
Students awaiting their Class XII results can also apply, but there is no room for delay. The required qualification must have been acquired by October 7, 2026.
The basic age limit is 18 to 27 years as on August 1, 2026. In other words, candidates should have been born between August 2, 1999 and August 1, 2008.
SSC has prescribed relaxations for reserved and other eligible categories, including five years for SC/ST candidates, three years for OBC candidates and 10 years for PwBD candidates, with additional relaxations in certain combinations.
The application fee is ₹100. Women candidates, SC, ST, PwBD and eligible Ex-Servicemen candidates are exempt from paying the fee.
Application window: September 7 to October 7, 2026
Fee payment deadline: October 8, 2026
Correction window: October 14 to 16, 2026
Tentative vacancies: 2,536
Tier-I/Tier-II dates: To be notified by SSC
SSC will ask candidates to indicate their preferences for posts and departments. These preferences are not merely indicative. Once submitted, they are treated as final and irreversible, and a candidate who fails to submit preferences within the prescribed period will not be considered for posts in the final result.
