Exam Fee Concessions for Government Exams: Who Pays Nothing and Who Gets a Refund

Application fees look small one at a time. A hundred rupees here, five hundred there. But a serious aspirant often applies to six or eight exams in a year, and for a family in a small town that adds up. It is worth knowing exactly where you pay nothing, where you pay less, and where you get money back.

The rules are different for each recruiting body, and they are not always intuitive. A woman candidate pays nothing for SSC CGL but pays the full fee for IBPS PO. A general-category candidate pays the most for an RRB exam but gets most of it back if they sit the exam. This post lays out the four big central recruiters side by side.

All figures below are from the most recent notifications I could check, as of October 2026. Fees and categories are restated in every notification, so read the fee section of the notification you are applying to. That is the only version that counts.

The short version

Recruiter	Standard fee (recent notifications)	Who pays nothing	Who pays less	Refund?
SSC (CGL, CHSL, MTS, GD, etc.)	Rs 100	Women, SC, ST, PwBD, eligible ex-servicemen	None	No
RRB (NTPC, Group D, ALP, etc.)	Rs 500	Nobody (but see refund)	SC, ST, ex-servicemen, PwBD, women, transgender, minorities, EBC: Rs 250	Yes, on appearing in the first CBT
IBPS (PO, Clerk, RRB)	Rs 850	Nobody	SC, ST, PwBD: Rs 175	No
UPSC (Civil Services)	Rs 100 (Prelims)	Women, SC, ST, PwBD	None	No

Now the details, because the details are where people lose money.

SSC: Rs 100, and a large group pays nothing

For SSC's main exams, the fee in recent notifications has been Rs 100. The CHSL 2026 notification (released 7 September 2026) repeated the usual exemption: women candidates, SC, ST, persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD), and ex-servicemen eligible for reservation do not pay any fee.

Things to watch:

• "Eligible" ex-servicemen means those who are entitled to ESM reservation under the rules. An ex-serviceman who has already used the ESM benefit to get a civil job may not be eligible again. The notification explains this.
• OBC and EWS candidates pay the full Rs 100. The exemption does not extend to them.
• The exemption is a claim, not a gift. If you claim it and later cannot produce the certificate at document verification, your candidature can be cancelled. Make sure your caste, disability or ESM certificate is in the format the notification asks for, and is valid on the date it specifies.
• SSC fees are not refundable, and the notification usually says a fee paid once cannot be adjusted against another exam.

For age-related concessions, which are a separate matter from fees, see our explainer on age relaxation rules for reserved categories.

RRB: higher fee, but most of it comes back

Railway Recruitment Boards charge more upfront but run a refund system that is unusual among recruiters. The aim is to discourage people from applying and then not turning up, which wastes exam seats and money.

As stated in recent RRB notifications (for example the NTPC 2025 cycle):

• General and OBC candidates pay Rs 500. On appearing in the first-stage CBT, Rs 400 is refunded, after deducting bank charges.
• SC, ST, ex-servicemen, PwBD, female, transgender, minority and Economically Backward Class (EBC) candidates pay Rs 250. On appearing in the CBT, the full Rs 250 is refunded, after deducting bank charges.

Note that "EBC" in RRB notifications is defined in the notification itself (it refers to an income-based category). It is not the same as EWS. Check the definition before you claim it.

How the refund actually reaches you

This is where many candidates lose their refund:

1. The refund goes to the bank account you give in the application. Give an account in your own name and double-check the IFSC and account number. A wrong digit means the refund bounces.
2. You have to appear in the CBT. If you skip the exam, you forfeit the whole fee. Being marked absent because you reached late also counts as not appearing.
3. Refunds come after the exam cycle, not immediately. RRBs have opened refund or bank-detail update windows months after the exam. For example, RRB regional websites posted fee-refund notices for the NTPC CEN 06/2024 cycle in mid-2026. Watch your RRB's website for a "refund" notice and act on it if it asks you to confirm or correct bank details.
4. Bank charges are deducted, so the amount credited is slightly less than Rs 400 or Rs 250.

If you are planning railway exams for the year, our Railway Exam Calendar 2026 lists what is expected.

IBPS: concession by category, none by gender

IBPS (which recruits for public sector banks and regional rural banks) charges a much higher fee and has a narrower concession.

From the IBPS PO 2026 and IBPS RRB 2026 notifications, as reported:

• Rs 850 for general, EWS and OBC candidates (application fee plus intimation charges).
• Rs 175 for SC, ST and PwBD candidates (intimation charges only).

There is no fee exemption for women in IBPS. A general-category woman pays the full Rs 850. This surprises many candidates who are used to the SSC rule.

The fee is non-refundable, and if you apply for two posts in the same IBPS cycle (for example RRB PO and RRB Office Assistant), you fill two applications and pay twice.

Given the cost, it makes sense to apply to IBPS exams only when you have a realistic plan to prepare for the banking pattern. Bank prelims and mains are different from SSC Tier 1 in speed and question style.

UPSC: women, SC, ST and PwBD pay nothing

For the Civil Services Examination, the 2026 notification (as reported) kept the long-standing rule:

• Rs 100 for the Preliminary exam, for general, OBC and EWS male candidates.
• Exempt: all female candidates, SC, ST and PwBD candidates.
• A separate Mains fee applies to those who qualify Prelims, with the same exemptions.

Other UPSC exams follow similar but not always identical rules. Check the notification for the specific exam.

State commissions: check every time

State public service commissions and subordinate service boards set their own fees. Some give a concession only to candidates domiciled in that state; an SC candidate from another state may pay the general fee. Some charge a separate fee for each post applied for. A few states have reduced or waived fees for particular recruitment drives. There is no general rule I can safely state, so read the fee table in each state notification.

Our post on how state government exam reservation works explains why domicile matters so much in state recruitment.

Common mistakes that cost money

• Claiming a category you cannot document. The fee you saved is small; the cancellation is not.
• Paying twice because the payment status did not update. Wait for the payment status to update on the portal before paying again. Most portals give a way to check status. If you were charged twice, raise it with the recruiter's helpdesk, not with the coaching group.
• Giving a parent's bank account for an RRB refund when the notification asks for the candidate's own account. Read the instruction.
• Missing the RRB exam because the centre was far. If you have paid, it is almost always worth appearing, both for the refund and for the experience of the real exam.

Applying wisely when fees are low

When the fee is zero or small, the temptation is to apply for everything. That is not wrong in itself, but each application has a hidden cost: a day of travel, a day away from study, and the mental load of another exam date.

A good rule is to apply to exams where you can honestly prepare the pattern. Use free resources to test whether an exam suits you before committing. Pareeksha's Daily Dangal quiz and mini-mocks are free and give you a quick read on your level. Full-length mocks, where everyone in a cohort sits the same paper so your percentile is a real comparison, are part of Pareeksha Pro; check the pricing page for current plans.

FAQ

Do women pay any fee for SSC exams? No. Recent SSC notifications exempt women candidates from the application fee, along with SC, ST, PwBD and eligible ex-servicemen.

How much of my RRB fee will I get back? If you paid Rs 500 (general or OBC), Rs 400 is refunded on appearing in the CBT. If you paid Rs 250 (SC, ST, ESM, PwBD, women, transgender, minority or EBC), the full Rs 250 is refunded on appearing. Bank charges are deducted in both cases.

Do I get the RRB refund if I miss the exam? No. The refund is only for candidates who appear in the first-stage CBT.

Do OBC candidates get a fee concession in SSC? Not in recent SSC notifications. OBC and EWS candidates pay the standard fee. They may still be entitled to age relaxation, which is a separate rule.

Is the IBPS fee refundable if I do not appear? No. IBPS fees are non-refundable.