SSC GD Constable 2026: Pattern, PET/PST, Cut-Off, Salary, 90-Day Plan

Every year, lakhs of young people from villages, small towns and big cities fill the same form with the same dream: a uniform, a steady salary and the pride of serving the country. The SSC GD Constable exam is the doorway. It needs only a Class 10 pass certificate, it recruits for some of the largest forces in India, and it is one of the few exams where your legs matter as much as your marks. That is also why so many aspirants lose out. They prepare hard for the written test and forget the ground, or they train for the race and forget that the written test decides who even gets to run.

This guide is meant to be the one page you keep open for the entire preparation. It covers eligibility, the computer-based test (CBT), the syllabus, physical standards, the medical, past cut-offs, salary, and a 90-day plan that puts study and physical training side by side. Where different websites give different numbers, we say so instead of guessing. Always treat the official SSC notice on ssc.gov.in as the final word.

At a glance

Item	Details (2026 cycle, as reported)
Conducting body	Staff Selection Commission (SSC)
Post	Constable (GD) in CAPFs and SSF, and Rifleman (GD) in Assam Rifles
Vacancies (2026 cycle)	25,487 tentative vacancies
Education	Class 10 (Matriculation) pass from a recognised board
Age	18 to 23 years as on 1 January 2026, with relaxation for reserved categories
Selection stages	CBT, then PET and PST, then detailed medical examination, then document verification
CBT	80 questions, 160 marks, 60 minutes, 0.25 negative marking
Languages	English, Hindi and 13 regional languages
Application fee	Rs 100 (women, SC, ST and eligible ex-servicemen exempt)
Pay	Pay Level 3, Rs 21,700 to Rs 69,100

What the exam is and who recruits through it

SSC GD is not one job. It is one common exam that fills constable posts in several forces. In the 2026 cycle the vacancy lists we found named these forces: CISF, CRPF, Assam Rifles, SSB, ITBP, BSF and SSF. Some overviews also list the NIA among the organisations covered by the exam, though we did not see NIA vacancies in the force-wise tables. NCB has appeared in earlier years' cut-off lists. Which forces actually take part changes from one cycle to the next, so read the current notice.

Here is how the 25,487 vacancies were split in the force-wise tables published by preparation websites. One site printed a different female figure for CRPF, but the table only adds up to the stated totals with the figure below.

Force	Male	Female	Total
CISF	13,135	1,460	14,595
CRPF	5,366	124	5,490
Assam Rifles	1,556	150	1,706
SSB	1,764	0	1,764
ITBP	1,099	194	1,293
BSF	524	92	616
SSF	23	0	23

Two things stand out. First, CISF alone accounts for more than half of all posts. Second, women's vacancies are only a small slice, which is why female cut-offs and competition behave very differently from male ones.

Eligibility: age, education and nationality

Education

You must have passed Class 10 or an equivalent examination from a recognised board by the cut-off date given in the notice. Candidates who are only appearing in the exam are not eligible. Hold on to your certificate and marksheet, because the name, date of birth and parents' names on them must match your application exactly.

Age limit

The base age range is 18 to 23 years. For the 2026 cycle the reference date was 1 January 2026, which means a general category candidate had to be born between 2 January 2003 and 1 January 2008. Reported relaxations are:

• OBC: 3 years
• SC and ST: 5 years
• Ex-servicemen: 3 years (one site gives this figure; the exact rule depends on length of service, so check the notice)

Some sources mention other relaxations, for example for certain departmental or special categories, without giving figures. We could not confirm those from a primary document, so do not rely on them without reading the notice.

Nationality

You must be an Indian citizen. The notice also lays out rules on character and antecedents, which the forces check during verification.

Fee

The fee reported for the 2026 cycle was Rs 100, with exemption for women candidates, SC, ST and eligible ex-servicemen. Fees can change, so confirm in the notice.

The CBT pattern, step by step

The CBT is the first filter and the stage with the largest number of candidates. As reported by several coaching sites for the current cycle, the pattern is:

Part	Subject	Questions	Marks
A	General Intelligence and Reasoning	20	40
B	General Knowledge and General Awareness	20	40
C	Elementary Mathematics	20	40
D	English or Hindi	20	40
Total		80	160

• Each question is worth 2 marks.
• Each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks.
• Total time is 60 minutes, which is 45 seconds per question on average.
• The paper is set at Matriculation level and is bilingual. The notice also offers 13 regional languages.

A caution on conflicting numbers. One prominent education portal listed a different structure for the same exam: 100 questions of 1 mark, 90 minutes and 0.50 negative marking. Every other source we checked, including those with the marks total of 160, matched the 80-question version, so we treat the 100-question figure as an error. Still, SSC has changed this exam's pattern in the past, so confirm in the current notice before you build your timing strategy.

The shortlist for the physical stage is made on the basis of CBT marks. Merit is prepared state-wise, category-wise and gender-wise, which is why a score that is safe in one state can fail in another. Candidates with equal marks are separated by tie-break rules given in the notice.

Syllabus overview

General Intelligence and Reasoning

Expect analogies, classification, series (number, letter and figure), coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking and order, Venn diagrams, mirror and water images, embedded figures, paper folding, counting figures and simple non-verbal pattern questions. The level is basic, but the paper rewards speed.

General Knowledge and General Awareness

Questions come from history, geography, polity, economy, general science (Class 8 to 10 level), static GK such as books, awards, important days and national parks, sports, and current affairs of the last six to twelve months. A few questions usually relate to the armed forces and security institutions.

Elementary Mathematics

Number system, simplification, decimals and fractions, percentage, ratio and proportion, average, profit and loss, discount, simple and compound interest, time and work, time speed and distance, mensuration, basic algebra, and simple geometry. All of it is Class 10 level or below.

English or Hindi

Candidates choose English or Hindi for this part. Expect spot the error, fill in the blanks, synonyms and antonyms, idioms and phrases, one-word substitution, sentence improvement, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech, and short comprehension. Hindi candidates get the matching grammar and vocabulary topics.

PST and PET: the physical stage

Two physical rounds come after the CBT. The Physical Standard Test (PST) checks your body measurements. The Physical Efficiency Test (PET) checks whether you can run the required distance in the required time. Fail either, and your CBT score no longer matters.

PST: height and chest

Group	Height, male	Height, female
General, OBC, SC	170 cm	157 cm
All Scheduled Tribes	162.5 cm	150 cm
North-East State ST candidates (as reported)	157 cm	147.5 cm
LWE-affected district ST candidates (as reported)	160 cm	147.5 cm
Garhwalis, Kumaonis, Dogras, Marathas and candidates from Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (as reported)	165 cm	155 cm

For men, the chest standard reported is 80 cm unexpanded with at least 5 cm of expansion. For ST candidates one source gives 76 cm unexpanded with 5 cm expansion. Women have no chest requirement. These relaxations come from secondary sources; the notice has the exact wording and the list of eligible areas.

Weight rule change. Reports for the 2026 cycle say a Ministry of Home Affairs office memorandum dated 9 March 2026 removed weight as a reason for rejection at the PST. Instead, BMI is assessed at the medical stage, and one source gives the acceptable range as 18 to 25. We could not see the memorandum itself, so treat the BMI range as unconfirmed and check your own BMI early.

PET: the running test

Group	Distance	Time allowed
Male	5 km	24 minutes
Female	1.6 km	8 minutes 30 seconds
Male, Ladakh region (one source only)	1.6 km	7 minutes
Female, Ladakh region (one source only)	800 m	5 minutes

The PET is qualifying in nature, which means there are no extra marks for running faster. One coaching site says ex-servicemen are exempt from PET and PST but must still be measured. We could not confirm that from the notice, so if you are an ex-serviceman, read the official clause.

Do not think of 24 minutes for 5 km as easy. It is a pace of 4 minutes 48 seconds per kilometre. Thousands of candidates who clear the CBT lose their chance here, usually because they started running seriously only after the result.

The medical examination

Candidates who clear the PET and PST go for a Detailed Medical Examination (DME) under the uniform medical guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs. If you are found unfit, you can ask for a Review Medical Examination as the rules allow. Based on what we could verify, the medical looks at:

• Eyesight, including colour vision. Exact limits differ by force and by the current guidelines, and we could not verify the numbers from a primary source.
• Body structure: some sites list knock knees, flat feet, varicose veins and squint as disqualifying, but the exact rules are in the MHA guidelines.
• BMI, as discussed above.
• General health: hearing, heart, lungs, skin and dental condition, plus any serious illness or deformity.

Practical advice: get your eyes tested now, look at your feet and legs honestly, and read the current MHA medical guidelines instead of relying on forwarded messages. Some conditions can be treated or managed before the medical, but only a doctor can tell you which.

Document verification

The last stage checks your original documents: Class 10 certificate, date of birth proof, category certificate (SC, ST, OBC or EWS in the format given in the notice), domicile or residence proof where relevant, ex-servicemen papers, and ID. Keep several photocopies and check that your category certificate is valid for the current cycle. Many candidates are rejected here for mismatched names or an outdated OBC certificate. These are avoidable mistakes.

Salary, allowances and career

A constable joins in Pay Level 3 of the pay matrix, with a basic pay of Rs 21,700 and a pay band running up to Rs 69,100. On top of basic pay come dearness allowance and house rent allowance, depending on posting, transport allowance, and other benefits such as ration, uniform, medical care and a risk or hardship allowance in some postings. Pension for new entrants is under the National Pension System, as one source states.

What you will actually take home is where sources disagree. We saw in-hand estimates of about Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, a figure near Rs 26,000, and a range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. They differ because allowances depend on city, posting and the current DA rate. Use these as a rough guide, not a promise.

The job also has a path upward. Constables can become head constables and assistant sub-inspectors through promotion and departmental exams, and the forces run limited departmental routes to higher posts. The exact promotion timelines differ by force, so ask serving personnel instead of trusting anyone's table.

Cut-off trends: what scores have looked like

Cut-offs for SSC GD depend on the year's difficulty, number of vacancies, number of candidates and, importantly, normalisation, which adjusts scores across different shifts. Cut-offs also change between states and between male and female lists. A few numbers, as reported on preparation websites (minor decimal differences exist between sites, so use these only as a trend and check the official PDF):

Cycle	Male UR (all-India style list)	Female UR
2023 (as reported, SSF list)	about 149.55	about 142.39
2024	about 159.6	about 154.5
2025	about 147.4 to 147.5	about 143.75

The 2024 to 2025 fall of roughly 12 marks for men and about 10 to 11 for women was reported by a news portal, which linked it to a harder paper and normalisation. That is an interpretation, not an official reason. A 2021 list on one website shows male UR near 85 and female near 79, but that paper was on a different mark scale, so do not compare it with today's numbers.

State-wise differences

The gap between states is huge. These are male General-area UR figures for the 2024 list, as reported by one website:

State or UT	Male UR
Rajasthan	138.94
Haryana	135.80
Bihar	125.72
Delhi	125.41
Jammu and Kashmir	78.90
Kerala	66.23

Why such a gap? Vacancies are distributed state-wise, and the number of applicants per post differs sharply. Where very many candidates compete for few posts, cut-offs rise. Remember also that you choose your state at the time of applying, subject to the rules of the notice, so understand the rules before you fill the form.

For the 2026 cycle, the CBT ran from 27 April to 30 May 2026 according to multiple sources, and results were being awaited in early October 2026 as of our research. We could not find an official 2026 cut-off, so we have left it out. When it is published, compare it with the figures above and with your own state and category.

How to use cut-offs. Aim well above the best recent cut-off for your state and category, not equal to it. If the paper is tougher and the cut-off falls, you are safe. If it rises, you are still safe. A realistic goal in mock tests is a score comfortably above the national UR trend of about 145 to 150 out of 160 if you are competing in a high-competition state, and a lower, state-specific figure if you are not. This is a planning target, not a prediction.

Section-wise strategy

With 20 questions per section and only 60 minutes in total, you cannot afford to be great at one section and weak at another. The plan below treats each section as a separate project with its own daily routine.

Reasoning

Reasoning is the most trainable section, because the question types repeat. Group them into families: series, analogy and classification, coding-decoding, relations and directions, ordering, and figure-based questions. Learn the method for each family once, then practise until you recognise the type within five seconds.

• Spend the first two weeks learning methods, one family per day or two.
• After that, solve timed sets of 20 questions in 12 minutes, then try to bring it down to 10.
• Keep a notebook of question types where you lost time. Review it every Sunday.
• In the exam, skip any figure question that looks heavy and return to it later. Each question is worth the same 2 marks.

General Knowledge and General Awareness

This section is where a prepared candidate can gain the fastest marks, because it takes seconds per question. But GK has no end, so be selective.

• Static GK: use one good source and revise it repeatedly. Cover Indian history in broad strokes, physical geography and states with capitals, the Constitution, basic economy terms, and general science up to Class 10.
• Current affairs: follow the last six to twelve months. Make short notes on appointments, awards, sports events, schemes, defence and security news, and important days.
• Revision beats reading: one fact seen five times is worth more than five facts seen once. Revise your notes every night for 20 minutes.
• Attempt every GK question you know. With only 0.25 marks lost for a wrong answer, an educated guess between two options often pays.

Elementary Mathematics

Maths scares many aspirants, but the syllabus stops at Class 10. The way through is tables, squares and cubes, fractions and percentages by heart, and a lot of practice.

• Memorise tables up to 20, squares up to 30, cubes up to 15, and common fraction-percentage pairs. This alone will save minutes.
• Begin with arithmetic topics that appear most: percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss, time and work, and time-speed-distance. Add mensuration and algebra after.
• Practise approximation and elimination, and avoid long division when an option can be cut quickly.
• Do not spend more than 90 seconds on any single question in the first pass.

English or Hindi

Choose the language in which you are strongest. For most candidates from Hindi-speaking states that is Hindi, and it can be your safest 40 marks. Pick based on your reading speed, not on how impressive the language feels.

• For English, learn about ten new words and one idiom set every day, and practise grammar rules in short drills: tenses, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, articles and voice.
• For Hindi, revise sandhi, samas, muhavare, lokokti, paryayvachi, vilom shabd and shabd shuddhi.
• Read a short passage daily and answer questions on it in under four minutes.

Physical training: the weekly plan

The 5 km run in 24 minutes is the number that matters for men. Women need a faster, shorter 1.6 km in 8 minutes 30 seconds, which is a different kind of effort. The plan below is a general framework for a healthy beginner. If you have any medical condition, an injury or you have not exercised for a long time, talk to a doctor before you begin. Increase effort gradually.

Day	Training
Monday	Easy run or run-walk, 20 to 30 minutes, comfortable pace
Tuesday	Strength: squats, lunges, push-ups, planks, calf raises
Wednesday	Interval day: short fast runs with walking recovery in between
Thursday	Rest or a short walk, plus stretching
Friday	Tempo run: a steady, slightly hard pace for 15 to 25 minutes
Saturday	Long run, slower than race pace, building distance week by week
Sunday	Full rest, sleep, good food, and a light review of the week

• Do not add more than about 10 percent to your weekly running distance each week. Sudden jumps are the main cause of shin and knee pain.
• Run on a track or a flat, even surface so that you can measure your pace.
• Test yourself every two to three weeks with a timed effort at the real distance, or a fraction of it, and write down the result.
• Eat enough, drink water, and sleep seven to eight hours. Training without recovery just wears you out.
• Do not use any banned substance or shortcut supplements. Forces test for these, and your health matters more than a few seconds.

Height cannot be changed, but you can check where you stand early. Measure yourself against the standard for your category. If you are short of the limit by a small margin, do not rely on rumours or tricks. Ask a doctor, and consider the other recruitment routes for which you may qualify.

The 90-day study and training plan

Ninety days is a realistic runway if you already have some basics, and a tight but workable one if you are starting from zero. The plan assumes about four hours of study a day plus one hour of physical training. If you work or help at home, scale it down and extend the timeline. A steady 2 hours beats a heroic week followed by a burnout.

Days 1 to 30: build the base

• Study: learn the method for each reasoning family, cover basic arithmetic from scratch, start the static GK notes, and begin daily grammar or Hindi vyakaran drills. Take one sectional test per week to see where you stand.
• Training: walk and jog to build the habit, three to four sessions a week, and add basic strength work. The goal for the first month is to run 2 to 3 km without stopping, even slowly.
• Weekly review: every Sunday, list the topics you got wrong and fix the top three the following week.

Days 31 to 60: build speed and stamina

• Study: shift from learning to timed practice. Solve sectional sets with a clock. Finish the syllabus for maths and GK. Start current affairs revision. Take one full-length mock every week, and spend as long reviewing it as you spent taking it.
• Training: bring in intervals and a weekly long run. Aim to cover 4 to 5 km at an easy pace by day 60, and test your pace over 1.6 km.
• Weekly review: track marks per section and your accuracy. If accuracy is under 80 percent in a section, slow down and fix concepts before chasing speed.

Days 61 to 90: sharpen and simulate

• Study: take two or three full-length mocks a week in the real 60-minute format, and analyse each one. Revise static GK and the last few months of current affairs. Spend the final week on formulas, notes and light practice only.
• Training: two or three sessions near race pace, one long run, strength work kept light. In the last week, reduce volume so you arrive fresh. Men should do at least one full 5 km timed run, and women a 1.6 km timed run, under test conditions.
• Weekly review: work on your exam-day strategy: which section first, how long on each, and when to stop and move on.

A sample daily routine

1. Morning: physical training, then breakfast and rest.
2. Mid-morning: two hours of maths and reasoning, the high-concentration subjects.
3. Afternoon: lighter work such as GK notes or current affairs.
4. Evening: one hour of English or Hindi, and a timed practice set.
5. Night: 20 minutes of revision, then sleep on time.

How to attempt the paper on exam day

• Open with the section you are most confident about. Many candidates start with GK, finish it in about 8 to 10 minutes, then go to reasoning and maths.
• Do two passes. In the first pass, answer what you can do quickly. In the second, return to the harder ones.
• Guess carefully. If you can remove two options, the 0.25 penalty is a small price against a 2-mark gain.
• Leave the last two minutes to check marked answers, not to start new questions.
• Reach the centre early with your admit card and ID. Do not carry banned items.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Ignoring the ground until the result: start running on day one. The CBT result can come months after the exam, and by then it is too late to build stamina.
• Studying only your favourite section: a zero in one section cannot be rescued by a perfect score in another, because the cut-off is high.
• Collecting resources instead of finishing them: one book and one mock series, completed twice, beats ten half-read PDFs.
• Taking mocks but not analysing them: the learning is in the review, not in the score.
• Overtraining: daily hard running without rest leads to injury, which can end your attempt.
• Not checking your state cut-off and category: choose your target on the basis of your own list, not a national headline.
• Weak paperwork: a wrong certificate format, mismatched names or a missing document can cancel a selection that you worked for months to earn.
• Trusting agents and promises: no one can arrange selection in SSC GD. Anyone who asks for money to do so is cheating you.
• Believing every number online: as this guide shows, websites disagree. Verify against the official notice.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Who can apply for SSC GD Constable? A: Indian citizens who have passed Class 10 from a recognised board and who fall in the age range, which was 18 to 23 years as on 1 January 2026 in the latest cycle, with relaxation for reserved categories.

Q: What is the CBT pattern? A: As reported by most sources for the current cycle, 80 questions of 2 marks each (160 marks) in 60 minutes, with 20 questions each in reasoning, GK, maths and English or Hindi. Each wrong answer costs 0.25 marks. One portal shows a different pattern, so check the official notice.

Q: Is there negative marking? A: Yes, 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in the pattern reported by most sources.

Q: In which languages can I take the paper? A: English and Hindi, plus 13 regional languages, according to the notice as reported.

Q: What are the physical standards? A: For general, OBC and SC candidates, 170 cm for men and 157 cm for women, with relaxation for ST and certain regions. Men also need a chest of 80 cm with 5 cm expansion. See the tables above and check the notice for your category.

Q: What is the PET? A: Men run 5 km in 24 minutes and women run 1.6 km in 8 minutes 30 seconds. One source lists shorter distances for the Ladakh region, which we could not verify elsewhere.

Q: Is weight still checked? A: Reports say weight is no longer a reason for rejection at the PST and that BMI is assessed at the medical stage, following an MHA memorandum. We could not see the document, so check the notice and the current guidelines.

Q: What is the salary? A: Pay Level 3, which is Rs 21,700 to Rs 69,100, with allowances. Sources give different in-hand estimates, roughly Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000, depending on posting and allowances.

Q: What was the last cut-off? A: Reported male UR cut-offs were about 159.6 in 2024 and about 147.4 to 147.5 in 2025, out of 160 marks, with large state-to-state differences. We could not find an official 2026 cut-off at the time of writing.

Q: Can I prepare for SSC GD in 90 days? A: Yes, if you already know the basics and train every day. If you are starting from zero, a longer runway is safer, but the 90-day plan above is a good structure either way.

Final word

SSC GD rewards the candidate who prepares the body and the mind together, every single day. Pick your state, know your target, run before you study when you are fresh, and keep a record of your progress. Practise under real exam conditions with full-length mock tests on Pareeksha, review every attempt, and walk into the centre knowing you have already done this paper many times.