If you can type fast in Hindi and take shorthand dictation, UPSSSC Stenographer is one of the cleaner Group C jobs in Uttar Pradesh. No physical test, no running, no height measurement. Just a written paper and a skill test that checks what you already know how to do.
This post walks you through where the recruitment stands right now, who can apply, what the paper looks like, what the syllabus actually covers, and how much the job pays. If you're already preparing, jump straight to the syllabus and strategy sections. If you're deciding whether to go for it, read the whole thing first.
Latest notification and important dates
UPSSSC runs Stenographer recruitment under separate advertisement numbers, and right now two cycles are active at different stages. The one that matters most today is Advt No. 13-Exam/2024, which is close to its final stage.
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Advertisement released (Advt 13-Exam/2024) | December 2024 | Done |
| Online application window | 26 Dec 2024 – 25 Jan 2025 | Done |
| Written exam | 20 January 2026 | Done |
| Answer key (initial) | 22 January 2026 | Done |
| Revised answer key | 1 April 2026 | Done |
| Written exam result | 22 July 2026 | Declared |
| Skill test (shorthand + typing) | 1 September 2026 (tentative) | Upcoming |
| Document verification and medical | To be announced | Pending |
There's also an older cycle, Advt No. 09-Exam/2023, for 333 posts. That written exam was held on 16 November 2025, and the result came out on 22 July 2026 too, with the skill test still to be scheduled. If you applied under this advertisement, keep checking the official site for your skill test date.
No fresh UPSSSC Stenographer notification has opened for new applicants as of August 2026. Both running cycles are closed for applications. If a new advertisement drops later this year, this page will note it, but for now, treat the details above as the reference cycle. Keep checking exam news updates so you don't miss the next one.
What the job actually is
A UP government Stenographer sits in the office of a senior officer — this could be a District Magistrate, a department head, a court official, or a board secretary — and handles their correspondence. The core work is taking dictation in Hindi shorthand and converting it into a clean typed document. On a normal day you'll draft letters, file notes, minutes of meetings, and confidential correspondence.
It's a desk job. You're close to decision-making, you see how government files move, and postings are usually within UP, in Secretariat offices, district offices, boards, or corporations depending on where you're allotted. It's not glamorous, but it's stable, pensionable in the new scheme, and it opens a path into the administrative side of government work without needing an engineering or law degree.
Vacancy details
The 13-Exam/2024 cycle was advertised for 661 posts and later revised upward to 1,224 posts across UP government departments. The category-wise split (based on the original notification, subject to final revision) looked roughly like this:
| Category | Approx. Vacancies |
|---|---|
| Unreserved (UR) | 321 |
| OBC | 125 |
| SC | 155 |
| ST | 14 |
| EWS | 46 |
Within this, horizontal reservation applies for women (around 107 posts), persons with disabilities (13), ex-servicemen (18), dependents of freedom fighters (6), and sportspersons (6). The 09-Exam/2023 cycle carried 333 posts separately. Exact final numbers can shift a bit after document verification, since some candidates get rejected on eligibility grounds and posts get adjusted.
Eligibility
Age limit: 18 to 40 years, calculated as on 1 July of the notification year.
| Category | Age Relaxation |
|---|---|
| SC / ST | 5 years |
| OBC | 3 years |
| PWD (UR) | 15 years |
| PWD (SC/ST) | 15 years (as per UP state rules) |
| Ex-servicemen | As per UP government norms |
Education: You need to have passed Class 12 (Intermediate) from a recognised board. On top of that, you must have:
- Hindi shorthand speed of 80 words per minute
- Hindi typing speed of 25 words per minute
- A CCC (Course on Computer Concepts) certificate from DOEACC/NIELIT, or an equivalent computer qualification
PET requirement: You must have qualified the UPSSSC PET (Preliminary Eligibility Test) for the relevant year. PET score is used only to decide who can apply for this and other UPSSSC posts — it isn't added to your Stenographer written exam score.
Domicile: Only candidates domiciled in Uttar Pradesh are eligible, as with most UPSSSC posts.
Nationality: Indian citizen.
Application process and fee
Applications for both current cycles are closed. When a fresh notification comes, the process will likely stay the same as before:
- Register on the UPSSSC official portal using your PET registration details.
- Fill the Stenographer application form with your personal, educational and category details.
- Upload photo, signature and required documents.
- Pay the application fee online or via SBI e-challan.
- Submit and keep the printout safe.
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| All categories (UR/OBC/SC/ST/EWS) | ₹25 (processing fee) |
UPSSSC keeps this fee low because the heavier exam fee is already paid at the PET stage. Don't confuse the two — PET fee and Stenographer application fee are separate.
Exam pattern
The selection has two real stages: a written exam that decides merit, and a skill test that only qualifies you (doesn't add marks).
Stage 1: Written Examination
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Mode | Offline (OMR based) |
| Total questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Marking scheme | 1 mark per correct answer |
| Negative marking | 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer |
Subject-wise split:
| Subject | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| General Hindi | 30 | 30 |
| General Intelligence Test | 15 | 15 |
| General Knowledge | 20 | 20 |
| Computer Knowledge | 15 | 15 |
| UP General Knowledge (GK) | 20 | 20 |
Stage 2: Skill Test (Stenography)
| Test | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Hindi shorthand dictation | 80 words per minute |
| Transcription (Hindi typing) | 25 words per minute |
This stage is purely qualifying. You either clear the speed and accuracy bar or you don't — it doesn't push you up the merit list. Final selection is based on your written exam score, subject to clearing the skill test and document verification.
Detailed syllabus
General Hindi — this carries the most weight, so don't skip it. Covers Hindi grammar (संधि, समास, कारक, वाक्य शुद्धि), vocabulary, one-word substitutions, synonyms and antonyms, idioms and proverbs (मुहावरे व लोकोक्तियाँ), spelling correction, and short comprehension passages. Since you're applying as a Hindi stenographer, examiners expect strong command over Hindi.
General Intelligence / Reasoning — coding-decoding, number and letter series, analogies, blood relations, direction sense, seating arrangement basics, syllogism, mirror and water images, and non-verbal reasoning like odd-one-out and pattern completion.
General Knowledge — Indian history (freedom struggle, ancient and medieval highlights), Indian Constitution and polity basics, geography, general science (physics, chemistry, biology at school level), sports, awards, books and authors, and current affairs from the last 6-8 months before the exam.
Computer Knowledge — basics of computer hardware and software, MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), internet and email fundamentals, operating systems, shortcuts, cyber security basics, and general awareness of digital governance tools used in UP offices.
UP General Knowledge — this section is UP-specific and often decides your final rank since generic prep doesn't cover it well. Focus on UP history, culture, art and architecture, fairs and festivals, rivers and geography of UP, major schemes of the state government, UP's administrative structure, districts and divisions, and recent achievements or projects in the state.
For structured practice on each of these, use topic-wise practice sets, and lean on the Quantitative Aptitude guide, Reasoning guide and General Awareness guide on Pareeksha even though this paper is Hindi-GK heavy — the reasoning and GK sections overlap a lot with SSC-level prep.
Salary, pay scale and career growth
UPSSSC Stenographer is a Group C post on Pay Level 3 of the 7th Pay Commission matrix (old scale ₹5200-20200, Grade Pay ₹2000).
| Component | Approx. Value |
|---|---|
| Pay Level | Level 3 |
| Pay Band | ₹21,700 – ₹69,100 |
| Starting Basic Pay | ₹21,700 |
| DA, HRA, TA | As per UP government rules |
| Approximate in-hand salary | ₹28,000 – ₹33,000 per month (starting, city-dependent) |
On top of basic pay, you get dearness allowance, house rent allowance (varies by city classification), and travel allowance. Government employees also get pension benefits under NPS, medical facilities, and standard government leave rules.
Growth-wise, a Stenographer can get promoted to Personal Assistant and then Private Secretary over the years, depending on department vacancies and seniority. It's a slow but steady ladder, and postings close to senior officers often mean better exposure and networking within the administration.
Previous cut-off trends
Cut-offs shift every cycle based on paper difficulty and the number of vacancies. As a rough reference from recent UPSSSC Group C papers of similar difficulty (Hindi + GK heavy, 100 marks):
| Category | Approx. Cut-off (out of 100) |
|---|---|
| UR | 60-68 |
| OBC | 55-63 |
| SC | 48-56 |
| ST | 38-48 |
| EWS | 55-62 |
Take these as ballpark figures, not guarantees. The official cut-off for the 13-Exam/2024 cycle was released with the result on 22 July 2026 — check the UPSSSC site for the exact category-wise numbers for that specific paper.
Best books and preparation strategy
You don't need a mountain of books for this exam. What you need is consistency on Hindi and UP GK, since that's where most candidates lose marks.
- General Hindi: Lucent's Samanya Hindi, or any standard UP-board level Hindi grammar book you already trust.
- Reasoning: A basic verbal and non-verbal reasoning book — most SSC-level books work fine here.
- General Knowledge and UP GK: Lucent's General Knowledge, plus a dedicated UP GK book. Don't skip UP GK — this is the section that separates a good score from an average one.
- Computer Knowledge: Any basic computer awareness book for competitive exams covers this section fully.
- Current Affairs: Follow a monthly digest and revise it weekly. Use current affairs updates to stay on top without wasting hours on random news apps.
A rough 3-month plan, if you're starting from scratch:
- Month 1: Build the base. Go through Hindi grammar rules, basic reasoning types, and start UP GK from scratch (history, geography, schemes). Practice shorthand daily if you haven't already, even 20-30 minutes helps build muscle memory.
- Month 2: Move to speed. Do subject-wise practice questions daily, focus more time on your weak sections, and increase your typing and shorthand speed gradually toward the 80/25 wpm bar.
- Month 3: Full mock tests under timed conditions. Attempt free mock tests at least twice a week, analyse mistakes, and keep revising UP GK and current affairs right up to exam day. Also keep a fixed daily slot for shorthand practice — speed drops fast if you stop.
Track your progress with a proper study plan instead of jumping between random YouTube videos and PDFs.
Common mistakes and honest advice
The biggest mistake candidates make is treating the skill test as an afterthought. Yes, it's qualifying, but 80 wpm shorthand and 25 wpm typing aren't easy if you haven't practised regularly for months. Don't wait till after the written result to start shorthand practice — start early, alongside your written prep.
Second mistake: ignoring UP GK because it feels "too specific." This section has fixed, learnable content. A few hours a week over two months covers most of it. Skipping it and hoping GK alone carries you is a bad bet.
Third, don't underestimate negative marking. With 0.25 negative marks per wrong answer, guessing randomly on 20-25 questions can cost you 5-6 marks, which is often the gap between qualifying and missing out. Attempt what you're sure of first, then come back to the rest if time allows.
And don't compare this exam to SSC Stenographer and assume the syllabus is identical — the papers differ in weightage. If you're preparing for both, keep separate notes for UP GK versus general GK, since that's the part that won't transfer.
FAQ
Is UPSSSC Stenographer notification out for 2026? No fresh notification is open right now. Two earlier cycles (13-Exam/2024 and 09-Exam/2023) are in their final stages, with skill tests coming up.
Do I need to clear PET before applying? Yes. UPSSSC PET is mandatory before you can apply for Stenographer or most other UPSSSC posts.
What's the required typing and shorthand speed? 80 words per minute in Hindi shorthand, and 25 words per minute in Hindi typing during transcription.
Is the skill test counted in the final merit? No. It's qualifying only. Your rank is based purely on the written exam score.
What is the age limit? 18 to 40 years, with relaxation for SC/ST (5 years), OBC (3 years), and PWD/ex-servicemen categories as per UP norms.
What is the starting salary? Pay Level 3, basic pay ₹21,700, with in-hand salary roughly ₹28,000-33,000 a month depending on city and allowances.
Can candidates from outside UP apply? No, this post requires UP domicile.
How many vacancies are there in the current cycle? The 13-Exam/2024 cycle has 1,224 posts (revised from the original 661); the 09-Exam/2023 cycle has 333 posts.
Is there negative marking in the written exam? Yes, 0.25 marks are deducted for every wrong answer.
Where can I check my skill test date? On the official UPSSSC website, using your registration number, date of birth and other login details.
Related reads on Pareeksha
If you're exploring other UP government options alongside this one, check out our guides on UP Lekhpal, UP Police Constable, and other state exam guides to compare vacancy trends, salary and difficulty across posts.
Final word
UPSSSC Stenographer is a good target if you already have decent Hindi shorthand and typing skills, or you're willing to put in the practice hours to get there. The written paper is manageable if you're consistent with Hindi grammar, UP GK and current affairs. The skill test is the real filter, so don't leave it for later.
Keep an eye on the official portals — upsssc.gov.in for the recruitment and upsssc.gov.in itself for PET details — and don't rely only on aggregator sites for your final dates. For structured revision, use the free mock tests and Reading Room on Pareeksha to keep your prep on track till the next notification or your upcoming skill test, whichever applies to you.
Official sources: upsssc.gov.in, uppsc.up.nic.in
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