Everything below comes from the Staff Selection Commission's notice for the Stenographer Grade 'C' & 'D' Examination, 2026 (uploaded on 24 April 2026), its later schedule, answer-key and addendum notices, and the allocation notice of the 2025 cycle. The 2026 examination is the newest notified cycle as of 13 November 2026. Our own comments and arithmetic are labelled.
Stages at a glance
| Stage | Mode | Role in selection |
|---|---|---|
| Computer Based Examination (CBE) | Online, objective multiple choice | Shortlists for the skill test, and decides merit |
| Skill test in stenography | 10-minute dictation, transcribed on a computer | Mandatory, qualifying only |
| Post preferences, First Round of Tentative Allocation (FRTA) and sliding | Online option form, then allocation | Posts allotted by merit and preference |
| Document verification | By the allotted department, after the final result | Eligibility check |
There is a single written paper and no Tier-II, so the same CBE score that gets you to the skill test also fixes your rank.
Where the 2026 cycle stands
| Event | Date (per SSC) |
|---|---|
| Online applications | 24 April to 15 May 2026 (23:00) |
| Last date for fee payment | 16 May 2026 (23:00) |
| Correction window | 20 to 21 May 2026 (23:00) |
| CBE window given in the notice | July to August 2026 |
| CBE dates announced on 12 August 2026, revised on 31 August 2026 | 9 to 12 September, then 9 to 15 September 2026 |
| CBE actually conducted (answer-key write-up) | 9, 10, 11, 12 and 15 September 2026 |
| Tentative answer keys and challenge window | 23 to 26 September 2026 (23:00), Rs 50 per question |
As of 13 November 2026 we did not find a CBE result, a skill-test schedule or a final vacancy list for the 2026 cycle on the SSC notice board. Check ssc.gov.in for these.
Posts, vacancies and eligibility
| Post | Group | Pay level (per SSC's vacancy list) |
|---|---|---|
| Stenographer Grade 'C' | Group B, non-gazetted | Level-6 or Level-7, depending on the department |
| Stenographer Grade 'D' | Group C | Level-4 |
- Vacancies: the notice says approximately 731, with collection still in progress. SSC's tentative list as on 4 June 2026 shows 1,021 for Grade D and 149 for Grade C, which is 1,170 in all (the sum is our arithmetic). SSC does not collect state-wise or zone-wise vacancies. Details are on the cut-off page.
- Age as on 1 August 2026: Grade C 18 to 30 years (born 2 August 1996 to 1 August 2008); Grade D 18 to 27 years (born 2 August 1999 to 1 August 2008). Relaxations include 5 years for SC/ST, 3 years for OBC and 10 years for PwBD (unreserved and EWS).
- Education: Class 12 pass or equivalent from a recognised board or university, on or before 1 August 2026.
- Fee: Rs 100. Women, SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen eligible for reservation are exempt.
- Border Roads Organisation: only male candidates are eligible for Grade D vacancies in BRO, and BRO has its own physical and medical standards (Annexure XVI of the notice).
- You can apply for Grade C, Grade D or both. The notice opens with the condition that only candidates who have skills in stenography are eligible to apply.
The Computer Based Examination
| Part | Subject | Questions | Marks | Sectional timer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Intelligence and Reasoning | 50 | 50 | 30 minutes |
| II | General Awareness | 50 | 50 | 30 minutes |
| III | English Language and Comprehension | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
| Total | 200 | 200 | 2 hours |
- Objective-type multiple choice only. Questions are set in both English and Hindi.
- Negative marking: 0.25 marks for each wrong answer. Each question carries 1 mark.
- Each part has its own timer, so time saved in one part cannot be carried to another.
- Candidates eligible for a scribe get 2 hours 40 minutes: 40 minutes each for Parts I and II and 80 minutes for Part III.
- Where the CBE runs in several shifts, marks are normalised using the procedure SSC published on 2 June 2025, and the notice says the normalised scores are used for merit and cut-offs. Our normalisation explainer was written around CGL but describes the same method.
- Tentative answer keys are published after the exam. Challenges cost Rs 50 per question, non-refundable. There is no re-evaluation or re-checking of scores.
What each part covers is on the syllabus page.
The skill test in stenography
Candidates shortlisted in the CBE are called for the skill test. From para 15 of the notice:
| Grade C | Grade D | |
|---|---|---|
| Dictation | 10 minutes | 10 minutes |
| Dictation speed | 100 words per minute | 80 words per minute |
| Transcription time, English | 40 minutes | 50 minutes |
| Transcription time, Hindi | 55 minutes | 65 minutes |
| Transcription time for scribe-eligible candidates, English | 55 minutes | 70 minutes |
| Transcription time for scribe-eligible candidates, Hindi | 75 minutes | 90 minutes |
- You get one dictation, in English or Hindi, as opted in the online application form. The matter is transcribed on a computer.
- Hindi must be typed in Mangal font only. SSC's addendum of 23 September 2026 says a script typed in any other font will not be evaluated and the candidate will be treated as not qualified.
- Candidates who take the test in Hindi are required to learn English stenography after appointment, and the other way round, failing which probation may not be cleared.
- Arithmetic from the notice, not an SSC statement: 10 minutes at 100 words per minute is about 1,000 words of dictation; at 80 words per minute, about 800.
How it is judged. The notice says the skill test is "mandatory but qualifying in nature" and that the Commission will fix category-wise qualifying standards for each post. It does not state the standard in advance. For the 2025 cycle, SSC's allocation notice gives the limits it fixed on the percentage of mistakes:
| Post (2025 cycle) | UR | All reserved categories |
|---|---|---|
| Stenographer Grade C | up to 5% mistakes | up to 7% mistakes |
| Stenographer Grade D | up to 7% mistakes | up to 10% mistakes |
Treat these as the last published values, not a promise for 2026. SSC withheld its first 2025 allocation list in June 2026 after candidates complained about the evaluation of the skill test, reviewed it, and issued a revised list on 31 July 2026 with the same error limits.
Qualifying marks in the CBE
| Category | Minimum qualifying marks |
|---|---|
| UR | 30% |
| OBC and EWS | 25% |
| All other categories | 20% |
On 200 marks that is 60, 50 and 40 (arithmetic). The notice sets no part-wise minimum, only this overall floor. Shortlisting for the skill test uses category-wise cut-offs that have been far above the floor: see cut-offs.
How the final allocation is made
According to the notice:
- Candidates are shortlisted category-wise on CBE marks for the skill test of the post or posts they applied for.
- Those who qualify the skill test are considered for the First Round of Tentative Allocation and final selection on the basis of their merit in the CBE.
- Post and department preferences are taken through an online option form before the FRTA. A candidate is not considered for a post or department that was not chosen. Options once submitted are final, and candidates who do not submit preferences in time are not considered for any post.
- SSC keeps no waiting list or reserve list. It uses a sliding mechanism, set out in its notices of 3 March and 8 April 2026, to fill posts left by absentees.
- If you are allotted a post and fail its specific medical or physical standard, you are not considered for your other preferences. This matters for BRO.
Tie-breaks, in order: marks in Part III (English), then marks in Part II (General Awareness), then date of birth with the older candidate placed higher, then alphabetical order of names.
What this means for your attempt strategy
- Break-even for guessing: +1 for a right answer and -0.25 for a wrong one, so an attempt pays once your chance of being right is better than 1 in 5. This is arithmetic from the marking scheme, not SSC advice.
- Time per question: 30 minutes for 50 questions and 60 minutes for 100 questions both work out to 36 seconds a question in every part (arithmetic).
- English counts twice. It is half the marks and the first tie-break.
- The skill test is pass or fail. A high CBE score is worth nothing if the transcription has more mistakes than the limit. See preparation strategy.
Practise in this format: a 10-question mini-mock is free to try, and so is the Daily Dangal quiz. Full CBT-pattern mocks, previous-year papers and topic practice are Pro.
What this page does not have
- The CBE result, cut-offs and skill-test dates for the 2026 cycle. We did not find them on the SSC notice board as of 13 November 2026.
- A final vacancy list for 2026. The figures above are SSC's tentative list as on 4 June 2026.
- SSC's standard instructions on how skill-test scripts are evaluated (what counts as a full or half mistake). The notice points to the "For Candidates" section of ssc.gov.in; we did not open that document, so we do not describe it.
- The 2026 error limits for the skill test. SSC fixes them with the result; only the 2025 limits are published.
Related: Syllabus · Cut-offs · Preparation strategy