How SSC GD selection works
GD selection is a funnel. Your CBE score gets you shortlisted for the physical tests; clearing those gets you to the medical and document check; and the final list, with force allocation, is drawn from CBE merit and your force preferences.
Stage-by-stage flow
- Computer Based Exam80 questions, 160 marks. Reach the minimum for your category (UR 30%, OBC/EWS 25%, others 20%) to be eligible for shortlisting.
- Shortlisting for PET/PSTAbout 8 times the vacancies, picked on CBE merit (with NCC bonus) — separately for men and women, State-, area- and category-wise.
- PET & PSTThe race, then height, chest and weight. Qualifying only.
- Medical & document verificationFrom those who clear PET/PST, about 2 times the vacancies are called on CBE merit for the DME and DV.
- Final merit & force allocationSelection on normalized CBE marks plus NCC bonus; force allotted by merit-cum-preference.
CBE — the stage that ranks you
A 60-minute objective paper in four parts — Reasoning, GK & General Awareness, Elementary Mathematics and English/Hindi — with 0.25 marks deducted per wrong answer. Scores are normalized across shifts, and this normalized score (plus NCC bonus) is used at every later shortlisting and in the final merit.
PET & PST — the physical tests
Held by the CAPFs after biometric verification. Claims for height or chest relaxation are checked after the race and before the measurements. There is no appeal against the race result; if you are declared unfit in height or chest, you can appeal the same day to the Appellate Authority at the centre.
A woman found pregnant at the PET/PST is declared temporarily unfit and her vacancy is kept reserved; she is re-tested six weeks after confinement with a medical fitness certificate.
See the full height & chest relaxation tablesMedical examination (DME / RME)
Candidates who clear PET/PST and are shortlisted on CBE merit go through a Detailed Medical Examination by CAPF medical boards, with a Review Medical Examination (RME) also conducted by the CAPFs. The boards follow the MHA’s uniform guidelines for recruitment medical exams in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles.
The notice doesn’t list eyesight or other medical standards itself — it points to the MHA guidelines on mha.gov.in. SSC does not entertain appeals against PET/PST or DME/RME board decisions.
Document verification
Done by the CAPFs along with the DME. Bring originals of your Class 10 certificate (for age, name and qualification), domicile certificate / PRC, and, if you claimed them, your NCC, caste, ex-servicemen, height/chest relaxation (Annexure-IX) or 1984-riot certificates.
If the domicile State or district in your form doesn’t match your certificate, your candidature is cancelled and you won’t be allowed into the DME. If you claimed NCC bonus but can’t show a valid certificate, the bonus is withdrawn.
Final merit & force allocation
Candidates who clear PET/PST, the medical and DV enter the final merit list. Selection is made on normalized CBE marks plus NCC bonus — category-wise (UR, SC, ST, OBC, EWS, ESM), separately for men and women, for each State/UT and its Border and Militancy/Naxal-affected district quotas; SSF is filled on an all-India basis. Forces are then allotted by merit-cum-preference: all seven force preferences are mandatory in the form and can’t be changed afterwards.
| If scores tie, SSC compares… |
|---|
| 1. Marks in Part A (Reasoning) |
| 2. Marks in Part B (GK & General Awareness) |
| 3. Marks in Part C (Elementary Mathematics) |
| 4. Date of birth — the older candidate ranks higher |
| 5. Alphabetical order of names |
The 2025 cycle in numbers
| Stage (2025 exam) | Candidates |
|---|---|
| Appeared in the CBE | 25,21,839 |
| Shortlisted for PET/PST | 3,94,121 |
| Shortlisted for DME/DV and RME | 95,575 |
| Vacancies considered for allocation | 53,690 |
Figures are from SSC’s 2025 result write-ups; that cycle also included Sepoy posts in NCB. The 2026 notice lists 25,487 tentative vacancies.
See force- and state-wise cut-off marksCrack SSC GD with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — to the latest GD pattern.
Peak for the CBE, the stage that counts
Since only the CBE builds your rank, JobSafal weights your plan toward it — every mark there moves you up the merit list for your State and category.
CBE-focused plan
All four parts sequenced into daily targets until exam day.
Full CBE mocks
80-question mocks in a CBT-style interface with rank comparison.
Negative-marking analysis
See how accuracy vs attempts changes your net score.
PYQ practice sets
Solved and tagged to each part of the syllabus.
