SSC CHSL 2026: 2,536 posts, eligibility and 7 October deadline

The Staff Selection Commission's Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026 is open for applications. The notice uploaded on 7 September 2026 records approximately 2,536 tentative vacancies for Lower Divisional Clerk/Junior Secretariat Assistant and Data Entry Operator posts in central ministries, departments, offices and other public bodies. Applications are scheduled from 7 September to 7 October 2026, closing at 11:00 pm. The online fee deadline is 8 October at 11:00 pm, and the correction window is 14–16 October until 11:00 pm. SSC has not announced the Tier-I or Tier-II examination dates in this notice. This guide brings the vacancy caveat, 12th-standard rules, age band, fee exemptions, new One-Time Registration route, correction charges and typing or skill requirements into one checklist so applicants can read the official notice with the right questions in mind.

The notice describes the vacancy count as approximate and tentative. Final vacancies will be determined after the user departments' documents are scrutinised, and SSC says updated post-wise and category-wise information will be placed on its Tentative Vacancy page in due course. The Commission does not collect state-wise or zone-wise vacancies for this examination, so a candidate looking for a particular city should not assume that the headline number promises a local posting. Post allocation is tied to merit, preferences and the requirements reported by the relevant user department. Read the individual post and department notes before treating the pay level or vacancy as a personal prediction.

A 12th-pass applicant should not stop at the examination name. For LDC/JSA and the general DEO route, the notice uses a 12th Standard or equivalent rule, but it creates a stricter Science-with-Mathematics requirement for DEO and DEO Grade A vacancies in the specific departments named in paragraph 8.1. That distinction can affect post preferences. Candidates who have appeared in the qualifying examination can use the route described by SSC only if the required qualification is held by the closing date and the result has been declared by then. At later document verification, the user department can ask for the original marksheet, provisional certificate, equivalence evidence or recognition records. An application acknowledgement does not replace those documents.

The age reference date is 1 August 2026, not the date on which a form is submitted. The ordinary band in the notice is 18 to 27 years, with the corresponding date-of-birth limits of 2 August 1999 through 1 August 2008, inclusive. Upper-age relaxation is not automatic: it must be supported by the category or service evidence required under the applicable rules. The application fee is ₹100, while the notice lists exemptions for women, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Persons with Benchmark Disabilities and eligible Ex-Servicemen candidates. A non-exempt candidate should confirm that the fee is actually received by SSC; an application left incomplete because the payment was not received can be rejected.

The application is online only. SSC advises candidates to avoid leaving registration, document checks or payment to the final hour because a slow connection or login problem can interrupt submission. The payment-status link is especially important for non-exempt applicants: the notice says the form can show as incomplete if SSC does not receive the fee, and such an application can be summarily rejected. Save the final form and transaction details before leaving the portal. The application record is also useful later when the Commission or a user department asks for documentary verification.

The correction facility is not an extension of the original application deadline. Only a completed application with the required fee received inside the original period can use it. SSC allows two corrected re-submissions during the three-day window, but the charges are separate from the application fee: ₹200 for the first correction and ₹500 for the second. The charge is uniform and non-refundable. Candidates should proofread the initial form, post choices and qualification entries before submitting, and use the correction route only when they understand which latest form will remain valid. After the window closes, the notice says no further correction request will be entertained through other channels.

Tier-I is an objective paper with English, General Intelligence, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness. The notice sets 25 questions and 50 marks for each part, with a 15-minute sectional timer and 0.50 negative marking for each wrong answer. Tier-II is conducted in two sessions and combines mathematical abilities, reasoning, English and general awareness with a mandatory qualifying computer knowledge test. SSC says candidates must qualify all Tier-II sections. The exam dates are not fixed in this notice, so applicants should not rely on an unofficial schedule or admit-card claim.

The final section is not the same for every post. For DEO and DEO Grade A, the skill test is mandatory and qualifying. The notice sets a 15,000 key-depressions-per-hour test for DEO posts in the departments named in paragraph 8.1, and an 8,000 key-depressions-per-hour test for the other DEO routes; each is described as a 15-minute test with the prescribed passage. For LDC/JSA, candidates choose English or Hindi typing medium in the online application. The notice states 35 words per minute for English or 30 words per minute for Hindi, assessed over a 10-minute passage. The medium choice is final, and Hindi typing uses Mangal font. Scribe or disability-related compensatory time or exemption rules apply only in the circumstances and with the certificates described in the full notice. Practise against the correct post-specific benchmark rather than treating one speed as a universal CHSL requirement.