SSC CHSL Syllabus 2026: Tier 1 and Tier 2 Exam Pattern, Topics and Typing Test

SSC CHSL exam pattern 2026 at a glance

Both tiers are computer based, and every question is objective multiple choice except the typing or skill test. Here is the whole CHSL 2026 scheme of examination in one table.

A Tier 1 question carries 2 marks and a Tier 2 question carries 3. So a wrong answer costs a quarter of a question's value in Tier 1 but a third in Tier 2, which makes blind guessing more expensive in the second tier.

SSC CHSL Tier 1 exam pattern

• Time: 60 minutes, with a 15-minute sectional timer for each part. Candidates eligible for a scribe get 80 minutes, 20 per part.
• Negative marking: 0.50 marks for each wrong answer.
• Language: the English part is in English only. The other three parts are set in English, Hindi and the language you chose in your form; Annexure XV of the notice lists 15 languages in all.
• Order: the notice says the subjects are not in sequence, so do not count on English always coming first.
• Normalisation: if Tier 1 runs in several shifts, SSC converts raw marks to normalised scores using its formula notice of 2 June 2025.

SSC CHSL Tier 1 syllabus: full topic list

These are the topics named in the notice's indicative syllabus for Tier 1. Indicative means SSC can ask closely related questions too, so treat the list as the core of your preparation rather than a hard boundary.

English Language

• Spot the error and fill in the blanks
• Synonyms, homonyms and antonyms
• Spellings and detecting misspelt words
• Idioms and phrases; one word substitution
• Improvement of sentences
• Active and passive voice of verbs
• Conversion into direct and indirect narration
• Shuffling of sentence parts and of sentences in a passage
• Cloze passage and comprehension passage

General Intelligence

Questions are both verbal and non-verbal. The notice lists these areas:

• Semantic analogy, symbolic or number analogy, and figural analogy
• Semantic classification, symbolic or number classification, and figural classification
• Semantic series, number series and figural series
• Symbolic operations, numerical operations and trends
• Space orientation, embedded figures and Venn diagrams
• Punched hole and pattern folding and unfolding; figural pattern folding and completion
• Drawing inferences, critical thinking and problem solving
• Emotional intelligence and social intelligence
• Word building, coding and decoding, and other sub-topics

Quantitative Aptitude

• Number systems: computation of whole numbers, decimals and fractions, and relationships between numbers
• Fundamental arithmetic: percentages, ratio and proportion, square roots, averages, simple and compound interest, profit and loss, discount, partnership business, mixture and alligation, time and distance, time and work
• Algebra: basic identities of school algebra, elementary surds (simple problems) and graphs of linear equations
• Geometry: triangles and their centres, congruence and similarity of triangles, circles and their chords, tangents, angles subtended by chords, and common tangents to two or more circles
• Mensuration: triangle, quadrilaterals, regular polygons, circle, right prism, right circular cone, right circular cylinder, sphere, hemisphere, rectangular parallelepiped, and regular right pyramid with a triangular or square base
• Trigonometry: trigonometric ratios, complementary angles, heights and distances (simple problems only) and standard identities such as sin squared theta plus cos squared theta equals 1
• Statistical charts: use of tables and graphs, histogram, frequency polygon, bar diagram and pie chart

General Awareness

There is no fixed topic list. The notice says questions test your awareness of the world around you and its use in society, current events, and the everyday science an educated person is expected to know. It also names India and its neighbouring countries, especially their history, culture, geography, economic scene, general policy and scientific research.

For candidates with 40% or more visual disability, the General Intelligence and Quantitative Aptitude parts will have no maps, graphs, diagrams or statistical data.

SSC CHSL Tier 2 exam pattern

Tier 2 takes one day in two sessions. Session I lasts 2 hours and 15 minutes with no gap between sections: Section I closes automatically after one hour, Section II starts at once and also closes after an hour, and the 15-minute computer test follows. After a break for re-registration, Session II is the typing or skill test.

• Negative marking: 1 mark for each wrong answer in Sections I, II and III.
• You must qualify in every section. Sections III and IV are qualifying only, so their marks never enter the merit list.
• Language: every module except English Language and Comprehension is set in English, Hindi and the language you chose in the form.
• Scribe-eligible candidates get 1 hour 20 minutes each for Sections I and II, 20 minutes for Section III, 20 minutes for the skill test and 15 minutes for the typing test.

SSC CHSL Tier 2 syllabus

Tier 2 repeats the Tier 1 lists for maths, reasoning and general awareness, then adds statistics, a longer English paper and a computer module. The differences are what you should plan your revision around.

Mathematical Abilities

The first six groups are identical to Tier 1 Quantitative Aptitude: number systems, fundamental arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration and trigonometry. The seventh group grows from statistical charts into statistics and probability: tables and graphs (histogram, frequency polygon, bar diagram, pie chart), the measures of central tendency mean, median and mode, standard deviation, and calculation of simple probabilities.

Reasoning and General Intelligence

The topic list is the same as Tier 1 General Intelligence, from semantic analogy to coding and decoding, with both verbal and non-verbal questions. Expect the same question types at a slower, more careful pace, since each wrong answer now costs a full mark.

English Language and Comprehension

All the Tier 1 English topics appear again, along with vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, and synonyms and antonyms with their correct usage. For comprehension you get two or more paragraphs: at least one simple passage based on a book or a story, and another based on a current affairs editorial or report. This is the largest module in Tier 2, at 40 questions.

General Awareness

The same scope as Tier 1, now 20 questions in 20 minutes.

Computer Knowledge (Section III)

• Computer basics: organisation of a computer, central processing unit (CPU), input and output devices, computer memory and memory organisation, back-up devices, ports, Windows Explorer and keyboard shortcuts
• Software: the Windows operating system and basics of Microsoft Office such as MS Word, MS Excel and PowerPoint
• Internet and e-mail: web browsing and searching, downloading and uploading, managing an e-mail account, and e-banking
• Networking and cyber security: networking devices and protocols, threats such as hacking, viruses, worms and Trojans, and preventive measures

SSC CHSL typing test and DEO skill test

Section IV is the SSC CHSL typing test for LDC/JSA posts and a data entry skill test for DEO posts. It carries no marks, but failing it rules you out of that post, so it deserves daily practice from today.

• Choose the typing medium carefully. You pick English or Hindi in the application form, and the notice says no change will be allowed later.
• Hindi typing must be done in the Mangal font only. Using any other font means you do not qualify.
• Nobody is exempt from the DEO skill test.
• PwBD candidates whose physical disability permanently prevents typing can be exempted from the LDC/JSA typing test, with a certificate from the Civil Surgeon of a government health institution in the notice's format. This exemption does not cover visually or hearing impaired candidates.
• Scribe-eligible candidates get 5 extra minutes. Visually impaired candidates who opted for a scribe get a passage dictator who reads the text aloud.
• Speed is judged on accuracy, and skill test errors are calculated to two decimal places under SSC's evaluation guidelines. The notice itself does not print the permitted error percentage, so read those guidelines on ssc.gov.in.

Qualifying marks and how the final merit is made

Qualifying is not the same as being selected. SSC shortlists for Tier 2 on Tier 1 performance and may set separate category-wise cut-offs for three groups: DEOs in the three departments named above, other DEOs, and LDC/JSA. The merit list is built only from your aggregate marks in Tier 2 Sections I and II, provided you clear Sections III and IV. Normalised scores are used wherever an exam runs in several shifts.

If two candidates tie in Tier 2, SSC compares Section I marks first, then Tier 1 marks, and then date of birth, placing the older candidate higher. Maths and reasoning therefore count twice: once in your total and again as the first tie-breaker.

Is there topic-wise weightage in the CHSL syllabus?

No official one. The notice fixes the number of questions per subject (25 each in Tier 1; 30 maths, 30 reasoning, 40 English, 20 general awareness and 15 computer in Tier 2) but says nothing about how many questions each topic gets. Weightage charts you see elsewhere are someone's count of past papers, not an SSC rule.

Use past papers to learn the question style and which areas come up often, but cover every topic in the list. A topic you skipped because a chart called it rare can still decide a close cut-off.

What is still pending in the CHSL 2026 cycle

As of 10 October 2026, SSC has published the notice, closed applications on 7 October 2026 and proposed the Tier 1 window. These are still to come, and all of them will appear on ssc.gov.in:

• Your exact Tier 1 date and shift. The 1 October 2026 notice proposes 30 November to 31 December 2026. The CHSL notice says exam city and date details go up about 10 days before the exam and admit cards 2 to 3 days before.
• The Tier 2 schedule, which the notice says will be notified later.
• Post-wise and category-wise vacancies. The notice gives about 2,536 tentative vacancies and says the breakdown will be posted under Candidate's Corner, Tentative Vacancy.
• Answer keys, cut-offs and the online form for post preferences.

The application correction window runs from 14 to 16 October 2026, up to 23:00 hours. Remember that the notice treats your typing medium choice as final.

How to prepare with this syllabus

Maths, reasoning, English and general awareness appear in both tiers, so Tier 1 preparation is also Tier 2 preparation. Get the Tier 1 basics steady first, then add statistics and probability, longer reading passages and the computer module while you wait for the Tier 1 result.

• Practise under the real timers: 15 minutes for each Tier 1 part, and 30 minutes each for maths and reasoning in Tier 2.
• Type every day and aim comfortably above the required speed, so a nervous exam day still clears it. If you chose Hindi, practise only in Mangal.
• Read one newspaper editorial a day. It trains you for the Tier 2 comprehension passage and feeds your current affairs.
• Keep short revision notes for formulas, idioms and static GK. Free notes on Sikhami can save you making every page yourself.
• Test your speed against other aspirants with quiz battles on Sikhami, or join a Sikhami study room so you keep a fixed daily routine with others.

Once you clear the exam, the posts, departments and pay are explained in our SSC CHSL jobs guide, and the CHSL vs CGL salary comparison shows how the two exams differ.