SSC GD Height, Chest and Running Time 2026: Physical Test (PST and PET) and Medical Standards

SSC GD physical standards at a glance

PET is the Physical Efficiency Test, which is the race. PST is the Physical Standard Test, which measures height, chest and weight. Both are pass or fail: they decide whether you stay in the process, not your rank. Your rank comes only from the CBE score, as our SSC GD syllabus guide explains.

Did the physical standards change in 2026?

Not the height, chest or race standards. We compared the physical test paragraphs of the GD 2025 notice (5 September 2024) and the GD 2026 notice line by line, and the numbers and categories are identical. The one real change for 2026 came later, through a corrigendum on weight: the PST board cannot reject anyone for weight, and a BMI check at the medical decides it instead, as explained further down.

SSC GD running time (PET)

The pace columns show the steady speed that just beats the limit. Aim to be clearly faster in training, because race-day nerves, a crowded start or an uneven ground can cost you seconds.

• The race comes first. Candidates go through biometric verification, run the race, and only those who finish in time move on to the height and chest checks.
• There is no appeal against the race result, unlike height and chest.
• Any candidate found under the influence of a performance-boosting (energetic) medicine during the PET is barred from the rest of the recruitment.
• Ex-servicemen do not run. They are measured for the record and must still pass the medical.

SSC GD height (PST) with all relaxations

The standard height is 170 cm for men and 157 cm for women. The notice allows lower heights for these categories:

The GTA area means the Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong sub-divisions of Darjeeling district, plus 18 named mouzas listed in the notice, such as Lohagarh Tea Garden, Sukna Forest and Nipania. Note that Assam falls in the 165 cm (men) and 155 cm (women) group, not in the North-Eastern states group.

SSC GD height for female candidates

Women need 157 cm unless they fall in a relaxed category. Here are the women's standards on their own, lowest last:

Women's chest is not measured; the board only confirms that it is well developed. The weight rule (BMI) and the medical standards are the same as for men.

SSC GD chest measurement for men

Expansion is the difference between your chest measured normally and with a full breath in. Every category needs the same 5 cm expansion; only the unexpanded figure is relaxed.

Weight and BMI: the 2026 change

The original 2026 notice said only that weight should be proportionate to height and age as per medical standards. On 29 April 2026, SSC issued a corrigendum applying a Ministry of Home Affairs order of 9 March 2026 to this exam. Under it, the PST board still measures and records height, weight and chest, but it cannot reject anyone for weight. Instead, the medical officer weighs you at the medical examination, and a body mass index (BMI) between 18 and 25 is treated as normal. A BMI below 18 is rejected as underweight and above 25 as overweight.

BMI is your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres. Here is what the 18 to 25 range means in kilograms at common SSC GD heights:

If you are taller than the minimum, use your own height in the formula. Stay comfortably inside the range rather than at its edges.

Relaxation certificates, appeals and banned tricks

• Scheduled Tribe candidates get the relaxation by showing a valid ST certificate.
• All other relaxed categories must bring a certificate in the format of Annexure-IX of the notice, signed by a District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate or Tehsildar, to the PET/PST.
• The PET/PST board checks whether you qualify for a relaxation after you pass the race and before your height and chest are measured.
• If you are declared short in height or chest, you can appeal on the same day to the Appellate Authority through the Presiding Officer at the centre. Its decision is final.
• Anyone who deliberately causes a swelling on the head or keeps tamarind on the head to gain height is barred from the rest of the recruitment.

Keep the original certificate safe after the PST. The relaxation certificate is one of the documents checked again at document verification, along with your Class 10 certificate, the domicile certificate of the state you chose in the application and, where relevant, your caste and NCC certificates. A relaxation you cannot prove at that stage can cost you the selection.

Medical standards: eyesight and other checks

Candidates who pass PET and PST are shortlisted, about twice the number of vacancies, for the Detailed Medical Examination (DME) and document verification. CAPF medical boards examine you under the Ministry of Home Affairs uniform guidelines for recruitment medical examinations in CAPFs and Assam Rifles (May 2015, as amended), which the notice links to.

Binocular vision is also required, and for a right-handed person the right eye counts as the better eye. The guidelines allow LASIK-corrected vision only for gazetted officers, and medical boards can order tests to detect past eye surgery.

Other points from the MHA guidelines

• Hearing: you should hear a forced whisper from 6 metres with each ear separately.
• Teeth: at least 14 dental points, with enough sound natural teeth to chew properly.
• Flat feet: a mild case is accepted if the joints are flexible and the arch reappears when you stand on your toes.
• Knock knees: a mild case is accepted if the gap between the ankles is 5 cm or less; mild bow legs if the gap between the knees is 7 cm or less.
• Grounds for rejection include any degree of squint, deafness of any degree, any type of hernia, and varicose veins, which are not accepted even after an operation.
• If the DME declares you unfit, you can ask for a Review Medical Examination (RME). You must give written consent within 24 hours, and the RME is held in continuation of the DME, preferably the next day.

Rules for women candidates and the order of events

Women give a self-declaration about pregnancy when they report for PET/PST. A candidate found pregnant is declared temporarily unfit, her candidature is kept in abeyance with a vacancy reserved, and she is examined again for PET/PST six weeks after delivery, with a fitness certificate from a registered medical practitioner.

How to train for the SSC GD physical test

• Measure your height and chest honestly now, with someone else holding the tape, and check whether you fall in a relaxed category and have the right certificate.
• Train for the race distance on a measured track, at the pace in the table above or faster, and add one longer, easy run each week to build stamina.
• Do regular time trials over the full distance, so you know your real finishing time well before the PET.
• Keep your weight inside the BMI range for your height, since the medical board now uses BMI.
• Get your eyes tested early. Glasses are not allowed, so you should know your unaided vision before you invest months in preparation.

The physical test only matters if your CBE score gets you shortlisted, so train your body and your exam speed together. You can practise CBE questions in quiz battles on Sikhami, and find aspirants preparing for the same exam in Sikhami clubs and study rooms to keep each other on schedule.