RPF SI Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

The CBT

Minimum pass percentage

OBC-NCL sits with UR and EWS at 35 per cent here, unlike most RRB notices, which give it a lower figure.

Stages

1. Computer Based Test: the only stage with marks.
2. Physical Efficiency Test (PET) and Physical Measurement Test (PMT): qualifying, no marks.
3. Document Verification.
4. Medical Examination and zone allotment.

The physical standards and the shortlisting rules are under Eligibility and Selection process.

From Para 12.1 of the CEN. The standard is graduate level. The topics are the same as the Constable paper, which is set at 10th or Matric level.

Arithmetic, 35 marks

Number system; whole numbers; decimals and fractions and the relationship between numbers; fundamental arithmetical operations; percentages; ratio and proportion; averages; interest; profit and loss; discount; use of tables and graphs; mensuration; time and distance.

No algebra, trigonometry or geometry beyond mensuration. Expect familiar topics set harder.

General Intelligence and Reasoning, 35 marks

Analogies; similarities and differences; spatial visualization; spatial orientation; problem solving analysis; judgement; decision making; visual memory; discriminating observation; relationship concepts; arithmetical reasoning; verbal and figure classification; arithmetic number series; non-verbal series; coding and decoding; statement and conclusion; syllogistic reasoning.

General Awareness, 50 marks

Your awareness of the world around you and its application to society, current events, and the everyday observation expected of any educated person. Then a named list: Indian History, Art and Culture, Geography, Economics, General Polity, Indian Constitution, Sports and General Science.

Not in the syllabus

No English or language section, and no computer section.

Educational qualification

Graduate from a recognised university, held by the closing date, 14 May 2024. The CEN says in capitals that those awaiting results of their final exam SHOULD NOT apply.

Age, as on 1 July 2024

20 to 28 years, which includes a one-time 3-year Covid-19 relaxation.

• If you qualify on more than one ground you get the largest relaxation, not the total.
• SC, ST and OBC (NCL) candidates applying against UR vacancies get no age relaxation.
• Ex-servicemen get the relaxation in Para 5.1 of the CEN.

Your date of birth must match your Matriculation, SSLC or equivalent certificate, not your degree. No later change is allowed, and any difference disqualifies you.

Physical Efficiency Test

One chance at the run. Up to two each at the jumps. Ex-servicemen are exempt from the PET but not the PMT.

Physical Measurement Test (same as Constable)

The order is run, then height, then chest, and each step can end it. A man below the minimum height isn't measured for chest at all. If the unexpanded chest is short, the expanded isn't taken. You must pass every test.

A PMT grievance must be made within three days of the test to the PCSC (Principal Chief Security Commissioner) whose jurisdiction held it.

Disability

These posts have NOT been identified as suitable for persons with disabilities and are exempted from sections 33 and 47 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. Annexure A marks the post "Not Suitable".

Medical

Medical category B-1 of the Indian Railway Medical Manual, examined at Railway Hospitals after Document Verification. Para 12.4 of the CEN: those wearing glasses or having flat foot, knock knee, squint eyes, colour blindness and other bodily infirmities are not eligible for appointment. Being sent for the medical doesn't mean you're on the select list.

Provisional at every stage

Certificates for qualification, age, caste and category are checked at Document Verification. A claim that isn't backed up there cancels the candidature, and false information found at any stage, even later, gets it rejected. Category claims are judged as on the closing date.

Shortlisting for the physical stage

CBT merit decides who's called to the PET, PMT and Document Verification: 10 times the vacancies in each category, separately for men, women and ex-servicemen.

• If too few pass, a second round is called, at 10 times the shortfall. Two rounds at most.
• Women's and ex-servicemen's vacancies still unfilled after the second round go to men of the same category.

Document Verification

• You're considered on CBT merit, subject to passing the PET and PMT. Miss DV and you're out, whatever your marks.
• Bring all originals and two sets of self-attested photocopies. Upload your photo and signature, in true colour, before the DV date at oirms-ir.gov.in/rrbdv.
• No extra time for missing originals. A missing caste or EWS certificate means you're treated as unreserved. A four-week extension is allowed only for a certificate in the wrong format, or one lost or stolen with an FIR.
• An OBC certificate must say you're not in the creamy layer, in the terms of the DoPT memoranda of 8 September 1993 and 9 March 2004.
• A name change needs a Gazette notification or other legal document.

Merit and ties

SC, ST, OBC-NCL and EWS candidates who make it without using any relaxation count against UR vacancies. Equal marks go to the older candidate; same date of birth, then alphabetical order.

Posting

Para 1.16: the empanelled candidate is allotted to a Zone or RPSF as per administrative requirement. You don't choose RPSF. In the Constable cycle the zone allotment came on 23 February 2026, a week after the panel.

Training

• Rigorous initial training at an RPF or RPSF centre, on a stipend only.
• You must pass the final exam at the end of training to be appointed.
• A security or indemnity bond where required.

Para 1.13: selection by the RRB gives no right to appointment. The RRB only recommends names; appointment is offered by the Zones or RPSF.

The numbers

452 vacancies at 10 times means roughly four and a half thousand called to the physical stage, nationally.

Level-6 of the 7th CPC matrix, initial pay ₹35,400.

That's about 63 per cent more than a Constable starts on.

₹35,400 is basic pay, not take-home. Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance by city class, Transport Allowance and the force's own allowances are added; the National Pension System contribution and health scheme are deducted. During training you get a stipend only. Vacancy distribution is in Annexure B of the CEN.

Online only, on the RRB websites. In 2024 a single link covered CEN RPF 01/2024 (Sub-Inspector) and CEN RPF 02/2024 (Constable).

One application per candidate. More than one gets all of them rejected, and you can be debarred.

Fee and refund

Put your bank name, account holder, account number and IFSC in the application, or you won't get the refund. No refund for erroneous, incomplete or rejected applications.

Things you can't fix later

• The mobile number and email ID can't be changed once the account is created, and the exam schedule comes by SMS and email.
• Signatures must be uniform and identical on every document, in running hand, not block, capital or disjointed letters. Different signatures can disqualify you. In 2024 the Boards had to reopen photo and signature upload on 10 June.
• Date of birth must match your Matriculation certificate.

Free travel for SC and ST candidates

A free Sleeper Class pass is available on request and comes with the e-call letter for the CBT, PET and PMT, and DV or medical. Carry your original community certificate when booking and travelling; misuse can mean rejection and debarment.

The employer is the Railway Protection Force and the Railway Protection Special Force. The Railway Recruitment Boards under the Ministry of Railways run the recruitment.

The physical stage runs under the RPF's PCSC for the area. The Boards warn on every panel that selection is fully computerised and on merit, and that anyone promising a job for money is a tout.

The CBT centre, date and shift come through the RRB websites, SMS and email, with a city intimation first and the e-call letter after. Postponement and changes of venue, date or shift are not entertained under any circumstances.

The PET, PMT and Document Verification are held separately, under the PCSC's jurisdiction, in this order: the run, the jumps, height for everyone who passed the run, then chest for men who cleared the height.

CEN No. RPF 01/2024 (Sub-Inspector)

The CEN gives no exam dates. No CBT, result or panel for the SI round has been found on the RRB websites yet; watch rrb.indianrailways.gov.in.

The Constable round, as a guide to timing

CEN RPF 02/2024, issued the same day, held its CBT over eleven days in March 2025, PET and PMT from 13 November to 6 December 2025, the panel on 16 February 2026 and zone allotment on 23 February 2026. Twenty-two months in all, with nine months between the written paper and the run.

The city intimation and e-call letter are posted on the RRB websites, and you're told by SMS and email. SC and ST candidates who asked for the free travel pass get it with the e-call letter.

Banned items

You won't be allowed to sit the exam with any of these: mobile phones, Bluetooth devices, pen drives, laptops, calculators, smart watches, bangles, chains, bracelets, hearing aids, wallets, purses, belts, shoes, metallic wear, or any stationery, including a pen or pencil. A violation means disqualification, legal action and debarment.

For the PET, PMT and DV

Bring your degree certificate, your Matriculation certificate (the only accepted proof of date of birth), your caste or community certificate as on the closing date, and any name-change document.

Results go up on the RRB websites under Exam Results and Selection List, with an SMS and email to your registered contacts. No result for the SI round of CEN RPF 01/2024 has appeared yet.

The final panel lists roll numbers in ascending order, not merit order, and is provisional. A zone allotment and medical notice follows. For comparison, the Constable panel of 16 February 2026 empanelled 4,205 candidates against 4,208 vacancies.

No cut-off marks have been published for the Sub-Inspector round yet. The only fixed bar is the minimum pass mark: 35 per cent for UR, EWS and OBC-NCL and 30 per cent for SC and ST.

Above that, the real bar is set by calling 10 times 452 vacancies to the physical stage, so expect it well above the floor. Any cut-off the RRBs release will be on the RRB websites with the result, as a normalised score.

1. Check the medical bars first. Glasses, flat foot, knock knee, squint and colour blindness rule you out, and the medical comes last of all.
2. Weight General Awareness. It's 50 of 120 marks, more than either of the other two sections.
3. Expect Constable topics set harder. RPF Constable practice material has the right structure but is pitched below this paper. Check any "RPF SI" set has 120 questions in 90 minutes, General Awareness at 50 and a one-third deduction (not 0.25).
4. Practise at 45 seconds a question. 120 in 90 minutes, with a one-third deduction. Three wrong answers cancel one right one, so don't guess freely.
5. Train the non-verbal reasoning. Visual memory, discriminating observation, spatial visualization and orientation are named in the syllabus and thinly covered in most books.
6. Keep running after the CBT. You get one chance at the run, and in the Constable round the PET came nine months after the written paper.
7. Measure yourself against the PMT before you put in a year.
8. Use the mock test the RRBs post before the CBT to get used to the platform.
9. If you're eligible for both posts, consider applying for both. They shared one link, one paper structure and one PMT.

No previous papers or answer keys have been published for RPF SI as of now.

Before the CBT the RRBs post a Mock Test Link on the actual exam platform, on the RRB websites. The syllabus is in Para 12.1 of the CEN.

• Railway Recruitment Boards: notifications, exam schedule, city intimation, e-call letters, mock test link, results, DV, medical and selection lists
• CEN No. RPF 01/2024 (Sub-Inspector), PDF: vacancy table, eligibility, fee, CBT pattern and syllabus, PET and PMT, Annexures A and B
• CEN No. RPF 02/2024 (Constable), PDF: the parallel notice issued the same day
• RPF Constable panel, 16 February 2026 (PDF)

The FAQ (19 April 2024) and the SC/ST Free Travel Authority instructions (25 November 2024) are on the RRB websites.

What is RPF SI?

Sub-Inspector (Executive) in the RPF and RPSF, at Pay Level-6, ₹35,400 to start. The last round was CEN RPF 01/2024, for 452 vacancies.

What qualification do I need?

A degree from a recognised university, held by the closing date. Final-year students awaiting results can't apply.

What is the age limit?

20 to 28 as on 1 July 2024, including a one-time 3-year Covid relaxation, with category relaxations on top.

How is it different from the RPF Constable paper?

Only the standard: graduate level here, Matric level for Constable. Sections, marks, time and topics are the same.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, one third of a mark per wrong answer.

Do the PET and PMT carry marks?

No. They're qualifying only. Merit is the CBT.

Are ex-servicemen exempt from the physical test?

From the PET, yes. Not from the PMT.

Can persons with disabilities apply?

No. The posts are not identified as suitable for persons with disabilities.

Can I change my email or mobile number?

No, not once the account is created.

Does being empanelled mean I have the job?

No. You train on a stipend and must pass the final exam at the end. Appointment comes from the Zones or RPSF.

How long does an RPF cycle take?

The Constable round issued the same day took twenty-two months from notice to panel.