SSB SI Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

The pattern changed with the 2026 notice.

Paper-I

Paper-II

• Paper-I: 1 mark a question, −0.25 for a wrong answer.
• Paper-II: 2 marks a question, −0.50 for a wrong answer, and harder than Paper-I.
• Parts I to III of both papers are in Hindi and English.
• Sectional timers: you can't carry time between parts or go back once a part's timer runs out.
• Multi-shift papers are normalised under the Commission's notice of 2 June 2025, which is why cut-offs run to five decimals.
• Answer key objections cost ₹50 per question, online only, under the Commission's guidelines of 10 April 2026. There's no re-evaluation.

NCC bonus

The bonus is added to the normalised score in each paper. It must be held by the closing date, claimed in the form, and shown in original at document verification.

One syllabus covers both papers; Paper-II is set at a higher difficulty.

English carries 25 marks in Paper-I and 200 in Paper-II, which makes it 62 per cent of everything that counts.

Age, as on 01 August 2026

Qualification

A Bachelor's degree by the closing date. Distance degrees count only if the university had UGC Distance Education Bureau approval for that period. (CISF Fire needs a science degree with PCM, or Matriculation plus a three year engineering diploma.)

Physical standards, Sub-Inspector (GD) in the CAPFs

Gorkha men and North-Eastern ST men get a standard 13 cm below the general one in the CAPF table. Height or chest relaxation needs a certificate in the Commission's proforma from your district's competent authority. Appeals go to the appellate authority on the ground.

Physical Endurance Test

PST and PET are qualifying only. Ex-Servicemen skip the PET but not the PST. A candidate found pregnant is declared temporarily unfit, the post is held, and she's re-examined six weeks after confinement.

Medical

• Distant vision 6/6 and 6/9, near vision N6 and N9, without any correction. No glasses and no corrective surgery. The better eye is the right eye for a right handed person.
• High colour vision.
• No knock knee, flat foot, varicose vein or squint.
• The Review Medical Board's decision is final.

Tattoos

Religious symbols or names, as in the Indian Army, are allowed only on the inner left forearm (the non-saluting limb) or the back of the hand, and smaller than one quarter of that part. The Constable (GD) rule allows either forearm; this one doesn't.

After selection

Two years' probation, including seven obstacle events you must pass to stay: vertical board jump, rope hold from the board, Tarzan swing, horizontal board jump, parallel rope, monkey crawl and vertical rope.

Qualifying marks, each paper

Applied before NCC bonus. The Commission may also set cut-offs per part of Paper-I. There's no state quota: it's one all India merit list.

The 2024 funnel

Turn up fit and you're already in a field of about 46,000, not 83,000.

Preferences

• Once you're allotted your first available preference on merit, no other option is considered.
• If you're selected for a higher preference and then fail that post's physical, medical or educational standard, the whole candidature is rejected.

So don't rank a post first if you're marginal on its eyesight or height standard.

Reservation and after

• Reserved candidates selected without relaxed standards take an unreserved or reserved post, whichever suits them better. Those using a relaxed standard count against reserved posts only.
• 10 per cent of CAPF vacancies go to Ex-Servicemen.
• All posts except Delhi Police carry All India Service Liability.
• If you scored above a cut-off but weren't carried forward, write to the regional office within two months of the result. If selected and you hear nothing within one year, contact the force.

SSB Sub-Inspector is Level 6, ₹35,400 to ₹1,12,400, Group B (Non-Gazetted), Non-Ministerial: 63 per cent above Constable entry. Every post in this exam pays the same; Delhi Police SI is the only one classed Group C.

DA, HRA and transport allowance are paid on top, with extra allowances for the remote and difficult border postings SSB covers.

Next of kin cover

Apply online on ssc.gov.in only. You don't apply to SSB.

Pay by BHIM UPI, net banking or debit card. A form without the fee is rejected, and fees aren't refunded.

Get these right first time: post and force preferences, the NCC claim, the exam medium, and three centres in one region, which can't be changed later. The form needs a live photograph to the Commission's specification.

SSB's own portal, recruitment.ssb.gov.in, advertises the ranks it fills itself: Constable (Non-GD), a combined Constable to Sub-Inspector (Non-GD) recruitment, Head Constable (Ministerial), sports quota and remustered Constable (GD), and Inspector (Veterinary). Sub-Inspector (GD) and Constable (GD) come through the Commission.

The Force

SSB was raised in early 1963 after the 1962 conflict with China, on the idea that the borders of the country could not be protected by force alone and needed the support of the border population. Its motto is service, security and brotherhood.

That's 2,450 km of open border with Nepal and Bhutan, across Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. As Lead Intelligence Agency on both, SSB gathers and reports intelligence as well as patrolling. The Force is organised into Frontier and Sector Headquarters and battalions, with Siliguri among the Frontiers.

You pick three centres in one SSC region, and can't change them later. The nine regional offices are at Prayagraj (34-A Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Civil Lines, 211001), Kolkata, Bengaluru, Raipur, Guwahati, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Chennai and Mumbai; the centre lists are in the 2026 notice. With no state quota, the centre only decides how far you travel.

Physical tests and the medical are held where the CAPFs decide. In the 2024 cycle the medical ran from 15 to 27 September 2025 for more than twenty-two thousand candidates.

How long the last two cycles took

Nineteen months from notice to final result in 2024. Expect the better part of two years, and keep your registered mobile and email working.

Admission Certificates are online only, from the SSC regional office covering your centre, shortly before each paper. Report two hours early with a printout and an original photo ID showing your date of birth. Call letters for the physical tests and medical come through the same login.

SSC declares four results: Paper-I, physical tests, Paper-II, and the final result with force-wise cut-offs. All go up on ssc.gov.in. Ties break on Paper-II marks, then the older candidate, then name.

The 2024 final result gave cut-offs for every post and category to five decimals, plus the date of birth of the last selected candidate. Results get revised: in 2024, 94 results were withheld on court cases, 26 for other reasons, 30 candidates debarred, a revised final result came on 26 November 2025, and revised physical test results covered 144 candidates in March 2025 and 37 in April 2025.

SSC publishes full cut-offs. Qualifying minimums are 30% (UR), 25% (OBC, EWS) and 20% (others) in each paper.

Paper-I, 2025 cycle (old 200-mark paper)

From the 2025 Paper-I result, 30 March 2026:

Final, 2024 cycle, male, out of 400

Final, 2024 cycle, female

SSB had 167 posts in 2024 against CISF's 2,097 and CRPF's 1,523, which is why it closes so high. Its 2024 female posts were UR, EWS and OBC only, twelve in all.

Ex-Servicemen

Across the CAPFs, 513 ESM vacancies produced 413 recommendations.

These are normalised scores out of 400 under the old scheme, NCC bonus included. Under the new scheme only the Paper-II figure matters; SSB's male UR Paper-II cut-off in 2024 was 156.25 out of 200, the lowest of the six destinations. This cycle has far fewer posts (CISF down from 2,097 to 250, CRPF from 1,523 to 254, SSB up to 172), so expect cut-offs to rise.

1. Get strong in Paper-II. It's now the whole merit. SSB's 2024 selections had the highest total of any CAPF but the lowest Paper-II cut-off, so the old route in (a big Paper-I score) is gone.
2. Put English first. It's 200 of the 320 Paper-II marks, 100 questions in an hour.
3. Practise with sectional timers: 15 minutes a part in Paper-I, 20 minutes for each of the first three parts of Paper-II. That's 36 seconds a question for English and Paper-I, 60 seconds for the other Paper-II parts.
4. Cover CGL-level maths. Algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry and data interpretation are all in. SSC CGL Tier-I material is the nearest match.
5. Use the Previous Year Question Papers for question types and difficulty, but not for timing or weighting, which have changed.
6. Claim NCC if you have it. A 'C' certificate is worth 16 marks in Paper-II, up from 10 under the old scheme.
7. Check eyesight and tattoos first. No glasses, and right-forearm tattoos bar you.
8. Train for all five events, not just the run. The shot put and high jump fail people.
9. Order preferences against your realistic score. Ranking SSB first costs nothing if you meet its standards and everything if you don't.
10. Ex-Servicemen: SSB's ESM pool fills at a high cut-off; CRPF's and BSF's didn't fill.

SSC publishes previous year papers and a mock test on ssc.gov.in, under Previous Year Question Papers and Candidate's Corner. All past papers are to the old pattern (200-question Paper-I, English-only Paper-II), so use them for question types, not timing. Tentative answer keys go up after each paper.

• Staff Selection Commission, for applications and results
• Notice of the 2026 exam (69 pages, 10 September 2026) and the 2025 notice
• Scheme of Examination, Syllabus, Examination Calendar
• Previous Year Question Papers, Normalization Method, Format of Certificates
• 2024 final result and revised final result
• 2024 physical test result
• 2025 Paper-I result
• 2024 final vacancies and 2025 tentative vacancies
• Sashastra Seema Bal and SSB Recruitment

Does SSB conduct its own Sub-Inspector exam?

Not for Sub-Inspector (GD). That's through the SSC exam. SSB recruits some Non-GD ranks itself on recruitment.ssb.gov.in.

What changed in 2026?

Paper-I halved to 100 questions, Paper-II became four subjects worth 320 marks, and merit now rests on Paper-II alone.

What marks do I need for SSB?

In 2024, male UR closed at 327.30 out of 400, the highest of any CAPF. Female UR closed at 328.22.

Are there vacancies for women?

Yes, 18 this cycle. SSB has no female Constable (GD) posts.

What is the salary?

Level 6, ₹35,400 to ₹1,12,400.

Is there a state quota?

No. It's one all India merit list.

Which border will I serve on?

The Indo-Nepal or Indo-Bhutan border, though All India Service Liability applies.

What is the eyesight requirement?

6/6 and 6/9 distant, N6 and N9 near, without glasses or corrective surgery.

How long does the process take?

The 2024 cycle took nineteen months from notice to final result.