SSC Havaldar Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

Every question is worth 3 marks: 40 questions for 120 marks in Session-I, 50 for 150 in Session-II. Session-I has no negative marking; Session-II takes off 1 mark per wrong answer. Session-I closes automatically after 45 minutes and Session-II starts straight away. No break, no going back.

Session-II is marked only if you clear Session-I, and the merit list uses Session-II alone. Minimum qualifying marks apply to each session:

Session-I and General Awareness are offered in Hindi, English and thirteen regional languages, including Manipuri (Meitei). English Language and Comprehension is in English only.

Scores from different shifts are normalised by the formula SSC published on 2 June 2025, and normalised scores set merit and cut-offs.

Havaldar candidates then take the PET and PST, run by CBIC and CBN. Both are qualifying (standards under eligibility).

From the 2025 notice. It's a Matriculation-level paper.

Session-I, Part-I: Numerical and Mathematical Ability, 20 questions, 60 marks

Integers and whole numbers; LCM and HCF; decimals and fractions; relationship between numbers; fundamental arithmetic operations and BODMAS; percentage; ratio and proportions; work and time; direct and inverse proportions; averages; simple interest; profit and loss; discount; area and perimeter of basic geometric figures; distance and time; lines and angles; interpretation of simple graphs and data; square and square roots.

No compound interest, solid mensuration, trigonometry or algebra.

Session-I, Part-II: Reasoning Ability and Problem Solving, 20 questions, 60 marks

Alpha-numeric series; coding and decoding; analogy; following directions; similarities and differences; jumbling; problem solving and analysis; non-verbal reasoning based on diagrams; age calculations; calendar and clock.

Session-II, Part-I: General Awareness, 25 questions, 75 marks

Social Studies (History, Geography, Art and Culture, Civics, Economics), General Science and Environmental Studies up to 10th Standard. NCERT books to class 10 cover it.

Session-II, Part-II: English Language and Comprehension, 25 questions, 75 marks

Vocabulary, grammar, sentence structure, synonyms, antonyms and correct usage, plus a short paragraph with questions on it.

Visually handicapped candidates

For candidates with 40 per cent or more visual disability the paper has no maps, graphs, diagrams or statistical data.

The physical stage has no syllabus, only the standards listed under eligibility.

Age, as on 1 August 2025

Qualification

Matriculation or equivalent from a recognised Board, passed on or before 1 August 2025. The result must have been declared by then; a result still being processed doesn't count. An equivalent qualification needs an Equivalence Certificate. Open and Distance Learning qualifications count if the UGC Distance Education Bureau had approved them for the period you studied.

Physical Efficiency Test (Havaldar only)

Physical Standard Test (Havaldar only)

The relaxations are for Garhwalis, Assamese, Gorkhas and members of Scheduled Tribes. For most men the chest expansion is the part that fails people, so measure it early.

Pregnancy

A woman found twelve weeks or more pregnant is declared temporarily unfit and the vacancy is held for her. She's re-tested six weeks after the confinement on a medical fitness certificate and, if fit, appointed with seniority.

PET and PST exemptions for benchmark disabilities

1. Written exam. Session-I must be cleared; merit comes from normalised Session-II scores.
2. Shortlist for the physical. Havaldar candidates are called at 1:7, seven per vacancy, on Session-II marks, possibly with CCA-wise and category-wise cut-offs.
3. PET and PST. Qualifying, run by CBIC and CBN at centres they choose, anywhere in the country. Fail them and you're still considered for MTS on your written merit.
4. Final allocation. One select list for all posts, built from Session-II scores, your preferences and your age group. You're only considered for vacancies you listed, and once a Post-cum-State, UT or CCA is allocated it isn't changed.

Reserved-category candidates may be qualified on relaxed standards if there aren't enough otherwise. Those who make it on their own merit are placed wherever is more advantageous to them.

After the exam SSC checks logs, photos, biometrics and CCTV footage. There's no re-evaluation or re-checking of any score.

Level-1 is the entry level of the 7th CPC matrix, the same as MTS. The notice gives no take-home figure. On top of basic pay you get Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance by city class, and Transport Allowance; National Pension System and CGHS contributions come off.

Havaldar is enforcement work in indirect taxes, customs and narcotics, which is why it alone has a physical test. Where you can be posted is set out under participating institutes.

Apply online at ssc.gov.in. Helpline for the form: 1800 309 3063 (toll-free). Dates are under important dates.

Fee

₹100, online only, by BHIM UPI, net banking, or a Visa, MasterCard, Maestro or RuPay debit card. Women, SC, ST, PwBD and Ex-Servicemen eligible for reservation pay nothing.

If the fee doesn't reach SSC, your form shows 'Incomplete' at the top of the printout and is rejected. Check the 'Payment Status' link after you log in.

Preferences

You list Post-cum-State, UT or Cadre Controlling Authority preferences in order, using the codes in Annexure-XVI of the notice. List all or some; mark 'X' in the boxes you don't want. You're only considered for what you list, so a short list means fewer chances.

Other points

• PwBD candidates must state the nature of the disability (OA, OL, BL, Dw, MI, SLD and so on). It decides the PET exemption later. Bringing your own scribe needs the Annexure-II declaration.
• An ex-serviceman already in a regular central government Group 'C' or 'D' job through ESM reservation can't claim ESM reservation or the fee waiver again.

Cadre Controlling Authorities

The tentative vacancy statement of 27 November 2025 lists Havaldar vacancies by CCA: the Chief Commissioners of CGST at Delhi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhopal, Mumbai, Pune, Vadodara, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram; Customs at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Goa and Thiruvananthapuram; the Commissioners for Goa and Aurangabad; the Directorate General of Performance Management (DGPM); and the Commissioner, Central Bureau of Narcotics.

Posting

If you're selected for a CBIC CCA, you serve in that CCA for your whole career, subject to cadre restructuring. The jurisdictions are in Annexure-XV of the notice. Two exceptions:

• DGPM covers all of India, so you can be posted anywhere.
• CBN has its headquarters at Gwalior and branches at Neemuch, Lucknow and Kota; you can be posted to any of them.

MTS works differently: you're usually posted first in your allotted State or UT but can be sent elsewhere, so MTS is the less predictable of the two.

Vacancies in the 2025 cycle

The biggest Havaldar blocks as at 27 November 2025 were Delhi CGST (491) and Mumbai CGST (124). SSC publishes the counts the departments report; it doesn't set them.

The written exam is held at centres under SSC's nine regional and sub-regional offices. Timings and languages are under exam pattern.

In the 2025 cycle SSC opened self-slot selection on 16 January 2026, letting candidates pick their own slot. Watch ssc.gov.in for the same notice next cycle.

The PET and PST are run by CBIC and CBN at centres they pick, and you can be called to any centre in the country, not necessarily near home or near where you sat the written paper.

2025 cycle

1 August 2025 was the cut-off date for both age and the Matriculation pass. The exam ran months after the notice's dates, so follow the dated notices on ssc.gov.in, which is the only place changes are announced.

2024 cycle, for how the end runs

About seven weeks from written result to final result.

SSC releases the exam city, the Admission Certificate and the Scribe Entry Pass together; in 2025 that was 30 January 2026, after self-slot selection closed. Download the certificate from your regional office website.

If the form was left 'Incomplete' for want of fee, there's no certificate. Fee-exempt candidates should still check the form shows complete.

The PET and PST call letter comes separately from CBIC or CBN, months after the written result.

At verification, bring your Matriculation mark sheet and certificate in original, an Equivalence Certificate if relevant, and category, disability or ex-servicemen certificates in the notice's formats. A disability certificate under the Persons with Disabilities Act is valid.

Tentative answer keys go up with your response sheet. Objections are online only, at ₹100 per question, non-refundable, which is double the ₹50 most SSC exams charge. Experts review them and the final keys are used for the result, then published.

There's no re-evaluation of any score.

Ties are broken by General Awareness marks in Session-II, then total normalised Session-I marks, then date of birth (older first), then alphabetical order.

Results, final keys and marks are posted on the SSC notice board and on the regional office websites. In the 2024 cycle the final result came about seven weeks after the written result.

SSC publishes cut-offs with each result, never in advance. Havaldar is cut CCA-wise and category-wise on normalised Session-II marks out of 150. The shortlisting result of 3 August 2026 carries the 2025 figures for every CCA.

The vacancy count moves during the cycle, so a cut-off can't be predicted from the notice. In 2025 Havaldar went from 1,075 to 1,138 and MTS from "being collected" to 6,810 across its two age groups.

• Clear Session-I safely, then win Session-II. Session-I marks don't count for merit, so aim to be comfortably over the floor and spend the rest of your time on General Awareness and English. General Awareness is also the first tie-breaker.
• Guess freely in Session-I, never in Session-II. In Session-II three wrong answers cancel one right one.
• Study General Awareness from school books. The scope is class 10 Social Studies, Science and Environmental Studies.
• Practise in the real shape: 40 questions in 45 minutes, then straight into 50 questions in 45 minutes.
• Answer in the language you think in. Session-I and General Awareness come in fifteen languages.
• Train for the walk and measure your chest early. The walk is brisk, not a run; the 5 cm chest expansion is what catches men out.
• Choose CCAs as if for life, because in CBIC they are. Read Annexure-XV before you fill the form.
• Download your response sheet while the answer key window is open, whether or not you challenge anything.

SSC doesn't keep a routine archive of past papers for this exam. After each exam it posts the tentative answer key with your own response sheet for a short window (3 March 2026 in the 2025 cycle), and later the final keys and marks (26 and 28 March 2025 in the 2024 cycle). Check the Previous Year Question Paper page on ssc.gov.in too. A mock test on the real exam platform is announced before each exam.

Third-party "MTS" papers fit Havaldar, since the written paper is identical, but only if they use two sessions with different negative marking.

• Staff Selection Commission: applications, notice board, exam calendar and the Payment Status link after login
• Notice of the MTS and Havaldar (CBIC and CBN) Examination, 2025 (PDF), with the own-scribe declaration (Annexure-II), CCA jurisdictions (Annexure-XV) and preference codes (Annexure-XVI)
• Important Notice, 28 July 2025: revised vacancies
• Important Notice, 29 July 2025: new correction window
• Tentative vacancies as on 27.11.2025: State-wise and CCA-wise
• Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs: the employer
• Application helpline: 1800 309 3063 (toll-free)

Is SSC Havaldar a separate exam from SSC MTS?

No. One notice, one form, one written paper and one merit list. Havaldar adds a PET and PST.

Which session decides my rank?

Session-II only. Session-I has to be cleared and comes back only as the second tie-breaker.

Is there negative marking?

In Session-II, one mark per wrong answer. None in Session-I.

What is the physical test?

A walk: 1600 metres in 15 minutes for men, 1 kilometre in 20 minutes for women. Then height and chest for men, height and weight for women.

What happens if I fail the PET or PST?

You drop out of Havaldar but stay in the running for MTS on your written marks.

What is the age limit?

18 to 27 as on 1 August 2025 for Havaldar, with category relaxations.

What qualification do I need?

Class 10 passed, with the result declared, by 1 August 2025.

What is the fee?

₹100. Women, SC, ST, PwBD and eligible ex-servicemen pay nothing.

Can I be transferred out of my CCA?

Not normally. CBIC Havaldars serve their whole career in the allotted CCA. DGPM is all-India, and CBN can post you to Gwalior, Neemuch, Lucknow or Kota.

Do candidates with disabilities get any PET exemption?

OL, OAL and leprosy-cured candidates may be exempted from walking. HH and OA candidates are not.

How many vacancies are there?

1,138 Havaldar posts as at 27 November 2025, out of 7,948 across both posts.