SSC CHSL 2026 Notification: 2,536 LDC, JSA and DEO Posts for 12th Pass

Form open: 7 September to 7 October 2026 (11 PM). SSC CHSL 2026 is the yearly central government exam for 12th pass students. This year it has about 2,536 posts of Lower Division Clerk, Junior Secretariat Assistant and Data Entry Operator. You must be 18 to 27 years old on 1 August 2026, and your 12th result must be declared by 7 October 2026. That second rule is the one most likely to catch students who are still waiting on a compartment result.

CHSL 2026 posts, pay levels and who can apply

There are three kinds of posts in this exam. The pay level is your step on the central government pay table, and it fixes your starting basic pay. So it is worth knowing which post you are aiming for before you fill the preference form later.

The notice does not say which departments pay DEOs at Level 4 and which at Level 5. DEO Grade ‘A’ is Level 4 only (para 1.3). The Level 5 option applies to some DEO posts, not to DEO Grade ‘A’.

The 2,536 figure is a tentative total (para 2.1). SSC has not yet published the split by post or category. It will appear later under Candidate’s Corner, Tentative Vacancy on ssc.gov.in. SSC also does not collect state-wise vacancies, so any “state-wise CHSL vacancy” list you see online is not from SSC.

The final count can move a lot. The 2025 notice started with about 3,131 vacancies, and SSC’s final list for that exam (18 June 2026) showed 3,522.

All CHSL posts carry All India Service Liability, so you can be posted to an office anywhere in India. If you are sent to another state, you may have to learn its local language before your job is confirmed. Every new joiner is on probation for two years (paras 17.17 to 17.19).

Why DEO posts in 3 departments need 12th Science with Maths

For most posts, any 12th pass from a recognised board is enough. But DEO and DEO Grade ‘A’ posts in these three places need 12th in the Science stream with Mathematics as a subject (para 8.1):

• Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
• Staff Selection Commission itself
• Ministry of Culture

The rule covers both DEO and DEO Grade ‘A’ in these departments. If you studied Arts or Commerce, you can still apply for LDC/JSA and for DEO posts in other departments. The form asks about this directly, so answer it correctly.

Age for CHSL 2026: born between 2 August 1999 and 1 August 2008

SSC counts your age on 1 August 2026. The limit is 18 to 27 years (para 5.1). So you must be born between 2 August 1999 and 1 August 2008, both days included. SSC takes your date of birth from your 10th certificate, and it will not accept a change later.

By our own calculation, an OBC candidate can be born as early as 2 August 1996. For SC and ST candidates, the earliest date is 2 August 1994. Sons, daughters and dependants of ex-servicemen do not get the ex-servicemen relaxation and should not pick that category.

Your 12th result must be declared by 7 October 2026

Students who have appeared in 12th can apply. The catch is the date. Your result must be declared on or before 7 October 2026, the last date of the form (para 8.6). A result that is still “under process” on that day does not count. So if you are waiting for a compartment or supplementary result that comes out after 7 October, you are not eligible, even if you pass.

A few more date-linked rules:

• OBC candidates must be outside the creamy layer (the higher-income group that loses OBC benefits) on 7 October 2026.
• EWS candidates need an Income and Asset certificate valid for 2026-27, based on income for 2025-26.
• For a 12th from a school board, the notice only asks that the board be recognised (para 8.2). If your qualification came from a university through open or distance learning, that university needed UGC Distance Education Bureau approval for the period. You must show that approval at document verification (para 8.4).

CHSL 2026 fee: Rs 100, and EWS men are not exempt

The fee is Rs 100. Women, SC, ST, PwBD and ex-servicemen eligible for reservation pay nothing (para 10.2). EWS is not on that list, so General, OBC and EWS men all pay Rs 100. At least one big exam-prep website says EWS men are exempt. They are not.

Pay online through UPI, net banking or a debit card by 8 October 2026, 11 PM. These are the ways listed in para 10.3 of the notice. The fee is not refunded. If it doesn’t reach SSC, your form stays incomplete and is rejected.

The correction window runs from 14 to 16 October 2026. The first correction costs Rs 200 and the second Rs 500. Everyone pays these charges, even women and SC/ST candidates who paid no fee. Only a complete form (with fee paid, where it applies) can be corrected. If you start a correction and don’t pay the charge, your earlier form stays valid.

SSC CHSL 2026 in-hand salary with 60% dearness allowance

SSC gives only the pay levels. To show what reaches your bank account, we worked out the monthly figure with the current official rates:

• Dearness Allowance (DA) of 60% of basic pay from 1 January 2026. This comes from the Department of Expenditure order of 22 April 2026, the latest DA order on 29 September 2026.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA) of 30%, 20% or 10% of basic in X, Y and Z class cities (Department of Expenditure HRA orders).
• Transport Allowance under the Department of Expenditure order of 7 July 2017, plus DA on it.
• A pension contribution of 10% of basic plus DA (National Pension System, or the Unified Pension Scheme if you choose it).

Here is the Level 2 sum for a big city like Delhi. Basic Rs 19,900 + DA Rs 11,940 + HRA Rs 5,970 + TA Rs 2,160 = Rs 39,970 gross. Take away the pension contribution of Rs 3,184 and you get about Rs 36,800.

These are estimates. They leave out the small group-scheme deduction, the CGHS health-scheme contribution in cities where it applies, income tax and any department allowance. You also get no HRA if you live in government housing. DA is revised twice a year, so the figures will rise when the next order comes.

How SSC ranks CHSL candidates: Tier-II marks decide

There are two computer-based tiers. Many candidates put all their effort into Tier-I, but Tier-I marks do not count in the final merit list. They only decide who goes to Tier-II and help break ties (paras 17.9 and 18.2).

Tier-I: 100 questions for 200 marks in 60 minutes, with 25 questions each on English, General Intelligence, Quantitative Aptitude and General Awareness. Each subject has its own 15-minute timer. A wrong answer costs 0.50 marks. The English part comes in English only; the rest also comes in Hindi and the language you pick in the form.

Tier-II is held on one day in two sessions, and you must sit all four sections:

• Section I: Maths (30 questions) and Reasoning (30 questions), 180 marks, 1 hour (30 minutes each).
• Section II: English (40 questions) and General Awareness (20 questions), 180 marks, 1 hour (40 and 20 minutes).
• Section III: Computer Knowledge, 15 questions, 45 marks, 15 minutes. You only need to qualify.
• Section IV: a skill test for DEO posts or a typing test for LDC/JSA. You only need to qualify.

In Tier-II, a wrong answer costs 1 full mark. Your final rank comes from Sections I and II only, out of 360 marks. To qualify in Tier-I and in each of Sections I to III, you need 30% (UR, that is General), 25% (OBC and EWS) or 20% (others). SSC may also set separate cut-offs for three groups: DEOs in the three Science-with-Maths departments, other DEOs, and LDC/JSA (para 17.3).

For the skill test, DEOs in the three Science-with-Maths departments need 15,000 key depressions (key presses) an hour, and other DEOs need 8,000. LDC/JSA candidates must type 35 words a minute in English or 30 in Hindi. Hindi typing must be done in the Mangal font. Using any other font means you fail the test, and you cannot change the typing language you chose in the form.

Exam dates are not announced. The notice says “to be notified later” for both tiers. The CHSL row in SSC’s yearly calendar still shows an older plan, and the months quoted on other websites are guesses.

SSC CHSL 2026 vs 2025: later age date, new timers, Mangal font

• Tentative vacancies are lower: about 2,536 now, against about 3,131 in the 2025 notice.
• Age is counted on 1 August 2026. Last time it was 1 January 2026.
• Tier-I now has a 15-minute timer for each subject. In Tier-II, each subject inside Sections I and II now has its own timer (30 + 30 and 40 + 20 minutes). In 2025, only each one-hour section was timed.
• Challenging an answer key costs Rs 50 per question, down from Rs 100.
• The correction window is three days instead of two.
• Hindi typing must be in the Mangal font. This rule is new.

BRO LDC posts under CHSL: men only, with a 1-mile run

If the Border Roads Organisation reports clerk vacancies, only men can take them (para 4.4). In the 2025 cycle, BRO had 392 LDC/JSA vacancies, so this matters. The extra tests are strict:

• A 1-mile run in 10 minutes. It is pass or fail. One part of the notice places it at the GREF Centre, Pune, and another says the GREF Centre or the recruitment centre.
• Minimum height depends on your region. It is 162.5 cm for Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan and western UP, and 158 cm for J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is 152 cm for Sikkim, Assam and the other north-eastern states, and for Gorkhas. Eastern UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana need 157 cm.
• A minimum chest of 75 cm (76 cm in the western plains), with 5 cm expansion, and a minimum weight of 47.5 or 50 kg, by region.
• Colour blindness, a BMI (body-mass index) below 18, a squint or deafness means permanent rejection.
• Tattoos are allowed only on the inner forearm or the back of the hand.

Think before you list BRO as a preference. Say you get a BRO post and then fail its physical or medical test. SSC then rejects you and does not move you to a lower choice (para 17.11). Women should not pick BRO at all.

OTR, Aadhaar check and three centres: the CHSL 2026 form

1. Log in on ssc.gov.in or the mySSC app with your One-Time Registration (OTR). If you made an OTR on ssc.gov.in for an earlier SSC exam, it still works, so do not make a second one (para 9.2). Only a registration from the old ssc.nic.in site does not work. If that is all you have, register again on ssc.gov.in.
2. Complete Aadhaar authentication if you can. It is optional, but an Aadhaar-verified form is not rejected over the photo or signature. Without it, you must reach the exam centre 2 hours early with two photos and an original photo ID.
3. Type your name, date of birth, father’s name and mother’s name exactly as they appear on your 10th certificate.
4. Take the live photo in the form, without a cap, mask or glasses. Upload your signature as a JPEG of 10 to 20 KB. The form screen asks for about 6.0 cm by 2.0 cm, although one annexure of the notice says 4.0 cm by 2.0 cm.
5. Pick three exam centres, in order of preference, within one SSC region. You cannot change them later.
6. Use a mobile number and email you will keep. SSC does not allow changes to them later.
7. Submit only one form. If SSC finds two, it rejects both.
8. If you have to pay, pay as soon as you submit. The last time is 11 PM on 8 October, and an unpaid form is rejected. Then save a PDF of the final form.

One more deadline comes after the exam. SSC collects post and department preferences through a separate online option form. If you miss it, you are left out of the allocation, however good your marks are (para 15.3). For form problems, the SSC helpline is 1800 309 3063 (toll free).

What the CHSL 2026 notice leaves open

• The split of the 2,536 vacancies by post and category.
• Tier-I and Tier-II exam dates.
• Which departments pay DEOs at Level 4 and which at Level 5.
• Whether BRO reports any vacancies this year.

We will add these to this page when SSC publishes them. If you have only passed 10th, keep an eye on the SSC MTS 2026 status page. You can also browse other SSC recruitments, government jobs for 12th pass and all-India government jobs.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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