Tier-1 under way · runs to 30 October · admit cards releasing by region

SSC CGL 2026 Tier-1 Admit Card — Exam Runs 30 September to 30 October

Published 18 September 2026 · Last updated 10 October 2026, 9:30 AM IST · By the DC Job editorial desk · Checked against SSC notices on ssc.gov.in

Exam schedule

Tier-1 spreads across a full month, so candidates sit on different dates. Your own date appears on the city slip, not on any general notice.

Downloading the admit card

Two separate documents, and this is where most candidates lose time. The city intimation slip has been available since 21 September and tells you your city, date and shift. The Admission Certificate, which SSC's own term for the admit card, is released only 2 to 3 days before your individual exam date, starting around 27 September for those sitting on 30 September.

Only the Admission Certificate gets you into the hall. See our guide on city slip versus admit card if you are unsure which you are holding.

Which website

Reports differ on this, so try both. SSC's notification for this cycle directs candidates to log in through the module on the Commission's own site, ssc.gov.in, using the OTR number and password — and several sources state the download moved to the central portal this cycle, having previously sat on the regional sites. Other sources still describe it as region-wise.

The practical approach: start at ssc.gov.in and log in. If the link is not there, go to the regional site matching the centre region you chose when applying — Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, Southern, North Eastern, North Western, Madhya Pradesh or Kerala–Karnataka.

1. Log in with your registration or OTR number and password.
2. Open the admit card section and select Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026.
3. Download and print in colour. Take two copies.

Your city cannot be changed

Once the city slip is published, SSC does not entertain requests to change the allotted city. It is final for Tier-1. If your city is far from home, book travel now rather than waiting for the admit card — you will have two or three days' notice, and nothing about the centre will change in that time except that you will know the address.

Why the vacancy count fell

The notification announced 12,256 tentative vacancies in May. On 24 September 2026 SSC published the post-wise and category-wise list, and the total on it is 10,731 — a reduction of 1,525 posts, about 12 per cent, made after applications had already closed.

The list covers 59 post and department entries across Pay Levels 4 to 8. Inspector (Central Excise) under CBIC carries 2,366 posts, more than a fifth of the entire examination and far ahead of any other single entry.

Full breakdown, including the colour-blindness column that rules some candidates out of the largest post: SSC CGL vacancy 2026 post-wise.

A downward revision before the exam is less common than an upward one after Tier-1, and it means the cut-off is likely to sit higher than the original figure implied. Nobody self-selected out in response, because applications had already closed.

Sectional timing, explained

This is the single biggest change in the 2026 cycle. Previously, Tier-1 gave you one block of time for the whole paper and you could move between sections freely — most candidates banked time on Reasoning and General Awareness to spend on Quantitative Aptitude.

With sectional timing, each section gets its own fixed window. When that window closes the section locks, whether or not you have finished, and you cannot return to it. Time saved in one section cannot be carried into another.

What this changes in practice:

• Speed in General Awareness no longer buys you anything elsewhere. Answer what you know and accept the leftover time.
• Quantitative Aptitude has to be finished inside its own window, so question selection within the section matters far more than it used to.
• A weak section can no longer be rescued by a strong one on time. It has to be rescued on accuracy.

Candidates who prepared on old mock tests without sectional locks should sit at least two full mocks with the new format before exam day. The scoring impact is usually less about knowledge and more about the habit of drifting between sections.

What the competition looks like

SSC received 28,52,665 applications for this cycle. Two post-level figures give a sense of where candidates concentrated:

Assistant Audit Officer drew the heaviest interest, which is unsurprising given it returned after an absence and sits at the highest pay level in the exam. Candidates who set it as first preference should plan around a high cut-off.

What to carry

• Printed admit card, in colour, with a recent passport-size photograph attached where indicated.
• One original photo identity document — Aadhaar, voter ID, passport, driving licence or PAN card. Photocopies are not accepted.
• A transparent ballpoint pen.

Electronic items of any kind, including smartwatches and fitness bands, are barred from the hall. Reporting time is usually an hour before the shift and gates close well before the paper starts.

Official links

Questions