RRB Group D Cut Off 2026: Zone-wise and Category-wise Marks
Two things get mixed up constantly in Group D discussions, and the confusion costs people their peace of mind. Qualifying marks and cut-off marks are not the same number. One is a floor set in the notification. The other is whatever the competition happened to produce that year. This guide keeps them apart, explains how normalisation changes both, and gives the actual numbers from the last cycle.
Qualifying Marks and Cut-off Are Different Things
Start here, because everything else follows from it.
| Qualifying marks | Cut-off marks | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The minimum percentage fixed in the notification | The normalised score of the last candidate shortlisted |
| Who sets it | RRB, in advance | Competition, after the exam |
| Does it change | No, fixed for the cycle | Yes, different for every zone and category |
| Known in advance | Yes | No |
| Clearing it means | You are eligible to be considered | You are actually in the PET list |
The minimum qualifying percentages are 40 percent for UR and EWS, 30 percent for OBC and SC, and 25 percent for ST, with further relaxation for PwBD candidates.
How the Cut-off Is Actually Decided
Shortlisting for the Physical Efficiency Test is done at up to three times the community-wise vacancies in each zone. RRB sorts every candidate in a zone by normalised marks within their category, counts down to three times the number of posts, and the score of that last candidate becomes the cut-off.
Which means the cut-off is not a target RRB chose. It is a by-product. Three things move it:
- Number of posts in your zone. Fewer posts, higher cut-off.
- Number and quality of candidates in your zone. A zone with heavy competition closes higher.
- Difficulty of the shifts. Handled by normalisation, but it still shapes the final spread.
Why Your Raw Score Is Not Your Real Score
The Group D CBT runs in dozens of shifts across weeks. Some question papers land easier than others. If RRB compared raw marks directly, a candidate who drew a hard shift would be punished for something outside their control.
So RRB converts raw scores to normalised scores using the equi-percentile method. Your position relative to everyone else in your own shift is what carries forward, adjusted against the overall pattern. Both the merit list and the cut-off are stated in normalised marks.
This is why your self-calculated score from the answer key rarely matches your scorecard. The full mechanics are in our normalisation guide.
CEN 08/2024 Cut-off: Actual Numbers
These are normalised marks, not raw marks, and they are from RRB Mumbai. Every zone closed at a different level, so treat this as a sense of the altitude rather than your own number.
| Category | Normalised cut-off (RRB Mumbai) |
|---|---|
| UR | Around 96.77 |
| OBC | Around 94.56 |
| SC | Around 91.14 |
| ST | Around 85.68 |
| EWS | Around 81.77 |
Set that against the qualifying floor of 40 percent for UR and the gap becomes obvious. The minimum gets you considered. The cut-off is a different league entirely.
What CEN 09/2025 Cut-off Might Look Like
No official prediction exists and nobody can give you one honestly. What can be done is to lay out the factors and let you draw your own line.
| Factor | CEN 08/2024 | CEN 09/2025 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posts | 32,438 | 22,195 | Fewer posts pushes cut-off up |
| Applicants | Over 1.08 crore | 52,39,760 | Fewer applicants pulls cut-off down |
| Candidates per post | Roughly 333 | Roughly 236 | Less crowded per seat |
| PET shortlist ratio | 3x community-wise | 3x community-wise | Unchanged |
| Normalisation | Equi-percentile | Equi-percentile | Unchanged |
So the two big factors pull in opposite directions. Posts are down by about a third, which pushes the cut-off up. But applicants are down by more than half, which pulls it back. The ratio of candidates per post has actually improved from roughly 333 to roughly 236.
What that means in practice depends on your zone, because vacancies are not distributed evenly and neither is competition. A zone that lost a lot of posts but kept its applicant base will close higher. Anyone quoting you a specific expected cut-off number today is guessing.
Zone-wise Cut-off: Where to Find Yours
The cut-off PDF is published on your own regional RRB website on the day the result comes out, not on a central page. Bihar and Jharkhand zones are marked with a star.
| RRB Zone | States Covered | Official Website |
|---|---|---|
| ★ RRB Patna | Bihar | rrbpatna.gov.in |
| ★ RRB Muzaffarpur | North Bihar | rrbmuzaffarpur.gov.in |
| ★ RRB Ranchi | Jharkhand | rrbranchi.gov.in |
| RRB Ahmedabad | Gujarat | rrbahmedabad.gov.in |
| RRB Ajmer | Rajasthan | rrbajmer.gov.in |
| RRB Prayagraj (Allahabad) | Uttar Pradesh | rrbald.gov.in |
| RRB Bangalore | Karnataka | rrbbnc.gov.in |
| RRB Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh | rrbbpl.nic.in |
| RRB Bhubaneswar | Odisha | rrbbbs.gov.in |
| RRB Bilaspur | Chhattisgarh | rrbbilaspur.gov.in |
| RRB Chandigarh | Punjab, HP, Chandigarh | rrbcdg.gov.in |
| RRB Chennai | Tamil Nadu | rrbchennai.gov.in |
| RRB Gorakhpur | East Uttar Pradesh | rrbgkp.gov.in |
| RRB Guwahati | North East | rrbguwahati.gov.in |
| RRB Jammu Srinagar | J&K, Ladakh | rrbjammu.nic.in |
| RRB Kolkata | West Bengal | rrbkolkata.gov.in |
| RRB Malda | North West Bengal | rrbmalda.gov.in |
| RRB Mumbai | Maharashtra, Goa | rrbmumbai.gov.in |
| RRB Secunderabad | Telangana, Andhra Pradesh | rrbsecunderabad.nic.in |
| RRB Siliguri | North WB, Sikkim | rrbsiliguri.org |
| RRB Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala | rrbthiruvananthapuram.gov.in |
On result day, look for a link named along the lines of "CEN 09/2025 (Level-1 Posts): CBT Result and Score Card". The cut-off is usually inside the same notification PDF as the result, or published as a separate cut-off PDF beside it.
How to Read Your Zone Cut-off PDF
- Open your zone website and find the CEN 09/2025 result or cut-off link
- The PDF lists cut-off marks by category, and in some zones by post as well
- Find your category row
- Compare it against the normalised marks printed on your scorecard, not your raw marks
- If your normalised score is equal to or above the cut-off, you are in the PET list
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the RRB Group D CEN 09/2025 cut-off been released?
No. It will be released along with the result, which is expected in October 2026. RRB has not announced a date. Any cut-off figure circulating right now for this cycle is an estimate, not an official number.
What is the difference between qualifying marks and cut-off?
Qualifying marks are the minimum percentage fixed in advance by RRB, which is 40 percent for UR and EWS, 30 percent for OBC and SC, and 25 percent for ST. The cut-off is the normalised score of the last candidate who made the PET shortlist, and it is decided by competition after the exam. The cut-off is always much higher than the qualifying minimum.
Is the cut-off the same across all zones?
No. Every Railway Recruitment Board publishes its own cut-off, and the numbers vary widely because vacancies and competition differ from zone to zone. You must check your own zone PDF.
Is the cut-off in raw marks or normalised marks?
Normalised marks. Because the CBT runs across many shifts, RRB converts raw scores using the equi-percentile method, and both the merit list and the cut-off are stated in normalised marks.
How many candidates get shortlisted for the PET?
Up to three times the community-wise vacancies in each zone. In CEN 08/2024 that worked out to around 63,475 candidates against 32,438 posts.
Will the CEN 09/2025 cut-off be higher or lower than last time?
It cannot be said with any honesty. Posts have dropped from 32,438 to 22,195, which pushes the cut-off up, but applicants have dropped from over 1.08 crore to 52,39,760, which pulls it down. The final number will differ zone by zone.
I cleared the qualifying percentage. Am I selected?
Not necessarily. Clearing the qualifying minimum only makes you eligible to be considered. Selection for the PET depends on whether your normalised score reaches your zone and category cut-off, which sits far above the qualifying floor.
Where do I see my normalised marks?
On your scorecard at rrb.digialm.com, which goes live along with the result. Log in with your registration number and date of birth. The scorecard shows section-wise marks, total marks and normalised marks.
The Practical Takeaway
Do not spend the waiting period hunting for a predicted cut-off number. Nobody has it, and the guesses circulating online are built on nothing firmer than last year arithmetic. What is worth doing instead: note down your registration number and date of birth so you can log in the moment the scorecard opens, bookmark your own zone website, and begin PET conditioning if you think you are anywhere close.
When the result lands, our RRB Group D result guide carries the zone links and the step-by-step for checking. To understand what your scorecard number actually means, read how normalisation works. And for what happens after the cut-off, see our guide to Document Verification and the medical stage.