SSC CGL Syllabus 2026: Full Tier 1 and Tier 2 Topic List, Section by Section

Status on 13 September 2026: the SSC CGL 2026 application is closed, the final last date having been 25 June 2026 after SSC reopened the window. Tier 1 runs from 30 September to 30 October 2026 as a Computer Based Examination across multiple days, and the admit card has not been released yet.

So the syllabus is no longer something you read for planning. It is something you read for triage. With roughly two and a half weeks left before the first shift, the only useful question is which topics on this list still deserve your hours and which ones you are better off leaving alone. This page gives you the full topic list for every section of Tier 1 and every paper of Tier 2, and then does the thing most syllabus pages skip: it tells you what the new 15-minute sectional lock does to the way you should read that list.

Where the 2026 cycle stands today

Four dates on this page were wrong on older versions of it, and plenty of other sites still carry the old ones. Here is the corrected timeline.

Stage	Date
Notification released on ssc.gov.in	21 May 2026
Apply online window (original)	21 May to 22 June 2026
Window reopened	23 June to 25 June 2026 (23:00 hrs)
Final last date to apply	25 June 2026 (closed)
Fee payment last date	26 June 2026 (23:00 hrs)
Application correction window	1 to 3 July 2026
Tier 1 exam	30 September to 30 October 2026
City intimation slip	Around 22 September 2026 (expected, no SSC date)
Admit card	Around 27 September 2026 (expected, no SSC date)
Tier 2	December 2026 (tentative, from the notification)

Because the closing date moved, the crucial date for deciding eligibility moved with it. SSC's own notice said the closing date used to ascertain eligibility is now 25 June 2026. Vacancies stand at 12,256 (tentative) across roughly 40 Group B and Group C posts, and more than 28.5 lakh people applied. The full date-wise and shift-wise schedule is still pending, so keep watching the SSC CGL admit card page for the release.

Tier 1 pattern: read this before you read the syllabus

Section	Questions	Marks	Time
General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50	15 minutes
General Awareness	25	50	15 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	25	50	15 minutes
English Comprehension	25	50	15 minutes
Total	100	200	60 minutes

Negative marking in Tier 1 is 0.50 per wrong answer. Tier 1 is qualifying only, which means the marks you score here decide whether you reach Tier 2 but do not carry into the final merit list. The merit is built on Tier 2. A fuller breakdown sits on the SSC CGL exam pattern page.

The single change that matters most this year: each section carries its own 15-minute timer. When a section's timer runs out, that section closes. You cannot go back to it, and you cannot move unused minutes into the next section. The 15-minute figure is widely reported by prep portals rather than lifted from a headline in the notice, so open the Scheme of Examination annexure on ssc.gov.in and confirm it for yourself before exam day.

General Intelligence and Reasoning syllabus

This is the section most aspirants score highest in, and it is also the section where a single badly chosen question can swallow two minutes of a fifteen-minute block.

Topic cluster	What sits inside it
Analogy	Semantic, number and figural analogy; word pair, number pair and figure pair relationships
Classification	Odd one out in words, numbers and figures; semantic and figural classification
Series	Number series, alphabet series, mixed series, figural and non-verbal series, missing term
Coding and decoding	Letter coding, number coding, substitution coding, conditional coding, coded equations
Blood relations	Family tree puzzles, coded relations, generation-based questions
Direction and distance	Route tracing, shortest distance, turns and displacement, shadow-based direction
Order, ranking and arrangement	Rank from top and bottom, linear seating, circular seating, floor-based puzzles
Syllogism and statement questions	Statement and conclusions, statement and assumptions, courses of action, inference
Venn diagram	Set relationships, logical Venn, diagram-based counting of categories
Mathematical operations	Symbol substitution, BODMAS-based operations, interchange of signs and numbers
Matrix and word building	Word formation from a given word, matrix-based coding, dictionary order arrangement
Non-verbal reasoning	Mirror image, water image, paper folding and cutting, embedded figures, figure completion, counting of figures
Cubes and dice	Dice face relations, opposite faces, cube cutting and painted cube questions
Space visualisation and orientation	Spatial arrangement, figure rotation, pattern folding
Official listed abilities	Problem solving, decision making, visual memory, discrimination, observation, relationship concepts, arithmetical reasoning, critical thinking, emotional and social intelligence

The last row is worth a second look. Those phrases come straight from SSC's own wording, and they show up as ordinary reasoning questions rather than as a separate question type. Do not go hunting for a special "emotional intelligence" chapter. Our SSC CGL reasoning study material maps each of these clusters to solved sets, which is a faster way to test yourself than re-reading theory.

General Awareness syllabus

General Awareness is the widest section on the list and the hardest one to finish. There is no upper boundary to it, which is exactly why you need a boundary of your own.

Topic cluster	What sits inside it
History	Indus Valley, Vedic period, Mahajanapadas, Mauryas, Guptas, Delhi Sultanate, Mughals, Bhakti and Sufi movements, 1857, national movement, post-independence consolidation
Geography	Physical geography of India and the world, rivers and drainage, mountain ranges, climate, soils, minerals, agriculture, national parks and sanctuaries, world geography basics
Indian Polity	Constitution and its sources, Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Duties, Directive Principles, Parliament, President and Governor, Supreme Court and High Courts, Panchayati Raj, constitutional bodies, important Articles and Amendments
Economy	Basic economic concepts, national income, banking and RBI, budget and taxation, inflation, planning and NITI Aayog, government schemes, economic indices and reports
General Science	Physics, chemistry and biology at school level, human body systems, diseases and nutrition, units and measurement, everyday chemistry, scientific research and recent developments
Static general knowledge	Books and authors, awards and honours, classical and folk dances, festivals, important days, organisations and headquarters, sports terms and trophies, first and largest in India
Current affairs	National and international events of recent months, appointments, summits, defence exercises, schemes, sports results, obituaries

Relative weight, described honestly rather than with invented percentages: Polity, History and Science have historically carried more of this section than World Geography or pure Economics theory, and static general knowledge plus current affairs together take up a serious share. That is a pattern observation from past papers, not an official SSC statement, so treat it as a study guide and not a guarantee. Working through the SSC CGL previous year papers will tell you more about this section's real texture than any topic list can. Keep the SSC CGL General Awareness study material open beside them.

Quantitative Aptitude syllabus

Topic cluster	What sits inside it
Number system	Types of numbers, divisibility rules, remainder theorems, unit digit, LCM and HCF, factors
Simplification and surds	BODMAS, fractions and decimals, surds and indices, square and cube roots, approximation
Percentage	Basic percentage, successive change, percentage in population, income and expenditure problems
Ratio, proportion and partnership	Simple and compound ratio, proportion, partnership and profit sharing, ages
Average and mixture	Average of numbers and groups, weighted average, mixture and alligation, replacement problems
Profit, loss and discount	Cost price and selling price, marked price, successive discount, false weight, dishonest dealer
Interest	Simple interest, compound interest, difference between the two, instalments
Time and work	Work and wages, efficiency, pipes and cisterns, combined work, alternate day work
Speed, time and distance	Relative speed, trains, boats and streams, races, average speed
Algebra	Algebraic identities, linear equations in two variables, quadratic equations, polynomials, graphs of linear equations
Geometry	Lines and angles, triangles and their centres, congruence and similarity, circles, chords and tangents, quadrilaterals, polygons
Mensuration	Area and perimeter of plane figures, triangle, circle and sector, cube, cuboid, cylinder, cone, sphere, hemisphere, prism, pyramid
Trigonometry	Trigonometric ratios, complementary angles, identities, standard values, heights and distances
Data interpretation	Bar graph, pie chart, line graph, tabular data, mixed and caselet sets
Statistics basics	Mean, median, mode, frequency distribution

Arithmetic clusters (percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss, interest, time and work, speed) have historically outnumbered advanced maths in Tier 1, with geometry, mensuration and trigonometry together forming the second block and algebra and data interpretation filling the rest. Again, that is a pattern read, not a published weightage. The SSC CGL Quantitative Aptitude study material follows the same cluster order, so you can use it as a checklist.

English Comprehension syllabus

Topic cluster	What sits inside it
Vocabulary	Synonyms, antonyms, one word substitution, spelling correction, idioms and phrases
Grammar and error detection	Spotting errors, sentence improvement, parts of speech, subject verb agreement, tenses, articles and prepositions
Sentence structure	Fill in the blanks, sentence completion, active and passive voice, direct and indirect speech
Comprehension and arrangement	Reading comprehension passages, cloze test, para jumbles, sentence rearrangement

English in Tier 1 leans on vocabulary and error spotting more than on long passages, which makes it the most improvable section on this page for anyone starting from a weak base. Idioms, one word substitution and spelling correction are pure recall. You can build that list in three weeks. The SSC CGL English study material keeps those word lists separate from the grammar rules, which is how you should revise them too.

SSC CGL Tier 2 syllabus: Paper 1 module by module

Paper 1 is written by every candidate who clears Tier 1. It runs in two sessions and is where the final merit is actually decided.

Paper 1 module	Syllabus coverage
Mathematical Abilities	The full Tier 1 quantitative list at a higher difficulty: number system, percentage, ratio, average, interest, profit and loss, time and work, speed and distance, mixture and alligation, algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, statistics basics and heavier data interpretation
Reasoning and General Intelligence	Analogy, classification, series, coding and decoding, blood relations, direction, ranking and seating, syllogism, Venn diagrams, matrix, non-verbal reasoning, cubes and dice, word building, problem solving and decision making
English Language and Comprehension	Vocabulary, synonyms and antonyms, one word substitution, idioms, spelling, error spotting, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, active and passive, direct and indirect, para jumbles, cloze test, and longer reading comprehension passages
General Awareness	History, geography, polity, economy, general science, static general knowledge and current affairs, in the same shape as Tier 1
Computer Knowledge	Computer basics and organisation, input and output devices, memory, software and operating systems, MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint, internet and email, networking basics, cyber security, viruses and safe browsing practices
Data Entry Speed Test	Typing a given passage on computer. The required speed standard is stated in the official notice, so check it there rather than on a prep site

Negative marking in Tier 2 is 1 mark in Paper 1 Section I and Section II, and 0.50 in the Computer Knowledge module. SSC has introduced sectional timing in Tier 2 as well, and the exact per-section minutes are not confirmed by any reliable source at the time of writing. Check the official notice for those. The SSC CGL Tier 2 page carries the detail as it becomes available.

Paper 2 and Paper 3: who writes them and what they cover

These two papers are post-specific. Most candidates never see them.

Paper	Post	Syllabus coverage
Paper 2	Junior Statistical Officer (JSO)	Collection, classification and presentation of statistical data; measures of central tendency; measures of dispersion; moments, skewness and kurtosis; correlation and regression; probability theory; random variables and probability distributions; sampling theory; statistical inference; analysis of variance; time series analysis; index numbers
Paper 3	Assistant Accounts Officer (AAO)	Part A, Finance and Accounts: fundamental principles of accounting, journal, ledger and trial balance, rectification of errors, self-balancing ledgers, depreciation, bank reconciliation, receipts and payments, income and expenditure accounts, final accounts. Part B, Economics and Governance: Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Finance Commission, demand and supply, theory of production and cost, forms of market, Indian economy and economic reforms since 1991, money and banking, role of information technology in governance

Eligibility gates these papers. JSO needs 12th with Mathematics at 60 per cent, or graduation with Statistics as a subject. Statistical Investigator Grade-II needs Statistics in every year or semester of graduation. AAO needs a bachelor's degree, with CA, CMA, CS, MBA in Finance or M.Com listed as desirable. AAO sits at Pay Level-8; ASO in CSS sits at Pay Level-7, not Level-8 as several sites still print. The SSC CGL salary page has the level-wise picture.

What the 15-minute sectional lock does to how you study this syllabus

Here is the part no other syllabus page will tell you, and it changes which rows above are worth your remaining hours.

Twenty-five questions in fifteen minutes gives you 36 seconds per question on average, including reading time. That is the real constraint. A topic is not "important" because it appears often. In 2026 a topic is important if you can finish it inside 36 seconds and it appears often.

Second, and this is the harder adjustment: unused time does not travel. If you finish General Awareness in nine minutes, those six spare minutes die with the section. They do not appear in your quant block. The old SSC strategy of racing through GA to buy time for arithmetic is finished. Every section now stands alone, and a weak section can no longer be subsidised by a strong one.

What that means topic by topic:

• Reasoning: analogy, classification, series, coding, blood relations, direction, mirror and water image and mathematical operations are your fast lane. Counting of figures, complex seating puzzles, cube cutting and paper folding are the time sinks. Learn them, but decide in advance that you will skip one if it does not open up in twenty seconds.
• Quantitative Aptitude: arithmetic with shortcut methods (percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss, interest) is where a 15-minute block is won. A multi-step mensuration or a four-question data interpretation set can eat a third of your section. Practise DI as a timed unit, not as loose questions.
• General Awareness: this is the only section where speed depends on recall rather than calculation, so it either takes you eight seconds or it takes you forever. There is no middle. Since leftover time cannot be moved, spend the spare minutes re-checking your own GA answers instead of sitting idle.
• English: vocabulary, idioms, one word substitution and spelling are instant marks. Reading comprehension and cloze are the slow items. Build the habit of attempting the short items first, then returning to the passage with whatever is left.

Third, the practice format has to change. A full 60-minute mock still matters, but a 15-minute single-section drill is now the closer match to exam conditions, because it teaches you the specific panic of watching one timer rather than four. Run sectional drills daily and full papers twice a week. You can do both on the ExamAtlas SSC CGL Tier 1 test series, where the sectional lock behaves the way the real screen does.

One honest caveat. Scribe candidates get compensatory time as per SSC rules, so the arithmetic above does not apply to them in the same way. And since Tier 1 runs across many days and multiple shifts from 30 September to 30 October, your raw score gets normalised before any list is drawn. That is why cut offs carry five decimal places. The SSC CGL normalisation page explains how that works.

Qualifying marks are not the cut off

These two get mixed up constantly, and on some sites they get printed under the same heading.

Category	Minimum qualifying marks
UR	30 per cent
OBC	25 per cent
EWS	25 per cent
All other categories	20 per cent

Qualifying marks are the floor you must clear for the paper to be evaluated. The cut off is a completely different animal: it is the score of the last candidate who made the shortlist, and it is far higher. For a sense of scale, the 2025 Tier 1 List-3 cut off for UR was 136.40215 and 1,31,027 candidates qualified in that list. SSC publishes three separate lists (List-1 for JSO, List-2 for Statistical Investigator Grade-II, List-3 for all other posts), so anyone quoting a single "Tier 1 cut off" is quoting one of the three without saying which. Check the numbers yourself on the verified SSC CGL Tier 1 cut off tool.

How to use this list in the days that are left

Do not start a new topic now. Take the four tables above, mark every cluster you have already revised at least twice, and leave the rest alone unless it is both short and high frequency. Idioms, one word substitution, static general knowledge lists and dice questions can still be added late. Coordinate geometry and heavy algebra cannot.

Give the last ten days to timed sectional practice and to your own error log. If you have not built one, start today: one line per wrong answer, with the reason, not the correct option. Most people find that half their errors are timing errors rather than knowledge gaps, and timing errors are the ones a 15-minute lock punishes hardest. The SSC CGL preparation strategy page has a day-wise version of this, and the SSC CGL hub keeps every update in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Has the SSC CGL 2026 syllabus changed this year?

The topic list itself is the same as previous cycles. What changed is the structure around it: Tier 1 now runs on sectional timing with a separate 15-minute window per section, and SSC has extended sectional timing to Tier 2 as well. So the syllabus did not change, but the way you have to prepare it did.

Is SSC CGL Tier 1 counted in the final merit?

No. Tier 1 is qualifying only. It decides who moves to Tier 2, and then the final merit is prepared on Tier 2 performance. That does not make Tier 1 optional, since you still have to clear a cut off that has historically sat well above 130 for UR in List-3.

Can I move back to a section after its 15 minutes are over?

No. Once a section's timer ends, that section closes, and unused minutes do not carry forward to the next section. Confirm the exact wording in the Scheme of Examination annexure of the official notice on ssc.gov.in before exam day.

Which section of the Tier 1 syllabus is scoring?

General Intelligence and Reasoning and English Comprehension are generally the fastest to score in, because a large part of both is recall or pattern recognition rather than calculation. Quantitative Aptitude carries the highest risk under a 15-minute block. This is a general observation from past papers, not an SSC-published weightage.

Do I need to study the Tier 2 syllabus before Tier 1?

Mostly it is the same syllabus at a higher difficulty, so studying for Tier 1 already builds Tier 2. The two genuinely extra pieces are the Computer Knowledge module and the Data Entry Speed Test, and those can wait until after 30 October. Paper 2 and Paper 3 only apply if you are eligible for JSO or AAO.

What is in Paper 3 for Assistant Accounts Officer?

Part A covers Finance and Accounts, from basic accounting principles and ledgers through depreciation, bank reconciliation and final accounts. Part B covers Economics and Governance, including the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Finance Commission, demand and supply, forms of market, the Indian economy and reforms since 1991, money and banking, and the role of information technology in governance. AAO is a Pay Level-8 post.

When is the SSC CGL 2026 admit card coming?

SSC has not announced a date. The city intimation slip is expected around 22 September 2026 and the admit card around 27 September 2026, or two to four days before your own exam date, released region-wise. Both of those are expectations based on past cycles, not SSC statements, so download yours from the regional website as soon as it appears.