SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2025, Tier 1, Tier 2, DEST Details

Table of Contents

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will conduct the SSC CGL 2025 Examination process and candidates will be recruited for Combined Graduate Level posts. The selection process involves 2 stages: Tier 1 and Tier 2. While starting your preparation, it is of utmost value that you thoroughly go through the SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2025 for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 stages.

The SSC CGL Tier 1 and 2 are computer-based exam and the exam pattern details includes the subjects asked in the exam, marking scheme, type of questions, mode of examination, negative marking, number of papers and modules, skill test, etc. Note that, there is no descriptive exam in the SSC CGL Examination. The revised exam pattern for the SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination is discussed below.

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2025

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) administers the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Examination in two stages: Tier-1 and Tier-2. The SSC CGL Tier-1 exam is objective in nature, while the Tier-2 exam consists of 2 papers—Paper 1 and Paper 2.

Paper 1 is mandatory for all candidates. Paper 2 is specifically for those applying for the Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) position in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. For more detailed information on the various tiers of the SSC CGL Exam Pattern, candidates can refer to this article, which also provides an in-depth explanation of each tier of the SSC CGL exam.

SSC CGL Tier 2 Admit Card 2025 – Click Here to Download

SSC CGL 2025 Exam Stages- Highlights

Candidates interested in the SSC CGL 2025 Exam, are required to go through the following stages:

SSC CGL 2025 Exam Pattern
Tier	Details
Tier 1	Computer-based Exam with objective type questions and there is a negative marking of 0.50 mark. This paper is qualifying in nature.
Tier 2	Also a computer-based Exam which consists of 2 Sessions and various Modules. (includes DEST for DEO post)

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2024 Tier 1

SSC CGL Exam Pattern Tier 1 comprises 100 questions in total with a maximum mark of 200. The SSC CGL Tier 1 exam is qualifying in nature whereas the final selection is based on the SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam. SSC CGL Exam Pattern Tier-1 is of 60 minutes. SSC CGL Exam Pattern Tier-I is divided into four sections with 25 questions each and a maximum mark of 50. Normalization will be done by SSC if an exam is conducted in multiple shifts.
The sections asked in the SSC CGL Exam Pattern for Tier-I Exam are:

General Knowledge
Quantitative Aptitude
General Reasoning
English Comprehension

The Schema of the SSC CGL Tier-1 Exam pattern is explained in the table given below:

SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam Pattern
Sl. No	Sections	No. of Questions	Marks	Time
1	English Comprehension	25	50	60 Minutes ((1 hour and 20 minutes for the candidates eligible for scribe)
2	General Awareness	25	50
3	General Intelligence and Reasoning	25	50
4	Quantitative Aptitude	25	50
Total		100	200

Note:- For every wrong question there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks also.

SSC CGL Exam Pattern 2025 Tier 2

After qualifying the SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam, candidates will appear for the SSC CGL Tier 2. SSC CGL Tier-2 consists of Paper 1 and Paper 2,. Paper I in Tier 2 is Compulsory for all posts whereas Paper II is for candidates who apply for the posts of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam Pattern
Sl. No.	Papers	Posts	Time Allotted
1	Paper I	Compulsory for all Posts	2 Hour 30 Minutes
2	Paper II	Junior Statistical Officer (JSO)	2 Hours

SSC CGL Exam Pattern Tier 2 Detailed

The schema of the detailed SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam pattern is explained in the Table given below:

SSC CGL Tier 2 Exam Pattern 2025
Session	Section	Module	Subject	Questions	Marks	Weightage	Duration
Session I	Section 1	Module I	Mathematical Ability	30	90	23%	1 Hour
	Section 1	Module II	Reasoning and General Intelligence	30	90	23%	1 Hour
	Section II	Module I	English Language and Comprehension	45	135	35%	1 Hour
	Section II	Module II	General Awareness	25	75	19%	1 Hour
Session II	Section III	—	Computer Knowledge Test	20	60	Qualifying	15 Minutes
Session II	Section III	—	Data Entry Speed Test	One Data Entry Task		Qualifying	15 Minutes

Important Points:

It is mandatory to for the candidates to qualify all the sections of Paper-I.
Tier-II (Paper-I, Paper-II) will consist of Objective Type, multiple choice questions, except for Module-II of Section-III of Paper-I.
The questions will be set both in English & Hindi except for English Language and Comprehension module in Section II of Paper I.
The tabular representation for Papers 2 for JSO Post is given below.

SSC CGL Tier 2 Paper 2 (Only for those JSO Posts)
Paper	Section	Questions	Maximum Marks	Duration
Paper II	Statistics	100	200	2 hours

Note: For every wrong question There will be a negative marking of 1 mark for each wrong answer in Section-I, Section-II, and Module-I of Section-III of Paper-I and 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Paper-II.

SSC CGL Data Entry Speed Test

The SSC CGL Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) will be conducted by SSC and it is mandatory for all posts. It is included under the Module-II of Section-III of Paper-I and the duration is 15 minutes. Check the DEST details below.

Particulars of DEST	Details
Duration	15 minutes
Passage Length	About 2000 key depressions
Passage Description	Detailed instructions provided by Regional Offices of the Commission
Evaluation Details	Available on SSC’s website: Candidate’s Corner (www.ssc.gov.in)

SSC CGL Negative Marking

The SSC CGL Negative marking will be done on Tier 1 and Tier 2 papers for every wrong answer. The candidates appearing in the examination must be careful towards the negative marking as it will lead to the deduction of their marks.

Stage	Negative Marking
Tier 1	Negative marking of 0.5 marks for every wrong answer.
Tier 2	Negative marking of 1 mark for each wrong answer in Section 1, Section 2, and Module 1 of Section 3 of Paper 1 and 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Paper 2.

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FAQs

How many tiers will SSC CGL Exam be conducted?

The SSC CGL Exam is conducted in two tiers:
Tier I: Preliminary Exam (CBT)
Tier II: Main Exam (CBT)

Will the Tier 1 exam be subjective or objective SSC CGL Exam?

The Tier 1 exam of the SSC CGL will be objective in nature. It will consist of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) covering various subjects such as General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension. Each question will have multiple options, and candidates will need to select the correct answer from the given choices.

Is there any negative marking for SSC CGL?

Yes, there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks for tier 1 and for tier 2 one marks.

Is SSC CGL Exam Pattern changed?

Ans. Yes, SSC CGL Exam Pattern has been revised as notified in SSC CGL Notification.

Is SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam qualifying in nature?

Ans. Yes, SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam is qualifying in nature.

What is the marking scheme of SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam?

The SSC CGL Tier 1 Exam consists of 100 objective questions totaling 200 marks, with sections on General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension. Each correct answer awards 2 marks, while each incorrect answer deducts 0.50 marks. The exam duration is 60 minutes.