SSC CPO 2026: Eligibility, Age Limit, Vacancy & Selection Process
CPO is the only SSC route to a gazetted-track uniformed post at Sub-Inspector rank, and it pays at Level 6 — above most CGL entry posts. The trade-off is the narrowest age window of any graduate exam here: 25 years, which for a General candidate finishing a degree at 21 means about four attempts total.
SSC CPO 2026 at a glance
| Conducting body | Staff Selection Commission |
|---|---|
| Examination | Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and CAPF Examination |
| Total vacancies | Not announced |
| Qualification | Bachelor's degree in any discipline |
| Age limit | 20–25 years as on 01 Aug 2026 (relaxation below) |
| Application dates | Not announced not yet verified as published ↗ |
| Application fee | ₹100 (nil for women, SC, ST and ex-servicemen) |
| Exam date | Expected Oct–Nov 2026 (Paper-I) per SSC's own calendar not yet verified as published ↗ |
| Salary | ₹35,400 – ₹1,12,400 per month (Level 6) |
| Apply online | SSC application portal ↗ |
| Official website | ssc.gov.in ↗ |
Are you eligible for SSC CPO 2026?
SSC CPO counts your age on 01 Aug 2026: 25 for General, 28 for OBC-NCL and 30 for SC/ST. Enter your date of birth and we will do that arithmetic.
SSC CPO age limit and relaxation 2026
The age limit for SSC CPO 2026 is 20 to 25 years as on 01 Aug 2026. That is the tightest band of any graduate exam we track, and it is worth converting into attempts: a candidate finishing a degree at 20 has roughly 5 cycles before it shuts. Count yours before building a year around this exam.
| Category | Relaxation | Effective maximum age |
|---|---|---|
| General / EWS | No relaxation | 25 years |
| OBC-NCL | +3 years | 28 years |
| SC / ST | +5 years | 30 years |
| PwD | Not eligible (see below) | |
This is a uniformed post with medical and physical standards, so the PwD relaxation that applies to clerical exams does not exist here. The OBC and SC/ST relaxation does. Full age relaxation rules →
SSC CPO posts and salary
| Post | Department | Pay level | Monthly pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-Inspector (Executive) | Delhi Police | Level-6 | ₹35,400–1,12,400 |
| Sub-Inspector (GD) | BSF / CRPF / CISF / ITBP / SSB | Level-6 | ₹35,400–1,12,400 |
SSC CPO selection process
| Stage | Details |
|---|---|
| Paper-I | Computer based, 200 questions, 200 marks, 2 hours. |
| PET / PST | Running, long jump, high jump; height and chest measurement. |
| Paper-II | English language and comprehension, 200 marks. |
| Medical and DV | Detailed medical examination and document verification. |
Who should apply for SSC CPO
For graduates who are genuinely fit and want a policing career with command responsibility. Delhi Police postings are city-based; CAPF postings can be anywhere. The physical standards are strict and the medical, particularly eyesight, rejects a meaningful number.
- Male candidates for Delhi Police must also meet a driving licence requirement for certain posts.
- Eyesight standards are strict and are tested without correction for several posts.
- The age limit of 25 makes this one of the first exams a graduate ages out of — check your runway early.
SSC CPO 2026 — आयु सीमा और योग्यता
उप-निरीक्षक भर्ती परीक्षा (SSC CPO) 2026 के लिए आयु सीमा 01 Aug 2026 को 20 से 25 वर्ष है। OBC-NCL उम्मीदवारों को 3 वर्ष और SC/ST को 5 वर्ष की छूट मिलती है। यह वर्दीधारी पद है, इसलिए दिव्यांग (PwD) उम्मीदवार आवेदन नहीं कर सकते।
शैक्षणिक योग्यता: किसी भी विषय में स्नातक। पदों की संख्या अभी घोषित नहीं · वेतन ₹35,400 से ₹1,12,400 प्रति माह · आवेदन की तिथियाँ अभी घोषित नहीं।
अपनी योग्यता मुफ़्त जाँचें →SSC CPO 2026 — frequently asked questions
What is the age limit for SSC CPO 2026?
What are the physical standards for SSC CPO Sub-Inspector?
Is SSC CPO better than SSC CGL?
What SSC CPO is actually like
CPO puts you in Delhi Police or a CAPF at Sub-Inspector rank, which is a supervisory post from day one — you lead a section rather than joining one. Delhi Police postings are city-based with the workload that implies: law and order duty, investigation, court appearances, and shifts that ignore weekends. CAPF postings can be anywhere in India.
The physical and medical stages are strict and the eyesight standard in particular is tested without correction for several posts, which ends candidacies that cleared every written paper. The 25-year ceiling is the tightest of any graduate exam here: a candidate finishing a degree at 21 has roughly four attempts, which is why counting your remaining cycles early matters more for this exam than for any other.
SSC CPO physical standards and physical test
All Sub-Inspector posts. The physical test is qualifying, and the medical — eyesight in particular — ends more candidatures than the written paper.
| Male candidates | |
| Height | 170 cm (≈ 5 ft 7 in) |
| Chest | 80 cm, expanding at least 5 cm |
| 100 m run | 16 seconds |
| 1.6 km run | 6.5 minutes |
| Long jump | 3.65 m |
| High jump | 1.2 m |
| Shot put (16 lb) | 4.5 m |
| Female candidates | |
| Height | 157 cm (≈ 5 ft 2 in) |
| 100 m run | 18 seconds |
| 800 m run | 4 minutes |
| Long jump | 2.7 m |
| High jump | 0.9 m |
Relaxations. Height relaxable to 165 cm for men and 155 cm for women from hill areas and Scheduled Tribes; separate standards apply for candidates from specified categories in the notification.
Measure yourself against these before committing a year of preparation. Height and chest are pass-or-fail — no amount of training compensates for falling short, and candidates discover it at the measurement stage after clearing every written paper. Confirm the current standard in the notification on ssc.gov.in.
Verified 2026-08-16 4 of 7 critical fields checked against the official notification. View the notification ↗
SSC CPO — official documents
Published by Staff Selection Commission on ssc.gov.in. Every link below goes to the commission's own file, not to a copy. Dates are the ones the commission declared on each document.
SSC CPO 2026 — important links
| Apply online | SSC application portal ↗ |
| Check your eligibility | Am I eligible for SSC CPO? — free |
| Admit card, result, answer key | Admit cards · Results · Answer keys |
| Syllabus and exam pattern | Selection process for SSC CPO |
| Where SSC publishes them | Admit cards, results and syllabus appear on the official site linked above. |
| How we track this exam | |
| New SSC notices on ssc.gov.in are picked up every 2 hours; dates read from them are marked until someone confirms them. | |
Questions about SSC CPO
Ask anything about eligibility, dates or documents for this exam. We answer here so the next person with the same question finds it. Nothing appears until we have read it.
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Vacancy figures, dates and salaries are compiled from official notifications and change between cycles. Age limits vary between posts within the same exam. Always confirm against the official notification on ssc.gov.in before applying.