The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has officially released the examination schedule for the highly anticipated Combined Graduate Level (CGL) 2025 Tier 2 stage. This crucial national-level recruitment test is now set to be conducted over two days in the upcoming month.
SSC CGL 2025 Tier 2: Key Dates and Exam Pattern
The Tier 2 examination will be held on 18 and 19 January, 2026. A substantial number of candidates, precisely 1,39,395, have successfully cleared the Tier 1 hurdle and are now eligible to appear for this next stage. These aspirants will compete for various Group-B and Group-C posts across multiple central government ministries and departments.
The evaluation on the first day, 18 January, will focus on core subjects. Candidates will be tested on their quantitative abilities, English language proficiency, general awareness, and computer knowledge. The following day, 19 January, is dedicated to Paper 2, which will assess statistical aptitude, and the subsequent Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) or skill test as required.
Category-Wise Cut-Off Marks and Tier 1 Qualifiers
The Commission has also published the category-wise minimum qualifying marks for Tier 1, which determined eligibility for Tier 2. The results reveal a detailed breakdown of successful candidates for specific posts. A total of 6,196 candidates qualified for the post of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO), while 2,781 made the cut for the Statistical Investigator Grade II Tier 2 exam.
For all other posts combined, a significant pool of 1,30,418 candidates have progressed to the Tier 2 examination. The SSC clarified that since the Tier-I Computer Based Examination was conducted in multiple shifts, the marks were normalized using the prescribed methodology before finalizing the merit list.
Massive Scale of SSC CGL 2025 Recruitment
The scale of this recruitment drive is immense. The initial Tier 1 examination was conducted between 12 and 26 September, with a re-examination on 14 October. This year witnessed around 28 lakh registrations for the SSC CGL exam, solidifying its position as one of the largest competitive tests in India.
The Tier 1 exam was administered across 255 centres in 126 cities over a span of 15 days, where approximately 13.5 lakh candidates appeared. The notification for the Tier 2 schedule was formally released on 18 December.
All candidates are strongly advised to regularly check the latest updates and official notifications on the SSC's website — ssc.gov.in — for any further announcements or instructions regarding the upcoming Tier 2 examination.
