CBSE 12th Passing Marks 2026: Check Stream, Merit Certificate & Grading System

The pass marks in each subject are 33%. For subjects involving practical work, candidates must obtain 33% separately in both practical and theory papers. Students are required to appear in five papers. CBSE follows 9-point grading system.

CBSE Class 12 merit certificate in each subject is awarded to the top 0.1 % of
candidates passing that subject. This is subject to passing the exam.

The grading system of CBSE Class 12 is given below.

CBSE may award grace marks in exceptional cases where a student falls short of passing by a small margin. It is given at the discretion of the board. 

For subjects whose total marks are calculated out of 100, the passing marks are 33%. This applies to subjects without internal/practical or to those where theory and internal assessment are combined into a single score.

Many CBSE Class 12 follows an 80-mark theory and 20-mark internal assessment pattern. In such cases, students must secure a minimum of 26 marks out of 80 in the theory paper and 7 marks out of 20 in internal assessment.

It is compulsory to pass in CBSE Class 12 internal assessment. Students will be considered as fail if they don't qualify in internal assessment.

If a student fails in one subject in CBSE Class 12, they become eligible for the compartment exam. Passing the exam allows the student to be declared passed without repeating the year.

CBSE maintains a consistent passing criteria of 33%. Any changes to passing marks are officially notified by CBSE.

In the Accountancy subject, the CBSE Board has decided to do away with the answer books wherein tables were provided for the subject of Accountancy.

Sample papers are the question papers released by the Board at the beginning of the academic session. It shares the questions in a pattern similar to what you should expect in the main exam. They are provided to you to download and practice for better preparation.  However, the CBSE 12th question paper 2026 is the question paper you receive on the day of the exam. You need to go through the questions and answer them in the answer sheet provided by the board. You cannot know or practice the questions on the CBSE Class 12 question paper before the exam.

Not exactly the same, but, CBSE can ask questions similar to what were asked in the previous years of CBSE 12th exams. Thus, you are advised to download and practice the previous years' question papers thoroughly for better preparation. 

Yes, you can attempt questions in any sequence in CBSE board class 12. Just ensure that while attempting your CBSE board exam that you have attempted all the question with a question number written in such a way that examiner can see it properly. And in order to get good marks, it is important to make an impression which can be made by attempting those questions first that you know well. Thus, if you know question no. 12, then instead of 1, 2, attempt those question that you remember properly. 

CBSE released the CBSE 12th sample papers on the official website- cbseacademic.nic.in. You can download CBSE Class 12 sample question papers from the official website or from this page too. Students must solve and practice the CBSE 12th question papers of previous years' to know the marking scheme, the types of questions asked in the exam, gauge the difficulty level and more. 

It is advised that students solve and practice the CBSE sample papers to ace the board examinations.

You can treat the CBSE sample paper as a mock test and time yourself while answering it. This will make you familiar with the exam pattern and marking scheme, after which you will eventually find the CBSE board paper easy. 

 The exam pattern shares the marking scheme, weightage to every topic, duration of exam and more. Students must know the CBSE exam pattern as this helps them form a strategy and to decide which question to solve first.