SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2025: The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) prescribes the SSC CPO exam pattern 2025 along with the notification. The exam pattern of SSC CPO 2025 is such that it is divided into Paper 1, Physical Standard Test (PST)/ Physical Endurance Test (PET), Paper 2, and Detailed Medical Examination (DME). SSC CPO exam pattern highlights the overall structure of the exam such as the topic-wise distribution of questions, total marks, duration of the test, number of sections, etc.
The language of the question paper is English and Hindi, except for the English section. Questions in both Paper 1 and 2 are objective multiple-choice type. There is a negative marking of one-third marks for each wrong answer in Paper 1 and 2. Marks scored by candidates in Computer-Based Examination are normalised. National Cadet Corps (NCC) certificate holders will be given bonus marks in Paper 1 and Paper 2.
It is not tough to crack SSC CPO exam if candidates have prepared it well. Candidates should prepare a proper strategy to crack the exam. The strategy should include solving the previous years' question papers, mock test, going the exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates should study regularly.
CPO is a Central Police Organization. The exam is held by the Staff Services Commission. Staff Selection Commission (SSC) was established in 1975, it is mandated to select staff for various Group B and Group C posts that come under various ministries in the Government of India. SSC CPO is a national-level exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission. The full form of SSC CPO is Staff Selection Commission Central Police Organization. The recruitment is done for the post of Sub Inspector and Assistant Sub Inspector.
SSC CPO exam pattern is such that it comprises Paper-I, Physical Standard Test (PST)/ Physical Endurance Test (PET), Paper-II, and Detailed Medical Examination (DME). Questions in Paper 1 and 2 are objective types. The Paper 1 exam comprises questions from four sections, while Paper 2 consists of one section. The duration of both papers is two hours.
- SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2025
- SSC CPO Exam Pattern: Marking Scheme
SSC CPO Exam Pattern 2025
Candidates can check the stages of SSC CPO exam pattern below.
SSC CPO Paper 1 Exam Pattern 2025
Candidates can check the detailed SSC CPO exam pattern for Paper 1.
| Part | Subject | Number of questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Intelligence and Reasoning | 50 | 50 |
| II | General Knowledge and General Awareness | 50 | 50 |
| III | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 |
| IV | English Comprehension | 50 | 50 |
SSC CPO Paper 2 2025 Exam Pattern
This paper comprises objective-type questions from English Language and Comprehension. There are 200 questions in the paper. Candidates need to complete the paper within 2 hours. Questions are designed to test the candidates' understanding and knowledge of English Language.
SSC CPO 2025 PET/PST Exam Pattern
PST/ PET will not carry any marks but will be of qualifying/ elimination nature. Those candidates who are declared not qualified in Physical Standards, i.e. height and chest, may prefer an appeal, if they so desire, to the appellate authority present on the PET/ PST ground. The decision of the appellate authority will be final and no further appeal or representation in this regard will be entertained.
For male candidates
- 100 metre race in 16 seconds
- 1.6 Kms race in 6.5 minutes
- Long Jump: 3.65 metre in 3 chances
- High Jump: 1.2 metre in 3 chances
- Shot put (16 Lbs): 4.5 metre in 3 chance
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For female candidates
- 100 metre race in 18 seconds
- 800 metre race in 4 minutes
- Long Jump: 2.7 metre in 3 chances
- High Jump: 0.9 metre in 3 chances
Physical Standard Test (for all Posts)
| Category | Height | Chest (in cm) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unexpanded | Expanded | ||
| For male candidates only (UR) | 170 | 80 | 85 |
| For candidates belonging to Hill areas of Garhwal, Kumaon, Himachal Pradesh, Gorkhas, Dogras, Marathas, Kashmir Valley, Leh & Ladakh regions of J&K, North-Eastern States and Sikkim | 165 | 80 | 85 |
| For all candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes | 162.5 | 77 | 82 |
| For Female candidates only (UR) | 157 | - | - |
| For female candidates belonging to Hill areas of Garhwal, Kumaon, Himachal Pradesh, Gorkhas, Dogras, Marathas, Kashmir Valley, Leh & Ladakh regions of J&K, North-Eastern States and Sikkim | 155 | - | - |
| For all female candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes |
154 | - | - |
SSC CPO 2025 Exam Pattern for Medical Exam
Medical exam is conducted for candidates who qualify the Paper 2 exam. Candidates are examined by the medical officer of the CAPF or any other Medical Officer or Assistant Surgeon belonging to Grade I of any Central/State Govt. Hospital or Dispensary.
Eye sight: The minimum near vision should be N6 (better eye) and N9 (worse eye). The minimum distant vision should be 6/6 (better eye) and 6/9 (worse eye) of both eyes without any correction like wearing glasses or surgery of any kind to improve visual acuity.
Candidates must not have knock-knee, flat foot, varicose vein, or squint in eyes and they should possess high colour vision.
Finally, selected candidates for the posts of Sub-Inspector and Assistant Sub-Inspector as a part of the training curriculum have to pass seven obstacles:
- Jumping over the Vertical Board
- Holding the rope on jumping from the Board
- Tarzan Swing
- Jumping on the Horizontal Board
- Parallel Rope
- Monkey Crawl
- Vertical Rope
Commonly asked questions
SSC CPO exam marks are calculated as per the marking scheme. The revision has been made in the negative marking section. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Paper 1 and 2. Earlier, the negative marking was one-third. For the correct answer, candidates score one mark. Marks scored by candidates is normalised to prepare the result.
SSC CPO Paper 1 exam is conducted online and comprises four sections. The sections included in SSC CPO exam comprises General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension. Each section of SSC CPO exam comprises 50 questions and the total marks allotted to the test are 200. The duration of the test is two hours. Each section carries 50 marks. The total mark of the test is 200.
SSC CPO Paper 2 pattern comprises objective-type questions from English Language and Comprehension. The test paper carries a total of 200 questions. The duration of the test is two hours. The paper is conducted online. Questions are designed to test the candidates' understanding and knowledge of English Language. SSC CPO answer key for paper 2 is released few days after the exam.
SSC CPO Exam Pattern: Marking Scheme
The marking scheme of SSC CPO has been revised. The revision has been made in the negative marking section. The revised negative marking is given below:
- There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for each wrong answer in Paper 1 and 2. Earlier, the negative marking was one-third.
- For the correct answer, candidates score one mark
- Marks scored by candidates is normalised to prepare the result
SSC CPO Normalisation of Marks
Marks scored in Computer Based Examination are normalised. Such normalised scores are used to determine the final merit and cut off marks. Normalisation is done since the exam is conducted in multi-shifts and to take into account any variation in the difficulty levels of question papers across different shifts.
Download notice to check normalisation of marks.
Commonly asked questions
SSC CPO Paper 2 is not qualifying in nature. The marks obtained in Paper 2 are considered for final merit list. The SSC CPO selection process starts with SSC CPO Paper 1, then PET/PST examination, then Paper 2, followed by Detailed Medical Exam (DME), and Document Verification (DV).
For correct answers in SSC CPO Paper 1 exam, candidates score one mark. For incorrect answers, 0.25 marks are deducted. The total marks of candidates are calculated based on the correct and incorrect responses. Normalisation of marks are done to adjust the difficulty level of the question papers across various shifts. Result is announced based on the normalised marks.
The SSC CPO exam is conducted in multiple shifts at designated centers. To ensure fairness, SSC applies a normalization process to the raw scores. The normalization formula, which SSC has released, adjusts the final marks to account for any differences in difficulty across shifts.
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