What the SSC CGL cut-off means
SSC releases two kinds of cut-off. The Tier 1 cut-off is the qualifying bar you must cross to be shortlisted for Tier 2. The final cut-off is the closing merit mark — built from your Tier 2 score — that decides your post. Both are released category-wise, along with the result.
Tier 1 cut-off (category-wise)
The 2026 cut-off isn’t out yet. As a realistic benchmark, here are the CGL 2025 Tier 1 cut-offs (normalized marks, out of 200) for all posts other than JSO and Statistical Investigator Gr-II — useful to set your target score.
| Category | Tier 1 cut-off (/200) | Target to be safe |
|---|---|---|
| UR (General) | 136.83 | 140+ |
| OBC | 130.37 | 134+ |
| EWS | 127.42 | 131+ |
| SC | 114.97 | 118+ |
| ST | 106.37 | 110+ |
Figures are from CGL 2025 (SSC Tier 1 result, 18 Dec 2025; JSO and SI Gr-II had separate, higher cut-offs) and are indicative — treat them as a target band, not a guarantee. The official 2026 cut-off is released with the Tier 1 result on ssc.gov.in.
Category-wise cut-off, visualised
The same CGL 2025 Tier 1 cut-offs as bars — the gap between categories is what reservation absorbs.
How the cut-off trends
Cut-offs aren’t fixed — they drift with each cycle’s vacancies and paper difficulty. In the most recent cycle the cut-off eased slightly compared with the year before, largely on the back of a tougher paper and the vacancy mix.
What decides the cut-off
SSC doesn’t fix a number in advance — the cut-off is whatever mark fills the vacancies given how everyone performed. Four things move it:
Number of vacancies
More posts to fill pulls the cut-off down; fewer posts pushes it up.
Paper difficulty
A tougher Tier 1 lowers scores across the board, so the cut-off falls.
Candidates appearing
More aspirants competing for the same seats raises the bar.
Normalization
Scores across shifts are normalised, which nudges the final cut-off.
How the final merit cut-off works
Your rank and post are decided by the final cut-off, which is built only from Tier 2 marks — Tier 1 gets you in the door but doesn’t count toward merit. Each post (Income Tax Inspector, ASO, Auditor, AAO…) has its own closing mark, and the most sought-after posts have the highest cut-offs.
Post preference matters: you can clear the overall cut-off but still miss a top post if its category cut-off is higher. Fill your post-preference order carefully.
See how Tier 2 is scoredCrack SSC CGL with your own daily plan
Daily targets, PYQ practice sets & timed mocks — to the latest pattern.
Turn the cut-off into a target score
A cut-off is only useful if you know where you stand against it. JobSafal converts it into a personal target and tells you, after every mock, whether you’re on the safe side of the line.
Rank & cut-off predictor
Enter your mock score and see your likely rank and whether you clear the category cut-off.
Personal target score
We set a safe target above the expected cut-off for your category and post.
Post-wise cut-off view
See which posts your projected score can realistically reach.
Percentile after every mock
Benchmark against thousands of aspirants to track if you’re trending above the line.
