How Many Attempts Are Allowed for the SSC CGL Exam?

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The Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on an annual basis to recruit suitable candidates in various Group B and C Level posts across multiple government departments and ministries. The candidates preparing for the SSC CGL Exam generally are curious regarding the number of times they are allowed to attempt the exam. In this article, let’s take a look at the answer to this question in detail.

How Many Attempts are Allowed for the SSC CGL Exam?

The government exam aspirants willing to appear for various recruitment exams have to be aware of the number of attempts allowed in each exam along with the eligibility criteria. Some recruiting agencies provide a clear answer to this question in their official notifications. However, in the case of SSC, there is no mention of the number of attempts anywhere in its official notifications. So, it is safe to say that:

“There is no limit on the number of attempts allowed for the SSC CGL Exam”.

The candidates willing to appear for the SSC CGL Exam should not worry about the number of attempts. However, what they should be aware of is the eligibility criteria. The number of attempts for each candidate depends only on the year of graduation and the maximum age limit applicable to them. Let us try to understand both these aspects in detail.

Factors Deciding the Number of Attempts

Even though the commission does not put a defined limit on the number of attempts, it sets some boundaries in the form of eligibility criteria. The notification clearly states that the candidates will be eligible for SSC CGL only after completing their graduation on or before the given date. Moreover, it provides the lower and upper age limit applicable to each post.

Educational Qualification

The educational qualification for all the posts offered via SSC CGL has one factor in common i.e. the candidates should possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognised university. However, some posts require them have some special qualifications.

Name of the Post	Educational Qualification
Statistical Investigator Grade-II Post	Bachelor’s Degree in any subject with Statistics as one of the subjects from a recognized University or Institute. The candidates must have studied Statistics as a subject in all three years or all 6 semesters of the graduation course.
Junior Statistical Officer	Bachelor’s Degree in any subject from a recognized University or Institute with at least 60% Marks in Mathematics at 12th standard level; OR Bachelor’s Degree in any subject with Statistics as one of the subjects at degree level.
Research Assistant in National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)	Essential Qualifications: Bachelor’s Degree from a recognized University or Institute. Desirable Qualifications: Minimum one-year research experience in any recognized university or recognized Research Institution; Degree in Law or Human Rights from a recognized university
Compiler Posts	Bachelor’s Degree from any recognized University with Economics or Statistics or Mathematics as a compulsory or Elective Subject
All Other Posts	Bachelor’s Degree in any discipline from a recognized University or equivalent

Age Limit

The Combined Graduate Level Eam is conducted to select suitable candidates for different posts so the range of age limit differs according to the requirements of each post. The post wise age limit is mentioned in the table below.

SSC CGL Age Limit
Name of post	Department / Ministries	Minimum Age	Maximum Age
Assistant Section Officer	CSS	20 Years	30 Years
Assistant Section Officer	Intelligence Bureau	–	30 Years
Assistant Enforcement Officer	Directorate of Enforcement, Department of Revenue	–	30 years
Junior Statistical Officer	M/o of Statistics & Prog. Implementation	–	32 years
Sub Inspector	NIA	–	30 years
Sub Inspector	CBI	20 Years	30 Years
Sub Inspector	Narcotics	18 Years	25 Years
Tax Assistant	CBEC	20 Years	27 Years
Inspector	Department of Post	18 Years	30 Years
Assistant	Other Ministries/Departments/ Organizations	18 Years	30 Years
All other posts	Other departments	18 Years	27 Years

Relaxation in the Upper Age Limit

One of the important factors that have a big impact on the number of attempts is the relaxation allowed in the upper age limit of the candidates belonging to different categories. The commission mentions the following category-wise relaxations to the candidates appearing for the SSC CGL Exam.

SSC CGL Age Relaxation
Category	Age Relaxation
OBC	3 years
ST/SC	5 years
PH + Gen	10 years
PH + OBC	13 years
PH + SC/ST	15 years
Ex-Servicemen (Gen)	3 years
Ex-Servicemen (OBC)	6 years
Ex-Servicemen (SC/ST)	8 years

To sum up, there is no limit to the number of times a candidate can appear for the SSC CGL Exam. However, the commission provides the educational qualification and age limit as the factors determining the number of attempts.

SSC CGL 2024 – Related Links
SSC CGL 2024 Notification	SSC CGL Vacancy 2024
SSC CGL Eligibility Criteria 2024	SSC CGL Previous Year Question Paper
SSC CGL Selection Process 2024	SSC CGL Salary 2024

FAQs

How Many Attempts Are Allowed for the SSC CGL Exam?

The official notification for SSC CGL does not mention any limit to the number of times a candidate can appear for the SSC CGL Exam. However, this number varies for each individual candidate according to the year they complete their graduation, the age limit applicable to each post and the category-wise relaxation in the upper age limit.