BPSC CCE Exam Pattern & Syllabus
Last verified 07 Oct 2026
BPSC CCE is a three-stage examination — Preliminary, Main and Interview.
Preliminary examination (objective)
| Paper | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Studies | 150 | 150 | 2 hours |
The Prelims is a single objective (MCQ) paper. In the recent cycles the Commission has applied negative marking (one-third of a mark for a wrong answer). For the 72nd CCE each question has five options (A–E); option E must be marked to leave a question unanswered, and a question with no option marked also loses one-third of a mark. The Prelims is qualifying — it only screens candidates for the Mains and its marks do not count towards the final merit.
Main examination (descriptive)
The Mains has descriptive papers, of which the merit-counting papers total 900 marks:
| Paper | Marks | Nature |
|---|---|---|
| General Hindi | 100 | Qualifying |
| General Studies I | 300 | Merit |
| General Studies II | 300 | Merit |
| Essay | 300 | Merit |
| Optional subject (objective, 100 MCQs, 2 hours) | 100 | Qualifying |
The exact paper composition is revised by the Commission from cycle to cycle, so confirm it against the notification for the edition you are sitting.
Interview
Candidates who qualify the Mains are called for an Interview (personality test). The final merit is prepared from the merit-counting Mains papers and the Interview.
Syllabus
The detailed BPSC CCE Prelims and Mains syllabus is available as a free PDF below.