SSC CPO Answer Key 2026: Challenge Fee, Marking, Past Dates

There is no SSC CPO 2026 answer key yet, because Paper-I is now proposed for 23 to 28 November 2026 (SSC corrigendum of 26 October 2026). When the tentative key comes, the 2026 notice sets the challenge fee at Rs.50/- per question, non-refundable and online only. In the last cycle, the Paper-I 2025 key was released on 24 December 2025, after the exam of 9 to 12 December 2025.

How the SSC CPO answer key challenge works

• Login: in 2025 the tentative keys, with question paper-cum-response sheets, were opened on ssc.gov.in using the Registration Number and Password.
• Window: the 2025 Paper-I window ran from 24.12.2025 (06:00 PM) to 27.12.2025 (06:00 PM) at INR 50/- per question/answer challenged, as stated in the write-up of 24 December 2025. Challenges by letter, application or email are not entertained.
• Question order: in the challenge module, every candidate in a shift sees the same sequence of questions and options. This can differ from your exam screen, but your selected answers are shown accurately.
• Download it: keys and response sheets are not available after the window, and individual requests are not entertained.

The 2026 notice (para 12.5) applies SSC's challenge guidelines of 10 April 2026. A question that is ambiguous, has errors or has no correct option is discarded, and its marks go to every candidate. Where more than one option is correct, anyone who chose a correct option gets full marks. A wrong choice still attracts negative marks, and an unattempted question gets zero. A question found out of syllabus is discarded, and its marks are awarded to all candidates.

How to calculate your SSC CPO score

• Paper-I (2026): General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and English Comprehension, each with 25 questions for 25 marks. That is 1 mark a question, minus 0.25 for each wrong answer.
• Paper-II (2026): Parts I to III have 20 questions for 40 marks each, and Part IV (English Comprehension) has 100 questions for 200 marks. That is 2 marks a question, minus 0.50 for each wrong answer.
• Normalisation: multi-shift scores are normalised using SSC's procedure in the Notice dated 02.06.2025.
• NCC bonus: holders of the 'C', 'B' and 'A' certificates get 5%, 3% and 2% of the maximum marks in each paper, added to the normalised score.
• Qualifying marks (without the NCC bonus): UR 30%, OBC/EWS 25%, all other categories 20%, in both Paper-I and Paper-II.

What happens after the CPO key

The final key is used to process the result and is uploaded after the result. In 2025, the Paper-I result came on 30 March 2026, and SSC said in it that the answer keys had been modified wherever necessary. Final keys with question papers were then open from 21.04.2026 (18:00 Hrs) to 06.05.2026 (18:00 Hrs). Candidates logged in with their Roll Number and Password, and marks were open over the same period.

Paper-II gets its own key. In the 2024 cycle, Paper-II was held on 08.03.2025, and challenges ran from 12.03.2025 (06:00 PM) to 15.03.2025 (06:00PM) at Rs.100/- per question. A further Paper-II for 59 additional candidates was held at Guwahati on 30.04.2025, with its key released on 05.05.2025. The Paper-II final key followed on 14.08.2025.

SSC CPO answer key in past cycles