SSC GD Answer Key 2026: Tentative Key, Challenge Fee, Final Key

The SSC GD 2026 tentative answer key was released on 15 June 2026, and the challenge window closed at 6:00 PM on 20 June 2026. SSC has since used the Final Answer Keys to evaluate the CBE for the result declared on 12 October 2026. The final keys themselves, with question papers and candidates' marks, are still to be uploaded "in due course".

How the GD 2026 answer key challenge worked

• Access: response sheets and tentative keys on ssc.gov.in, after logging in with your Registration Number and Password.
• Window: 15.06.2026 (06:00 PM) to 20.06.2026 (06:00 PM), online only. Objections by letter or email are not entertained.
• Fee: ₹50 per question/answer challenged, half the ₹100 charged for GD 2025 and GD 2024.
• Language: you can object only in the medium you took the exam in, though questions can be viewed in Hindi and English too.
• Question order: in the challenge module, questions and options appear in the same order for everyone in a shift, so they may not match your screen on exam day. Your selected answers are still shown correctly.
• After the window, response sheets and tentative keys are withdrawn, and individual requests for them are not entertained.

Full notice: SSC tentative answer key notice, 15 June 2026.

How SSC decides an objection

From the 2026 series, SSC applies its Challenge/Objection Management guidelines of 10 April 2026, which an addendum of 24 April 2026 applied to GD 2026:

• Ambiguous question or no correct option: the question is discarded and its marks are added for every candidate.
• More than one correct option: full marks for anyone who chose a correct option, negative marks for a wrong option, zero if unattempted.
• Out-of-syllabus question: discarded, with marks to all candidates.
• Translation error: the question is evaluated separately for that language only.
• The number of objections against a question does not matter, only their merit.

How to calculate your SSC GD score from the key

The CBE has 80 questions of 2 marks each (160 marks, 60 minutes), with 20 questions in each of four parts: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and General Awareness, Elementary Mathematics, and English/Hindi. Each wrong answer costs 0.25 mark. So your raw score is 2 × correct minus 0.25 × wrong: 60 correct and 12 wrong gives 120 − 3 = 117 marks.

SSC does not rank you on that raw figure. Marks are normalised using the procedure in SSC's notice dated 02.06.2025, and NCC bonus marks are added: 8 marks for a 'C' certificate, 4.8 for 'B' and 3.2 for 'A'. To qualify for PET/PST you need 30% (UR), 25% (OBC/EWS) or 20% (all other categories), counted without the NCC bonus. There is no re-evaluation or re-checking of scores.

SSC GD answer key in past cycles

In the last two cycles the final key went up with or soon after the CBE result and stayed open for two weeks, so download it as soon as it appears.