Government exams · age limits
SSC CGL age limit 2026
Post-wise age limits, category relaxation and the last year you can apply — then check your own date of birth. Five seconds, no sign-up.
Last verified 29 October 2026
Age reckoned as on 1 August 2026
Source SSC CGL 2026 notification
12,256 vacancies
Eligible
Age on the cutoff date
Cycles remaining
Last year to apply
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The table
Age limit by category
| Category | Upper age limit | Born on or after | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General / EWS | 32 years | 02.08.1994 | Base category |
| OBC — Non-Creamy Layer | 35 years | 02.08.1991 | Certificate must be valid NCL |
| SC / ST | 37 years | 02.08.1989 | Caste certificate required |
| PwD — General | 42 years | 02.08.1984 | Benchmark disability |
| PwD — OBC | 45 years | 02.08.1981 | 3 + 10 years |
| PwD — SC / ST | 47 years | 02.08.1979 | 5 + 10 years |
| Ex-serviceman — General | Service deduction + 3 years | — | Service years deducted before the limit |
The lower limit is 18 years for every category. Relaxations apply to the upper limit only — not to the minimum age.
Before you apply
Four things most pages get wrong
01 · The cutoff
Age is checked on 1 August, not 1 January
SSC CGL 2026 reckons age as on 01.08.2026. Most calculators — including the largest competitor — still use 1 January, which moves the boundary by a full birth-year cohort.
02 · The posts
Your age limit depends on the post group
CGL is not one limit. Post groups carry 27, 30 or 32 years for General candidates. A 31-year-old can be eligible for the exam and over age for a specific post.
03 · The date
The date the exam is held is irrelevant
What matters is your age on the cutoff date. Turning 33 in September 2026 does not affect your 2026 eligibility — but it does end it for 2027.
04 · The certificate
The OBC certificate has a validity window
An OBC-NCL certificate issued too long before the cutoff is not accepted. Check the issue date, not just the category.
Post-wise
Post groups and their age caps
| Age cap | Born on or after | Who it applies to | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18–27 | 02.08.1999 | The lower-capped posts | Closed even when the exam itself is open. |
| 18–30 | 02.08.1996 | Several Group B and assistant-level posts | The common surprise: eligible for CGL, not for this post. |
| 18–32 | 02.08.1994 | The senior Group B posts | Base window — the limit used for the main verdict. |
Post caps do not disappear because the exam is open. Pick your posts before you decide your attempt is safe. The final post list is verified against the official notification, not assumed.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is the age limit for SSC CGL 2026?+
For General / EWS the upper limit is 32 years as on 1 August 2026, and the minimum is 18. OBC-NCL gets 35, SC/ST gets 37, and PwD candidates get 42 to 47 depending on category. Several post groups use 27 or 30 as the upper limit instead of 32.
My birthday is in September. How is my age calculated?+
Completed years as on 1 August 2026 is what counts. If you were born on 15 September 1994, you are 31 on the cutoff date, so your 32nd birthday in September 2026 does not make you ineligible for 2026 — but it does end your eligibility for 2027.
I'm OBC. What is my upper age limit?+
35 years as on 1 August 2026 — a three-year relaxation on the base limit of 32. The relaxation applies to the upper limit only, and the certificate must be a valid Non-Creamy Layer certificate issued within the window the notification specifies.
Is there an attempt limit for SSC CGL?+
No. SSC CGL has no cap on attempts. You can appear every year until you cross the upper age limit for your category and post group. Eligibility is about age, not the number of attempts.
Can I be eligible for the exam but not for a post?+
Yes — and this is the mistake the calculator is built to catch. If you are 31 and the base limit is 32, you are eligible for the exam, but post groups with a 27 or 30 cap are closed to you. Check the post list before you apply.
I'm an ex-serviceman. How is my age calculated?+
Your military service is deducted from your actual age, and then a further relaxation is applied as per the notification. This is a genuinely different formula, so the calculator flags it rather than pretending a flat relaxation is the same thing.
What is the last year I can apply?+
It depends on your date of birth and category, which is why the calculator gives you the year directly. If it says 2029, that is the last CGL cycle in which you will still be inside the upper age limit on the cutoff date.
Where to go next
Trust layer — why this page is different
We show you the date we checked.
Every number on this page comes from the official notification, and every page carries the date it was last verified. When a notification changes, the page changes with it — and the changelog says what changed.
Sources
- SSC CGL 2026 notification
- Staff Selection Commission / recruiting body website
- Checked by hand, not scraped
This page
- Last verified: 29 October 2026
- Next review: 1 May 2027
- Cutoff used: 2026-08-01
How we handle errors
- Spotted a mistake? Report it — we correct and log it.
- Corrections appear in the changelog below.
- No data is invented to fill a gap.
Changelog
2026-10-29Page built from the 2026 notification. Age reckoning set to 1 August.
2026-05-222026 notification issued — cutoff and category limits updated.