BPSC 72nd CCE 2026: exam pattern, marks, negative marking, age limit

Every figure on this page is copied from an official document linked next to it, with the date we last checked it. Pattern, age limit and dates are from the 72nd CCE 2026 notification. Last verified: 15 October 2026.

At a glance

Selection stages: Preliminary Examination → Main (Written) Examination → Main (Written) Examination for CDPO, FAO and Sub-Divisional Protection Officer → Personality Test (Interview)
First stage: Questions / Marks / Time: — / 150 / 120 min
Negative marking: 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Every question has five options (A to D, and E for 'not attempted'). If none of the five is marked, 1/3 mark is deducted for that unanswered question too.
Tentative vacancies: 1,187 (as on 3 September 2026)

Weekly live mock: Sunday, 8 November 2026, 10:00–12:00 IST · 50 questions in 60 minutes, one paper for everyone · Sit it in the Android app →

Exam pattern

Preliminary Examination

Applies to: All posts in the notice

General Studies

Time allowed: 120 minutes. Marks: 150. Negative marking: 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Every question has five options (A to D, and E for 'not attempted'). If none of the five is marked, 1/3 mark is deducted for that unanswered question too. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.

A single objective multiple-choice paper on General Studies. The notice gives the total as 150 marks and does not print the number of questions. (The Commission's 71st CCE Prelims question booklet of 13 September 2025 had 150 questions of equal marks.)
A screening test only: its marks are not counted in the Main examination or the final merit list. Candidates equal to ten times the notified vacancies are chosen for the Main examination, and everyone tied at the category-wise cut-off is included.

Main (Written) Examination

Applies to: Posts filled through the 72nd CCE (Table I of the notice)

General Hindi

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 100. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.

Candidates must score at least 30% in this paper, but its marks are not counted for merit.

General Studies, Paper I

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

General Studies, Paper II

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

Essay

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

The merit list for these posts is made on the 900 marks of General Studies Paper I, Paper II and Essay, plus the 120-mark interview, 1,020 marks in all.

Optional subject (objective)

Section	Questions	Marks each	Marks	Time (min)
Optional subject (one chosen from the list in the notice)	100	1	100	—
Total	100		100	120

Time allowed: 120 minutes. Negative marking: Not stated in the notice. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.

100 objective questions. Candidates must obtain the minimum marks fixed by the State Government, but these marks are not counted for merit. The notice does not state negative marking for this paper.

Main (Written) Examination for CDPO, FAO and Sub-Divisional Protection Officer

Applies to: Child Development Project Officer, Financial Administrative Officer and equivalent, and Anumandal Sanrakshan Padadhikari (Table II of the notice)

General Hindi

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 100. This part is qualifying only: it does not add to the merit score.

Candidates must score at least 30% in this paper, but its marks are not counted for merit.

General Studies, Paper I

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

General Studies, Paper II

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

Optional subject

Time allowed: 180 minutes. Marks: 300.

One subject chosen from the notice's list for the post: Home Science, Psychology, Sociology or Labour and Social Welfare for CDPO; Commerce, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics for Financial Administrative Officer; Psychology or Law for Anumandal Sanrakshan Padadhikari. The State Government's minimum marks must be obtained and these 300 marks count for merit, giving 900 Main marks plus the 120-mark interview, 1,020 in all.

Personality Test (Interview)

Applies to: All posts in the notice

Personality Test (Interview)

Marks: 120.

Candidates called for the interview number about 2.5 times the vacancies, chosen on Main marks, with everyone tied at the category-wise cut-off included. Attending is compulsory, otherwise the candidate is left out of the merit list.

Source: Integrated 72nd Combined (Preliminary) Competitive Examination - Advertisement (5 May 2026), with the vacancy corrigendum of 3 September 2026 ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error

Syllabus: subjects tested

The subjects in short, as the official syllabus lists them. The exam body's own notification is final.

Preliminary: General Studies: General science; important national and international current events; the history of India and of Bihar; general geography, including Bihar’s main physical divisions and important rivers; the Indian polity and economy; major changes in Bihar’s economy since independence; the Indian national movement and Bihar’s contribution to it; and general mental ability.
Main: General Studies Paper I: Modern Indian history and Indian culture; current events of national and international importance; statistical analysis, graphs and diagrams.
Main: General Studies Paper II: Indian polity (including Bihar’s political system); the Indian economy, including planning; the physical, economic and social geography of India and Bihar; and the role and impact of science and technology in development.
Main: General Hindi: A qualifying paper at secondary-school level that tests clear, correct expression in simple Hindi: essay, grammar, sentence construction and précis writing.
Main: Essay: A descriptive essay paper, listed as a separate Main paper in the 72nd CCE notice.
Main: optional subject: One subject chosen from the list in the notice, which covers sciences, engineering, commerce and accountancy, economics, geography, history, law, mathematics, philosophy, political science, psychology, public administration, sociology, statistics and several languages and literatures.

Full syllabus, stage by stage → · Official website ↗

Age limit and qualification

Minimum age as on 1 August 2026 is 20, 21 or 22 years depending on the post. Maximum age is 37 years for unreserved men; 40 years for unreserved women and for Backward Class and Extremely Backward Class candidates (men and women); 42 years for SC and ST candidates (men and women). The notice lists further relaxations (for example for Bihar government servants, ex-servicemen and persons with benchmark disabilities). Age is counted as on 1 August 2026.

Posts	Requirement
All posts filled through the 72nd CCE	Bachelor's degree from a recognised university or an equivalent examination.
Child Development Project Officer	Bachelor's degree from a recognised university, and one of Home Science, Psychology, Sociology or Labour and Social Welfare chosen as the optional subject for the Main examination.
Financial Administrative Officer and equivalent	Bachelor's degree from a recognised university or a related institution in one of Commerce, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics.
Anumandal Sanrakshan Padadhikari (Social Welfare Department, women only)	Bachelor's degree from a recognised university in Psychology or Law as a subject, and Psychology or Law chosen as the optional subject for the Main examination.

Minimum qualifying marks in the Preliminary examination: 40% for the General category, 36.5% for Backward Class, 34% for Extremely Backward Class, and 32% for SC/ST, women and persons with disabilities. Reservation is given only to Bihar domiciles (categories in the notice: UR, SC, ST, EBC, BC, BCL and EWS), with 35% horizontal reservation for Bihar-domicile women.

Important dates

Event	Date	Source
Notice and advertisement published	5 May 2026	official notice ↗
Online applications	7 May 2026 to 31 May 2026	official notice ↗
Preliminary Examination	Postponed, no new date announced. It was first set for 26 July 2026 (postponed on 18 July 2026), then for 25 October 2026 (postponed on 12 October 2026).	official notice ↗

Source: Tentative vacancies ↗ · Last verified: 15 October 2026 · Report an error

Practice questions by section

Free questions, each with its answer, in the subjects this exam tests. Every topic opens a list of question pages.

State GK

Bihar General Knowledge 378 questions

General Studies

All practice questions by topic →

Free notes (PDF)

Notes for every topic in this exam’s syllabus, one PDF per subject: each lesson ends with a quick-revision box, and each PDF ends with a revision sheet. Written by an AI assistant and not reviewed by a subject-matter expert.

General Awareness (208 pages, 2.3 MB)
Bihar GK (19 pages, 302 KB)

Notes for every subject →

Latest notices

BPSC 72nd CCE Prelims postponed from 26 July 2026; the later 25 October 2026 date was also postponed on 12 Octoberdeadline · 20 October 2026
BPSC exam calendar of 14 August 2026: where the 70th, 71st and 72nd CCE standnotification · 20 October 2026
BPSC 72nd CCE Prelims of 25 October 2026 postponed; new date to be announced laterdeadline · 20 October 2026

All exam notices →

BPSC admit card, result and answer key: every notice →

Recent current affairs for this exam

All current affairs →

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Frequently asked questions

What are the selection stages of BPSC?

Preliminary Examination → Main (Written) Examination → Main (Written) Examination for CDPO, FAO and Sub-Divisional Protection Officer → Personality Test (Interview), as per the 72nd CCE 2026 notification.

Is there negative marking in BPSC?

Preliminary Examination, as per the 72nd CCE 2026 notification: 1/3 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Every question has five options (A to D, and E for 'not attempted'). If none of the five is marked, 1/3 mark is deducted for that unanswered question too.

Which parts of the BPSC exam are qualifying?

As per the 72nd CCE 2026 notification, these are qualifying: Preliminary Examination: General Studies; Main (Written) Examination: General Hindi; Main (Written) Examination: Optional subject (objective); Main (Written) Examination for CDPO, FAO and Sub-Divisional Protection Officer: General Hindi.

What is the age limit for BPSC?

What are the minimum qualifying marks in BPSC?

How many vacancies are there in BPSC?

1,187 tentative vacancies for 72nd CCE 2026, as officially published on 3 September 2026.

When is the last date to apply for BPSC?

Online applications: 7 May 2026 to 31 May 2026 (now closed). As per the 72nd CCE 2026 notification.

Which subjects does the BPSC exam test?

The official syllabus lists: Preliminary: General Studies; Main: General Studies Paper I; Main: General Studies Paper II; Main: General Hindi; Main: Essay; Main: optional subject.

How this page is made

These facts are transcribed from the official documents linked above and checked against them on the date shown. If anything here differs from the official notification, the official notification is right. Please tell us through the Contact page. See also our editorial standards. Contact · Editorial standards