SSC JE Cut Off 2026: Quick Answer
The official SSC JE cut off 2026 has NOT been released. As of 7 November 2026, the main Paper 1 window ran 2 to 6 November 2026 and has now ended, with the Telecommunication paper following on 30 November to 1 December 2026 — so no 2026-cycle cut-off figure exists anywhere yet. Everything on this page about the 2026 cycle is an EXPECTED cut off, built on the previous cycle's official figures. The last official Paper 1 cut offs are from the 2025 cycle (exam December 2025, result 6 March 2026): Civil UR 127.23 and Electrical/Mechanical UR 127.30, on normalised marks out of 200. Our expected range for the 2026 cycle is Civil UR 124–132 and Electrical/Mechanical UR 125–135 — estimates, not SSC figures, and different sources disagree (see the expected table below).
Warning — read this before trusting any other page: most pages titled "SSC JE Cut Off 2026" actually report the 2025 cycle (exam 3–6 December 2025 and 13 December 2025, result 6 March 2026) under a 2026 headline. The figures 127.23 and 127.30 are real, official figures — but they are the 2025-cycle cut offs, not the 2026-cycle cut offs. Any page presenting them as the 2026-cycle cut off is mislabelling the cycle. This page always names the cycle next to every figure.
Official sources: SSC JE 2026 notice (F. No. HQ-C-3019/1/2026-C-3) for the pattern and qualifying marks; SSC corrigendum HQ-EC033/7/2025-EC dated 26 October 2026 for the Paper 1 windows; SSC JE 2025 Paper 1 result write-up dated 6 March 2026 for the previous-cycle cut offs. Track dates on the SSC notice board.
SSC JE Paper 1 2026: Dates and Pattern
Full pattern: SSC JE Exam Pattern 2026: Paper 1 and Paper 2, Marks, Negative Marking. Admit card: SSC JE Admit Card 2026.
Paper 1 is being held in two windows under the SSC corrigendum of 26 October 2026:
| Window | Dates | Who sits it |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 2 to 6 November 2026 | Civil and Structural, Electrical and Mechanical General Engineering, and the IMD Scientific Assistant papers (Computer Science and IT, Electronics and Telecommunication, Physics) |
| Window 2 | 30 November to 1 December 2026 | JE (Telecommunication) |
| Feature | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Questions / marks | 200 questions / 200 marks | 100 questions / 300 marks |
| Subjects | General Intelligence and Reasoning 50, General Awareness 50, General Engineering 100 | Engineering subject only, 100 questions |
| Time | 2 hours | 2 hours |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer | 1 mark per wrong answer |
| Role | Qualifying only — shortlists for Paper 2 | Decides final merit (normalised score only) |
Paper 1 is qualifying in nature: it shortlists candidates for Paper 2 and does not decide the final merit. Only the normalised Paper 2 score decides final merit (notice paras 13.2 and 13.16). That is why the Paper 1 cut off matters in exactly one way — whether you clear it and reach Paper 2. Clearing the qualifying minimum is not enough: the shortlisting cut offs below are roughly double the qualifying marks.
SSC JE Previous Year Cut Off: Official 2025-Cycle Figures (Result 6 March 2026)
These are the official 2025-cycle Paper 1 cut offs, from SSC's Paper 1 result write-up dated 6 March 2026 (File No. HQ-C-3019/4/2025-C-3). The 2025-cycle Paper 1 was held 3–6 December 2025 and on 13 December 2025, in multiple shifts, so the cut offs are on normalised marks out of 200. A total of 15,607 candidates were shortlisted for Paper 2 — 11,593 Civil and 4,014 Electrical/Mechanical.
SSC JE Cut Off 2025 Cycle — Civil Engineering (Official, Paper 1)
| Category | Cut off (normalised marks) | Candidates shortlisted |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 127.23 | 1,321 |
| OBC | 124.46 | 4,536 |
| EWS | 117.91 | 1,539 |
| SC | 109.24 | 2,766 |
| ST | 106.85 | 1,206 |
| Total Civil | — | 11,593 |
SSC JE Cut Off 2025 Cycle — Electrical / Mechanical Engineering (Official, Paper 1)
| Category | Cut off (normalised marks) | Candidates shortlisted |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 127.30 | 542 |
| OBC | 127.30 | 1,464 |
| EWS | 115.37 | 639 |
| SC | 112.05 | 917 |
| ST | 102.87 | 350 |
| Total Electrical / Mechanical | — | 4,014 |
Two things stand out. First, in Electrical/Mechanical the UR and OBC cut offs were identical (127.30) — that stream was extremely tight at the top. Second, the gap between the qualifying minimum (60 marks for UR) and the actual shortlisting cut off (127.23 / 127.30) is more than 67 marks: Paper 1 is a qualifying paper in name, but in practice it eliminates most candidates.
A note on the totals: the tables above show the five main categories. The official totals (11,593 Civil and 4,014 Electrical/Mechanical) also include the PwD categories (OH, HH and Others PwD) from the full result write-up, which is why the five rows do not sum to the total.
SSC JE Expected Cut Off 2026: Paper 1 (EXPECTED — Not Official)
The table below is an expected cut off for the 2026 cycle, built from the 2025-cycle official figures above, vacancy movement and the usual difficulty and normalisation effects. SSC has published no 2026-cycle cut off. Treat these ranges as planning bands, not promises.
| Category | Civil Engineering (expected) | Electrical / Mechanical (expected) |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 124–132 | 125–135 |
| OBC | 120–128 | 124–131 |
| EWS | 115–122 | 116–123 |
| SC | 106–115 | 110–118 |
| ST | 103–110 | 100–108 |
Why the ranges, and why sources disagree: the UR bands are the overlap of the published expectations — SarkariExamsResults puts Civil UR at 125–132 and Electrical/Mechanical UR at 128–135, while Testbook and Careers360 put Civil UR at 125–130. The category-wise bands other than UR come from a single published expectation (SarkariExamsResults) and are labelled as such. One widely copied expectation puts Electrical/Mechanical UR at 150–155 — that figure is not used here, because it is inconsistent with the 200-mark Paper 1 scale and with the previous-cycle official figure of 127.30, and it looks like a carry-over from a different marking scale. If a page shows you an Electrical/Mechanical expected cut off above 140 for a 200-mark paper, it is almost certainly repeating that error.
A safe target to aim for: 135+ marks in Paper 1 clears both 2025-cycle UR cut offs (127.23 Civil, 127.30 Electrical/Mechanical) with a small safety margin. That is our advice, not an SSC figure — but it is the simplest way to use this page: if your mock scores sit above 135, you are in safe territory for Paper 2; if they sit between 125 and 135, you are in the borderline band where normalisation and shift difficulty decide it.
SSC JE Qualifying Minimums 2026
These are the minimum qualifying marks fixed in the notice — the floor below which nobody is shortlisted, whatever the cut off. They are not the cut off.
| Category | Minimum in Paper 1 (of 200) | Minimum in Paper 2 (of 300) |
|---|---|---|
| UR | 30% — 60 marks | 30% — 90 marks |
| OBC / EWS | 25% — 50 marks | 25% — 75 marks |
| All other categories | 20% — 40 marks | 20% — 60 marks |
Paper 1 marks are normalised if the exam runs in several shifts, and candidates are shortlisted category-wise for Paper 2. Electrical and Mechanical papers are normalised against each other for merit and cut off.
What Moves the SSC JE Cut Off
Five factors decide where the 2026-cycle cut off lands, and they are why no honest page gives you a single number:
- Paper difficulty and normalisation. A harder shift pushes normalised cut offs down; an easier shift pushes them up. The 2025-cycle figures are normalised, so a raw-score comparison with your mocks will mislead you by a few marks either way.
- Vacancies — and here the figures conflict. 1,748 posts were notified in the 2026 notice, but a revised tentative figure of 1,699 appeared on 9 October 2026. The two figures conflict and neither is asserted here as final; fewer vacancies would push the cut off up, more would pull it down. The final vacancy position will be settled in the result write-up.
- Number of applicants. JE draws a large engineering-graduate pool every cycle; a bigger pool at the same vacancy count raises the cut off.
- Category and stream. Civil and Electrical/Mechanical cut offs are published separately, and the Electrical/Mechanical top end has been tighter (UR and OBC identical at 127.30 in the 2025 cycle).
- Paper 2 does not affect the Paper 1 cut off. The Paper 1 cut off is fixed with the Paper 1 result, before Paper 2 is held — but Paper 2 is the paper that decides your rank, so do not stop preparing once Paper 1 is over.
SSC JE Paper 2 2026: Date To Be Announced
Paper 2 is a single stream-specific paper of 100 questions for 300 marks in 2 hours, with −1 negative marking. Its date is to be announced: some cycle coverage places it in December 2026, other sources place it in January or February 2027, and SSC has not confirmed a date. The honest position is that Paper 2 follows the Paper 1 result, and the Paper 1 result follows the final answer key, so the earliest realistic window is December 2026. Start Paper 2 preparation now — 300 marks of stream-specific engineering in two hours cannot be prepared in a short gap between the result and the exam. Our SSC JE Paper 2 Civil mock 01, Paper 2 Electrical mock 01 and Paper 2 Mechanical mock 01 are the free starting points for each stream.
SSC JE vs RRB JE: Do Not Mix the Two Cut Offs
This is the SSC Junior Engineer examination. It is not the RRB JE examination (CEN 04/2026), and their cut offs, answer keys and results are entirely separate. If the page you are reading mentions zones, railway divisions or CEN numbers, it is about RRB JE. If it mentions CPWD, MES, BRO, Paper 1 and Paper 2, it is about SSC JE. The RRB JE cut off is covered in the RRB JE answer key and result note — do not carry a figure from one examination into the other.
What to Do While the Paper 1 Result Is Awaited
- Check the answer key first. The provisional key, response sheet and question paper appear in your candidate login on ssc.gov.in about one to two weeks after the examination; objections cost ₹50 per question. Full process: SSC JE answer key 2026.
- Score yourself against 135, not 60. Sixty is the qualifying floor; 135 is the level that clears the last cycle's UR cut offs with margin.
- Start Paper 2 now. Your engineering subject is 100 of 200 marks in Paper 1 and all 300 marks in Paper 2 — the subject you have already been revising is the subject that decides your rank.
- Do not trust a "cut off released" headline that does not link to ssc.gov.in. The official cut off comes with the Paper 1 result write-up, as a category-wise table exactly like the 2025-cycle tables above.
SSC JE Cut Off 2026 FAQs
What is the SSC JE cut off 2026 for Paper 1?
Not published yet. The official 2026-cycle cut off comes with the Paper 1 result, after the final answer key. The expected range is Civil UR 124–132 and Electrical/Mechanical UR 125–135 — estimates, not SSC figures.
What was the SSC JE cut off in the previous cycle?
Official 2025-cycle Paper 1 cut offs (result 6 March 2026, normalised marks out of 200): Civil UR 127.23, OBC 124.46, EWS 117.91, SC 109.24, ST 106.85; Electrical/Mechanical UR 127.30, OBC 127.30, EWS 115.37, SC 112.05, ST 102.87.
What are the minimum qualifying marks in SSC JE?
UR 30% (60 of 200 in Paper 1), OBC/EWS 25% (50), all other categories 20% (40). These are the floor, not the cut off — the actual shortlisting cut offs are far higher.
When is SSC JE Paper 2 in 2026?
To be announced. Some sources say December 2026, others January or February 2027. SSC has not confirmed a date.
Is SSC JE Paper 1 qualifying?
Yes. Paper 1 only shortlists candidates for Paper 2. Final merit is decided by the normalised Paper 2 score alone.
Is SSC JE the same as RRB JE?
No. SSC JE is conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for central government departments; RRB JE (CEN 04/2026) is conducted by the Railway Recruitment Boards for Indian Railways. Different examinations, different cut offs.
Practice Next for SSC JE
Strategy: SSC JE preparation strategy 2026
Answer key and result: SSC JE answer key 2026
Pattern and syllabus: SSC JE syllabus 2026, SSC JE exam day guidelines 2026
Paper 2 mocks: Paper 2 Civil mock 01, Paper 2 Electrical mock 01, Paper 2 Mechanical mock 01
Paper 1 mocks: Paper 1 full mock 01, Reasoning mock 01, General Awareness mock 01, Civil Part A mock 02, Electrical Part B mock 02
Also read: SSC JE salary 2026, SSC JE previous year question papers, RRB JE answer key and result 2026 — different exam; hub: SSC JE exam page and free SSC JE mock tests. Browse all study notes.
Sources: SSC JE 2026 notice (F. No. HQ-C-3019/1/2026-C-3); SSC corrigendum HQ-EC033/7/2025-EC dated 26 October 2026 (Paper 1 windows); SSC JE 2025 Paper 1 result write-up dated 6 March 2026 (previous-cycle cut offs, as reproduced in convergent secondary coverage — Testbook, FreeJobAlert, rrbapply); expected ranges from SarkariExamsResults with Testbook/Careers360 cross-check (see the disagreement note in the expected table). All expected figures are estimates. As of 7 November 2026.