CGPSC Selection Process 2026 - Prelims, Mains, Merit List, Final Selection List

CGPSC Selection Process 2026

As per the CGPSC 2026 official admission prospectus, the CGPSC 2026 selection process consists of three major stages, namely, Prelims, Mains, and the Personal Interview Round. This state-level entrance examination is held once a year to recruit candidates for various government posts and roles under the State Government. Students must fulfill the CGPSC 2026 eligibility criteria before they fill out the registration form.

Presently, the Prelims and the Mains examinations will be conducted. The CGPSC 2026 notification was released on November 2025, and the registrations ended on December 30, 2025. The results for CGPSC Mains 2026 are expected to be released in June 2026. Once the result is out, students will be called for the CGPSC 2026 Interview Round. A total of 238 vacancies have been announced by the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission for this academic year.

Read about the detailed selection process for CGPSC 2026, exam pattern, syllabus, and other related information as you scroll through this page!

CGPSC Selection Process 2026 Overview

To understand the CGPSC SSE examination process, students must seek to read about the three stages of the CGPSC selection process in detail. The CGPSC exam process 2026 is divided into three main stages, namely, Prelims, Mains, and the Interview round. Students can check out the detailed overview of each stage of the CGPSC selection procedure 2026 provided here:

• CGPSC Prelims examination: The CGPSC Preliminary stage is the first stage in this state-level entrance examination. This exam stage is divided into two papers: Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (Aptitude Test).
• CGPSC Mains examination: The next stage in the selection process of the CGPSC State Services Exam is the Mains examination. Divided into 7 descriptive papers, the maximum marks for CGPSC Mains are 1400.  
• CGPSC Interview Stage: After clearing both the objective and descriptive papers, students will be eligible for the CGPSC Personality Test Round. The total marks for this stage are 100 marks. After clearing this stage, students will be selected for civil services under the Chhattisgarh State Government.

CGPSC Selection Process 2026: Prelims Exam

The CGPSC Preliminary examination is the first stage in the selection process for the CGPSC SSE 2026 exam. Get detailed information on CGPSC Prelims 2026 as given below:

• CGPSC Prelims exam is the first stage of the Chhattisgarh State Service Exam and is divided in two parts: Paper I (General Studies) and Paper II (CSAT). Both the papers are computer based tests conducted in an online mode.
• Paper I is the General Studies test. The total marks for the CGPSC Prelims Paper I are 200 marks. There are a total of 100 questions, each of 2 marks. Students are also marked negatively and 1/3rd marks are deducted for every incorrect answer.
• Paper II is known as Civil Service Aptitude Test (CSAT). The total marks for the CGPSC Prelims Paper II are 200 marks. Like Paper I, there are also a total of 100 questions of 2 marks each and with the same criteria of negative marking.
• Paper II is qualifying in nature. Only the marks of Paper I are considered while preparing the final merit list.
•  The minimum cutoff for the Prelims exam is 33% for the General Category and 23% for OBC and other Reserved classes.

CGPSC Selection Process 2026: Mains Exam

Students who clear the Prelims exam will be eligible for the CGPSC Mains examination 2026. Look at the exam pattern of the CGPSC Mains 2026 as given below:

• Students who clear the first stage of the CGPSC exam are eligible to apply for the CGPSC Mains examination.
• Under the CGPSC Mains examination, students are required to answer seven descriptive papers of 200 marks each. Students are required to write about topics such as Science, History, Geography, Culture, International Events, etc.
• Students are also required to sit for two language papers. Papers III-VII are social studies-based papers.
• The total marks for the CGPSC Mains examination are 1400 marks.
• Students need to score the minimum qualifying marks on each paper to qualify for the next stage.
• The combined score of students in all seven papers of CGPSC shall be considered for preparing the merit list for the Personality Test or Interview round.

CGPSC Selection Process 2026: Interview/Personality Test

Once a student has cleared both the Preliminary and the Mains exam stages, he/she will be called in for the CGPSC interview round. Based on the student’s performance in the personality test, a final selection list will then be prepared. Here is a detailed insight into the CGPSC interview stage:

• Students who qualify for the CGPSC Mains exam will be called in for the Interview round.
• The CGPSC interview stage is conducted for a total of 100 marks.
• The CGPSC interview is a personality test, and it includes questions on the academic and social background of the students, apart from some general knowledge questions.
• After the CGPSC interview has been conducted, a provisional merit list will be prepared by the concerned authorities. This list will contain the names of those students who have cleared all three stages of the CGPSC selection procedure.
• Students who feature in the final merit list of CGPSC SSE will be eligible for recruitment for various posts under the Chhattisgarh State Government. The students will be selected for various roles as per the preferences he/she had filled while submitting the online CGPSC application form.

Also Read: CGPSC 2026 Exam Pattern

CGPSC Last Year Final Cutoff

The table given below indicates the previous year's cutoff for the CGPSC SSE exam: