OUSSSC Combined Uniformed Services (Below Graduate Level) Examination 2026

📝 One common paper, three different written-score totals

Civil, OISF, Firefighter and Traffic applicants have a 100-mark written base. Communication has a 400-mark base; the two Driver posts have a 150-mark base. NCC and eligible driving marks are then considered as prescribed for the respective post. These totals are not interchangeable cutoffs across services.

For Communication, 75% of the written maximum comes from the special paper (300/400). That arithmetic makes a preparation plan based only on general police-constable material inadequate. For Driver applicants, the special paper contributes one-third of their written maximum. The common paper still matters, but vehicle and road-rule preparation cannot be postponed until after it.

As an illustration, 80 correct and 20 wrong answers in the common paper produce 75 marks, not 80. In the Communication special paper, the same response pattern produces 225 marks: 80 × 3 minus 20 × 0.75. These examples explain the published marking scheme; they are not predicted qualifying marks. Unattempted questions carry no deduction.

The common paper covers Odia, English, general knowledge, quantitative aptitude/reasoning and basic computer literacy. Annexure I contains the detailed indicative syllabus. The Commission has not fixed the examination date or final mode in this advertisement. Do not label it a confirmed CBT. If it is held as a multi-shift CBT, the Commission says it will publish its approved normalisation method before the examination.

Physical standards: qualifying does not mean optional

Eligible Group-D candidates for Civil, Communication and Driver PMT receive the specific physical-standard relaxation in clause 16.2. The same relaxation is not available to Home Guards merely because they have a reserved route.

PM and PET do not add comparative merit marks. They are qualifying gates: failing an applicable event can remove a candidate despite a strong written score. Ex-Agniveers have the PET exemption stated in clause 17.7. Separate medical fitness requirements still apply; clearing a run does not establish medical eligibility. The advertisement lists medical disqualifications and says detailed standards will be published before the tests.

Approximately seven times the vacancies, category-wise, may be called for PM/PET, with additional candidates possible where required. That is a shortlisting provision, not a promise of a fixed cutoff or a seven-to-one final selection probability.

How the final merit decision works

NCC earns one, two or three marks for A, B or C respectively; only the highest eligible certificate is counted. The claim must be made in the application. Civil, OISF and the two Driver posts can receive the prescribed practical driving bonus: three for LMV or five for HMV after satisfying the licence and test requirements. Do not add both bonuses together without an express rule permitting it. Taking the bonus also involves accepting driving duties under the notification.

The Commission combines the applicable written and bonus marks, considers the relevant category vacancies and uses the submitted service preferences. A successful candidate gets one post. A tie is first resolved by older age, then fewer negative marks, then the applicable special/skill-paper score where relevant; a further criterion may be prescribed if the tie remains. The notice states that there will be no reserve or waiting list.

This makes truthful preference ordering important. The post with the largest vacancy count need not be the right first choice for every candidate. Conversely, ranking a preferred eligible service does not remove the need to qualify its additional paper, licence check or physical event.

Read the syllabus by paper, not by a generic constable label

The Odia syllabus is printed in Odia on page 40. Read that original list alongside the language qualification conditions; neither the ability to speak Odia nor an English-language preparation guide covers the entire language paper. The notice does not allocate a fixed question count to every topic, so a topic-wise “guaranteed weightage” chart would be misleading.