What are the CBSE board exams?
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) holds the Class 10 Secondary School Examination and the Class 12 Senior School Certificate Examination for students of its affiliated schools. CBSE sets the curriculum for each academic session, publishes sample papers, conducts the board exams and issues the marksheets and pass certificates.
Students who appear through a school are regular candidates. CBSE also accepts private candidates in some cases, under rules given in its exam notices.
How the exams are structured
In Class 10, a student studies two languages, Mathematics, Science and Social Science, and can add a skill subject as a sixth subject. Most main subjects carry 80 marks for the board's theory paper and 20 marks for internal assessment done by the school. Class 12 students take five or six subjects of their stream, and subjects with practical work split marks between theory and practicals.
Two board exams for Class 10
From 2026, CBSE holds the Class 10 board exam twice a year. The first exam is mandatory for all students. The second, held later in the session, is optional and lets a student try to improve marks in up to three subjects; the better score is kept. Class 12 continues with one main board exam a year and a supplementary exam.
| Point | Class 10 | Class 12 |
|---|---|---|
| Main board exams | Two (first mandatory, second optional) | One |
| Internal assessment | 20 marks in most main subjects | Practicals or projects in many subjects |
| Syllabus source | cbseacademic.nic.in | cbseacademic.nic.in |
| Result access | Roll number, school number, admit card ID | Same |
Key stages in a CBSE year
- CBSE releases the curriculum for the session on cbseacademic.nic.in, usually before classes start.
- Schools register students and submit internal assessment marks.
- CBSE publishes the date sheet and issues admit cards through schools.
- Theory and practical exams are held.
- Results are published online, followed by the photocopy, verification and re-evaluation window.
Passing rules and the marksheet
To pass, a student needs 33 percent in each subject. The marksheet shows marks along with grades, and CBSE also issues a pass certificate and, where needed, a migration certificate for students changing board. Digital copies of these documents are placed in DigiLocker, which saves a trip to the school when a college asks for them.
CBSE does not publish a merit list of toppers. Instead, it awards merit certificates to the top performers in each subject, as explained in its result notice.
Admit cards and private candidates
Regular students receive their board admit card through the school, which downloads it from the CBSE portal and signs it. Private candidates download theirs from the CBSE website using their application details. In both cases the admit card carries the roll number and admit card ID that are later needed for the result, so keep it safe even after the exams.
CBSE guides on HindiScope
- CBSE Class 10 syllabus guide - subject list, marks split and how to download the official PDF.
- CBSE Class 10 and 12 result guide - every way to check marks and the re-evaluation process.
Related exams
State board students can compare with the UP Board exams hub and the Karnataka SSLC page. After Class 12, most central university admissions go through the CUET UG entrance test.
HindiScope is not an official site; confirm every detail on cbse.gov.in.