CGLTyping
SSC CHSL Typing Test: Rules, Speed, Duration & Pattern
A plain-language walkthrough of how the CHSL typing test is structured and scored — read this before your first mock attempt.
35 WPM English / 30 WPM Hindi, 10 minutes, backspace allowed.
That's the short version. The rest of this page covers exactly how speed, accuracy, and mistakes are calculated, and what to expect on exam day.
On This Page
Exam Format
The CHSL typing test is conducted on a computer at the exam centre. You're shown a fixed passage on screen and asked to reproduce it exactly within the time given — the clock starts as soon as you begin typing, not when the page loads.
- Duration: 10 minutes, fixed regardless of category.
- Speed requirement: 35 WPM in English, or 30 WPM in Hindi.
- Medium: you choose one — English or Hindi — for your attempt, not both.
- Equipment: SSC's own exam computers and keyboards — you cannot bring your own.
How Speed Is Measured
Unlike SSC CGL's DEST, which counts raw key depressions, CHSL states its requirement directly as words per minute. 35 WPM works out to roughly 175 characters typed correctly every minute, sustained without major interruption for the full 10 minutes. The underlying scoring still tracks key depressions live (visible during the test), but the pass threshold is expressed in WPM. See the WPM Calculator to convert between the two units if you're used to thinking in depressions from DEST practice.
Backspace and Correction Rules
Backspace is allowed for correcting mistakes as you type — you don't lose the attempt for fixing a typo. What you cannot do is clear the entire field and retype the passage from scratch partway through. Copy-paste and right-click are disabled on the exam software, and every practice test on this site mirrors that restriction.
How Mistakes Are Classified
Not every error is weighted the same:
- Full mistakes (weight 1.0): a wrong word, a skipped word, an extra word not in the passage, or a transposed word.
- Half mistakes (weight 0.5): spacing errors, capitalisation errors, and punctuation errors.
Your error percentage is calculated as (Full mistakes + Half mistakes × 0.5) ÷ Total words typed × 100. For a full worked example with real numbers, see Full vs. Half Mistakes: SSC's Error Rules Explained.
Category-Wise Error Limits
Hitting 35 WPM alone doesn't guarantee a pass — your error percentage also has to stay within your category's limit. The commonly published limits, used throughout this site's mock tests, are:
| Category | Error limit |
|---|---|
| UR (General) | 5% |
| EWS | 8% |
| OBC | 8% |
| SC | 10% |
| ST | 10% |
These figures reflect commonly published CHSL standards, not a specific year's official notification — always confirm the exact limits against the current SSC CHSL notification before relying on them for a real decision.
Language and Interface
You select English or Hindi before your attempt begins — there's no option to switch mid-test, and no on-screen virtual keyboard beyond the standard text field. If you're typing in Hindi, your exam computer will have the required Hindi input method already configured; you don't set this up yourself on exam day. See the SSC CHSL Hindi Typing Test guide for what to expect and how to practice beforehand.
How This Differs From SSC CGL's DEST
If you're also preparing for CGL, note that DEST uses a different scoring basis entirely (2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes, roughly 27 effective WPM) rather than CHSL's direct 35 WPM target. See SSC CGL DEST for the comparison, or the CHSL test page's own CHSL vs CGL breakdown.
Try It Yourself
The best way to internalise these rules is to run a full mock under the same conditions: full-screen, your category selected, and the full 10 minutes on the clock. Head to the SSC CHSL Typing Test to try it now, or build up gradually with practice paragraphs first.
Frequently Asked Questions
35 words per minute in English, or 30 words per minute in Hindi, sustained over a 10-minute test, for LDC/JSA-type posts.
10 minutes, fixed regardless of category or medium (English or Hindi).
Yes, backspace is allowed for corrections. You cannot clear the field and retype the passage from scratch.
The commonly published limits are UR 5%, EWS 8%, OBC 8%, SC 10% and ST 10% — always confirm against the current official notification, as these can change.
You choose one medium — English or Hindi — for your attempt, not both. The interface itself is a standard exam software text field, not something you configure.
