Central Industrial Security Force

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is one of the Central Armed Police Forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It guards industrial units, airports, metro networks and other sensitive installations, and it recruits every year across several cadres. This guide to CISF recruitment 2026 explains the posts, eligibility, selection stages, exam pattern, pay and a preparation plan in one place.

CISF does not run one single exam. It issues a separate notification for each post, and some posts are filled through other bodies. So your first job is to find the notification that applies to you. Dates and vacancy counts below are marked wherever they come from secondary reports and still need a check on the official portal.

In this guide

• CISF recruitment at a glance

• Latest recruitment updates

• CISF posts and how each is filled

• Eligibility criteria

• Application fee and how to apply

• Selection process

• Exam pattern

• Syllabus summary

• Salary and career growth

• How to prepare

• Cut-off reference

CISF Recruitment at a Glance

Latest CISF Recruitment Updates

Several notifications have been issued over the last two cycles. Exam-preparation sites currently report the items below. Treat them as pointers and read the official notification before you act on any number.

• Constable (Fire): A notification for about 1,130 vacancies has been reported. Category-wise numbers and dates sit in the notification PDF.

• Constable (GD): Filled through the SSC GD examination, not through a CISF-run test. Follow the SSC notice for this route.

• ASI (Paramedical): A small batch of posts was notified in May 2026, with applications opening in June 2026.

• Constable (Driver) and Driver-cum-Pump Operator: A 2025 notification covered 1,124 vacancies (845 and 279) and is now closed.

Tentative dates come from notification schedules and can change. Track the recruitment page on cisfrectt.cisf.gov.in and your registered email.

CISF Posts and How Each Is Filled

The route matters as much as the post. A Constable (GD) aspirant studies for an SSC exam, while a Head Constable aspirant prepares for a CISF paper.

Entry levels here are indicative. The exact qualification, trade and experience clauses are printed in each notification.

CISF Eligibility Criteria

Nationality and educational qualification

Only citizens of India can apply. The qualification depends on the post: Class 10 for most constable posts, Class 12 for Head Constable and ASI (Stenographer), and a graduate degree for Assistant Commandant. Tradesman and driver posts add a trade or licence condition on top of Class 10.

Age limit

Earlier notifications set 18 to 23 years for constable and head constable posts, and 21 to 27 years for drivers. The age is counted as on a cut-off date stated in the notification, so check that date before assuming you are within the limit.

Physical and other conditions

• Physical standards: Height, chest and weight limits are set post-wise and differ for men, women and some regions or categories.

• Medical fitness: You must clear a medical examination at the final stage.

• Experience: Departmental posts such as ASI through LDCE ask for service in the force; direct posts mostly do not.

Application Fee and How to Apply

The fee printed in earlier constable, tradesman, driver and head constable notifications was Rs. 100, with women, SC, ST and ex-servicemen exempt. The amount can change by cycle, so confirm it in the current notification.

Applications for direct posts are filled online. The steps are usually these:

1. Register: Create an account on the official recruitment portal with a working email address and mobile number.

2. Select the post: Open the live notification for your post and start the application.

3. Fill details: Enter personal, educational and category details exactly as in your certificates.

4. Upload documents: Add the photograph, signature and certificates in the sizes the notification asks for.

5. Pay and submit: Pay the fee if applicable, submit, and save a copy of the confirmation page.

LDCE posts follow a departmental route, and some are applied for through the force rather than the public portal. Read the instructions of your specific notification.

CISF Selection Process

The stages and their order change by post. Most direct posts use a mix of the following.

1. Physical Standard Test (PST): Height, chest and related measurements are checked.

2. Physical Efficiency Test (PET): Running and other events test your fitness. It is qualifying in nature for most posts.

3. Documentation: Original certificates are verified against the application.

4. Written test: An objective paper, in English and Hindi, for most posts.

5. Trade or skill test: Applies to tradesman, driver and stenographer or typing posts.

6. Medical examination: The final fitness check before the merit list.

Some notifications run the written test first and call only qualified candidates for PST and PET, while others do the reverse. The order in your notification is the one that counts.

CISF Exam Pattern

The written paper is objective and its structure depends on the post. The table shows the pattern printed in recent notifications for the main direct posts.

What this means for you:

• One mark per question: In the 100-mark papers every question carries one mark, so a quick correct answer is worth the same as a slow one.

• Equal sections: Each section has the same weight in the Head Constable paper, so a weak section cannot be ignored.

• Time per question: Two hours for 100 questions gives about 72 seconds each, which is comfortable if you do not stall on one question.

• Marking rule: Check the negative-marking line in your notification. Some cycles have none, and others deduct for wrong answers.

CISF Syllabus Summary

CISF publishes the names of the tests in its notifications but not a long topic-wise syllabus. The summary below is built from the notification and from the topics asked in earlier papers. Use it as a working checklist, not as an official list.

Topic-level lists for each post are on the CISF syllabus page.

CISF Salary and Career Growth

Pay follows the 7th Pay Commission matrix. The ranges below are the pay scales printed for these posts, before allowances.

Allowances and the in-hand amount vary by posting and city. This is not an official in-hand figure.

The work covers security at airports, metro systems, public sector units and other protected sites, plus fire and disaster response. Career growth comes through promotion within the force, and departmental exams such as LDCE give serving personnel a route to higher posts.

How to Prepare for CISF Recruitment

Start with the stage that eliminates most people early: the physical test. Then build the written-test base in parallel.

• Fitness first: Run daily and raise the distance slowly. Note your time each week so you can see progress against the standard in your notification.

• Current affairs daily: Read one newspaper and keep short monthly notes. General awareness is common to every post.

• Maths and reasoning: Practise one topic a day from the table above, then move to mixed sets.

• Language section: Grammar rules and 10 new words a day are enough to move the English or Hindi score.

• Skill posts: Typing, stenography or driving practice should start early, because speed cannot be built in a week.

Plan roughly three phases. In the first two months, cover concepts and fitness. In the next two, add topic tests and sectional timing. In the last month, take full-length mocks and revise your error log.

For timed practice in the current pattern, you can attempt CISF online tests on Testkart and use the section-wise analysis to plan your revision. Pair them with previous year papers to understand the real difficulty level. Educators who build CISF test series can also create and manage tests on Testkart.

CISF Cut-Off Reference

CISF cut-offs are set post-wise and category-wise, and they change with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat last cycle's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.