Punjab Police Exam Pattern 2026: Constable CBT, PST and PMT

The Punjab Police exam pattern for Constable recruitment has three stages: a computer-based test (CBT) with two papers, a physical stage made up of the Physical Measurement Test (PMT) and Physical Screening Test (PST), and document scrutiny. The 2026 cycle (Advertisement No. 01/2026, 3,298 posts in the District and Armed Police Cadres) followed this structure. The CBT ran from 1 July 2026.

This guide explains each stage in the order you will face it. It covers how many questions each section carries, which paper decides your rank, what the physical tests ask for, and how the final merit is drawn up. Two rules matter most. First, there is no negative marking. Second, Paper II in Punjabi is only qualifying, but failing it ends your candidature.

Punjab Police also recruits Sub-Inspectors, Head Constables, Intelligence Assistants and civilian support staff. Each of these posts has its own notification and pattern. This page covers the Constable pattern, which is the largest and most frequent Punjab Police recruitment.

Table of Contents

• Punjab Police Exam Pattern at a Glance

• Stage I: Computer-Based Test

• Marking Scheme, Qualifying Marks and Normalisation

• Section-wise Breakdown of Paper I

• Stage II: PMT and PST

• Stage III: Document Scrutiny and Final Merit

• Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy

• Where to Check the Official Pattern

Punjab Police Exam Pattern at a Glance

The table below summarises the full selection process for Punjab Police Constable. Only one stage, Paper I of the CBT, decides your position in the merit list. Every other stage is pass or fail.

If you are still checking whether you meet the age, qualification and height rules.

Stage I: Computer-Based Test

The written exam is a single computer-based test with two papers. Paper I is the merit paper. Paper II is a mandatory Punjabi language test that only needs to be cleared. Together the two papers run for 3 hours, and both are objective with four-option multiple-choice questions.

Paper I Pattern (Merit Paper)

Paper II Pattern (Punjabi Qualifying Test)

You must score at least 50% in Paper II, which is 25 out of 50. Its marks are not added to your merit score. If you fall short in Paper II, your Paper I marks are not considered at all, however high they are.

What This Means for You

• Punjabi is tested twice: Ten questions in Paper I count towards merit, and all 50 in Paper II decide whether you stay in the race. Candidates who studied Punjabi only up to Class 10 should revise grammar and comprehension early.

• General Awareness carries the most weight: At 35 marks, it is over a third of the merit paper. Punjab history, culture and geography, along with current affairs, deserve daily time.

• Quant and reasoning together make up 40 marks: These sections take the most time per question. Speed here frees up minutes for review.

• Digital Literacy is small but predictable: Five marks on computer basics, MS Office, the internet, email and mobile phones are among the easiest to secure with a few hours of revision.

Marking Scheme, Qualifying Marks and Normalisation

Each correct answer earns one mark in both papers. There is no negative marking for wrong answers, so an unanswered question and a wrong answer both score zero.

Clearing Paper II is not the only minimum. Paper I also has category-wise qualifying marks. Meeting them makes you eligible to be considered, but the actual shortlist depends on the category-wise cut-off, which is usually much higher.

Because the CBT is held over many shifts, Paper I scores are normalised to balance out differences in difficulty between shifts. This is why official cut-offs are published with several decimal places, for example 75.57905, rather than as whole marks. Your raw score from the answer key is a useful estimate, but the normalised score is what gets compared with the cut-off.

Section-wise Breakdown of Paper I

Each section has a different share of the paper and a different time cost. The table below pairs each section with what it usually tests and a practical time budget for a 120-minute paper. The time split is a suggestion, not an official rule. Adjust it after a few full-length mocks.

Stage II: PMT and PST

Candidates shortlisted on the basis of Paper I are called for the physical stage. It has two parts: the Physical Measurement Test checks height, and the Physical Screening Test checks running and jumping ability. Both are qualifying. They carry no marks and do not change your merit position. Failing either one ends your candidature.

Physical Measurement Test (Height)

Physical Screening Test (Events and Standards)

The race is run in one chance only. The long jump and high jump each allow three chances. In the table, ex-servicemen are grouped by age as on 1 January 2026, the age reference date in the 2026 notification.

Male ex-servicemen above 35 years take a separate, lighter test (a walk-and-run event in place of the race and jumps). Check the exact distance, time and any additional exercise in the current notification before you train for it.

What This Means for You

• Start physical training before the CBT result: The gap between the result and the physical test can be short. In 2026, the result came on 7 October and the physical tests were scheduled for the second half of the same month.

• The race is the usual point of failure: One chance and a fixed time limit leave no room for an off day. Practise the full distance at target pace, not only shorter sprints.

• Do not treat the jumps as easy: Three chances help, but technique matters. Practise on a proper pit with run-up markers.

Stage III: Document Scrutiny and Final Merit

Candidates who clear the PMT and PST are called for document scrutiny. Here, original certificates for age, qualification, Punjabi at matriculation, category and any reservation claim are checked against the application. A mismatch at this stage can lead to rejection even after a strong CBT score. Selected candidates then go through a medical examination as per Punjab Police rules.

The final merit list is prepared category-wise from normalised Paper I marks. Paper II, PMT and PST only decide whether you remain eligible.

Worked Example

Take two General category male candidates, using the 2026 General overall cut-off of 75.57905 as a reference point.

• Candidate A scores a normalised 78 in Paper I and 31 in Paper II. A clears both minimums and is above the cut-off, so A moves to the PMT and PST. If A clears both and the documents are in order, A is ranked on the score of 78.

• Candidate B scores a normalised 84 in Paper I but only 23 in Paper II. B misses the 25-mark Punjabi minimum, so B's Paper I score is never considered for the shortlist.

The lesson: secure Paper II first, then push your Paper I score as high as you can.

Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy

With no negative marking, the CBT rewards completeness as much as accuracy. A sound plan for the two papers looks like this:

1. Attempt every question: A guess costs nothing. Before time runs out, fill every unanswered question in both papers.

2. Start with the fast sections: Digital Literacy, English and Punjabi take less time per mark. Clearing them first builds a safe base.

3. Do not get stuck in Quant: If a question needs more than about two minutes, mark it and move on. Come back in your review window.

4. Read Punjabi questions carefully in Paper II: Most errors here come from rushing comprehension passages, not from difficulty.

5. Practise in the real format: Take full-length mocks with a 2-hour Paper I and a 1-hour Paper II back to back, so the 3-hour sitting feels familiar.

Where to Check the Official Pattern

The exam pattern is published in each recruitment notification on the official Punjab Police website. Some older pages still describe a single paper or include different section weights from earlier cycles, so always follow the latest notification. Dates for the physical tests and document scrutiny are released as separate notices, and candidates are also informed through their registered login and email.