SSC JE Mechanical Cut Off: Previous Year Paper I and Final Marks

The SSC JE Mechanical cut-off is the lowest score with which candidates in a category were shortlisted or selected. SSC releases two kinds of cut-off for the Junior Engineer exam: a Paper I cut-off for shortlisting to Paper II, and a final cut-off for each post and organisation. Electrical and Mechanical candidates share one merit list, so Paper I cut-offs are published jointly for E and M.

This page sets out the previous year cut-offs for mechanical candidates, explains what changes in 2026 now that Paper I is qualifying, and shows how to set a realistic target score. Use these figures as benchmarks, not predictions.

Table of Contents

Types of SSC JE Mechanical Cut-Off

• Minimum qualifying marks: The floor set in the notice for Paper I: 30% for UR, 25% for OBC and EWS, and 20% for other categories. You must cross this to be considered at all.

• Paper I shortlisting cut-off: The category-wise score of the last candidate shortlisted for Paper II. It depends on vacancies and is far above the minimum.

• Final cut-off: The score of the last selected candidate for each post, organisation and category. Up to 2025 this was the total of Paper I and Paper II out of 500. From 2026 it will be based on normalised Paper II marks only.

SSC JE Mechanical Paper I Cut-Off

The table below shows the Electrical and Mechanical Paper I cut-off for the last two cycles. Scores are normalised and out of 200.

The 2025 figures come from the SSC Paper I result notice dated 6 March 2026, which shortlisted 4,014 Electrical and Mechanical candidates for Paper II. The 2024 figures are as reported from the 2024 Paper I result. Treat both as indicative and check the original notices on the SSC website.

The trend is fairly stable: the UR cut-off has stayed between about 127 and 132, which means you need roughly 65% of Paper I to be safely shortlisted in the unreserved category.

SSC JE Mechanical Final Cut-Off 2025

The 2025 final result was declared in early August 2026. The table shows the reported total marks (Paper I plus Paper II, out of 500) of the last selected candidate in posts open to mechanical candidates.

"No vacancy" means no cut-off was reported for that category, usually because no post was available. These are reported figures and are indicative. Verify them against the final result notice on the SSC website before relying on them.

Two points stand out. First, a small post like CWPRS can carry a very high cut-off because a single vacancy goes to the top scorer who prefers it. Second, MES has the largest number of E and M posts, so its cut-off is a useful mid-range benchmark.

What Changes for the 2026 Cut-Off

The 2026 notice makes Paper I qualifying and bases the final merit only on normalised Paper II marks out of 300. This has two effects.

• Final cut-offs are not comparable: The 2025 final figures above are out of 500 and include Paper I. The 2026 final cut-off will be out of 300 and reflect Paper II alone, so do not compare them directly.

• Paper I still has a shortlisting cut-off: You must still rank high enough in Paper I to reach Paper II. The previous Paper I cut-offs remain the most useful benchmark for that step.

• Cross-normalisation: Mechanical and Electrical Paper II scores are normalised against each other before the final cut-off is set, since the two papers differ.

No official or expected 2026 cut-off exists yet. Any figure you see before the result is an estimate.

Factors That Affect the Cut-Off

• Number of vacancies: Fewer posts push the cut-off up. The 2026 tentative list shows only 10 JE (Mechanical) posts and 183 JE (Electrical and Mechanical) posts.

• Number of candidates: More applicants for the same posts raise the competition.

• Paper difficulty: A harder paper lowers raw scores, though normalisation adjusts for shift-to-shift differences.

• Post preferences: Popular posts and locations fill with higher scorers, which raises their final cut-off.

• Category-wise reservation: Each category has its own cut-off based on its share of vacancies.

How to Set Your Target Score

1. Paper I target: Aim for at least 10 to 15 marks above the last Paper I cut-off for your category. For UR candidates, that means aiming for around 140 to 145 out of 200.

2. Paper II target: Because Paper II alone decides merit from 2026, aim for high accuracy. Every three wrong answers cancel one correct answer, so accuracy above 85% should be your working goal.

3. Track in mocks: Compare your mock scores with these benchmarks every week, and look at subject-wise accuracy, not just the total.

Cut-offs change every year with difficulty, vacancies and the number of applicants. Treat last year's figures as a benchmark only, and aim for a clear margin above them rather than a bare pass.

A practical way to measure your margin is to take full-length tests in the current pattern. You can attempt SSC JE Mechanical mock tests on Testkart and compare your scores with these cut-offs, using the section-wise analysis to see where marks are slipping. Testkart's previous year question practice also helps you judge the real difficulty of each paper
Official result notices are on the official SSC website: https://ssc.gov.in/