Territorial Army Exam Pattern 2026: CBT Marks, Time and SSB

The Territorial Army exam pattern for 2026 has three stages: a computer-based test (CBT), a Service Selection Board (SSB) interview and a medical examination. The Territorial Army Directorate conducts the CBT for the Territorial Army Commission 2026 (TAC-2026), the officer entry for gainfully employed graduates aged 18 to 42. The 2026 CBT was scheduled for 12 July 2026.

The written paper changed this year. It now has three parts instead of four, Elementary Mathematics has been dropped, and Reasoning carries 40 of the 100 marks. With negative marking of one-third per wrong answer and 100 questions in 2 hours, how you use your time matters as much as what you know. This page explains the marks, the rules and how to plan the paper.

Table of Contents

• Territorial Army Exam Pattern 2026 at a Glance

• CBT Pattern

• Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

• What the Pattern Means for You

• SSB Interview Pattern

• Medical Examination

• How the Final Merit Is Prepared

• Time Management on Exam Day

• Key Changes and Older Pages

Territorial Army Exam Pattern 2026 at a Glance

CBT Pattern

The CBT is a single paper taken in one session at centres across India. The Territorial Army Directorate can hold it in all listed cities or only some of them, depending on the number of applicants.

• Standard: Approximately that expected of a graduate of an Indian university.

• Sectional timing: The notification gives one time limit for the whole paper and does not mention separate time limits for each part.

• Qualifying marks: The Territorial Army Directorate has discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or all subjects. No figure is published in advance.

Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

Each question carries one mark. For every wrong answer, one-third of the marks assigned to that question is deducted. A question marked for review is treated as unanswered, so it neither earns nor loses marks.

Your net score is the number of correct answers minus one-third of the number of wrong answers: $\text{Net score} = C - \frac{W}{3}$. For example, if you answer 80 questions with 68 correct and 12 wrong, your score is 68 minus 4, which is 64 out of 100.

What the Pattern Means for You

• A wrong guess is expensive: Three wrong answers cancel one correct answer. Guess only when you can rule out at least two options.

• Time is about 72 seconds per question: General Knowledge questions are either known or not, so finishing them quickly frees time for reasoning.

• No sectional cut-off is announced, but it can be set: Because the Directorate may fix qualifying marks in any subject, avoid leaving any section very weak.

• The bar is high: In the 2025 cycle, the highest score among candidates not called for the SSB was 74.04 out of 100 for men and 75.36 for women, according to the official result lists. These are indicative figures from a different paper structure, not an announced cut-off.

SSB Interview Pattern

Candidates whose applications are found correct and who are declared successful in the CBT are called for intelligence and personality tests at a Service Selection Board. The notification describes a two-stage procedure.

You must bring Application Form IAF (TA)-9 (Revised) Part-2, filled in your own handwriting, with your educational, identity, age, address and income documents, and the employment certificate or self-employment affidavit described in the notification.

Medical Examination

Recommended candidates go through a medical examination to confirm they are physically and medically fit in all respects. The detailed standards are in the Instructions to Candidates for civilian applicants on the Indian Army website. In the 2025 cycle, the final result notice stated that medical results were not taken into account when preparing the merit list, but joining training depends on clearing them.

How the Final Merit Is Prepared

Male and female candidates are placed in separate merit lists on the basis of the total marks they secure in the Territorial Army Commission examination and in the SSB tests. Final selection is in order of merit up to the number of vacancies, which for TAC-2026 is 11 for men and 1 for women.

The notification does not say how many marks the SSB carries or how the two stages are weighted, so no exact merit formula can be given. What is clear is that a strong CBT score helps you twice: it gets you to the SSB and it adds to your final total.

Time Management on Exam Day

The split below is a suggestion for a 120-minute paper, not an official rule. Adjust it after a few full-length mocks.

1. Attempt General Knowledge first and move on as soon as you are unsure.

2. Do English next, reading comprehension passages once and carefully.

3. Give reasoning the largest block. Skip any puzzle that is taking more than two minutes and return later.

4. Use the last minutes to revisit marked questions. Remember that a question left marked for review is not scored.

Admit Card, Centre and Answer Key Rules

A few procedural rules in the notification affect how you plan the exam, not just how you prepare for it.

• Centre choice is final: You choose your exam centre in the online form, and no request for a change of centre is granted later. Pick a city you can reach comfortably on a working week.

• Admit card timing: The admit card is made available online 10 to 15 days before the exam. For TAC-2026, the Indian Army website posted the e-admit card notice on 7 July 2026, five days before the 12 July test.

• What the admit card shows: Your photograph, scanned signature, date of birth, exam date and time, and the name and address of the exam centre. Email and SMS alerts are also sent.

• Helpdesk: A telephone helpdesk works on working days from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, from the start of applications until the CBT. Contact details are on the official website.

• Objection window: An objection management link is hosted on the Indian Army website 72 hours after the exam and stays live for only three days. The link to download your response sheet is sent to your registered email. For TAC-2026, the notice was posted on 17 July 2026.

Because the objection window is short, keep a note of any questions you think were wrong while the paper is fresh, and check your registered email daily in the week after the exam.

Key Changes and Older Pages

• 2025 pattern: Four parts of 25 marks each: Reasoning, Elementary Mathematics, General Knowledge and English, 100 questions in 2 hours.

• 2026 pattern: Three parts: Reasoning (40), General Knowledge (30) and English (30), 100 questions in 2 hours.

• Unchanged: One session of 2 hours, negative marking of one-third, a two-stage SSB and separate merit lists for men and women.

Older pages may still show the four-part paper with a maths section, so follow the 2026 notification published on the official Indian Army website.