How Indian exam notices describe typing speed
Government typing tests in India state their standards in words per minute, key depressions per hour, or a passage size and time limit. This page sets out what the official documents themselves say, as of 26 October 2026, and how those figures relate to the numbers TypeTez shows you.
Words per minute and key depressions
SSC's CHSL 2026 notice links the two units directly: it says 35 w.p.m. and 30 w.p.m. correspond to about 10,500 and 9,000 key depressions per hour. Both work out to 5 key depressions per word, the same "standard word" TypeTez uses. That lets you convert any per-hour standard into words per minute:
| Stated standard | Conversion | Note |
|---|---|---|
| SSC CHSL LDC/JSA, English: 35 words per minute | 35 × 5 × 60 = 10,500 per hour | matches the notice's "about 10,500" |
| SSC CHSL LDC/JSA, Hindi: 30 words per minute | 30 × 5 × 60 = 9,000 per hour | matches the notice's "about 9,000" |
| SSC CHSL DEO Part B: 8,000 key depressions per hour | 8,000 ÷ 60 ÷ 5 = 26.7 standard words per minute | our arithmetic |
| SSC CHSL DEO Part A: 15,000 key depressions per hour | 15,000 ÷ 60 ÷ 5 = 50 standard words per minute | our arithmetic |
| SSC CGL DEST: about 2,000 key depressions in 15 minutes | 2,000 ÷ 15 × 60 = 8,000 per hour | our arithmetic |
Rows marked "our arithmetic" are our own conversions using the 5-per-word ratio, not figures printed in the notices. A key depression is a physical key press, so a capital letter typed with Shift counts differently from a character count. Use the conversions as a rough guide to how fast you need to be.
Source: Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), paras 13.9.13.6 and 13.9.13.7. Checked 26 October 2026.
Source: Notice: Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), para 13.9.10.2. Checked 26 October 2026.
SSC Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026
Posts covered: Lower Division Clerk / Junior Secretariat Assistant (LDC/JSA) and Data Entry Operator (DEO).
| Test | Standard | Also stated | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typing Test (Part C), English medium, for LDC/JSA | 35 words per minute | about 10,500 key depressions per hour | 10 minutes (15 for candidates eligible for a scribe) |
| Typing Test (Part C), Hindi medium, for LDC/JSA | 30 words per minute | about 9,000 key depressions per hour | 10 minutes (15 for candidates eligible for a scribe) |
| Skill Test (Part A) for DEO in the departments listed at para 8.1 of the notice | 15,000 key depressions per hour | English printed passage of about 3,700 to 4,000 key depressions | 15 minutes (20 for candidates eligible for a scribe) |
| Skill Test (Part B) for DEO in other departments | 8,000 key depressions per hour | English printed passage of about 2,000 to 2,200 key depressions | 15 minutes (20 for candidates eligible for a scribe) |
- The Skill Test and Typing Test are qualifying in nature, and the notice says they are evaluated as per guidelines on the Commission's website.
- For the Typing Test, the speed is judged on the accuracy of typing a given passage on the computer in 10 minutes.
- Errors in the Skill Test are calculated up to 2 decimal places.
- The typing medium (Hindi or English) is chosen in the online application and cannot be changed later.
- Candidates who choose Hindi for the LDC/JSA typing test must type in the Mangal font only; the notice says any other font leads to non-qualification.
- For the DEO Skill Test, the passage is given as printed matter and may also be shown on screen.
Source: Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Checked 26 October 2026.
SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026
Posts covered: All posts in the examination (Data Entry Speed Test in Tier-II, Paper-I, Section-IV).
| Test | Standard | Also stated | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Entry Speed Test (DEST) | Passage of about 2,000 key depressions | Higher qualifying standards are set for posts such as Tax Assistant (CBIC and CBDT) and UDC/SSA in the Central Bureau of Narcotics | 15 minutes (5 minutes of compensatory time for candidates eligible for a scribe) |
- DEST is mandatory for all posts but qualifying in nature.
- Maximum percentage of errors allowed in DEST, as listed in para 16.2: UR 20%, OBC/EWS 25%, all other categories 30%.
- The notice points to the "For Candidates" section of ssc.gov.in for information about how Typing Test/DEST scripts are evaluated.
Source: Notice: Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Checked 26 October 2026.
SSC Stenographer Grade 'C' & 'D' Examination, 2026
Posts covered: Stenographer Grade 'C' and Grade 'D'.
| Test | Standard | Also stated | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictation for Stenographer Grade 'C' | 10 minutes at 100 words per minute | Transcription on computer: 40 minutes in English, 55 minutes in Hindi | Scribe-eligible candidates: 55 minutes (English), 75 minutes (Hindi) |
| Dictation for Stenographer Grade 'D' | 10 minutes at 80 words per minute | Transcription on computer: 50 minutes in English, 65 minutes in Hindi | Scribe-eligible candidates: 70 minutes (English), 90 minutes (Hindi) |
- This is a shorthand test: TypeTez cannot practise dictation or shorthand, but the transcription is typed on a computer, so accurate typing still matters.
- The Skill Test is mandatory but qualifying, with category-wise standards fixed by the Commission.
Source: Notice: Stenographer Grade 'C' & 'D' Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC). Checked 26 October 2026.
How SSC classifies typing mistakes
SSC's revised guidelines for evaluating Typing Test and DEST scripts (English and Hindi) sort errors into two groups. In our own words:
Full mistakes
- leaving out a word or figure
- typing a wrong word or figure in place of the right one (except swapped word order)
- adding a word or figure that is not in the passage
- spelling errors, whether a letter is repeated, added, left out or replaced
- repeating a word or figure
- leaving a word half typed
Half mistakes
- spacing errors: no space between two words, or an unwanted space inside a word
- wrong capitalisation (the guidelines say this does not apply to Hindi)
- punctuation left out, added or replaced
- transposition: two words typed in swapped order
- paragraph errors: starting a paragraph with manual spaces instead of the Tab key
Instructions to candidates in the same document
- type words, figures and years exactly as they appear in the question paper
- type in the medium you opted for; no credit is given for the other language
- use the Tab key to begin each paragraph
- put only one space after a punctuation mark
- you need not repeat the passage if you finish early, but you may revise and correct within the time allowed
TypeTez's result groups your mistakes in a similar way as an approximation. It does not detect spacing, transposition or paragraph errors, and it does not compute an official error percentage. How our tally works.
Source: Revised guidelines for evaluation of Typing Test/DEST scripts (English/Hindi), Staff Selection Commission, Eastern Region (Kolkata). Checked 26 October 2026.
A whole-word method: CBSE's typing test formula
A CBSE document titled "Typing Test Formula and Illustrations" counts whole typed words rather than 5-character words:
- Gross words per minute (GWPM) = all typed words, correct and incorrect, divided by the time taken in minutes.
- Net words per minute (NWPM) = correct words divided by the time taken in minutes.
- Accuracy = NWPM x 100 / GWPM.
The document says these parameters were used with criteria of 35 words per minute for English and 30 for Hindi. TypeTez shows these whole-word figures in your result as the "word-count view", next to the 5-character figures.
Source: Typing Test Formula and Illustrations, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Checked 26 October 2026.
If you are taking a Hindi typing test
- The SSC CHSL 2026 notice requires candidates who choose Hindi for the LDC/JSA typing test to type in the Mangal font only. Mangal is a Unicode font for Devanagari that Microsoft supplies with Windows.
- The notice does not name a keyboard layout. The Madhya Pradesh CPCT website, for example, publishes reference charts for both Remington (GAIL) and Inscript layouts. Check your own exam's instructions and practise that layout. How the layouts differ.
Source: Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), para 13.9.13.7 (viii). Checked 26 October 2026.
Source: Mangal font family, Microsoft Learn (Typography). Checked 26 October 2026.
Source: Computer Proficiency Certification Test (CPCT) home page, CPCT, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Checked 26 October 2026.
Sources
- Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026 (Staff Selection Commission (SSC)). PDF notice, uploaded on ssc.gov.in on 7 September 2026; paras 13.9.13.6 and 13.9.13.7. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Notice: Combined Graduate Level Examination, 2026 (Staff Selection Commission (SSC)). PDF notice, uploaded on ssc.gov.in on 21 May 2026 (the file name says 2025; the notice is for 2026); paras 13.9.10 and 16.2. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Notice: Stenographer Grade 'C' & 'D' Examination, 2026 (Staff Selection Commission (SSC)). PDF notice, uploaded on ssc.gov.in on 24 April 2026; para 15. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Revised guidelines for evaluation of Typing Test/DEST scripts (English/Hindi) (Staff Selection Commission, Eastern Region (Kolkata)). PDF linked from the SSC Eastern Region website as "Evaluation of Typing Test/DEST Script"; the file name suggests 20 June 2022. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Typing Test Formula and Illustrations (Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)). PDF on cbse.gov.in; the server reports it was last modified on 18 February 2021. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Mangal font family (Microsoft Learn (Typography)). Describes Mangal as an OpenType, Unicode-based font for Devanagari supplied with Windows. Checked 26 October 2026.
- Computer Proficiency Certification Test (CPCT) home page (CPCT, Government of Madhya Pradesh). Lists "Keyboard Layout Remington(GAIL)" and "Keyboard Layout Inscript" reference charts for candidates, and says keyboard models available in exam centres may vary. Checked 26 October 2026.