CBSE 10th Board Exam 2026: Date, Admit Card, Pattern, Syllabus & Question Papers

CBSE Class 10 Exam 2026: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts the CBSE class 10th board exams in pen paper mode. CBSE has released the final date sheet for both first and second CBSE class 10 board exams 2026. The CBSE 10th main exams are scheduled from February 17 to March 10, 2026, while the CBSE class 10 board second board exams will be conducted from May 15 to June 1, 2025. Students can download the detailed CBSE 10th timetable from the official website of the board - cbse.gov.in. 

The CBSE class 10 practicals/ internal assessments will be conducted from January 1 to February 14, 2026. However, for the winter bound schools, the practicals dates are November 6 to December 6, 2025. For CBSE board class 10 practical exams, there will not be any external examiner.

LATEST UPDATES

CBSE 10th Board 2026 mandatory exam tentative dates February 17 to March 9, 2026. Optional second exams tentatively scheduled from May 15 to June 1, 2026

Last Updated 10th October 2025

The CBSE board officials have introduced twice-a-year board exams for CBSE class 10 from the academic year 2025-26. In addition to the two board exams for Class 10 students starting in 2026, the CBSE will allow students to take the exam either once or twice. If they choose the latter, they can opt out of specific subjects or papers they do not wish to retake. The first board exam is mandatory and will be conducted in February-March while the second exam will be conducted in May and students will have an option to opt out for the second exam. 

The results for CBSE board exams 2026 for first and second exam will be released in April and June 2026 respectively. Students can download the CBSE 10th result 2026 from the official website of the board - cbse.gov.in, cbse.nic.in. . Once released, they will be able to download the marksheet for CBSE 10th board exams from the direct link given here. Students will also be given the option to appear for compartment if they fail in the CBSE Board 10th exams 2026. Last year, the CBSE 10th exams were conducted from February 15 to March 18, 2025, in pen-paper format. As per the given details, over 23 lakh students appeared for the CBSE class 10 exam held at 7,780 exam centres. CBSE 10th Result 2025 was announced on May 13 at 1 PM.

Latest Updates:

• The science and social science papers of CBSE will be now have 3 and 4 sections respectively. Students will have to write their answers in the designated section. Students must check the latest sample papers of the concerned subjects for clarity in paper pattern.
• CBSE 10th practical exams 2026 will be held between January 1 and February 14, 2026. The board has released a detailed Guidelines and SOPs for Practical Examination-2026 on December 1, 2025. 
• CBSE has releasesd a list of FAQs related to CBSE 10th two board exams 2026 on November 20, 2025. 
• CBSE 10th Exam 2026 Marks Distribution for theory, practical and internal assessment was released on November 18, 2025. 
• CBSE 10th Final daesheet 2026 is released. The CBSE board exams will be held from February 17 to March 10, 2026.
• CBSE has released the practical exam dates for winter-bound schools for class 10 board exams 2026 on its official website. CBSE 10th practical exams/ projects/ internal assessment for the academic year 2025-26 are scheduled from November 6 to December 6, 2025. students must notice that these dates are for winter-bound schools only. 
• The tentative datesheets for CBSE 10th exam 1 and 2 are out. CBSE 10th exam 2026 will be conducted from February 17 to March 9, 2026 and the 2nd exam is scheduled from May 15 to June 1, 2026. 
• CBSE released an official circular for schools to submit List of Candidates (LOC) for CBSE class 10th board exam 2026 (First Examination). The circular explains in detail all the actions to be taken by the schools for LOC submission.
• In a recent notice, CBSE Board has made all its affiliated schools to have installed CCTV cameras, with both video and audio recording, at entry and exit points, lobbies, corridors, staircases, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, canteen areas, storerooms, playgrounds, and other common areas. Toilets and washrooms are exempt from this provision.
• CBSE board has released the class 10 sample papers for the academic year 2025-26 on its official website - cbseacademic.nic.in.

CBSE 10th Two Board Exam 2026: Important Points

CBSE will be conducting two board exams from the academic year 2025-26 to reduce board exam pressure. The first main exam is mandatory for all students. However, the second board exam is for improvement purposes. Some of the important points related to the two exam policy are as given below:

• Only in those subjects CBSE 10th improvement exam (2nd board exam) is allowed in which the external assesment is of 50 or more marks. 
• Internal assessment will be conducted for only once a year for CBSE 10th board exam 2026. 
• If a student is absent in 3 or more subjects of CBSE 10th main exam, he/she will not be eligible for the second exam. 
• Students will be allowed to improve scores in upto 3 subjects only. 
• The LOC for the second board exam will be opened soon after the declaration of the first CBSE exam. 

CBSE Class 10 Exam 2026

Students preparing for the next board exams can download the CBSE Class 10 Syllabus and check the CBSE 10th Exam Pattern & marking scheme for each subject by visiting the official website of CBSE board - cbse.gov.in. The CBSE class 10 admit card 2026 will be released few days before the exam. Students will be required to collect the CBSE board admit cards from their respective schools. Last year, the CBSE 10th admit card was out on February 3, 2025. 

CBSE issues the sample question papers and marking schemes for CBSE class 10 students to provide a broad template to serve as a guide for ensuring uniformity and proper coverage of the curriculam. Students who are appearing for the annual board exams can download the CBSE sample papers 2026 at cbseacademic.nic.in.

Read more - CBSE Class 10th Study Material

CBSE Class 10 Exam 2026 - Highlights

Students appearing for the CBSE class 10th exams 2026 can check the important details in the table below:

CBSE Class 10 Dual Exam 2026

CBSE board has introduced a two term exam system for CBSE class 10th board exam 2026 onwards. Students can check highlights of CBSE class 10 dual exams for the academic year 2026 from the table below. 

CBSE Class 10 Date Sheet 2026

CBSE has released the tentative datesheet for CBSE board 10th exam 2026 on September 24, 2025. Check the  CBSE class 10th date sheet 2026 for 1st and 2nd Phase from below:

CBSE 10th Date Sheet 2026 for Main Exams (February-March)

CBSE 10th Date Sheet 2026 for 2nd Exams (May-June)

CBSE 10th Tentative Date Sheet 2026 Exam 1 and 2:

CBSE 10th Final Date Sheet 2026 Exam 1 and 2:

CBSE 10th Exam Dates 2026 - Steps to download Date Sheet

Students can download the CBSE 10th exam date sheet from the official website of CBSE with the help of the following steps: 

Step 1: Visit the official website of CBSE - cbse.gov.in

Step 2: Then, click on the “main website” tab

Step 3: Go to the “Latest @CBSE” section

Step 4: Now, click on the “Circular and Date Sheet for Main Exam 2026” link

Step 5: After this, the CBSE 10th exam date sheet 2026 will appear on your  screen

Step 6: Download and save the date sheet for your reference

CBSE Class 10 Subject Groups for the academic year 2026

Students can check the subjects groups for the CBSE class 10 exams which will be as follows for 2026:-

CBSE 10th Exam 2026: Marks Distribution

The CBSE board has released the marks distribution scheme for each subject for CBSE 10th Exam 2026 on November 18, 2025. Students can check the table below for board exam marks distribution for CBSE 10th major subjects into theory, practicals and internal assessment. 

Download CBSE 10th Marks Distribution 2026

CBSE 10th Admit Card 2026

Students must note that they must carry their admit card and school ID to their respective exam centres on the day of the exam. They are also advised to read and verify the following details mentioned on their CBSE Class 10 admit card 2026 carefully: 

CBSE Class 10 Exam Pattern 2026

Students are advised to develop a clear understanding of the latest CBSE exam pattern and syllabus to effectively prepare for the annual board examinations. Along with the subject-wise CBSE 10th exam pattern, students must be aware of the following key points related to the exam pattern and marking scheme:

• The paper for each subject will be of 100 marks where the theory paper will carry 80 marks and the internal assessments will be of 20 marks.
• Students need to score a minimum of 33% in every subject and overall to qualify for the CBSE 10th exams. 
• The 5 compulsory subjects that students have to appear for in the annual board examination include Mathematics, English, Science, Social Science and Hindi.

CBSE 10th Syllabus 2026

With newly introduced two exam scheme, the CBSE board syllabius remains unchanged for this academic year. For both phase 1 and 2 of the CBSE 10th board exams 2026, students have to prepare full syllbus for all the subjects. Students must go through the CBSE class 10 syllabus 2026 to adopt the right exam preparation strategy. 

Students must be aware of the latest syllabus and plan for the CBSE exams 2026 as per the new two exam policy. The syllabus, marking scheme and exam pattern will vary for different subjects. Students can download the CBSE 10th syllabus for their respective subjects from the official CBSE website and refer to it while preparing for the exams. Although there is a change in examination scheme, CBSE has not changed the syllabus for Class 10 this year.

CBSE Board Class 10 Sample Papers 2026

Apart from going through the latest exam CBSE syllabus 2026 and marking scheme, students are also advised to practise and solve previous year's CBSE class 10 sample papers as much as possible. Solving the previous year's question papers will help the students get an idea of what they need to prepare for the annual board examinations.

CBSE 10th Result 2026

CBSE 10th result 2026 will be announced for main examination and second examination in April and June 2026, tentatively. Candidates will be able to check their result from the official result website, once the board declares the results online. Students must enter login credentials in the designated spaces to access their scorecard. 

Apart from the official result website, students can check their CBSE class 10th results 2026 through various ways like SMS, Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) or call, DigiLocker, Students must note that the provisional results that CBSE will be uploading on its website are provisional in nature. They have to collect the official CBSE 10th mark sheet 2026 from their schools.

CBSE 10th Board Exams 2026 - Important changes

Students can check the important changes made by the CBSE Board in recent years given in the table below.

CBSE Class 10th Exam 2026: Instructions for the students

On the day of the examination, students must adhere to the following guidelines and instructions that are clearly mentioned on their admit cards:

• Students must only use blue/black pen for writing the exam.
• Students must reach the exam centre well in time, that is, at least 30 minutes before the commencement of the exam.
• No electronic devices like calculators, mobile phones, smartwatches etc. will be allowed inside the examination hall.
• Students must carry the hard copy of their CBSE admit card to the examination centre, no soft copies of the admit card will be allowed or accepted.
• Candidates must not indulge in unfair means/practices while appearing for the board exam as they will be debarred from the exam.
• They must ensure that they are wearing their proper school uniform and carrying their school ID and CBSE admit card to the examination centre on the day of the exam.