The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has rolled out a major overhaul of its disability certification and examination support rules for persons with disabilities, simplifying documentation, restoring key facilities, and tightening verification protocols.

In line with updated directives from the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), the SSC has revised the format of disability certificates, replacing the earlier three-form system with two streamlined options.

Form 5 will now apply to candidates with a single disability, while Form 6 will be used for those with multiple disabilities — replacing the earlier Forms 5, 6 and 7 cited in SSC notifications.

To ease the transition, the Commission has allowed candidates appearing in exams notified after October 16, 2024 — and whose recruitment cycles are still underway — to submit certificates in either the new formats or the earlier ones. The move is expected to reduce delays for lakhs of aspirants seeking timely documentation.

own scribe facility returns — with stricter age and verification rules

In a major relief for persons with benchmark disabilities (PwBD), the SSC has reinstated the ‘own scribe’ option for examinations notified on or before December 31. The decision follows DEPwD clarifications and aims to ensure candidate autonomy while preventing misuse.

Under the revised rules, the scribe’s age must align with the academic level of the examination. For matriculation and Class 12-level tests, scribes should typically not be older than 20. For graduate-level exams, the upper limit is 22.

All scribes must now undergo mandatory Aadhaar-based authentication. If Aadhaar verification cannot be completed at the exam centre, the candidate must either use a scribe provided by the Commission or take the exam without one.

Self-slot selection opens for je and si exams

In another move aimed at improving exam-day flexibility, the SSC has enabled self-slot selection for candidates appearing in the Junior Engineer (JE) and Sub-Inspector (SI) in Delhi Police and CAPF examinations 2025 (Paper-I). The slot selection window for the SI exam remains open until 11 pm on November 21.

As per the SSC exam calendar, the Junior Engineer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical) Examination 2025 (Paper-I) will be held from December 3 to 6, while the Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police and CAPF Examination 2025 (Paper-I) is scheduled from December 9 to 12.