CGLTyping
SSC CGL Typing Test (DEST): Exam Pattern & Rules
A plain-language walkthrough of how the DEST is structured and scored — read this before your first mock attempt.
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Exam Format
DEST is conducted on a computer at the exam centre. You're shown a fixed passage on screen and asked to reproduce it exactly within the time given — there's no separate reading period, and the clock starts as soon as you begin typing.
- Duration: 15 minutes, fixed regardless of category.
- Speed requirement: 2,000 key depressions in that time (roughly 27 effective WPM).
- Medium: typically English; check your specific post's notification for any Hindi option.
- Equipment: SSC's own exam computers and keyboards — you cannot bring your own.
What Counts as a Key Depression
Every keystroke counts — not just each letter of a word. Spaces between words, the shift key for a capital letter, and every punctuation mark each add one to your depression count. This is why the standard conversion used throughout this site is 5 key depressions per word (roughly the average word length including a trailing space), giving DEST's 2,000-depression target an effective rate of about 27 WPM.
Backspace and Correction Rules
Backspace is allowed for correcting mistakes as you go — you don't lose the attempt for fixing a typo. What you cannot do is clear the entire field and retype the passage from scratch partway through; corrections are meant to be made in the flow of typing, not as a full restart. Copy-paste and right-click are disabled on the exam software, and every practice test on this site mirrors that restriction.
How Mistakes Are Classified
Not every error is weighted the same:
- Full mistakes (weight 1.0): a wrong word, a skipped word, an extra word not in the passage, or a transposed word.
- Half mistakes (weight 0.5): spacing errors, capitalisation errors, and punctuation errors.
Your error percentage is calculated as (Full mistakes + Half mistakes × 0.5) ÷ Total words typed × 100. For a full worked example with real numbers, see Full vs. Half Mistakes: SSC's Error Rules Explained.
Category-Wise Error Limits
Hitting the depression target alone doesn't guarantee a pass — your error percentage also has to stay within your category's limit. The commonly published limits, used throughout this site's mock tests, are:
| Category | Error limit |
|---|---|
| UR (General) | 5% |
| EWS | 8% |
| OBC | 8% |
| SC | 10% |
| ST | 10% |
These figures reflect commonly published DEST standards, not a specific year's official notification — always confirm the exact limits against the current SSC CGL notification before relying on them for a real decision.
Try It Yourself
The best way to internalise these rules is to run a full mock under the same conditions: full-screen, your category selected, and the full 15 minutes on the clock. Head to the SSC CGL DEST Typing Test to try it now, or see the 4-week preparation roadmap on that page if you're just getting started. Also worth a read: what keyboard exam centres actually use, and practice paragraphs to build up your speed on real passages.
Frequently Asked Questions
15 minutes, regardless of category, with a requirement of 2,000 key depressions in that time.
Yes, backspace is allowed for corrections. You cannot clear the field and retype the passage from scratch.
The commonly published limits are UR 5%, EWS 8%, OBC 8%, SC 10% and ST 10% — always confirm against the current official notification, as these can change.
