CBSE board exam 2027: date sheet status, Class 10 two board exams, LOC, private forms and sample papers

When is the CBSE board exam 2027? Date sheet status

CBSE has not published the 2027 date sheet, so any "2027 time table PDF" on social media did not come from the board. The only timing CBSE has fixed in writing is in its two-exam notification of 25 June 2025:

• the main (first) exam "will begin from Mid-February as conducted now";
• the Class 10 second exam "will be conducted in the month of May".

Here is what happened in the 2026 cycle, so you know roughly what to expect:

In 2025, CBSE said "final date sheets will be issued upon submission of the final list of candidates by the schools". This year the LOC closes on 21 October and corrections run until 4 November. CBSE has not given a date, so treat any "days left for CBSE board exam 2027" countdown as a guess.

Is the CBSE board exam 2027 cancelled? No. CBSE is collecting exam forms for it now.

CBSE two board exams for Class 10: the rules

Class 10 students in 2027 are the second batch under CBSE's two-board-exam scheme, which started with the 2026 exams. The rules come from the board's notification of 25 June 2025 and its clarification of 14 February 2026.

The first exam is compulsory. "It is mandatory for all the students to appear in the first Board examination." The LOC your school files by 21 October 2026 is for this exam.

The second exam is optional and limited. Students who pass and are eligible can improve "any of the three subjects out of Science, Mathematics, Social Science and languages". Students placed in compartment in the first exam can take the second exam as compartment candidates.

Miss three subjects and you lose the second chance. If you skip three or more subjects in the first exam, you cannot sit the second one. You are placed in "Essential Repeat" and wait for the next February's main exam.

What stays the same: both exams are on the full syllabus, with the same scheme of studies. Internal assessment is done only once, before the main exam. You cannot add a new subject after passing Class 10.

Results: the policy says main results come in April and second exam results in June. In 2026 the main result came on 15 April and the second exam result on 18 July. For regular students, "the better of the two performances" counts. Your main exam marks go into DigiLocker, and you can use them for Class 11 admission if you skip the second exam. Students who do not pass the main exam get provisional Class 11 admission, confirmed after the second exam.

In 2026, of the 5,13,955 students who sat the second exam to improve, 3,08,095 (59.95%) did better than in their main exam. The LOC for the 2027 second exam will be filled only after the main exam is over, and you can take it in the same subjects your school enters now. Class 12 has no second board exam; Class 12 students who fall short sit the supplementary exam instead.

CBSE board exam 2027 registration: LOC deadline and fees

The LOC is your school's official entry of you for the board exam. CBSE's circular of 17 September 2026 is blunt: only students whose names go in through the LOC "shall be allowed to appear" in the 2026-27 board exams. On 19 October 2026 CBSE sent principals a fifth reminder that just two days were left.

Class 12 students pay ₹160 more for each practical subject. Visually impaired students pay no exam fee.

Check with your class teacher before 21 October:

1. Your name and both parents' names, letter by letter, against your school admission register.
2. Your date of birth.
3. Every subject code. CBSE flags the pairs schools mix up: Hindi A (002) and Hindi B (085), and Mathematics Standard (041) and Mathematics Basic (241) in Class 10; Hindi Core (302) and Hindi Elective (002), English Core (301) and English Elective (001), and Mathematics (041) and Applied Mathematics (241) in Class 12.
4. If you have a disability certificate, that the school has entered you on the separate CWSN portal, which closes before the LOC does.

CBSE says requests to change subjects after the LOC is submitted "shall not be accepted". Read our news report on the LOC deadline and subject codes for the full list.

CBSE private candidates 2027: who can apply and by when

Private candidates sit the same February to April 2027 main exams. The forms opened on 8 October 2026 through the CBSE private candidate portal. You can apply if you were:

• declared Essential Repeat in 2026;
• placed in compartment in the 2026 main and supplementary exams (second chance compartment);
• declared Fail or Essential Repeat in any year from 2021 to 2026;
• passed in 2026 and want to improve one or more subjects you took in 2026.

Payment is online only, an unpaid form is rejected without notice, and your exam city cannot be changed later. Everyone is examined on the 2027 syllabus. More in our report on private candidate forms.

CBSE board exam 2027 pattern, sample papers and marking scheme

CBSE released sample question papers and marking schemes for Classes 10 and 12 on 21 September 2026. Its notification says: "There is no change in the question paper design and assessment pattern for the Academic Session 2026-27." Download them only from cbseacademic.nic.in for Class 10 and for Class 12. Our sample paper news report has tips on using them.

What the 2026-27 scheme of studies says about the papers:

• Competency-based questions: "approximately 50% of the questions are competency-focused" (case-based, source-based, data and application). The rest are MCQs and short and long answers.
• Marks split: most Class 10 subjects carry 80 marks in the board exam and 20 marks of internal assessment.
• Passing marks: "a minimum of 33% marks separately in external and internal assessments". You must sit both parts.
• Maths Basic stays for 2027. From 2026-27 CBSE is replacing Standard and Basic Maths with a common paper plus an optional Advanced paper, but the curriculum says Class 10 students of 2026-27 continue under the old scheme and "may opt for Mathematics Basic". The Class 10 sample paper page has both Maths Standard and Maths Basic papers.
• Third language (R3): the curriculum makes R3 compulsory for Class 10 only from 2027-28, assessed in school with no board exam, so it does not apply to the 2027 batch. Our third-language report covers the younger classes.

Internal assessment and practical exam dates

CBSE has not yet issued the 2026-27 practical exam circular. In the 2026 cycle, practicals, projects and internal assessment ran from 1 January to 14 February 2026, and schools had to upload Class 10 internal assessment and Class 12 practical marks by 14 February 2026. Winter-bound schools held them earlier, from 6 November to 6 December 2025, under a circular dated 16 October 2025. For Class 10, internal assessment is done only once, before the main exam, and those marks count for the second exam too.

Is APAAR ID required for CBSE board exam 2027?

No. The LOC circular says "Filling of APAAR is optional." If your school enters it, your LOC name must match your APAAR ID name, because CBSE validates it. Our guide to creating an APAAR ID explains how to get one.

For CBSE students in Gujarat

CBSE schools in Gujarat follow the same national schedule; there is no separate "Gujarat CBSE board exam date". The state board runs its own calendar, covered in our GSHSEB 2026-27 calendar report. Planning beyond Class 10? See career guidance for 10th and 12th students and diploma courses after 10th.