The Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to hike board examination fees for Classes 10 and 12, beginning from the academic session 2025–26. The revised fee structure, approved in June, will be applicable for the students when they take the February 2026 board exams. This marks the first fee increase in six years.
Higher fees for Indian students
As per the new structure, students in India will now pay ₹1,600 for the standard five-subject package, up from ₹1,500 earlier. Candidates who will opt for additional subjects have to pay ₹320 per subject instead of the earlier ₹300. The fee has also been revised for practical examinations, which has been fixed at ₹160 per subject instead of ₹150.
This means the cost of appearing for the CBSE board exams, on an average, has increased by 7-10 percent depending on the number of subjects a candidate opts for.
Increase for students abroad
The hike is even steeper for students enrolled in CBSE-affiliated schools outside India. They will now pay ₹11,000 for five subjects instead of ₹10,000 while the fee for each additional subject has risen to ₹2,200 from ₹2,000.
The practical exam fee has also been increased from ₹350 to ₹375.
Why the fee hike
CBSE has introduced a revised fee structure in order to meet the growing administrative and operational costs arising from the conduction of board examinations. This would include increased expenditure on examination material, digital evaluation of answer sheets, transportation and security of papers, and up-gradation of online systems used for managing examination data.
The board last revised exam fees in 2020, and officials said the current hike was necessary to keep up with inflation and technological updates. “The increase helps maintain examination quality, security, and transparency,” a senior official said.
While the board has notified the revised amounts, it has not yet specified payment deadlines or methods. Schools and parents have been advised to visit the official CBSE website, cbse.gov.in, for further details and updates.
Exam Schedule
Just a week ago, CBSE also released the final timetable for the 2026 Class 10 and 12 board exams on its official website, cbse.gov.in. Students can view and download the exam schedule in PDF format directly, without needing any login details.
According to the schedule, Phase 1 of the CBSE Class 10 exams will be held from February 17 to March 10, 2026, while the Class 12 board exams are set to take place from February 17 to April 9, 2026. All examinations will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode across CBSE-affiliated schools.
