The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released a notification regarding the submission of examination forms for private candidates appearing in the Class X Second Board Examinations 2026. The move comes in line with the board’s two-exam policy, which gives students another opportunity to improve their performance.
Under this system, students who appeared in the 2026 board exams can reappear in up to three subjects in the second examination scheduled for May 2026.
The board has also provided this facility to some students in the compartments list of the previous year's academic session.
Submission of form timings
It is important to note that according to CBSE, form submissions will be done entirely online in two stages:
Without Payment of Late Fee: April 16-20, 2026 (till midnight)
With Payment of Late Fee: April 21-22, 2026 (till midnight)
It should be noted that candidates need to complete the entire submission process along with paying the fees during this period.
Eligible candidates
The notification makes it clear that eligible candidates for private applicants are:
Students of session 2024-25 put in the compartment category (Third Attempt)
Students eligible but not able to attend the 2026 exam under the same category
Submission forms can be filled using the CBSE website.
CBSE has reiterated that fees will be accepted only through online mode, and any offline payment will not be considered valid.
Important points for applicants
CBSE has provided certain guidelines to applicants while filling the application form as follows:
Application shall be filled online mode only
All late application forms will be not accepted irrespective of circumstances
Only those forms will be accepted that contain full payment of fees
Only online payment will be entertained in case of fees (Credit/Debit Cards, Net Banking)
No offline payment such as Demand Draft, Cheque and Money Order will be entertained
Applicants are advised to fill up the form carefully because failure in providing correct information and fake documents leads to rejection.
Fee Structure for Examination
India: Rs. 320 per subject
Nepal: Rs. 1100 per subject
Other Countries: Rs. 2200 per subject
Late Fee: Rs. 2000 (in addition to regular fees)
Exam scheme
The second examination by the board would take place following the same syllabus as that of the main 2026 examination. This would provide uniformity for those appearing in the improvement and compartment examination.
Now that the process of applying is about to commence, CBSE has advised students to fill out their forms before the deadline.
The board has emphasised that eligibility will be verified separately, and merely submitting the form does not guarantee permission to appear in the examination.
Guidelines
Automatic entry of candidates taking examinations in 2025 will be done
Exam Centres are allotted to candidates on the basis of choice of city during application process and can’t be altered afterwards
Candidate needs to complete the process of paying fee otherwise application form will be rejected
No hard copy of the application form will be submitted to CBSE
Correction in form detail will be possible until the last date of submission
