GDS cut off state wise: how India Post merit lists really close

Why there is no one India Post GDS cut off

Each recruitment schedule lists thousands of individual posts: a Branch Postmaster seat in one branch office, an Assistant Branch Postmaster seat in another, Dak Sevak seats in a divisional office. Every post carries its own reservation status, and you choose which posts you want in your preference order.

Software then ranks everyone who opted for a given post, within its category, on class 10 marks. The top eligible person is shortlisted. The percentage of that person is, in effect, the cut off for that one post. Multiply this by every post in a division and every division in a circle and you see why a single state figure cannot exist.

How your class 10 marks turn into a merit score

• The aggregate of your class 10 subjects is converted into a percentage and carried to four decimal places, so very small differences still separate candidates.
• If your board shows only grades, marks are produced by taking 9.5 times each grade point.
• Additional subjects outside the compulsory and elective set do not count.
• Where two scores are equal, the older candidate comes first; beyond that, the schedule lays down an order by category and gender.

Because nothing you study now can change this score, the details you type into the form matter enormously. A wrongly entered subject total either lifts you into a list you cannot defend at verification or drops you below someone you should have beaten. The full rules are explained on our India Post GDS syllabus page.

Reading a GDS cut off state wise

When people say one circle has a higher GDS cut off than another, they usually mean that the shortlisted percentages in that circle's first list cluster high. A few patterns explain those differences.

• Board marking habits: states whose boards award high class 10 marks tend to produce higher closing percentages.
• Posts per applicant: where posts are plentiful and applicants thin, closing scores drop.
• Post type: Branch Postmaster seats often attract the strongest applicants, so they may close higher than Dak Sevak seats nearby.
• Category and PwBD seats: reserved posts close at their own levels, sometimes well below the unreserved ones and sometimes above when few such seats exist.
• Language rule: only people who studied the circle's local language up to class 10 can compete, which narrows the field in some states.

Within one state, rural divisions in remote districts often close noticeably lower than divisions near big towns. That spread is far more useful to you than a single average.

The second merit list and later rounds

The first list never fills every post. Some shortlisted candidates fail document verification, some hold seats in more than one division, and some simply do not report by the deadline. India Post then releases another list for the posts left vacant, and the next eligible candidate on each of those posts is called.

This is why the GDS 2nd merit list cut off is usually lower than the first for the same post, and a third or fourth list can go lower still. In the 2025 cycle, which covered 21,413 posts, the first list appeared in March 2025 and further lists followed through the year, with up to a fourth round reported.

Using GDS previous year cut off figures sensibly

Past closing percentages can help you choose divisions, but they can mislead you if you forget that vacancies change every schedule. A division with ten posts last time may have two this time.

1. Open the vacancy annexure of the current schedule and note how many posts your category has in each division you are considering.
2. Look at the earlier merit list PDFs for those divisions and note roughly where shortlisted candidates of your category fell.
3. Prefer divisions where your percentage sat comfortably within that range and the number of posts has not shrunk.
4. Fill your preference order with posts you would genuinely accept, since refusing a call wastes it.

How to check the merit list on the official portal

Results appear on the GDS online engagement portal. Choose your circle under the shortlisted candidates section and open the PDF for the round you need. A shortlist can show the candidate's name, registration number, post, division, category and the percentage used for ranking, together with the office where verification will be done.

If your registration number is listed, go to the divisional head named against it before the deadline in that list. If it is not, keep checking, because a later round may reach you. For broader information about the Department of Posts, see the India Post website.

Other jobs for class 10 pass candidates

If GDS merit depends on marks you cannot change, it makes sense to prepare for a written exam in parallel. Papers such as SSC MTS and SSC GD constable both suit candidates who passed class 10, and our state exams section lists more openings. You can also test your profile with the eligibility checker.