Checked 3 October 2026. From CBSE’s Examination Bye-laws, the Secondary Curriculum 2025-26 and 2026-27, the two-exam notification and circulars, the LOC circular for 2026-27 and the 2025 and 2026 result releases. CBSE says the passing criteria for 2026-27 are those of 2025-26.
To pass a CBSE Class 10 subject you need 33 marks out of 100. CBSE’s 2025-26 curriculum says the old condition of 33% in the board paper and 33% in internal assessment separately “has been relaxed”, so the two are taken together; its 2026-27 notification says the passing criteria stay the same. A student short in one or two subjects is placed in compartment and, under the two-exam scheme, takes the first chance in the second board exam in the same year. A student who misses or fails three or more subjects is placed in Essential Repeat. Below are the rules from CBSE’s documents, how a skill subject or a 7th language can replace a failed subject, and a checker.
Secondary Curriculum 2025-26; Examination Bye-laws; CBSE circular 17.03.2026; press release 18.07.2026.
The pass rules, as CBSE writes them
| Rule | What the documents say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pass mark in a subject | 33% in each subject of the external examination (Bye-law 41.1). The 2025-26 curriculum adds that the separate 33% in board and internal parts “has been relaxed”, so 33 out of 100 taken together. | Bye-laws; Secondary Curriculum 2025-26 |
| How many subjects | Pass in all five subjects of the external examination, in the main or the compartment examination. | Bye-law 41.1(ii) |
| School-assessed subjects | A grade higher than E in all subjects of internal assessment; otherwise the result is withheld, for not more than one year. | Bye-law 41.1(i) |
| Both components | Students must appear in and complete both internal assessment and the board exam. | Secondary Curriculum 2026-27 |
| 2026-27 | The passing criteria remain those of 2025-26. | SQP notification 21.09.2026 |
| Aggregate | No overall division, distinction or aggregate is awarded. | Bye-law 41.1(iii) |
Where other pages get this wrong
The two curriculum documents describe the 33% rule differently; CBSE says the 2025-26 criteria continue.
Commonly published instead: The 2026-27 curriculum says a student “must secure a minimum of 33% marks separately in external and internal assessments, calculated on the combined total of Internal Assessment and External Examination marks”. The 2025-26 curriculum says “33 percent in total in each of these components”, then that this “has been relaxed” by a notification dated 11.10.2018.
The 2026-27 sentence can be read either way. CBSE’s SQP notification of 21.09.2026 says the passing criteria for 2026-27 remain as in 2025-26, which is the relaxed, taken-together rule. The 2025-26 curriculum’s link opens a 27.02.2018 notification that applied the overall 33% to the 2018 batch; news reports of 11 to 13 October 2018 describe its extension to 2019 onwards. Our calculators show both readings, so a student under 33% in one part knows to check with the school.
How a failed subject can be replaced
Two rules can turn a fail into a pass without any re-exam, if the student took extra subjects. Both appear in the curriculum and again in the 2026-27 LOC circular.
| Failed subject | Can be replaced by | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| One of Science, Mathematics or Social Science (only one failed) | A skill subject taken as the 6th subject, if passed | The result is then computed with the skill subject in its place |
| A language in the first five | A language taken as the 7th subject, if passed | Hindi or English must remain a passed language among the first five |
| Anything else, or more than these allow | Nothing | The student is in compartment (one or two subjects) or fails |
A student who passed by replacement can still sit the second exam: CBSE lists “improvement for the students passed by the replacement of the subject” as one of the four second-exam categories.
What happens if you fail one, two, or three subjects
| Stage | Situation | Result | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| After the first exam | Passed in all five (or by replacement) | Pass | Optional: improve up to three of Science, Mathematics, Social Science and languages in the second exam |
| After the first exam | Failed one or two subjects | Compartment | First chance in the second board exam of the same year; you may also improve another subject there |
| After the first exam | Did not appear in, or failed, three or more subjects | Essential Repeat | Not eligible for the second exam; sit the main exam next February |
| After the second exam | Cleared the compartment subject(s) | Pass | Final passing document after the second-exam result |
| After the second exam | Still not cleared | Compartment remains | Second chance in next year’s main exam; third chance in that year’s second exam |
The archived Bye-law chapter, written before the two-exam scheme, places compartment at “failing in two of the five subjects” with chances in July and August and the next March and April. The two-exam notification replaced the timing: its eligibility lists include second-chance compartment in the main (first) exam, and first-chance and third-chance compartment in the second exam. CBSE’s 2025 supplementary result described compartment as being unable to secure qualifying marks in “01 or 02” of the five subjects.
CBSE supplementary result 05.08.2025 (1,38,898 appeared, 67,620 passed); press release 18.07.2026 (1,49,822 appeared, 78,503 passed).
About half of the students who sat a compartment paper passed it at the next sitting in both years. The second exam comes in May, so a student in compartment has about a month between the main result and the paper, compared with about two months under the old July supplementary.
Grace marks and moderation
Many pages promise a fixed number of “grace marks”. We found no CBSE document that sets a number of grace marks for Class 10. What CBSE publishes is a moderation policy, under which the Board may adjust marks to compensate for ambiguous or erroneous questions, to level differences between question-paper sets, to bring uniformity to evaluation and to keep pass percentages near those of earlier years. It is applied by the Board to papers and sets, not on request to a student, and it gives no figure a student can count on.
Where other pages get this wrong
There is no published CBSE rule that adds a fixed number of grace marks to a Class 10 subject.
Commonly published instead: Claims that students at 30, 31 or 32 marks are automatically pushed to 33.
CBSE’s published rules give the 33% pass mark, the replacement rules and a moderation policy without numbers. Plan for 33 out of 100 as the real line.
After the result: checking your marks
If a mark looks wrong, CBSE’s route is in three steps and only online. In 2026 it opened after the second-exam result, for both exams. A student first obtains a scanned copy of the evaluated answer book, then may apply for verification of marks, re-evaluation of full questions, or both. For a subject sat in both exams, only one answer book can go for verification or re-evaluation.
| Step | 2026 window | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Scanned copy of the answer book | 5 to 9 Aug 2026 | Rs 300 per subject |
| Verification of marks | 16 to 19 Aug 2026 | Rs 300 per answer book |
| Re-evaluation | 16 to 19 Aug 2026 | Rs 100 per question, including its sub-questions |
A change in marks can be an increase or a decrease; CBSE applies a decrease of even one mark, refunds the fee if marks go up, and issues a new marksheet. Verification and re-evaluation cover the theory paper only.
Practise it, don't just read it
The cheapest way past 33 is regular practice in the subjects that worry you. Our Class 10 chapter quizzes are short and show where each mark was lost.
The ProSyllabus CBSE Class 10 library has chapter quizzes for Mathematics, Science, Social Science (History, Geography, Political Science and Economics), English (First Flight and Footprints without Feet), Hindi and Health and Physical Education. You can start free, and a ProSyllabus school plan opens more of them each month.
Frequently asked questions
What are the passing marks in CBSE Class 10?
33 out of 100 in each subject, board and internal marks taken together, under the relaxed rule CBSE’s 2025-26 curriculum refers to and which continues for 2026-27.
Do I need 33% separately in theory and internal assessment?
The 2025-26 curriculum says that condition has been relaxed; the 2026-27 wording is ambiguous, but CBSE says the 2025-26 passing criteria continue. Check with your school if one part is below 33%.
What happens if I fail in one subject in Class 10?
You are placed in compartment, unless a passed skill subject or 7th language can replace it. You take the compartment paper in the second board exam.
What happens if I fail in two subjects?
Compartment in both, cleared in the second board exam, with further chances the next year.
What happens if I fail in three subjects?
Compartment covers only one or two subjects. A student who failed or missed three or more in the first exam is not eligible for the second exam and repeats.
Can a skill subject replace Maths or Science?
Yes. If you fail one of Science, Mathematics or Social Science and pass a skill subject taken as the 6th subject, the skill subject replaces it.
Does CBSE give grace marks in Class 10?
CBSE publishes no fixed grace-mark number. It has a moderation policy applied to papers, not to individual requests.
Can I take Class 11 admission while in compartment?
Under the two-exam notification, a student not qualified in the main exam may be admitted provisionally to Class 11, confirmed on the second-exam result.
What is Essential Repeat?
The category for students who must repeat the examination, shown as grade E. Such students sit the next year’s main exam and cannot sit the second exam.
More in this series
- Two board exams: who sits which, which score counts
- Official sample papers and marking schemes, by subject
- Marking scheme: 80+20, internal marks, competency share
- Date sheet and result dates, year by year
- CBSE Class 10 notice board — updates
- Class 10 Mathematics previous year question papers
- Class 10 Science previous year question papers
- Class 10 Social Science previous year question papers
- Class 10 English previous year question papers
- Class 10 Hindi Course A previous year question papers
- Class 10 Hindi Course B previous year question papers
- Class 10 Maths board paper analysis, 2026
Sources
- official — CBSE — Examination Bye-laws: scheme of examinations and pass criteria
- official — CBSE Academic — Secondary School Curriculum 2025-26
- official — CBSE Academic — Secondary Curriculum 2026-27, Part 1 (scheme of studies and assessment)
- official — CBSE Academic — Notification: Sample Question Papers for Classes X and XII, 2026-27 (21.09.2026)
- official — CBSE — Notification 27.02.2018: overall 33% in a subject (the link the 2025-26 curriculum cites)
- official — CBSE — Notification: Two Board Examinations in Class X from 2026 (CBSE/CE/2-Board Examinations-X/2025, 25.06.2025)
- official — CBSE — LOC for Class X Second Board Examination 2026 (17.03.2026)
- official — CBSE — Submission of LOC for Class X and XII Main Examinations 2026-27 (17.09.2026)
- official — CBSE — Supplementary examination results, Class X 2025 (05.08.2025)
- official — CBSE — Press release: Class X Second Board Examination results 2026 (18.07.2026)
- official — CBSE — Post-result facilities, Class X Main and Second Board Examinations 2026 (05.08.2026)
- official — CBSE — Moderation policy
- reported — Deccan Chronicle — CBSE tweaks pass criteria for Class X, 13.10.2018 (reported)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
