Checked 29 September 2026. Pass rules are IREM Appendix 3 paras 3(vii) to 3(xiv) as amended by ACS 288 (07.03.2024). They applied in June 2024 and stand unless the Board amends the IREM. The counts of how candidates failed are our reading of the official 2024 marks list.
Appendix-3 is a qualifying examination. You pass if you clear a set of fixed marks, whoever else sits. There is no cut-off that moves with the field. Four rules must all hold together, and one of them has a switch: your subjective paper is not even marked unless you clear every objective paper first. This guide sets out each rule from the IREM text, prints the two places where official texts disagree, and ends with a checker. The checker thresholds reproduce the pass or fail of all 2,924 names on the June 2024 result list (our check).
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. We are not affiliated with Indian Railways, the Railway Board or any zonal railway or production unit. Every rule below is quoted or summarised from the Board's published letters, and your Accounts office decides every nomination.
IREM Appendix 3 paras 3(viii) to 3(x), as amended by ACS 288 dated 07.03.2024.
The four rules that decide a pass
| Rule | Unreserved | SC, ST, PwBD | Where it is written |
|---|---|---|---|
| Each objective paper | 40 of 100 | 30 of 100 | Para 3(viii) and (x), ACS 288 |
| Aggregate of the three objective papers | 45% = 135 of 300 | 35% = 105 of 300 | Para 3(viii) and (x), ACS 288 |
| When the subjective paper is marked | Para 3(xii): only for those who qualify in all objective papers. In 2024 no one below the aggregate had it marked (our count) | Same | Para 3(xii) |
| Subjective paper | 40% = 80 of 200 | 30% = 60 of 200 (see note) | Para 3(viii), (x) and (xiv) |
| Declared passed | Objective (individual and aggregate) and subjective all cleared | Same | Para 3(xiv) |
Converting percentages to marks is our arithmetic. On the subjective relaxation the IREM speaks twice. Para 3(viii) and (x) sets 40% for the individual paper, "both objective and subjective", and 30% for SC/ST/PwBD. A separate line says the subjective pass is 40% "with extant instructions of relaxation for reserved categories". We use 60 of 200 for reserved candidates because that reading reproduces every 2024 pass and fail. The Board has not printed the figure as a number.
PwBD candidates were added to the relaxed standard for the 2024 sitting. That came through Corrigendum 3 to the notification (29.02.2024), citing Board letter E(NG)I/2022/PM4/9 of 09.12.2022, and ACS 288 then wrote SC/ST/PwBD into the IREM. Before that the texts differed: ACS 282 (21.08.2023) spoke of relaxation for "reserved categories", and the notification of 20.02.2024 named SC/ST until Corrigendum 3.
Negative marking: 0.25 per wrong answer
Each objective question carries 1 mark, and 0.25 is deducted for each wrong answer (para 3(xi)). There are four options per question. So a completely blind guess has an expected value of +0.0625 marks: a one-in-four chance of +1, against a three-in-four chance of −0.25. That is our arithmetic, and it means guessing is not punished on average. The case is much stronger once you can rule out an option. The real limit is that you attempt only 100 of the 110 questions set, so every guess uses up one of your hundred answers. Skip the ten questions you are least sure of, and answer the rest.
| Options you can rule out | Chance of a right answer | Expected marks per attempt (ours) | Our reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| None (blind guess) | 25% | +0.06 | Slightly positive; answer only if it is not using up one of your 100 on a question you could have got right |
| One | 33% | +0.17 | Answer |
| Two | 50% | +0.38 | Answer |
| Three | 100% | +1.00 | Answer |
Expected marks = chance right × 1 − chance wrong × 0.25. This assumes the options you have not ruled out are equally likely, which is rarely true. A partial recall usually does better than chance. Two candidates in the 2024 list finished a paper below zero (our count), which only happens with a lot of wrong answers.
Check your own marks
Appendix-3 pass checker
Enter your net marks (after the 0.25 deductions) for each objective paper. For a paper you are exempt in, choose "exempt" and enter the marks that earned the exemption. Leave the subjective box empty if you only want to know whether your subjective paper will be marked.
Applies IREM Appendix 3 paras 3(vii) to 3(xiv). The 45%/35% aggregate is taken on 300 marks: 135 or 105. The rules do not say how the aggregate treats a paper you are exempt in. If you mark a paper exempt, the checker counts it at the marks that earned the exemption. That is our assumption, not a rule, so treat any aggregate verdict involving an exempt paper as provisional. Applied to the 2024 marks list, these thresholds reproduce the Board's pass or fail on every one of the 2,924 rows (our check).
| Case | Result (ours) |
|---|---|
| P-I 55, P-II 42, P-III 44, subjective 96 | Passed: every paper at 40 or more, aggregate 141 of 135, subjective 96 of 80 |
| P-I 70, P-II 36, P-III 62 | Not passed: Paper II below 40, so the subjective paper is not marked. Papers I and III earn exemptions |
| P-I 44, P-II 42, P-III 45 | Not passed: every paper cleared, but the aggregate is 131, four short of 135 |
| SC/ST/PwBD: P-I 38, P-II 31, P-III 37, subjective 64 | Passed: 30 a paper, aggregate 106 of 105, subjective 64 of 60 |
| P-I 58, P-II 45, P-III 50, subjective 74 | Not passed: the objective stage is cleared, but 74 is below 80 in the subjective paper |
Worked cases for readers whose browser does not run the checker. Each applies the rules in the table above; the fourth row uses the relaxed standard.
The 60% exemption and the 5-attempt rule
Score 60% or more in a paper and you need not take that paper again at later sittings (para 3(ix)). The exemption "will only stay for 5 attempts, beyond which the paper needs to be taken again". There is no cap on how many times you may sit the examination itself (para 3(vi)). So a candidate who clears Paper I at 65 but fails Paper II can come back and sit only Papers II and III, plus the subjective paper once the objective stage is cleared.
Where other pages get this wrong
An exemption now lasts for 5 attempts, not 5 years.
Commonly published instead: "Five years" — the wording of RBA 71/2021 and of ACS 282 as first issued on 21.08.2023, still quoted on older pages.
ACS 288, issued with RBA 07/2024 on 07.03.2024, replaced "5 years" with "5 attempts". The IREM page now reads attempts. The difference matters because sittings have been far apart: 2016, 2017 and 2018 combined, a special sitting in 2022, then 2024. Five years could have lapsed with only one or two sittings held. Counting in attempts ties the exemption to sittings rather than to the calendar, though whether a sitting you are nominated for but miss counts as an attempt is not stated (see the table below). Oddly, the 2024 notification of 20.02.2024 already said "five attempts", two weeks before ACS 288 was issued.
| Question | What the text says | What it leaves open |
|---|---|---|
| What earns an exemption? | 60% or more in a paper | Whether the subjective paper can be exempted too (60% = 120 of 200). The words say "paper" without limiting it to objective papers. In practice it rarely matters: a candidate who clears the subjective paper has cleared everything and passes |
| How long does it last? | 5 attempts, then the paper must be taken again | Whether a sitting you are nominated for but miss counts as an attempt |
| Does an exempt paper count in the aggregate? | The aggregate is "of objective papers" | At what mark an exempt paper enters the 45% aggregate. Not stated anywhere we read |
| Do old-pattern exemptions carry over? | The 2022 special exam was held for candidates holding old-pattern exemptions, as the "last exam in the old pattern" | No text we read carries old-pattern exemptions into the new papers, whose subjects differ |
| Is there a limit on attempts? | No cap under the new pattern | Nothing; this is explicit |
The third column lists what we could not find in any official text. Ask your Accounts office in writing if any of these decides your plan; the Railway Board, not the zone, interprets Appendix 3.
The 2024 list shows why exemptions matter. Of the 1,410 candidates who appeared and did not pass, 155 scored 60 or more in at least one objective paper (our count). Most had 60+ in one paper, 19 in two, and 3 in all three; those three fell at the subjective paper. Those 155 go into the next sitting with a paper, or more, behind them.
Where candidates actually fell in 2024
We sorted every candidate who appeared on 18-19 June 2024 by the first rule they failed. Our thresholds reproduce the Board's pass or fail on every row, so the split is reliable. It is still our classification, not the Board's.
Railway Board result A(E)/A3/2024/5/2 of 07.08.2024. A further 477 listed candidates were absent from all three objective papers. Counts are ours.
Two readings follow. First, the objective papers are the wall. 1,276 of 1,410 failures (90%) happened there, and the aggregate on its own caught only 20. Twelve of those 20 were within 5 marks of it. Second, the subjective paper is not a formality. 96 of the 1,133 whose subjective paper was marked failed it, one in twelve, after clearing everything else. The results guide shows that Paper II was involved in most objective failures.
Pass marks are not the promotion
Passing qualifies you; it "does not give a railway servant the right to claim promotion" (para 13). After the result, each railway forms a panel. Para 11 says the panel is ordered by relative seniority, and staff empanelled in an earlier year rank senior to later ones. The same para says postings are made on the basis of "panel seniority and merit & preference". Yet para 3(iv) says the combined objective and subjective marks "will determine the position of candidate in merit list". The IREM does not reconcile the two. Our reading is that marks may matter within a sitting, for example for stream allotment, while seniority orders promotion. That is an inference, and the text supports neither reading alone. There is also no re-evaluation. Only totals and arithmetic can be rechecked (para 17), and answer books are destroyed six months after the final result, after vigilance clearance (para 16).
For who may sit, and for the Group B step after Sr. SO/A, see eligibility and the promotion ladder. Group B selections and LDCEs use their own marking. The AEN guide on normalisation and the 90-mark line shows how different that is from a fixed-percentage qualifying test.
What are the pass marks for the Appendix-3 IREM exam?
40% in each paper and 45% aggregate across the three objective papers; for SC, ST and PwBD candidates 30% and 35%. The subjective paper also needs 40% (80 of 200); reserved candidates get the relaxed standard, which the 2024 results match at 60 of 200.
Is there negative marking in Appendix-3?
Yes. 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer in the objective papers. Each question carries 1 mark.
What is the exemption rule?
A score of 60% or more in a paper exempts you from that paper at later sittings. Since ACS 288 of 07.03.2024 the exemption lasts for 5 attempts, after which the paper must be taken again.
Is the exemption 5 years or 5 attempts?
5 attempts. RBA 71/2021 and ACS 282 as first issued said 5 years; ACS 288 changed it to 5 attempts, and the current IREM text reads attempts.
How many attempts are allowed in Appendix-3?
There is no cap on the number of attempts under the new pattern (IREM Appendix 3 para 3(vi)).
Will my subjective paper be checked if I fail one objective paper?
No. Para 3(xii) says the subjective paper is evaluated only for candidates who qualify in all the objective papers. In 2024 the 20 candidates who cleared every paper but missed the aggregate did not have it marked either (our count).
Can I apply for re-evaluation?
No. Only a recheck of totals and arithmetic is permitted, and answer books are destroyed six months after the final result.
Does passing Appendix-3 mean promotion?
No. Passing makes you eligible for the supervisory posts. Promotion follows the panel your railway forms, by relative seniority, as vacancies arise.
Sources
- official — Railway Board — IREM Vol I, Appendix 3 (current text incorporating ACS 282 and 288)
- official — Railway Board — corrigendum RBA 07/2024 dated 07.03.2024 enclosing ACS 288 (answers on paper, 30/35% for SC/ST/PwBD, exemption for 5 attempts)
- official — Railway Board — ACS 282, RBA 27/2023, letter A(E)/A3/2023/10/2 dated 21.08.2023 (merged three-stream Appendix-3 scheme)
- official — Railway Board — RBA 71/2021 dated 15.12.2021: the new objective-plus-subjective scheme announced
- official — Railway Board — 2024 notification with Corrigenda 1 to 3 (24.02, 26.02 and 29.02.2024)
- official — Railway Board — Appendix-3 notification A(E)/A3/2024/1/1 dated 20.02.2024 (original annexure)
- official — Railway Board — model Papers I to III and model subjective paper, A(E)/A3/2024/1/2 dated 01.05.2024
- official — Railway Board — Appendix-III (IREM) result A(E)/A3/2024/5/2 dated 07.08.2024, exam of 18-19.06.2024
- official — Railway Board — RBA 133/2017, ACS 239 dated 25.09.2017 (old pattern, superseded)
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.
