Alerts and Updates for CAG SAS (Subordinate Audit / Accounts Service) Examination

CAG SAS Examination at a glance

Group I is PC-1 to PC-8 and Group II is PC-9 to PC-20, every paper carrying 100 marks. The examination runs in two stages: a Preliminary Examination conducted by the candidate’s own field office, and a Main Examination conducted as a Computer Based Test. PC-4 to PC-8 are named for civil and CPWA, defence, postal and telecom, railways, and public works respectively, and you sit only the one for your branch; the Group II papers cover performance, compliance and financial audit alongside the accounting papers, with one audit paper for your branch.

Dates and windows

For Exam-1 of 2026 applications had to reach the field office by 9 June 2026 and online registration on the CAG exam portal closed on 10 June 2026, under a fortnight before the first paper. As of 21 September 2026 the newest item on CAG’s Exam Wing Circulars page is a date sheet for the Centralised Departmental Examination dated 14 September 2026, not a SAS Exam-2 notification.

What this means for your preparation

Exam-1 of 2026 is finished and its result is out, and Exam-2 of 2026 has not been notified. The useful work now is on the syllabus itself and on the registration mechanics, both of which have moved recently enough to catch people out.

The notice period is short, so the reading cannot wait for it

For Exam-1 of 2026, applications had to reach the field office by 9 June, online registration closed on 10 June, and the first paper was on 22 June. That is under a fortnight from the paperwork closing to the examination. Since the cut-off for an Examination-2 is 1 September unless otherwise notified, your service and probation position is already settled; what is still open is a registration window that has historically given very little warning.

The 11 March 2025 revision touched five papers

CAG’s consolidated syllabus carries the October 2022 revision together with a further revision dated 11 March 2025, which affected PC-3, PC-8, PC-9, PC-10 and PC-20. If your notes or borrowed material predate that revision, those are the five papers where they will be wrong. The older October 2022 syllabus is still published on the same page, so check which file you have open before you start.

Group II is written as case studies, not as recall

The revised syllabus states that questions in the Group II papers would primarily be case study based. That changes what revision means: being able to state a rule is not the same as applying it to a set of facts under a two-hour clock. CAG publishes sample case study and application based questions and model question sets for the revised syllabus on its examination dashboard, and those are far closer to the real instrument than re-reading the paras.

Your branch decides which Group I paper you sit

PC-1 and PC-2 are marked for all branches, while PC-4 to PC-8 are named for civil and CPWA, defence, postal and telecom, railways, and public works respectively. The Exam-1 of 2026 date sheet puts all five in the same forenoon slot on 24 June, which only works if a candidate sits one of them. Identify yours early rather than reading across five sets of financial and service rules.

PC-1 is the outlier and it sits last

Language Skills runs three hours and is descriptive, against two hours and a case study or objective format for the rest. On the Exam-1 of 2026 date sheet it was placed alone at the end, from 3 pm to 6 pm on the final Saturday, after five days of other papers. It is the one paper where writing stamina matters, and the schedule puts it when you have least of it left.

Common questions

How many years of service do I need to sit the SAS Examination?

A minimum of three years of continuous service in one or more of the eligible capacities, with probation successfully completed. CAG’s examination page lists the eligible grades, which include Clerk, Accountant, Senior Accountant, Auditor, Senior Auditor, Data Entry Operator, Stenographer, Private Secretary, Divisional Accountant, Translator and Supervisor.

How often is the CAG SAS Examination held?

Twice a year since 2021, as Examination-1 and Examination-2. The eligibility cut-off date is 1 March for Examination-1 and 1 September for Examination-2, unless otherwise notified. Examination-1 of 2026 was held from 22 to 27 June 2026, with forenoon papers from 11 am to 1 pm and afternoon papers from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Do I have to sit the Preliminary Examination?

Yes, unless you are a Divisional Accountant who has passed the Divisional Accountants Grade Examination, who CAG exempts from the Preliminary Examination. The Preliminary is conducted by your own field office. The Main Examination is conducted by headquarters and is held as a Computer Based Test.

Has the SAS syllabus changed recently?

Yes. CAG publishes a consolidated revised syllabus that combines the October 2022 revision with a further revision dated 11 March 2025, which affected papers PC-3, PC-8, PC-9, PC-10 and PC-20. The October 2022 file is still listed on the same syllabus page, so confirm which document you are working from.

When is SAS Exam-2 of 2026?

It has not been notified. As of 21 September 2026 the newest item on CAG’s Exam Wing Circulars page is a date sheet for the Centralised Departmental Examination dated 14 September 2026, and the most recent SAS item there is the result of the Incentive and SAS Exam-1 of 2026, declared on 17 August 2026.

How does registration for the SAS Examination work?

In two stages. The field office generates login credentials from the applications it has received and sends them by SMS; the candidate then verifies the pre-filled details and completes registration on the CAG exam portal at cagexam.in. For Exam-1 of 2026, applications had to reach the field office by 9 June and registration closed on 10 June 2026.

How many marks is each SAS paper, and how long is it?

Every paper carries 100 marks. Most run two hours; PC-1, Language Skills, runs three hours. Group I is PC-1 to PC-8 and Group II is PC-9 to PC-20. PC-3, Information Technology, has both a theory and a practical component within its 100 marks.