CISF Salary, Posts, Exam and Job Profile

CISF salary begins at ₹21,700 basic pay per month for a constable (Level 3) and ₹35,400 for a Sub-Inspector (Level 6). An Assistant Commandant, the officer entry rank, starts at ₹56,100 (Level 10). With DA, HRA and transport allowance added, the amount you actually receive each month is a good deal more than basic pay. Below I explain the full job: what CISF does, which posts you can join after 10th, 12th or graduation, the exams, training and how promotions work.

What is CISF job and what does the force do

People who search for the CISF full form, salary and duties together usually want three answers. The full form is Central Industrial Security Force. It is one of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its main work is guarding important places, not fighting on a border.

• Airports: CISF handles security at many airports in India. This is the frisking and screening you see at the security check.
• Public sector plants: steel plants, oil refineries, power plants, ports, mines.
• Nuclear and space installations.
• Metro rail (Delhi Metro), key government buildings, monuments and Parliament House.
• Security cover for some categories of VIPs.

CISF is also the only CAPF with a full fire wing. Its fire staff protect the industrial units it guards.

A normal day for a CISF jawan is shift duty. You may be on access control at a gate, screening bags at an airport, patrolling a plant boundary or watching CCTV. Posting can be anywhere in India, and you will be transferred from one unit to another during service.

CISF posts, qualification and who conducts the exam

There is no single "CISF exam". Different posts come through different bodies. The table shows the main entry routes as listed on the CISF recruitment page and the latest notices.

CISF also hires paramedical staff (ASI Pharmacist, Lab Technician, Constable Nursing Assistant and others) and Head Constable GD under the sports quota. If you have finished 10th only, also read our list of govt jobs after 10th.

CISF salary per month: ranks and pay levels

All CISF ranks are paid on the 7th CPC pay matrix. This table gives the starting basic pay for each rank. Rows from Constable to SI are confirmed in recent notices. Officer levels follow the central pay matrix.

Want a figure with today's DA? The salary box placed above this article works it out for each level.

CISF constable salary

The CISF constable salary is the same for GD, fire, driver and tradesman posts (cook, barber, washerman and similar trades): Level 3, starting basic ₹21,700. So the CISF GD salary and the CISF fireman salary start at the same figure.

CISF head constable and ASI salary

A Head Constable gets Level 4 (₹25,500 basic). An ASI, including ASI Steno, gets Level 5 (₹29,200 basic). You can reach these ranks by promotion or enter directly through the ministerial and steno exam after 12th.

CISF SI salary and Inspector salary

The CISF sub inspector salary (SI Executive or SI Fire) starts at Level 6, ₹35,400 basic. An Inspector moves to Level 7 with ₹44,900 basic.

CISF AC salary and officer salary

An Assistant Commandant starts at Level 10 with ₹56,100 basic. This is a gazetted officer post, recruited through UPSC. Read our CAPF AC page for that exam.

What makes up the monthly salary

Students often ask "CISF ka salary kitna hai" or "CISF ki salary kitni hai" and expect one number. The honest answer: it depends on your city and years of service. A CISF pay slip has these lines:

• Basic pay: fixed by your level, as in the table above.
• DA: worked out as a percentage of basic. It is revised two times a year, so your pay rises without any promotion.
• HRA: only if you live outside government quarters. The rate depends on the city class: X for the biggest metros, Y for other large cities, Z for smaller towns.
• Transport allowance: a set amount that is larger in big cities.
• Cuts: your NPS pension share, group insurance, and income tax once taxable income goes over the exemption limit.

Some postings bring extra allowances under central rules. Try your own city class in the calculator.

CISF salary after 5 years: basic pay rises one step in the matrix each year. After five yearly increments, a constable's basic goes from ₹21,700 to about ₹25,200, and an SI's from ₹35,400 to about ₹41,100, even without a promotion. DA rises with it. Our page on salary allowances explained covers each allowance in detail.

Eligibility, physical standards and age relaxation

The latest Constable GD notice keeps the age limit at 18 to 23 years, counted on the date given in the notice. The upper age limit is relaxed by:

• SC and ST candidates: 5 years
• OBC candidates: 3 years
• Ex-servicemen: 3 years, counted after their army service is subtracted from their age

Physical standards matter as much as marks. For Constable GD the general height is 170 cm for men and 157 cm for women, with relaxation for Scheduled Tribes and some regions. Male candidates need an 80 cm chest that can expand by 5 cm or more. CISF lists 170 cm height and 80 to 85 cm chest for Constable Fire and Tradesman, and 167 cm for Driver. The age checker below tells you in a few seconds whether you fit.

More on age rules across exams is on our age limit for govt jobs page.

CISF exam pattern and selection process

Most students join as Constable GD, so here is that exam pattern from the latest SSC notice:

Each wrong answer cuts 0.25 marks. The paper is at 10th level and is offered in English, Hindi and 13 regional languages. After the computer test come:

1. PET: men run 5 km in 24 minutes, women run 1.6 km in 8.5 minutes (different standards for the Ladakh region).
2. PST: height, chest and weight check.
3. Medical exam and document verification.

NCC certificate holders get bonus marks: 5 percent for C, 3 percent for B and 2 percent for A certificate. You pick a force preference in the form, and the final force depends on merit and that preference. Full details are on our SSC GD Constable page.

For Constable Fire, Driver and Tradesman, CISF runs the process: height bar test, PET and PST, documents (plus driving or trade test), a written exam and medical. For SI, the SSC CPO exam has Paper 1, PET and PST, Paper 2 and a medical.

CISF training and probation

Selected candidates are sent for basic training at a CISF training institution. CISF has a national academy (NISA) and Regional Training Centres at Barwaha, Behror, Bhilai, Deoli, Mundali and Thakkolam. Training covers drill, weapons, fitness, law and security duties, plus fire fighting for the fire cadre.

New entrants serve a probation period, which is two years for SI as per the SSC notice. Under the CISF Rules, a new member also signs an agreement to serve for a minimum period. In CAPFs you are appointed before training starts, so pay at your level normally begins from the date of joining. In short, the CISF training salary is the same basic pay of your level.

Promotions in CISF

The CISF Rules set the rank order. Enrolled members go Constable, Head Constable, ASI, Sub-Inspector, Inspector. Officers go Assistant Commandant, Deputy Commandant, Commandant, DIG, IG, then Director General.

• Promotions within the enrolled ranks depend on years of service, a clean record, medical category and passing promotion courses.
• To move from Inspector to Assistant Commandant, an Inspector needs five years of regular service in that grade, including two years in a duty battalion, and a pre-promotion course. About half the AC posts are filled by promotion, partly through a departmental exam.
• If promotion is delayed, central government staff get financial upgradation under the MACP scheme, as per the rules in force.

Be realistic: a reply in Parliament noted that many Inspectors had waited beyond the minimum time for promotion. A graduate who joins as SI usually moves up faster than one who starts as constable.

How to prepare for the CISF job

• Start running now. The 5 km run in 24 minutes knocks out many candidates. Build up over 3 to 4 months.
• Check your height and chest first. If you are below the standard, no amount of study will help.
• Maths and reasoning: revise 10th level arithmetic: percentage, ratio, average, profit and loss, time and work.
• GK: Indian history, geography, polity, science basics and current events. Read a newspaper daily.
• Take timed mock tests and skip wild guesses, since wrong answers cost marks.

A serious student usually needs 6 to 9 months of steady work for the GD exam. Compare CISF with CRPF, BSF and ITBP and SSB before you fill your force preference, since CISF postings are very different from border duty.

CISF official website and how to apply

Use only official websites:

• cisf.gov.in: recruitment page and notices.
• cisfrectt.cisf.gov.in: online forms for posts that CISF recruits itself (fire, driver, tradesman, paramedical, sports quota).
• ssc.gov.in: Constable GD and Sub-Inspector exams.
• upsc.gov.in: Assistant Commandant exam.

Vacancies, fees and exam dates change every cycle, so read the latest notification on these sites before applying. To see where CISF stands among other options, see our list of police constable jobs and govt jobs after 12th.