New Delhi, Feb 17: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will commence the Class X exams today, February 17, 2026, which will run until March 11, 2026. The practical exams were conducted earlier, from January 1 to February 14, 2026. In preparation for the written exams, the CBSE has issued detailed guidelines for students.

As per the new exam guidelines, students are required to arrive at their designated exam centers before 10:00 am. The exams will officially begin at 10:30 am. The entry period to the examination center will be between 9:00 am and 10:00 am, and students arriving late will not be allowed to sit for the exam. Additionally, students must carry the original admit card to the examination center.

On the first day of the exams, both Mathematics Standard and Mathematics Basic papers will be conducted. This year, the exams will be held according to a revised format. After each exam, a subject-wise analysis of the exams, along with the question papers, will be available on the official CBSE website to help students assess the difficulty level of the exam.

CBSE Class Xth exam schedule 2026

Here’s a quick look at the CBSE 10th Exam schedule for 2026:​​​​​​​

February 17, 2026: Mathematics Standard, Mathematics Basic

February 18, 2026: Home Science

February 20, 2026: Beauty and Wellness, Marketing and Sales, Multi Skill Foundation Course, Data Science

February 21, 2026: English

February 23, 2026: Urdu (Course A), Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati

February 24, 2026: Elements of Business

February 25, 2026: Science

February 26, 2026: Security, Automotive, Agriculture, Food Production, Banking and Insurance, Healthcare, Apparel, Design Thinking, Foundation Skill for Science

February 27, 2026: Computer Applications, Information Technology, AI

February 28, 2026: Arabic, Sanskrit, Rai, Gurung, Tamang, Sherpa

March 2, 2026: Hindi (Course A), Hindi (Course B)

March 5, 2026: Sindhi, Malayalam, Odia, Kannada

March 6, 2026: Painting

March 7, 2026: Social Science

March 9, 2026: Telugu, Russian, Limboo, Lepcha, Nepali

March 10, 2026: French

March 11, 2026: Tibetan, German, National Cadet Corps, Bhoti, Bodo, Tangkhul, Japanese, Bhutia, Spanish, Kashmiri, Mizo, Bahasa Melayu, Elements of Bookkeeping & Accountancy

Important Exam Day Guidelines for CBSE Class 10 Students 2026

1. The exam hall doors will open 45 minutes before the exam starts.
2. Students must take their seats 30 minutes prior to the exam.
3. Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the exam hall.
4. Students must carry essential stationery like pens, pencils, and ink.
5. Electronics, including mobile phones, are strictly prohibited inside the exam hall.
6. Students must sit according to their roll numbers.
7. Candidates are not allowed to leave the exam hall until the exam is over.

New changes for CBSE Class Xth Exams 2026

CBSE has introduced several significant changes this year. The Class X exams will now be held in two phases. The first phase starts today, and the second phase will run from May 15 to June 1, 2026. Additionally, the question papers for Science and Social Science will be divided into different sections. Students are required to answer each section as per the guidelines; failure to do so will result in their answer sheets being disqualified.