RRB Group D eligibility: age, education and medical

Before you spend months preparing, make sure you are eligible, and that your documents can prove it. Every cycle, some candidates clear the CBT and the PET and are then turned away at document verification because a date, a name or a certificate format was wrong. Nearly all of these problems can be fixed if you catch them early.

Education

Recent notices have accepted any one of these:

• Class 10 pass from a recognised board, or
• ITI from an institution recognised by NCVT or SCVT, or
• National Apprenticeship Certificate (NAC) granted by NCVT.

Some earlier cycles asked for Class 10 and ITI/NAC for certain technical posts. Your notice decides.

The qualification must be complete by the date fixed in the notice, usually the closing date of applications. A candidate still waiting for a result on that date is not eligible.

Age

• For CEN 09/2025 the limit was reported as 18 to 33 years on 1 January 2026.
• The 2024–25 cycle allowed a higher upper limit (reported as 36) as a one-time relaxation. Limits change, so do not assume.
• Age is counted on the date fixed in the notice, not on the day you apply or the day of the exam.

Relaxations (typical)

Some other groups, such as serving railway staff, get relaxations listed in the notice.

Worked examples: are these candidates the right age?

Assume the cut-off date is 1 January 2026 and the limit is 18–33, as reported for CEN 09/2025.

How to work it out:

1. Subtract the birth year from the cut-off year: for 10 Aug 1995, 2026 − 1995 = 31.
2. Has the birthday in the cut-off year come yet? The cut-off is 1 January and the birthday is in August, so no. Take away one year: 30.
3. Count the months since the last birthday: 10 Aug 2025 to 1 Jan 2026 is about 4 months.

The notice usually prints the exact date-of-birth range for each category. If your date is near the edge, check it against that range rather than your own arithmetic.

Medical standards

Every post has a medical category, mainly about eyesight. Posts linked with train movement, such as Pointsman-B (category A-2), need 6/9 vision in each eye without glasses. Many assistant and track posts (B-1) allow glasses within a power limit, and workshop posts (C-1) are more relaxed still. See RRB Group D posts for the post-wise list.

Get an eye test, including colour vision, before you fill your post preferences. It costs little and can save you a wasted choice.

Application fee

The refund goes only to candidates who actually sit the CBT, so enter your bank details carefully.

Documents to start arranging now

Quick self-check

1. Can an ITI holder without a Class 10 pass apply, going by recent notices? Yes, ITI alone has been accepted. Confirm in your CEN.
2. On which date is your age counted? The cut-off date in the notice.
3. An OBC (NCL) candidate is 35 on the cut-off date and the limit is 18–33. Eligible? Yes, 33 + 3 = 36.
4. Can a candidate who wears glasses be a Pointsman-B? Not under A-2, which needs vision without glasses.

A checklist before applying

• My qualification is complete by the date in the notice.
• My age on the cut-off date is within the limit, with any relaxation I am entitled to.
• My name and date of birth are exactly the same on every document.
• My category certificate is in the central format and still valid.
• I have checked the medical category of each post I will list.

If your name is spelt differently on two documents, or your caste certificate is in the state format, start fixing it now. Corrections can take weeks, and document verification comes months after the exam. Read our document verification guide for what happens on the day.