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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) released its Class 10 and Class 12 date sheets for 2027 on 6 November. Theory exams for both classes begin on 16 February 2027, one day earlier than this year’s start. More than 46 lakh students have registered, and the final timetable is now in their hands just over three months before the first paper.

Student writing an exam paper at a classroom desk

The dates

Both classes start on 16 February 2027, with papers beginning at 10:30 am. Class 10 finishes on 9 March. Class 12 runs much longer and ends on 9 April.

That shape mirrors 2026. This year’s exams began on 17 February, with Class 10 ending in the second week of March and Class 12 on 9 April, according to the final 2026 schedule CBSE issued on 30 October 2025.

The 2027 sheet came about a week later in the calendar than last year’s final version, but the gap to the first paper is still just over 100 days. For a Class 12 student, that is roughly three months to finish revision, practicals and pre-boards.

Who is sitting

Over 26.5 lakh students have registered for Class 10 and over 19.8 lakh for Class 12, a total of more than 46 lakh. All of them will sit papers inside a window of under eight weeks.

The spread of papers is wide. The Class 10 date sheet covers 83 subjects and the Class 12 sheet covers 121, from core sciences and mathematics to languages and skill subjects such as retail and web applications.

The longer Class 12 window reflects that range. With 121 subjects to fit in, the board has to stretch the calendar so that no student faces two of their own papers on the same day.

How the gaps work

CBSE says it considered more than 40,000 subject combinations while building the 2027 timetable. The aim is simple: two subjects chosen by the same student should never fall on the same date.

The board has also tried to leave room between papers. When it released the 2026 schedule, CBSE said the plan would “help the students in better time management for both the board and entrance examinations” and that “sufficient gap has been provided between two subjects.”

That matters most for Class 12 science students. Many of them are preparing for engineering and medical entrance tests in the same months, and a cramped board calendar eats into that preparation. Class 10 students, by contrast, are done within about three weeks of the first paper.

Practicals come first

Before the theory papers, schools have to finish practical exams and internal assessments. For most schools these run from 1 January to 13 February 2027, ending just three days before the first theory paper.

Schools in winter-bound regions follow an earlier calendar, with practicals from 9 November to 19 December 2026. For those students, the assessment season starts almost immediately.

Practical dates are set at school level within these windows, so students should confirm their own dates with their schools rather than rely only on the board’s outer limits.

What to watch

Admit cards and detailed exam-day instructions will be issued separately, closer to February. Students should also check that the subject codes on their registration match the papers they expect to write.

The bigger open question is the second Class 10 board exam. Under the National Education Policy 2020, CBSE now holds two board examinations for Class 10. In 2026 the optional second round, for students who want to improve their scores, ran from 15 May to 1 June. The coverage of the 2027 date sheet does not yet give second-round dates, so that announcement is the next one for Class 10 families to look out for.

Finally, the board has said students should keep watching its notifications for any clarifications or changes. Until then, the 16 February start is the date to plan around.