CBSE’s Class 12 compartment result for 2026 was declared on August 12, and the process is unchanged from previous years — but Class 10 is a different story. Since the 2025-26 session, CBSE runs two board exams a year for Class 10, and the traditional “compartment exam” for that class no longer exists as a separate, months-later sitting. It has been folded into the new second exam. Here is exactly how both work right now.
Class 10: The Old Compartment Exam Has Been Replaced
Under the new NEP-aligned scheme, every Class 10 student sits a mandatory first (main) board exam in February-March. A second board exam follows in May of the same academic year, and it does two jobs at once: it lets students who passed improve their marks in up to three subjects (Science, Maths, Social Science, or a language), and it gives students who failed a chance to clear those subjects — under what CBSE still calls the “Compartment Category.”
So the compartment result itself has not disappeared. What has changed is the wait: instead of a standalone compartment exam held in July, months after the main result, Class 10 students now get their second chance built into the same academic year’s calendar, only about six to eight weeks after the first exam.
Who Qualifies, and Who Doesn’t
- Failed in 1 or 2 subjects: You are placed in the Compartment Category and are eligible to appear for those subjects in the May second exam.
- Failed in (or were absent for) 3 or more subjects: You are classified as “Essential Repeat.” You cannot take the second exam, and you must reappear for the full main exam the following February.
- Best-of-two scoring: If you attempt a subject in both the first and second exam, only the higher of the two scores is used for your final marksheet.
In the 2025-26 cycle, the first exam ran from mid-February to early March 2026, results followed in April, the second exam was held in mid-May 2026, and its results were announced around mid-July 2026. Note also that the second exam is offered only in subjects that carry a significant external (board-set) weightage, so a few subjects with heavy internal/practical components may not have a May re-sit option at all.
What a Class 10 Student Who Failed a Subject Should Actually Do
If your Class 10 result shows a compartment in one or two subjects, you do not need to hunt for a separate “compartment exam” notification later in the year. You are automatically eligible for the same May second-exam window as everyone else — check with your school for the registration process once first-exam results are out, prepare only for the subject(s) you failed, and your better score across the two attempts will count. If you were marked Essential Repeat, there is no shortcut: the next opportunity is the main exam the following February.
Class 12: The Traditional Compartment Exam Still Applies
Class 12 has not been restructured — it still has one main board exam (February-March) and a separate compartment exam later in the year for students who fall short. The rules here are stricter than Class 10’s:
- Eligibility: You qualify for the compartment category only if you failed in exactly one subject. Fail two or more, and CBSE does not offer a compartment route — you will need to reappear as a fresh or private candidate in a future annual exam.
- Attempt limit: A student can attempt the compartment exam more than once, but CBSE caps this at a maximum of three attempts to clear the subject.
- How to apply: Regular school students apply through their school, which submits a List of Candidates (LOC) to CBSE online; private candidates apply directly on cbse.gov.in. In 2026, the LOC/application window opened in early June.
- Exam window: The 2026 compartment exam was held on July 28, a single-day offline paper per subject, with practicals for eligible subjects conducted in the following days.
- Result and marksheet: The 2026 result was declared on August 12 via cbseresults.nic.in and DigiLocker. The compartment marks replace your earlier marks in that subject, and a revised marksheet is issued through your school — this updated marksheet is valid for college admissions.
Class 10 vs Class 12, at a Glance
- Class 10: Failed subjects are absorbed into the May “second exam” (Compartment + Improvement combined); no separate later exam; up to 2 subjects failed keeps you eligible; 3+ means a full repeat next February.
- Class 12: A distinct compartment exam still exists, usually in July; only 1 failed subject keeps you eligible; 2 or more means you cannot use the compartment route this year.
Whichever category you fall into, a compartment or a second-exam chance is exactly that — a genuine second chance, not a setback that defines your result. Focus on the one or two subjects in front of you, use the weeks you have well, and you will very likely walk away with a clean, complete marksheet. All the best!
Keep exploring: practice with previous years’ question papers and practice quizzes here.